WARNING: Mentions of underage sexual assault and emotional/mental abuse. Not suitable for survivors of rape/sexual assault, underaged readers, or the faint-hearted. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

"All right, folks," Dr. Boatwright intoned after getting the others (La'Shawn, Franklin and his parents, Tyler, Joshua, De'Andre, and Naomi) gathered in a more spacious room that was down the hall from his office. "The reason why Cameron and Jamal asked y'all over was because of something that the latter wants to get off his chest."

"And how's that?" Tyler wanted to know, giving me a curious stare.

I felt Cameron's hand giving me an assuring squeeze as I took a deep breath for courage. "Y'all know that the later Gerald and Melania Booker were known to be homophobic bigots, right?" I began as I shot a glance a Joshua. "More so than your parents, Joshua. No offense."

"None taken, but we all had an idea of what happened to Derrick with his backstory regarding his parents," the Hispanic older man remarked.

"Well, when they weren't being haters to Derrick due to his sensuality, they were quite...controversial with being involved themselves."

That caught everyone's attention. "No way," Naomi breathed. "But why does it have to do with...wait, does this have anything to do with that fateful moment during the summer?"

"Naomi, it has EVERYTHING to do with that summer and then some, given that I was the product of being sexually assaulted myself," I interjected.

"Wait, what?" Tyler breathed. "How? When?"

I took a deep breath. "It mainly started before freshman year of high school," I replied, my voice thick with emotion. "It was when Derrick was being shipped off to conversion therapy after we finished eighth grade. By then, I was already in too deep with Yvonne with the two of us sleeping together by then. Anyway, Gerald had invited me for a 'guys-only day since his son was away while Melania was with Melina for a weekend of their own. We had a few talks while watching NBA games and all that, Gerald being generous by offering me some of his prized whiskey that he stowed away. And then, I was heavily drunk when he led me to his master bedroom and...that's when he started kissing and groping on me before I felt my clothes being stripped off."

"Oh, my goodness," Mrs. Romero breathed. "Did you fight back or try to scream?"

I shook my head no. "I was too damn drunk at that time, ma'am. And even if I wanted to, it wouldn't have mattered because that's when the gaslighting began. 'You tell anyone about this, I'll make sure that your family has nothing other than cardboard boxes for y'all to sleep in,' Gerald had threatened me. 'I'll make sure that your parents and grandparents end up dying on the streets while Melina tosses you over at YDC in Macon. I hold sway over this town, Jamal, and you know it. No one will believe you because I have the final say. If you want your family to live well and have nice things, you will do what I say. Whenever, whatever, wherever. I get what I want, boy.' He said all of that when he ravaged my body in more ways than one, always accusing me of liking it or wishing that he was Derrick or some other guy and all that. It lasted for more than five hours, I think."

"Damn," La'Shawn hissed. "Did the old lady know about it?"

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Are you kidding me? She basically gave him the green light because she knew that he was too horny for his own fucking good. Even Melina was all for it, browbeating me to keep my mouth shut and to do whatever her father wanted. 'It's all for the greater good, Oglethorpe,' she had said after a bath in the Jacuzzi tub where I cried my eyes out. 'If you do right by my parents and be the bully of the god-brother that Derrick needs, you'll be taken care of. But try and rat us out...and you'll REALLY be taken care of."

"And how long did it last, the assaults and all that?" De'Andre wanted to know.

I sighed heavily. "It lasted up to that failure of a wedding after I finally confessed to Derrick about the plot by his family to have him killed," I remarked. "Thankfully, Gerald was wise enough to use protection when I did have to have sex with him. Still, it didn't make things any easier with the emotional abuse and shit. I always felt like the old bastard still had a grip on me before I came here, even when I was placed in prison for those bogus crimes or when I was finally exonerated and my records expunged."

"Did you catch any venereal diseases from him?" Mr. Romero asked me gently.

"No, but I wasn't one to take any chances given that the risk of HIV for gay men is still high," I commented. "Every two months, I still take a test to ensure that I didn't catch anything."

To Cameron, "And if we do start something, I want us to be very safe."

"Don't worry," he assured me. "I'm always protecting myself. But back to the matter at hand, I think that you finally getting that off your chest is helping you let loose of what's been done while pushing you to move forward."

"You think so?"

"He knows so," Dr. Boatwright replied. "Cameron's been thinking about you since y'all two met in New York before the pandemic began and he's been caught up in your world. From what he told us about you, it's no wonder that almost everyone sees you as a survivor, boy. Well...maybe not everyone since Josh's family's all about condemnation and self-righteousness."

"Don't remind me," Joshua said gruffly before facing me. "Jamal, you had been dealt with a bad hand without intentions and had to make some bad choices out of duress to keep your family in their home. But through it all, you managed to come out taller and more confident about yourself. For what it's worth, you are what Pacifica West Menswear represents as a fellow model. It's little wonder that Cameron sees the best in you as much as we all do. Never forget that, amigo."

"I won't," I said. "I can only imagine how things might turn out when everyone gets prepared for the preliminary fashion show. With everything going on, I just hope that I won't make a fool out of yourself."

"Same thing for me, especially with my family," Tyler remarked.

"Well, as long as you boys keep seeing me and keeping things real and transparent, I'd say that you can't go wrong," Dr. Boatwright said. "Remember that you're only human and everyone has their burdens to carry, secrets that they keep to themselves, and bridges that they can't cross unless they learned to grow. And At the end of the day, we can only be ourselves while learning to do better."

"Dr. Boatwright, I can only tell you that Tyler and I are grateful that you're making the both of us come and see you when needed," I breathed. "Just make sure that you never fail in calling out the bullshit or force us to stop hiding. Because there's going to be days when either or both of us are going to face one of those days when things get too rough or too real for our blood."

Dr. Boatwright gave us a knowing look. "How else are you going to fully blossom if someone doesn't do the job?"

Ain't that the truth?

I bet it is, folks! And Jamal's finally open with being the survivor of sexual assault! Y'all don't know this, but men can be raped or sexually assaulted like women can. It's just hasn't been mentioned enough because of the stigma that comes with it or how other people can paint a different picture. All the same, this had to be written because Jamal has to finally be more transparent about himself. Even more so, given how people from the fashion industry will know more about him when the preliminary showcase for Pacifica West will take place.

But first, we check in with Tyler and Franklin over a date that leads to something...special and sensual. And it's coming up next, so don't miss a beat!

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