Jamal's POV

Later...

"Sorry for the delay, boys," Dr. Boatwright said as Tyler and I were waiting in his office when he finally arrived. "I had a bit of a meeting with De'Andre's family with Naomi joining me. And boy, all I can tell you two is that De'Andre's kinfolk are full of surprises."

"How's that?" Tyler wanted to know, sitting back in his chair.

"That's for De'Andre to tell you on his own time. But today's all about you two." Dr. Boatwright sat down in his leather chair with his notepad and pen in hand. "Now, how are you both doing?"

I took a deep breath. "Well, I just had a bit of a chaotic day at Walmart when one of the workers quit after an argument with the boss," I began. "It didn't affect me much, but I'm now working more hours until a replacement is found. At least I got some extra pay coming in for the time being."

"My day's been pretty chill, save for the harassing messages from Trina and Dad," Tyler remarked as he pulled out his phone. "They're all the same thing on how I'm accused of caring about myself and not thinking about what's best for the family, Trina demanding that I come home and all that."

Dr. Boatwright and I joined him to glance at the messages.

Tyler, you fucking bastard! You're not thinking straight. Pick up the damn phone!

Bitch ass nigga! You're tainting this family name! You think you're people when you're nothing to me. You ain't shit! You ain't ever going to be shit! Come back home right now, you punk!

Ooh! The things that I wanna do to your worthless ass! You lucky that I got Jesus because I wanna put your ass in a body bag or sell you to a drug cartel!

So you wanna keep ignorin' me?! This means war, you little shit! Unless you come to your senses, I'm not backing down! And if I do decide to come up there, you better have the police ready because I will have you back in Georgia where I can finally make you into a real man!

I shook my head, feeling pity for Tyler. "Dude, why is your sister so...well, evil?" I asked Tyler in disbelief.

"Damn if I know, but she's getting on my last nerves," he replied. "Her voicemails are no prizes, either. I would play one of them, but I don't think you'll like what she says. Half of them are death threats and the others are either tearful please, angry accusations, or her sweet-talking me into coming home. I have half a mind to change phones and block her number."

Dr. Boatwright returned to his chair and gathered his notepad and pen, jotting down some notes. "Sounds like a young woman who clearly has narcissistic personality issues," he mused. "Tyler, this may sound a bit drastic, but you may have no other choice. You need to disconnect that number and cut off all contact with your family. Block them on social media, take them off your contacts list, and change your emergency contact number to someone you can trust. And while you're at it, block any emails from your family members- even the ones who used to stick up for you before they were forced to turn against you."

Tyler nodded. "I'm just sad that it had to end like this," he mused.

"It's not easy, Tyler, but it has to be done," I commented, nodding slightly. "If I know better, they sound a lot like Gerald and Melania Booker with what they would do when it came down to Derrick."

"And how's that?" Dr. Boatwright asked me.

I took a deep breath. "I had to witness Derrick being beaten every hour on the hour by his dad when we were in school," I explained. "He even had me beat him when we were in classes when he couldn't leave his firm. But when he did, the man was ruthless with his choice of weapons when it comes to beating him: belts, whips, canes, even an extension cord or two if not a baseball bat. The worst part was when he would have the whole school watch, especially when everyone hated him. To my surprise, the teachers and students were all for it since Melina went to the same school and held sway over everyone. No one wanted to disagree with her, so it all happened."

"Did you take part in the beatings with Mr. Booker?" Dr. Boatwright wanted to know.

"Unfortunately for me, yeah," I admitted. "I had to, given that Gerald was always gaslighting and accusing me of letting his son seduce me."

Don't let Derrick get you into his world, boy! He's nothing but a spawn of Satan, a fly in the Booker family's ointment.

The moment you show any weakness or affection for Derrick is the moment you become an enemy of the family. With me by your side, I can make you into a powerful man.

You can't afford to let yourself fall out of my favor. I'm making sure that your mother and grandparents are not in want. With one word, I can take it all away and leave you all in ruins or caskets. Play ball with me and all will be well.

I shuddered at the memories of his words emanating from his venom-covered lips.

"It's not easy trying to escape from those words," Dr. Boatwright intoned. "All you can do is find the balance within yourself and work on changing the voices in your head. Life is never meant to be simplified, Jamal. The same thing goes for you, Tyler. You boys need to change your paradigms while working on the external you. Hopefully, you boys will be able to express yourselves in new ways that can benefit your future."

"I believe it," Tyler remarked. "I just need to distance myself more from my blasted family. And if changing numbers and cutting loose with them is how it will start, so be it."

"Good," Dr. Boatwright mused, granting us a small grin.

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

Tyler's POV

Back at the home...

"So you're really considering being the model for Cameron's fashion line," I said after Jamal explained what he and Cameron did and said during their lunch break. "All power to you, bro. In a way, it might be good for you seeing that you still wear that one-piece swimsuit that looks like something women usually wear."

Jamal smiled gamely as we worked on putting the groceries away that we picked up after leaving Dr. Boatwright's office. "Hey, Cameron said that men should be able to wear one-piece swimsuits, especially when they can feel so liberating," he commented. "Anyway, it's going to be a big step with being a model and all, given that people will soon learn of my past and all that."

"I think you should still go for it," I told him, placing the vegetables in the refrigerator's crisper drawers before grabbing the deli meats. "People will still talk about you no matter what you do. If you eat more, you're fat. If you go on a diet, they think you're starving yourself. IF you dress nice, they tell you that you're showing off. If you dress down, they call you ugly. No matter what you do, they'll still talk about you. So why not just live your life and be who you can be."

Jamal nodded. "Wish we could take our own advice that you and I give each other," he said ruefully. "But then again, Dr. Boatwright said that life's never meant to be simplified. We have our own moments of failures and successes. All we can do is work on ourselves. Anyway, I'm going to go for it. But what about you?"

"What about me?"

Jamal smiled as he finished placing the dry goods in the pantry. "Are you going to be a model for Pacifica West Menswear?" he asked. "Cameron offered you a spot as well to be a model."

I thought for a moment. "I never really thought  about it, given that Sergei had the looks to be one," I mused. "Then again, I never expected my ex to be a sadistic and hung-up jackass who wanted Derrick dead. All water under the bridge. Anyway, I'll think about it tonight and then give Cameron my answer."

"That's fine," he said. "Just remember that you do deserve someone to treat you better regarding what happened. Sergei was heartless for betraying you and the others. I hope he and Ebony are burning in hell for what they did."

"I can't agree with you more," I said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to head to the mobile phone store to pick up  new phone and then follow up with blocking everyone back in Georgia on social media. After all the hell I've been through with being my family's chew toy, it's time to focus on me."

"All the best to you," Jamal said as I headed out to his car.

Sound advice, am I right?

Anyway, we'll see Jamal enjoy a midnight swim in his one-piece swimsuit as he takes a trip down memory lane when he first received it and wears it in front of Smitty the guard while under protective custody. And yes, folks, the next chapter will be a prelude to when Derrick asks him to be his muse for the fated Winter Lady painting, so don't go away!

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