Forced Out of the Darkness

by Jackson Jr, G. Wayne

  “You are right. Tomorrow is Friday so we can continue the party through the weekend.”

  “That’s cool. Let’s get going. I am hungry and need a drink.”

  The two of them arrived at the restaurant and had a great time. Cameron noticed that Monti was not as plugged into the nights events as he was, but he had a nice time anyway. Monti made sure that Cameron had drinks that made him feel relaxed and carefree. It was his night to celebrate his new job. He did not want what was going on in his world to cloud Cameron’s. Monti’s world was getting darker and Cameron’s was shining brighter.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Completely Free

  Cameron was inebriated so Monti chose to drive back to the house. Monti parked Cameron’s car in the garage. His vehicle was still sitting out front. Once back to at the house, they went up to the bedroom. Cameron got undressed and sat at the end of the bed.

  “Is there ever going to be a day when you let yourself be completely free?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You are holding so many secrets and hurt. When do you want to live in freedom?”

  “You are drunk. You should probably lie down.”

  “I might have had a few drinks, Monti, but you know I am speaking the truth. I can see the darkness and hurt in your eyes. You are only continuing to hurt yourself in the process and for whatever reason I feel that it is going to consume you and hurt others in the process.”

  Monti was floored that he heard these words from an inebriated Cameron. Where did he get such insight? “Babe, you need to lie down and get some rest. I am going to go get you a glass of water. The Tylenol is on the dresser. I don’t want you to have a hangover in the morning.”

  “Ok, but Monti, you are going to have to face your demons and might have to do that sooner than you think.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Monti went downstairs to get a glass of water and the conversation hit him. What was Cameron talking about? This Calvin thing was so close to him that he was very unsettled. He did not know what to think. He had received two notes, photos and now this guy had made contact with Cameron. Obviously there was someone that Calvin was working with because he could not take the pictures himself, especially because he was busy getting his life in that clearing. Monti began to feel regretful of his action. He hated that he was not in control of this situation.

  Monti always liked to be in control seat of life. Early in childhood, he did not like the controlling parental influences and vowed that when he was an adult he would maintain control of his life. He would decide what happened in his life. He did many things to many people based on his own self-absorbed personality. He refused to take responsibility for the course of actions he took, which lead to the demise of relationship after relationship. He looked at people as a conquests and what he could get from being the victor of the chase.

  Monti was in, yet, another relationship and destruction had already started working its way into this relationship also. All he knew was that he loved Cameron and he wanted to grow old with him. Since he had moved in with Cameron, his wandering ways had diminished. It was not because he wanted them to diminish but because it was harder to find space to get out. Monti had not experienced enough to want to open up and uncover all the darkness. He felt that he could continue to keep the darkness locked up deep inside.

  The only way for Monti to truly be free was for him to pull back the covers and expose himself but was he ready to rip off all the scabs that covered his mental, personal and emotional wounds to allow him to heal. As long as he allowed himself to remain broken, he would continue to call brokenness. Cameron was different. Yes, he had his flaws but he was truly a relationship person. He had some maturing to do to ensure that he was a good partner but these were maturity flaws not personality flaws.

  Monti took the glass of water back up to Cameron who was sleep by now. Monti gently shook Cameron on his shoulder. He was beginning to smell the liquor coming from Cameron’s skin.

  “Yeah…what?” Cameron said in his inebriated state.

  “Drink this water Cameron.”

  Cameron took the Tylenol and drank the full glass of water that Monti presented to him. “Are you going to come to bed?”

  “Yes, I am coming. Let me get out of these clothes.”

  “Hurry up…” Cameron said as he fell back asleep.

  Monti took off his clothes, walked back to the bed and looked on the nightstand for Cameron’s phone. He found the phone and tried to open it but he didn’t know what the password was. He took Cameron’s phone into the other room and used his phone to call it in an attempt to access the phones contacts. He saw the call register on the caller ID and answered the call. When he tried to access the home screen, he got the password lock again. He hung up the phone and went back into the bedroom. He got in the bed and soon sleep found him also.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Responsibility: The Bitter Pill

  Before Monti knew it, his 4:30 am alarm sounded and he had to get up. Today was Friday and then he had a three-day weekend. He performed his morning hygiene and found something to wear. He typically dressed down on Friday’s. He also did his dry cleaning run when he got off work on Fridays. After about a half hour, he was dressed and gathered his dirty clothes together in a bag. That is when it hit him. He had taken those ‘park clothes’ to the dry cleaners last week. He kissed Cameron on the forehead and made his way down the stairs. He opened the front door and stepped out. He set down his bag of clothes and turned around to lock the top lock back. He turned back around and picked up his dry cleaning and dropped the bag and his briefcase.

