moral orel | clay x reader

orel and the divorce

You smiled at the child's eagerness to help his father. "Okay, just make sure seeing him doesn't go against the court orders or something," You warned.

"Don't worry, we don't even get to see him on weekends yet, but if he gets better then we can!" Orel said, weirdly hyped up. You felt bad, the father must need therapy for a reason.

You couldn't help but wonder what he did or how he acted to warrant a divorce and a court order to get therapy. "If you don't mind me asking, what did he... do?" You carefully tried to inquire.

"Oh, uhm, many, many things. He became a different person when he drank, I don't know if he still does," The child got a little sadder at the thought. "...Don't worry, Orel. Bring him my way and I'll fix him up like new."

You took a bite out of your burger and a sip of your coke. "Ooh, is that a Jesus Burger?" He asked, suddenly becoming inticed by your food.

"Yeah, why?" You mumbled. "Those are my favorite! Could you buy me one?"

You grinned, "Of course." He smiled back, happy.

The waitress came over. "How's the food?" She asked.

"Great, could you get another Jesus Burger?" You asked, and she nodded, running back off. You finished the burger in several moments of silence, Orel staring out the window.

You dusted your hands off and looked up at him. "Got something on your mind, kid?" You started conversation.

"Yeah, it's just... It has actually been pretty terrible without my dad, but at the same time, I hate his guts," He muttered.

"Well, hate is a strong word," You shrugged. "You love him because he's your father, but you hate him because he has a horrible personality, right?"

Orel shook his head, "Well, no, but... at the same time, yeah?" You pondered for a moment, before reinventing your thought.

"You hate him because of his actions, right?" You asked. Orel nodded.

"But you love him because he's your father?" He shook his head.

"I love him because he puts in the effort to be my dad. He tries, even if he sucks at it."

You felt a little taken aback by the maturity behind his words. This poor child...

You kind of wanted to give him a hug. In the moment of silence, the waitress put the Jesus Burger down in front of you, which you pushed to Orel.

She handed you the check and left. You grabbed your wallet and paid, waiting for him to finish his food.

You slid your phone a little bit out of your pocket to check the time. It was about 3pm, getting closer to 4.

Luckily, the child didn't notice. You almost felt like a time traveler, having to conceal all your "advanced technology".

"Well, Orel, what about your mother? What's she like?" You asked, curious.

Surely one parent being mentally ill could be enough? With the faith and innocence of the child, you assumed everything else was perfectly normal for him.

"She's an okay mom, she was just really... cold, when it came to dad. They would always be distant, but mom almost never talked to me." Welp, this kid's scarred.

"If it were up to me, I'd say you deserve better parents," You shrugged. "Why don't you ask your mom to come to the clinic too?"

His eyes lit up once more. "Oh, I will!"

"What's it called again?" He asked. "Therapy Clinic."

He nodded and finished his burger, sliding out of the booth. You left with him, checking that the money was on the table one last time.

He led you out of the diner and you began walking down the street. "Okay, so that over there is the church, obviously," He started, pointing at the big white structure in the middle of town.

"Mhm," You hummed in response, listening carefully. "Over there is my friend's, Doughy's house," He continued, pointing to a random household.

"Then that over there is the bar, Forghetty's, that my dad used to go to a lot with Coach Stopframe." You looked at him suddenly, a bit spooked.

"What... does your dad look like?" You asked cautiously, looking down at him. He looked up and thought for a moment.

"Uh.. brown hair, kind of tall, sometimes wears a green vest or a dark brown jacket, doesn't have any other interesting things about him," Orel described. "Ah, I think I've seen him there before," You said, looking over at the bar again.

"Oh, nice! So anyway, that's obviously the blood bank right next to it," He pointed.

You nodded, a little... shook. So Orel's dad was in the bar without his... friend?

Huh, weird. "So, Coach Stopframe and your dad, tell me about them."

Orel paused for a moment and turned to you uncomfortably. "Uh, well, they used to be in a gay relationship," He spoke slowly, afraid of any backlash against homosexuality.

You raised your eyebrows, "Huh." You certainly didn't expect that answer, but who was to judge?

"You're not... against it, are you?" Orel asked, worried. "No, no, not at all," You reassured, smiling softly.

He sighed, relieved. "Thank God," He murmured, turning back around and guiding you throughout the rest of town.

It was nice, getting to know that drunk guy's kid. By the time he had finished showing you around, it was around 5pm.

"Well, I better get home, my mom will be wondering where I went," He said. "Of course, just please remember to recommend therapy to your parents," You reminded.

"Oh, I definitely will! Thank you, Y/N, and bye now!" The kid waved, running off across the street towards a house you knew as Orel's mom's, since the divorce.

You walked back to the diner, which was a pretty long walk. Thankfully, it gave time for thought.

Maybe if you had his dad and mom come for therapy, maybe they could both improve? It would take some convincing, though.