If I Were Your Boyfriend (36 page)

Authors: Earl Sewell

Tags: #Juvenile Fiction, #People & Places, #United States, #African American, #General

BOOK: If I Were Your Boyfriend

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"Nothing," I answered with a phony smile.

"Wesley—" he gave me a serious look "—what's going on?" he asked again. I was trying to figure out how to tell about my relapse but I couldn't bare to tell him.

"I know you better than you know yourself, Wesley. Now tell me what happened."

I was finding it very difficult to share my demons with him because I feared that I'd disappoint him and that's the last thing I wanted to do.

"Did something happen at the house?" he asked.

"No," I answered.

"Did something happen at school?" he asked. I could tell that he was going to go through the process of elimination in order to get to the truth.

"Did something—"

"I had a relapse," I finally blurted out. My dad was silent for long moment. He just looked at me with a blank stare. I couldn't tell what he was thinking but I knew whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"How did it happen?" he finally asked.

"I don't know." I paused in thought. "Mom kicked me out of the house because I refused to give her money out of your account. When she kicked me out, I guess that hurt me and depressed me to the point of a relapse." I was silent for a long moment. I expected my dad to say something but he didn't. He just listened to me. "I have trouble dealing with stress," I admitted. "When I'm feeling overwhelmed the urge to drink consumes me and this time I lost control over the urge. I would like to start going back to the therapy sessions so that I can become stronger."

"You're a good son, Wesley," my dad assured me. "You're responsible, you're caring and you're honest. The fact that your mom has tried to manipulate you is not only upsetting but it's sad. I'm sorry that you have to go through that."

"I thought you'd be mad at me," I said.

"I'm not mad at you, Wesley. I am concerned about your well-being, though. I think that continuing on with therapy is an excellent idea." At that moment the nurse came back into the room with a small container of pills and a cup of water.

"Okay, it's time to take your medicine," she said. My dad grumbled. I knew that he didn't like taking the medication. After the nurse left my dad focused his attention back on me.

"The medicine makes me very drowsy," he said. "The doctor will come through later on to unwrap my hands and forearms. It will be the first time I've seen my hands since the accident. I hope they still look normal." He looked at his bandaged hands for a moment.

"It doesn't matter what they look like," I said to him. "What matters most to me is that you're okay."

"I'm going to have to go through physical therapy to get the strength back in them."

"And I'll be there to help," I reminded him.

"I know you will." My dad paused in thought. "So, where are you sleeping?" he asked.

"At the house. It's not so bad. A little smoky but I can deal with it," I said.

"Pick up the phone and dial your mother and then hold the phone up to my ear," he said. "I'll straighten this thing out about her putting you out of the house. I swear, some of the things she does are absolutely crazy."

"If it's all the same to you, Dad, I'd really rather just stay at the house. For real, it's not that bad. Besides, that way I can keep an eye on the progress of the reconstruction."

"I'm not sure about that, Wesley."

"Dad, trust me. I'm not going to do anything crazy. I can handle being there unsupervised. Please, just let me stay."

He locked his gaze upon me for a while before speaking. "Okay. But let's get some rules put in place."

"Let me guess. No houseguests."

"Yes," he said. "And be responsible, Wesley."

"Dad, I'm not going to let you down," I said.

"Okay." We talked for a little while longer before he drifted off to sleep.

I left the room and headed downstairs to the gift shop where I purchased a copy of the local community newspaper. Then I came back to my father's room, sat down and began reading. Flipping through the pages, I came across an article about two sisters who were sent to youth court for videotaping a fight they'd gotten into with another girl and then posting the video on a computer. I began reading the article.

Two Sisters Accused for Assaulting a Student

Three teenagers from Harvey, IL, were arrested and sent to the judge after a video showing them assaulting a fourth teen was posted on the Internet. The three attackers are sisters who assaulted a fourth girl who was walking home from school. According to authorities, the three sisters followed their victim for several blocks before attacking her in a small city park. Police reports indicate that the reason for the attack centers on the victim spreading false rumors around their high school campus about one of the sisters being HIV-positive.

The video clip showing the attack had been downloaded to a particular computer at their high school and then subsequently posted on the Internet. When school officials became aware of the video they contacted the police, who, with the help of other students, quickly identified the attackers. The mother of the three attackers explained that she doesn't understand why her children resorted to violence to resolve their conflict. In the juvenile hearing, the assistant state's attorney asked Judge Nancy Hill to send a clear message that violence in our communities will not be tolerated.

"Assault is a serious offense for adults, let alone teenagers, and the fact that they videotaped it is even more disturbing," said Judge Hill, who sentenced the girls to sixty days at a local juvenile detention center.

I stopped reading the newspaper because Keysha and her situation were consuming my thoughts. The article had sparked a brilliant idea. I quickly began forming a plan in my mind. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that, if properly executed, it would work. I put the newspaper down and began pacing the floor. I continued formulating my ingenious plan. When it all finally came together I clapped my hands. I'd just figured out a way to turn the tables on Liz Lloyd and get Keysha out of trouble at the same time. Now all I had to do was hope that she'd forgive me and give me a chance to make everything up to her.