  Monti’s stomach began to turn flips as he looked at his vehicle. He saw a third manila envelope stuck under the windshield wiper. Paralyzed in fear, Monti just stood there with shallow breathing. He felt a panic attack coming upon him. After a few moments, he broke through it and was able to take a step. One step led to a second and soon he was in full out stride towards his Jeep. He opened the envelope and found another note and some photos that looked like they were printed on a home photo printer. He looked at the photos and saw that they were of Cameron and Monti at the restaurant last night. One photo was taken when they were sitting down at the booth and another one showed them walking to Cameron’s car as they left the restaurant.

  Monti opened the note to and read it.

  Monti Fuck-up Burroughs,

  I see you had a nice time out last night. By now, I am sure you know I met Cameron. He is such a nice guy. How did you, in your miserable existence, manage to catch such a good guy? We had such a nice conversation yesterday. He really likes you and I suspect that he does because he doesn’t know the real Montague Burroughs. No respectable person in their right mind would give you the time of day. How long are you going to be able to keep this façade before he sees through you? You think you are better than the rest of us when you are just as bad as we are. Straight up whore. Cameron can’t make a whore turn into a housewife. You are just going to take him down like everyone else you have come in contact with. I want you to pay for what you did to all the people you fucked over. You will pay for all the relationships you messed up and the hearts you broke in the process.

  Calvin

  “How did he find me at Cameron’s house.” Monti thought. Monti looked up and saw his things on the porch. He went and retrieved his belongings. He put the stuff in his vehicle and headed to work. He had to get to work and find a way to make it to the dry cleaners to get that number. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions, Monti began to take the victim stance. “Why do things always happen to me?” He thought. He did not see how he treated others and how he had done wrong by them but in each of the situations, he was the one done wrong.

  Monti did not accept that his philandering ways were what drove Yolanda into the arms of his best friend. No, cheating was not right but all Yolanda wanted was love and when Monti’s best friend offered a listening ear and a crying shoulder, she took
it. He knew of Monti’s antics and what he was doing. She did not have it growing up and she thought her husband would be able to provide that. Monti chose to maintain extramarital relations with anything that would give him the time of day.

  David wanted a healthy relationship. He did not sign up for Monti’s antics. He did not care to be cheated on. He didn’t care to be lied. Monti was unable to cultivate a relationship because he was constantly feeding his inner-child by the multiple conquests. David did not want to be stalked. Monti blamed David for the failure of the relationship because he said David knew he was married when they got together. Monti forgot that he told David that he was going to be the only one, but the other ones could not or would not keep Monti’s secrets.

  There were many people that were left in the ruins of Monti’s conquests. There comes a time when one must pay for the damage and destruction that they have inflicted upon others. Karma had a way of balancing the scales of justice if a person did not right their own wrongs.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Are You Happy With Your Partner

  Cameron woke up and felt a slight hangover, but he knew that he had some things to do to prepare for the holiday. He got out the bed and turned on the shower. He looked at himself in the mirror and decided to have lunch at Union Street. He took a shower and headed out to eat. His phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey Cameron. How are you? This is Calvin.”

  “Hey Calvin. How are you doing? Did you make it to Atlanta safely?”

  “Yes, I got here around 9:00 am this morning.”

  “Cool, I am sure you will have a good time. I have never been to Atlanta’s pride but I hear that it is a nice time.”

  “Yes, I come every year. I gotta get to my freak parties.” Calvin said as he laughed. Cameron knew he was serious because he heard about the sex parties where they only let in the finest brothers. Some even did not allow people that were outside a certain height and weight standard. Cameron was not comfortable with going to something like that because he had body image issues and he could not bear the fact of being turned away because he was not sexy enough or that he had too much stomach. Cameron did not deal with rejection well so he stayed in his comfort zone.

  “I admire you for being able to do that. I would love to have been able do the whole sex party thing but I don’t have the courage to do something like that. I may not be sexy enough.”

  “Are you serious? Man you are quite the looker Cameron. I would have talked to you if you were single and all that.”

  “Thanks for the compliment Calvin. I appreciate it…makes a brother feel good. You are handsome yourself.” Cameron smiled. He enjoyed when people gave him sincere compliments. Calvin seemed to be sincere so the compliment was well welcomed. “You were saying something at the nail shop about my partner. Do you know him?”

  “I know more about him than I would like to know.” Calvin said as he was figuring Cameron out. “Cameron you are a really good guy. From our brief conversation yesterday, you seem to have it going on. Are you happy with your partner?”

  “Monti?” Cameron answered. “For the most part I am happy. I am sure that we will have our share of issues as most relationships do but I am happy. Why do you ask?”

  “I am just asking. I just know the kind of guy that Monti is. Do you know any of his friends?”

  “No, not yet. We are having a small get together on Monday with just us and our two best friends. Maybe one day, we can have you over for dinner.”

  “That is nice of you man. Who knows maybe one day that will happen. My advice to you would be that you should make sure that you ask questions. Make sure that you meet his friends and the people that he hangs with.”

  “Now that I am starting my new job, I will be here more so I should be able to get to know more of his network. I am excited about that possibility.”

  “Did he tell you about what happened between him and his ex-David?”

