The next morning, as promised, I was back in Dr. Nguyen's office at St. Luke's Psych Ward. And in case you haven't yet learned, I did make the jazz and chamber-music ensembles (Which pleased everyone to no end, yet had them remind me that I needed to speak life to myself). But the main topic for this weekend's session was what I had on my mind as I was performing "Cold War" and "Waves" for the audition yesterday (the latter being requested by the forty-something year-old therapist). "Well, Demario, yesterday was quite eventful in words," Dr. Nguyen said after a bit of small talk as he got into his therapist persona. "From the way you were on the verge of a breakdown while playing your heart out, you had a LOT on your mind. And it's all because of your late mother, right?"

I took a couple of deep breaths, inwardly wincing at the mention of my bitter mother. "Yeah, doc, it was because of her," I replied. "As I said the other day, her voice nagged on and on about how I was never meant to be taken seriously, yet berated me for making a fool out of myself. She even egged me on to kill myself- to stop playing the music, head back to the house, and swallow down some pills just so I can grant her wish to be free from her misery. And while a part of me wanted to satisfy her- to save face and end it all just so y'all won't have to deal with me, a major part of me told me to stay where I was and to keep playing, to let out all the pain and misery that was emotionally tossed my way for almost all of my life.

I paused my monologue to allow myself another deep breath. "You know something, Dr. Nguyen? I don't think that the venom from Mommy Dearest and her brood would ever go away even if I did manage to let go of the past and move forward with the future. Before I came here, it was so easy just to give up and let the top dogs feast of the glory while I had to accept the handouts and scraps that fell around my way," I continued. "I told myself 'Demario, it's not worth shit to fight the system. They'll always have the upper hand- Mom, Dad, Shauntay, Ciara, Demarcus, DeSean, everyone will be on top while you're meant to remain in the bottom level. Just save face and let things be.' It was better to give up before I dared to try just so I can have some semblance of peace."

"Would anything change if your parents and sisters were alive?" Dr. Nguyen asked me. "Would things change if they started showing you some encouragement and decided to take some of the load off from you.

I thought for a moment. "Not a chance," I replied, not wanting to curse. "When it comes to my family, the hip-hop/ghetto mentality always trumps sensibility and simple-mindedness. I never got the memo because I was always the one to stand out in the crowd."

"Why do you say that?" Dr. Nguyen wanted to know.

I raised my eyebrow. "Look at me, doc. I'm borderline underweight, even though I'm now being plumped for a luau. I'm more of a bookish nerd than a hip-hop-loving gangbanger, and the only friends that I had before I had this dynamic shift were the landlord and his family- those people who saw me more as a member of their family than my real parents ever did. I did everything that I was told with virtually no complaint and yet I was kicked out of the cold. If anything, I was content with being ready to die because Lord knows that I can't survive on the streets. I'd be easy prey for the gun-toting thugs who want to be the next Original Gangster. Living in a life of crime isn't my forte and prostitution isn't really my style. If I was planning for a way out, then my failed attempt of suicide was more of a perfect exit clause just to escape a lifetime of homelessness."

Dr. Nguyen looked at me with a harsh stare in my eyes. "That's a lot for you to say, Demario," he said stiffly.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, if I am sounding a bit like a bitter hausfrau who got trapped in arranged marriage while she was in her prime and got stuck in it for too long before she got the short end of the stick... then it's nobody's fault but mine. Trust me, Dr. Nguyen. I'm always guarded and ready to expect the worst while seldomly hoping for the best. And it's because of Vivian Emmeline Ingram-Bader who left me with her final words: 'I wish for thunder and lightning to kill you.'"

I lowered my head in shame, not wanting to go any further.

I heard a chair being pushed before some footsteps. "Stand up," I heard the Vietnamese therapist order me.

I did so, keeping my head lowered.

Next thing I knew, strong arms were wrapped around me. "Dr. Nguyen?" I said, tentatively looking up to find him pulling me into a giant bear hug. "Dr. Nguyen, I-"

"You need this, Demario," I heard him say morosely in my ear. "You been dealt with too many bad hands in life and you suffered for it one too many times. You ARE enough. You DO deserve better. You deserve to LIVE!"

He broke away from me as I saw him on the verge of tears himself. And as I got a good look at him, I saw a man who was passionate for saving lost causes such as myself, a man who saw one too many teenagers who were on the edge of no return fall away from oblivion.

And I knew he was right.

************

Later that day, I was back in my bedroom looking over some notes (the boys were out with their friends while Joel and Taylor were at the office for a meeting with a client) when there was a knock on the door. "Enter," I hollered, still focusing on my AP World History notes.

In stepped Epiphany and Serenity, both of them looking freshly made-up while wearing athletic clothes. "Hey, Demario," the latter said as the former handed me some baked goods. "Mrs. Sullivan let us in. Can we talk to you about what was said yesterday?"

"Sure," I replied, pushing my notes to the side. "What's up?"

