Golden Like Summer, page 23
Both Steven and his parents were in denial about the physical and psychological trauma inflicted on him by Parnell. As a result of that denial, neither he nor his family sought any type of therapy or counseling, the family relationship became strained to the point that Steven’s father ordered him to leave the house, and Steven struggled with the trauma for the rest of his life.
Trayvon Martin died under highly questionable circumstances, shot by George Zimmerman, who spotted the seventeen-year-old walking home from a neighborhood convenience store. At the time, Trayvon was talking via cell phone with his girlfriend and carrying snacks he had purchased. Zimmerman dialed 911 and reported that he was following “a real suspicious guy” who “looks like he’s up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something.” The 911 dispatcher told Zimmerman to break off his pursuit.
According to the girlfriend, Trayvon became unnerved upon noticing that a stranger was following him. The girlfriend testified that she heard Trayvon ask why he was being followed, and that a “hard-breathing” man then challenged Trayvon as to what he was doing in the neighborhood. The girlfriend further said sounds of a struggle ensued, and the call became disconnected.
Zimmerman testified at his second-degree murder trial that Trayvon attacked him, and he shot the teenager to death in self-defense. No one will ever hear Trayvon’s account of this event. The jury acquitted Zimmerman under a local “stand your ground” law. Such laws neutralize the long-standing duty that a person must retreat from danger if possible and use deadly force only if the threat continues. While there was no finding that Trayvon was engaged in any unlawful activity at the time of the encounter, some media accounts, police statements, and the verdict itself essentially criminalized him, placing the blame for his death solely on his shoulders. The criminal justice system never addressed the fact that Zimmerman disobeyed the 911 dispatcher’s instructions, pursuing and confronting Trayvon and thereby setting in motion the fatal chain of events. No one considered that Trayvon, a kid followed by a persistent, unidentified man, might have feared for his own safety or felt the need to defend himself.
My friend’s sexual abuse by an adult relative went unreported until he was well into his twenties. When he finally, reluctantly told his mother, she refused to believe him. He went to the police only to discover that the statute of limitations prohibited criminal prosecution at that point. He stays away from family functions to avoid seeing his abuser and displays symptoms of manic depression, which resulted in two unfortunate encounters with law enforcement. His experiences have so far left him incapable of forming an intimate relationship as an adult. Due to a lack of health insurance and an inadequate safety net in the state where he lives, he had trouble obtaining the sustained, consistent therapeutic treatment he needs.
My friend permitted me to share these details in the hope that doing so will help others. Seven years after revealing the abuse, he is finally receiving assistance after calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline. Survivors of sexual assault can contact the Hotline at 800-656-4673.
No system or society can be made perfect, but they can be made better. We can ask our elected representatives to fix the holes in our societal safety nets and pass laws to ensure more just outcomes for all citizens. We can empower our social service agencies to be more proactive in reaching out to the victims of crimes and their families. We can teach our children to be accepting of those who are different and to help those who are in need. We can remember there is always hope, that we can grow stronger from our pain, that with love and support, we can rise up from even the worst of adversities.
More from Gene Gant
At nineteen, college freshman Mace Danner works as an escort, hiring himself out to customers who want a submissive they can dominate. Having no carnal urges himself, the sexual side of his job leaves him cold, but he sees the pain inflicted on him by his clients as punishment for causing his brother’s death when he was in high school. Pain is not enough, however, to wash away his guilt, and Mace starts binge drinking in an effort to escape his remorse.
The dorm’s resident advisor, Dex Hammel, sees Mace spiraling out of control and strives to help him. Despite the mutual attraction between them, Mace is disturbed that he still feels no sexual desire for anyone. Even with Dex’s support, Mace’s self-destructive behavior escalates, leading to a situation that endangers his life.
An entire life can be snatched away in an instant.
Thirteen-year-old Zavier Beckham is an average teen living in Memphis. He has great parents and a quirky best friend named Cole. He’s happy, and he thinks his life is totally normal… until an FBI agent shows up and informs Zavier he was stolen as an infant and sold to an adoption agency.