  “Not much, he said something about David cheating and got caught. I felt bad for the both of them that they were not able to work though those situations. I hate when relationships fail.”

  “Hey, sometimes the best of people can’t make it work.” Calvin had heard enough about Monti Burroughs for the day. “Hey Cameron, do you mind if I call you a little later, or better yet how about we talk face to face when I get back in town?”

  “No problem man. I’d enjoy that. Enjoy yourself and have some fun for me.”

  “You got it. I’m sure that we will talk again some more real soon.”

  “Later.”

  “Bye.”

  Cameron thought about the conversation and wondered why Calvin asked him about knowing Monti’s friends and his past relationships. “Was Calvin one of Monti’s exes?” Cameron said inquisitively. “Next time we talk I am going to ask him.” Cameron said to himself. Until he got some clarity on this subject, Cameron decided to keep this conversation under wraps.

  Chapter Forty

  Above Your Pay Scale

  “I can’t believe that lying bastard said that shit about my cousin…David got caught cheating. That is some crazy bullshit. It was Monti who was trying to live a double life and got my cousin caught up in this shit. I am sure he did not tell Cameron about his felonious past.” Calvin was pissed off.

  Calvin picked up his phone, went into his settings and blocked his caller ID from showing up when he made a call. He dialed Monti’s work number. Calvin was very resourceful. He had connections in healthcare, law enforcement and in legal circles.

  “This is Monti Burroughs, EMS supervisor, how can I help you?”

  “You are so pathetic.” Calvin said sarcastically. “Is this the job that a felon gets because they can’t control their dick?”

  “Who the hell is this?” Monti asked as he felt his anger begin to build.

  “You know who the hell this is you fucking bastard. You think you can hide from me. Haven’t I proved to you that I can find you? I obviously know that you carry your ass to the damn park on the regular.”

  “What the hell do you want? Do you want some more of this dick? Is that what you want?”

  “Don’t flatter yourself. If you think that you are all that, your whorish ass is sadly mistaken. What I want is to see your pathetic excuse of a world to crumble and to see you reduced to the bullshit that you really are.”

  “I don’t see you saying that to my face.” Monti said. He could feel the blood rush to his face as he began to perspire.

  “You know, as well as I do, that you don’t deserve that sexy ass Cameron. He is way above your pay scale.” Calvin laughed. “But I am sure you are aware of that.”

  “Fuck you. You don’t even know me. Why the hell are you calling my job?”

  “I know more about you than you think I do. You don’t want me to call your job? Is that it? What…you don’t want me to make you lose your job?”

  “Hell no!” Monti said.

  “Would you rather that I called you on your cell phone? Would you rather that I called your boyfriend? Or better yet, would you prefer that I called that director who doesn’t like your taste in clothing? Humm…and when or if I call them what do you think I would tell them?”

  Monti was silent. He did not know what to say at this point. This guy obviously did his homework and knew much more about him than Monti was comfortable with. “How did he know all of this stuff about me?” Monti questioned.

  “Oh so you aren’t such a bad ass now I see, you punk ass bitch. I will be in touch with you soon, Monti.” Calvin went to hang up the phone but then he thought that he needed to put an exclamation point on the conversation. “Oh yeah…enjoy your holiday get together.” He said as he hung up.

  Monti thought about the conversation but he was not thinking clearly. He felt helpless. Who did he piss off that was looking to get back at him? Monti sat there numb from the conversation. The sting of it had worn off and he was just left there as if he was just administered a spinal tap. He co
uld not feel anything right now. Monti looked at his watch to find out that it was 2:00 pm. He had to come out of his numbness and complete his reports. He still had to go to the cleaners and hopefully find Calvin’s number; however what was he going to do with it at this point. His pride would not allow him to talk about this to anyone. Plus he did not know how much information that Calvin had on him and did not know where he got the information.

  Monti finished up his reports and did his briefing to his second shift counterpart and headed to the cleaners. After he picked up his clothes he headed home to Cameron’s house. He used this time to try to think about what was going on. He did not know what to do. He decided to call Cameron to see how his day was.

  “Hey Cam. How are you doing?”

  “I’m doing well. I am just here trying to clean these ribs and get them seasoned. I am making a jerk marinade for the chicken. I am going to clean the greens so they are ready. What is going on with you? How was work?”

  “I am ok. I got a lot of things on my mind and some pressure at work.”

  “Oh, really. Do you want to talk about it?”

  Monti really wanted to talk about it but if he did he risked opening a whirlwind of things and he didn’t want to risk that right now. “No. I will be ok. Everything ok with you today?”

  “Yes, nothing out of the ordinary.” Cameron said not revealing anything about his conversation with Calvin. “When am I going to meet more of your friends?”

  “You want to meet more of my friends? Where is that coming from?”

  “We talked about that before and I know you introduced me to your mom and your kids, but I think that we need to make sure that we integrate our lives together if we are going to be together for the long haul. We also need to make mutual friends between us. Monti, I want to have a serious relationship and we should not have secret friendships etc. Do you understand what I am saying?”