I lurched up from beneath the covers, my body soaking with sweat and my clothes clinging to me. Glancing at the alarm clock, I noted it was only a quarter to four in the morning. Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I was really getting tired of these damn nightmares that forced me to relive my traumatic childhood over and over again. It seemed that their occurrences were more frequent then ever before. I was getting to a point where I just didn’t want to close my eyes to go to sleep.

Climbing from beneath the sheets, I pulled off my drenched undershirt and boxers and headed towards the bathroom. Feeling for the toilet in the dark, I took hold of my penis, aimed, and prayed that I would hit my unseen target as I fired and released the built up tension in my bladder attributed to my late night drinking. Hearing the breaking of water, I knew I had hit my mark. Shaking my penis to make sure I got rid of the excess urine that lingered on its tip, I headed towards the sink.

I rinsed my hands in the cold water, cupped them, and brought them to my face, letting its refreshing coolness relax my jumping nerves. Reaching under the sink for some mouthwash to rinse out the bile taste of my morning breath, I could swear that I heard noises coming from my bedroom. I waited a second to see if it was just my imagination and, not hearing any more noise, I proceeded to gargle. Then I heard the noise again but this time louder. Now there was no denying someone was in my crib. Slightly panicked, I tried to remember if I had locked the door when I had stumbled through it that evening after returning from the club. Not like it mattered now. Someone was in the apartment and I was going to have to go out there and deal with him or worst—them.

Butt-booty-naked, I crept out of the bathroom not sure if the intruder was armed or not. Part of me wanted to go back into the bathroom and hide in the shower; to wait until the intruder left. But then I heard my cousin’s voice in my head shouting at me: “Markus! What? Are you a punk now?” That was all the motivation I needed. There was no way in hell I was going to allow someone to come into my crib and strip me of my manhood without putting up a damn good fight.

As I tiptoed towards the guest bedroom, I turned on the light and stood in the doorway flabbergasted at what was before me…