Now his biological parents want him back.
Forced to confront his distant past, Zavier faces an uncertain future. He may be taken from the only home he’s known by parents who are strangers living in Chicago. He may have to deal with a brother who hates and torments him. He meets Brendan, an older boy who offers him friendship and wakens a strong, unsettling attraction in Zavier. Brendan has secrets of his own, and he’ll either be the one ray of light in Zavier’s tense situation or the last straw that breaks Zavier under the pressure.
Gavin Goode, a promising high school athlete with good grades, forfeited his future when he joined a brutal street gang called the Cold Bloods. The gang’s leader, Apache, discovered Gavin is gay and framed him for murder. Now in prison, Gavin faces rape and abuse on a daily basis as gang members there attempt to break him. When his father is critically injured and Gavin reaches his lowest point, a mysterious ally appears. Cato is much more than the guard he seems. He has come from the future, and he possesses the technology to undo everything that’s gone wrong in Gavin’s life.
But meddling in the timeline has dire consequences, and Gavin faces an impossible decision: sacrifice himself and his father, or let thousands of innocents die instead.
Is there such a thing as caring too much?
Geordi never thought so. He knows he’s lucky to have progressive parents who support him after they discover he’s gay, but when his dad gets overzealous, things go downhill. Geordi’s friend Toff is not only hurt that Geordi hid his sexuality from him—he’s also been in love with Geordi for months. Rather than further damage their relationship, Geordi goes along with a romance he doesn’t feel. When things start to get physical, though, Geordi knows it’s time to be honest with himself and his friends, no matter what the consequences. A tragedy is about to strike, and Geordi, Toff, and their friend Jess will need each other more than ever. For Geordi to find his strength, he’ll have to first find the courage to chart his own course in life—outside the control of his parents or the pressure of his peers.
Reeling from his parents’ divorce, trying to care for his alcoholic mother, and ridiculed at school for being biracial, Brodie cannot afford to lose the only two people he has in his corner: his girlfriend, Fawn, and his best friend, Abel. But a family emergency takes Abel to another city, Fawn decides she needs time to herself, and Brodie is alone.
In his attractive new English teacher, Mr. Dakota, Brodie finds an unexpected ally. The young teacher is no stranger to betrayal and loneliness, and what begins as friendship soon becomes something deeper and more dangerous. Brodie’s new desires scare and confuse him, even if they’re not reciprocated. Overcome, he makes a choice that may ruin more lives than his own… if he cannot find the courage to stand on his own when doing so is the most difficult.
Readers love Gene Gant
Borrowed Boy
“It’s a very emotional read, but I found it worth every tear I shed.”
—Rainbow Book Reviews
A Love Song for Mr. Dakota
“I found it to be an honest story, it was not excessively dramatized, it had a balance and was really pleasant to read.”
—Diverse Reader
King Geordi the Great
“King Geordi the Great is a wonderful coming of age story that has just enough twists and turns to make it exciting and riveting.”
—Joyfully Jay
In Time I Dream About You
“It is gritty, unflinchingly honest, and yet allows for the dream of a better life to be realized in the end. It is an excellent novel that I recommend to you.”
—The Novel Approach
GENE GANT graduated from the University of Memphis. He has worked with the poor as a counselor for the state of Tennessee and as a corporate writer. He lives on a country lane outside Memphis.
By Gene Gant
Always Leaving
The Battle for Jericho
Bender
Borrowed Boy
Golden Like Summer
If You Really Love Me
In Time I Dream About You
King Geordi the Great
Lessons on Destroying the World
A Love Song for Mr. Dakota
Lucky Linus
The Supernaturals
NEEDS
Everything We Shut Our Eyes To
The Thunder in His Head
Published by HARMONY INK PRESS
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HARMONY INK PRESS
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Golden Like Summer
© 2019 Gene Gant
Cover Art
© 2019 Brooke Albrecht
http://brookealbrechtstudio.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Harmony Ink Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or publisher@harmonyinkpress.com.
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64405-290-7
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-289-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018966764
Digital published August 2019
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
Gene Gant, Golden Like Summer
