"I don't think you're ready."

Cameron sat slouched on the beige couch looking at the hand on the clock go back and forth. He reached up and started twisting a piece of his hair before taking bottom lip between his teeth looking at his therapist. "Are you saying that as my therapist or as my father?"

"Both."

Cameron smacked his lips.

"You can catch an attitude all you want, but I don't think you really know who you are. The type of love that you have gets you hurt. Son, you endured mental, verbal, and physical abuse for two years straight. Should not nobody have to go through that. If somebody loves you, they are not supposed to cause you harm. You hear me?"

"I hear you."

"Now tell me about this girl."

A smile instantly came across Cameron's face at his father. "I honestly wasn't going to pursue her because I felt like I wasn't ready, but we crossed paths twice. I said nah this fate and I was not about to let her slip passed me. Her name is Brielle, and she attends the same school as me. I think her major is biology."

"What does she want to be?"

"A dermatologist."

His father nodded his head impressed. "Keep going."

"Uh she's twenty years old and the owner of The Diamond Palace."

"Excuse me? That's hers? I've ordered your mother and I some pieces from there."

Cameron nodded his head. "Yes sir. Founded in 2016, I think. And oh yea, she just bought a house from mama."

His father took in everything and wrote some stuff down. Honestly impressed, he looked up at his son and shook his head. Cameron had that look in his eyes and his father knew it was too late. "Now, if you're about to give this dating thing a try again, our sessions are going back to three times a week."

Cameron nodded and stood pulling his pants up in the process. He hugged his father walked out of his office. Pushing the buildings' door open, Cam walked across the street to his Range Rover sport. It was an supercharge edition, all white with black accents. Being that it was a high school graduation gift, he is hoping he will receive a upgrade in a couple months for graduation.

He opened the door and hopped in pushing the start button pulling off. Cameron was thinking about his words and his ex, K'Mya.

Cameron met K'Mya his freshman year of college. He started school with a game plan, that plan consisted of focusing on football, campus involvement and his studies.

He did not want any distractions. Word got around that he was a possible draft prospect straight out of high school and that's when stuff hit the fan.

Girls flocked and stalked, but being the way that Cameron was raised he did not entertain the foolishness. He was turning down girls left and right. He slept around occasionally but eventually stopped because that is not the type of person he is and he met her, K'Mya.

K'Mya was a beautiful girl but her soul was ugly. She was ok in the beginning, but it's like a switch was flipped. He met her at a campus function and honestly it was just friendly conversation, but she became persistent. Cam thought what harm could be done? Little did he know, two years of his life would be taken away from him.

Nothing he did was right. From sexing her, to loving her, and to pleasing her. No matter what he did it was wrong. It started with verbal abuse, and then it sprouted too physical. Cam was always raised to never hit women, so he took the abuse for two years, ashamed to say anything.

Cameron took his ringing out of his pocket and slid the answer bar putting it on speaker. "Talk to me don't lie to me."

The person on the other end of the receiver smacked their lips. "Boy if you don't get yo puss ass on somewhere. Where you at?

Cameron shook his head, it was not nobody but his best friend, Jabari. "I just left yo mama house. Why you ain't tell she was an eater bro?"

"Bi- stop playing with me and my mama." Cameron laughed and threw his head back. He switched lanes pulling into Whataburger.

"Nigga what do you want?" Cam noticed the line was moving, so he eased up from the break.

"I'm hungry and our apartment is empty asf." Cam shook his head knowing that is all he wanted.

"I'm at Whataburger, you want your usual?"

"Yes, thank you bestie." Cameron laughed and hung up the phone. He finally made it to the speaker.

"Hi, welcome to Whataburger. What can I get for you today?"

"May I get the number four and a number five. Medium fries and sprite for both meals."

"Okay, your total is sixteen dollars and thirty-four cent. Pull to the window please." Cameron pulled out his wallet and grabbed a twenty. He pulled around to window and handed the girl money. About a min later she returned with his food and money. He grabbed everything and pulled off.

Cameron and Jabari have been best friends since peewee. Cameron honestly does not know what he will do without Bari. If it was not for Jabari, Cam does not think he will be alive today. He owes Bari his life. Jabari was the one that found Cam choking to death on his own blood but hey that is a story for another day.

Cameron pulled up to his apartment that he shared with his best friend and parked in his designated spot. He killed the engine, grabbed everything, and got out. He hit the lock and walked towards the stairs. He climbed to the third floor and kicked the apartment door. It swung open.

"Who the fu— oh it's just you." Cameron pushed Jabari out of the way kicking his shoes off. Cameron sat down on the couch and pulled his burger out.

"How was the therapy session?" Jabari grabbed his fries and began stuffing his face.

"It was cool. I told him about Brielle." Jabari stopped chewing and looked up.

"You for real? I thought you was going to wait."

"I was but he brought dating up and of course he said I wasn't ready. He asked about her, so I talked about her."

Jabari looked at Cameron. "Do you think you're ready and what did he have to say?"

Cam nodded his head. "Yea I do, and he said if I'm considering the dating thing again, I'm going back to three sessions a week."

"Well, if you think you're ready, then I say go for it just be cautious. I would hate to go to jail this time."

Cameron chuckled and stood up grabbing his food. "I gotchu bro, but I'm finna take a nap. Wake me up an hour before practice." He walked down the hall into his room.

"Don't forget to take your medicine." Jabari shouted from the living room.

Cameron bit his lip and walked into his bathroom. He grabbed his pill bottle from the cabinet that read Paroxetine. He poured one into his hand placed the bottle back in the cabinet. Grabbing a bottle of water from his bedside, he threw the pill back followed with water. He stripped from clothes leaving him in his boxer briefs and crawled into his bed.