Why me?
...ould mark me for life. He would hurt my feelings with his profane words if I even stepped on his colorless pair of Jordan’s with my shoes that picked up dirt from the ground beneath us. He treated me like I was stupid. But, hey, I thought people are fallible and I’ll let it slide this time. He needs me and I need him. But his words turned into colossal fists blowing the wind from my breath away. He consistently interrupted the flow of my wind. It became a ritual. I was tired of being a victim to his routine. I was always limping to safety and try fruitlessly to get the stains out of my clothes. It was time for a change. I tried to keep my distance from Jamal, but he was still there. He would show up to my house unannounced at the times my parents were not at home. When I went to hang out with my friends at the mall, he was there lurking around like I was his prey. He was a regular customer at my place of work, and he called me three times even four times a day. My entire flesh trembled as I powerlessly waited for my nightmare to end. The phone had been ringing for weeks, but I feared to answer it. Especially since my parents had gone out of town. But I couldn’t take any more of the wretched ringing, so I finally got myself together and I answered the phone. My trembling hand took forever to pick up the phone. I finally spoke with a crackling voice. It was him and he was calling me from outside my safe domain. I quickly hung up the phone and I sat there contemplating for a moment. Until I thought, enough is enough; I will stand up to him and not let him treat me like his mule. I opened the door. There he stood—tough, dark, and temperamental like a gladiator who came in the mist of the night to pay his revenge. As he tried to enter the White 3 doorway, I blocked him. And I told him, “You can’t come in here. You can say whatever you want to say outside.” He looked at me in bewilderment, with staggered eyes. As he stood outside my door, he began his apologetic speech. Mumbling through his words, of how he has came to be the person he is today. His words bit the outer layer of my skin and went through one ear and out other. When he was done, I said, “I understand about the abusive relationship between you and your father, but I don’t want to be a part of you anymore. I think that it’s best if you confided in someone else, and you and I never see each other again.” At that moment his repentant voice turned fierce. He busted through the door that kept me safe. I turned around and took off running as like I was racing cross-country. I could feel the weight heavily on my feet and my heart pumping up and down. With my unsteadily breathing, I was running to my room huffing and puffing. And as my foot landed on the first step heading down, the whole world went...