Epiphany took a deep breath. "Look, Demario. You already know about Jillian and what she can do if you end up on her blacklist, intentional or not," she began.

"Who hasn't told me that enough?" I couldn't help but comment. "Which was why I was smart enough to refuse her offer to sing at Serenity's party."

"Thank the Lord for that," the dark-skinned teenager breathed. "And the two of us are glad that you did because there's no telling what might had happened if you said yes. And if anyone hasn't told you yet, Jillian is the one to bring up false promises of fame and fortune if one's foolish enough to accept. But she's very persistent if he or she dares to refuse. She'll continue to hound you unless you cave in or she decides to have you eliminated just because Ryan has his eye on you. And that means a jealous blonde bombshell ready to take out her competition. If she can't have Golden Gay-Boy Peavey, no one can. And she'll do whatever it takes to keep Ryan for herself, even going as far as putting people in the hospital."

"Artem?" I couldn't help but comment, remembering the name that's on everyone's lips.

"Artem," Epiphany commented. "Look, Demario. You're a good kid who has had it rough before no thanks to your mom. And from what everyone knows, you're focused on your life. But try telling that to a she-devil who wants what she can never have. All we can tell you is that you're in danger and you gotta watch your step."

Her words were no-nonsense, even more so when I think about how EVERYONE hated Jillian with a passion...especially when it comes to this Artem dude. "What do you think I should do?" I asked tentatively.

"For the most part, stay out of Jillian Kendricks' way," Serenity commented. "And as much as I don't want to recommend this, stay far away from Ryan Peavey at all costs. I know that it can't be helped at times, but you can't allow yourself to be a part of what's going down. Ryan has some baggage no thanks to Jillian and it messed him up bad. And from what everyone can tell, you need to focus on you while you're here."

I nodded. "I do," I replied. "And I want nothing to do with Ryan, despite the fact that I do have a bit of an interest on him. It's nothing serious, just a tiny infatuation on why Ryan fancies me."

"But it could spell trouble if you ain't careful," Epiphany rebutted. "Demario, the less you have anything to do with Ryan and Jillian, the better off you'll be."

"Right," Serenity agreed, nodding her head. "And sorry for Jillian being too persistent. Epiphany and I had a feeling that she had plans of her own should you say yes, so I'm glad that you were smart enough to turn her down. Still, I'm not taking any chances, which is why I'll be cancelling my birthday party after Homecoming. It's for your own safety as well as everyone else's."

"Don't cancel it on my behalf," I said. "Trust me, I plan to stay out of the way and want to mainly stay in. After that barbeque at Ryan's house, it's little wonder that there's drama all around. Please continue your plans for your birthday party. I'll stay in and just entertain myself."

"Are you sure?" Serenity asked, giving me a plaintive look. "I just don't want to see another innocent guy like you end up in the hospital or hear about your demise."

"I'm positive," I assured the girls just as I saw Taylor stop by my bedroom door. Oh, hi. The girls were telling me about Jillian and-"

"Noreen overheard everything and informed me and Joel," the dark-skinned older man commented. To the girls, "Ladies, thank you for telling Demario about this. But you may be wrong about having him stay away from Ryan. The football star may be what Demario needs in his life."

"Or it can spell disaster," Epiphany pointed out. "Trust us, Mr. Lomax. Demario can't have anything to do with Ryan- no meet-ups, no chance encounters, nothing. The less any of that happens, the safer he is."

"That's for sure," Serenity commented. "But we did bring Demario some of my mom's brownies as a little welcome-to-the-neighborhood gift. Belated, of course, but it's the thought that matters. I better go. I have to head to the gym in a few."

"And I got to head home and babysit my sister," Epiphany commented. "But we're both serious about Ryan. Demario, stay away from Peavy if you really want little to no drama with Jillian Kendricks. It may save your life."

And as I watched the girls leave my bedroom before returning to my studies, I knew that they were right. If there was some baggage that Ryan was carrying and Jillian was indeed a femme-fatale out for blood against any opponents, then it was more than enough for me to realize that I can't allow anything else to push me to the edge. I had to keep my distance and deal with my own issues, for everyone's sake and mine.

But when does fate ever work like that? If I knew better, it waas ready to throw me more curveballs that will leave me dizzy for days on end.

He's not wrong, folks! Things will be full of drama as the story goes on. And even though Demario plans to keep away from Peavey and Kendricks, things will always have their way of interfering with the best-laid intentions. In the chapters to come, you'll see more of Jillian and Ryan each ready to plead their case to Demario while he undergoes more therapy sessions and even meets some newer faces into the mix- some of them sinister and some of them more willing to point him to the right direction. And there's two more faces who will definitely play a significant role in this story. You can't afford to miss out on this, y'all! As this story goes forward, there's a lot about to go down!

Dedication: Cal_Wicks and CowperViolet. And I want to shout out PrettyInPunkBC for their amazing book club which I am now a part of! If you want your book to be noticed and want to offer constructive criticism to others, then check out this profile right now! Tell them that Jay sent you over!

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