Page 113
Story: Better Together
“I do. I haven’t always been a good guy, but just because I haven’t stolen or cheated doesn’t mean you’re worse than me. I’m not perfect, and neither are you. We’re the same.”
“We are not the same.”
“We’re the same, whether you want to accept it or not.”
Remi stared at Colt. His words were so final and full of truth. He really believed they were equal.
“I overdosed.” She hesitated, letting the confession sink in. “I almost died. I should have died.”
“No.”
Colt’s sharp retort didn’t phase her.
“Yes. I could have. I was supposed to come that close to death to see what could happen.” She stood and threw her hands in the air. “I could have died without knowing God. I could have died before I had another chance to make things right.”
Colt stood, squaring up with her. “You just said you had another chance to make things right. Why can’t you believe that it’s already happened?”
She looked up at him, and the fire left her. “I do. It just took a lot of convincing, I guess.” She took a few steps away and fought to sort out her racing thoughts. “When I woke up from the overdose, a woman was there. Kendra. She kept coming by my room, and she was so unbelievably nice! I hated it at first. Then, I wanted it to be real. She said the nicest things, and she asked me how I was doing. She seemed to really care.”
“And did she?” Colt asked.
“She did. She told me she didn’t have anything better to do than talk to me, but I found out later that she had a husband and kids who were about to give her grandbabies. She had a job. She had a life! And she was still hanging out with me.”
Colt rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Kendra from Deano’s Diner?”
“Yep. I found out later that she used to be me. She’d almost lost her life to drugs, but she turned things around. And I selfishly wanted that. She helped me get into a rehab, and by the time I got out, I believed I could beat it. That I could be like her.”
“I had no idea. She’s worked at the diner for as long as I can remember. She goes to church with Grady. Her kids are older than us.”
“She’s been clean for over thirty years.”
“And you?”
“Four. I’m still not convinced this dream life is going to stick.”
“That’s up to you. But the dream life is always there.”
“I get that now. Kendra read the Bible to me. Over and over. And it all went over my head at first. Then I started asking questions, and all of it seemed too good to be true. I’d never heard of any of it before. Forgiveness? Washing away my sins? Nothing could do that.”
“Except Jesus.”
“Except Jesus,” Remi repeated. “I know He forgave me for all that stuff, but I still forget sometimes. After all that praying Kendra did for me, I still stumble. A lot.”
“Welcome to the club,” Colt joked.
Remi rolled her eyes. “You always do the right thing. You have no room to talk.”
“The fact that you think I’m infallible is ridiculous.”
“I want you to do something wrong for once just so I can know you’re human.”
Colt shook his head. “Give me time. I’m bound to screw up.”
“Screwing up ismyjob.”
Colt pulled her into his arms, and she rested her cheek against his chest. The comfort of this home–where her body and soul belonged–soothed all of the old wounds.
“If we mess up, we mess up together,” Colt whispered.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113 (Reading here)
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134