Chapter 29: Cold Turkey
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Alex's hands shook as he took his coffee from the counter. He reached into his pocket for a cigarette and his lighter. The coffee burned his tongue and he spit it back into the cup. Finally, he eased down into one of the easy chairs. Best thing about this coffee shop, he thought. He searched his other pocket for the cigarettes. None. His hands shook even more. Man, this isn't much better than...I don't even want to think about it. The bell to the shop tinkled and Cody walked in.
"Hey Alex, how are you?"
"Cody, I'm doin' all right. Cold, but all right. How's about you?"
"Same." She walked over to the counter, ordered her drink and came to sit beside Alex.
"Is something wrong?"
Alex sighed. "I, I can't find my cigarette or lighter." He looked up and shrugged.
"Can't help ya there pal. Now as a friend, I have to ask you, why on earth do you smoke?" Cody asked.
His ears turned red, but before he could answer the lady called out Cody's order and she hopped up to get it. The bell tinkled again and Xander Collins entered.
Please God, I'm so tired, just let him go away, Alex pleaded.
"Alex.... what a pleasant surprise."
"Hello Xander." Alex tried not to look too disgusted.
"Alex, is this a friend of yours?' Cody asked taking her seat again.
Alex pinched the top of his nose and squinted his eyes. "Cody," he said with some effort. "This is Xander Collins, I knew him back in Denver."
Xander reached into her mind. If Dakota's been here he'll be in her mind. I just have to find it.
Cody extended a hand and Xander shook it. She noticed that something bothered Alex but with his obvious frame of mind, it did not seem the best time to ask. "Nice to meet you," she said.
"And you," Xander said. "Are you one of Alex's new girlfriends?"
Alex wanted to throw up. Could things possibly get any worse? Dakota's gone M.I.A., Cody's asking questions, and Xander Collins is every where I turn.
"Excuse me?" Cody's eyes shot to Alex. "One of Alex's girlfriends?"
"Yeah, is she Alex?" He couldn't shove aside her new angry thoughts about Alex.
Alex licked his lips. "I'm done with that Xander. I've turned from that road." He said.
"Oh c'mon Alex, you and I both know you can't change. So tell me, what is Cody?" Xander said. He caught the picture he wanted. Dakota stood in her memory, but only for a brief moment, for all the powers of thought were turned on Alex.
"Cody's a....."
Xander and Cody both looked at him waiting for an answer. More than anything Alex wanted to say 'my one and only girlfriend' but after Xander's comment he didn't know if she wanted to be that.
"Friend...for now." Alex looked down at his feet, trying to avoid Cody's stare.
Cody and Xander leaned forward to make out the last words.
"Sure. Listen to me Cody, you watch out for this guy. He's acquired quite a reputation over the last few years for being, oh how do I say it kindly? Somewhat of a womanizer."
Alex had had enough. He stood and walked outside. The wind blasted him as he made for his car.
Why God, why? Why did I make those mistakes? Mistakes I can never take back or fix.
His throat tensed so that he could barely breathe. He fumbled for his keys, but his frozen fingers had a hard time bending.
"Alex!"
His head dropped. Great, he thought as he turned to face Cody. "Yeah?"
"Do you not trust me?" She asked.
"What?"
"I'm not going to just up and listen to a person I just met over you, Alex," she said, the wind blew her blond hair about her face causing her to look something like an angel. "I'll hear your side before I do that."
"All right, let's get in my car, it's cold out here," Alex said. He felt strangely warmed by her trust, and that warmth gave him a new drive to continue on his new path.
Cody climbed in. It's gonna be something I don't want to hear, I know it, she thought. Lord, please help me to be discerning and merciful. "Well?"
Alex rubbed his red eyes. "It's not much of a story. All there is to tell is that when I moved to Colorado I decided that I'd...I don't know. I just started playing up to the girls. I realized that if I said and did the right things they'd sort of...eat out of my hands. As I got older I started dating two or three girls at a time, and I was good at it, none of them ever knew."
He paused and Cody watched his face. His eyebrows neared his sad eyes and his jaw muscles tensed. The last time Cody had seen that look was when his dad accidentally ran over his pet dog Moochy.
"But...it didn't stop there....it got worse. I won't go into any detail, but let's just say I'm not at all proud of any of my actions. I also got real into drugs..." He had to stop. All the memories came overflowing into his brain. All the girls, all the pain. His father. It felt as if someone had sucked all the air out of the car. Cody put her hand on his.
"What happened?" She asked. "You said that you turned from that road."
Alex sighed. "Well, God decided to kick me in the teeth. On the way to one of my track meets...my dad.... got into a car crash and...you know." he stopped again and swallowed. "I couldn't believe that it had happened.....and I was really mad so I got worse. Then, Dakota decided we needed to have a talk. He knew how much I was hurting and so he told me...how do I say this without sounding corny? Ok, there's no other way t' say it. He told me about Christ. I'd heard about Him and what he did all my life because my family went to church, but I guess....I don't know.... God wanted me to really hear it this time."
Cody waited for Alex to go on, but he stayed silent. "Is that when you changed?"
Alex stared at the steering wheel. A new look had washed over his face. He still looked penitent, but something like a light had appeared where despair had been before. "Yeah, it all happened at the beginning of the summer so for the next few months I went cold turkey on the drugs...and girls. For a while there, I really thought I was going to die, it was not fun, but, I know it was the right thing to do." He paused again. "I understand if you don't ever trust me again, but that's the story anyway."
Silence filled the car.
Alex stared at Cody. She bit her lip and clasped her hands together hard. After a while she sighed and looked up. "I won't deny, that well..." she sighed again. "I'm not gonna look at the old you, but the new you." Cody struggled and smiled. "I have to go..."
"All right, I'll see ya later," Alex said. I hope.
Cody stepped out of the car and shut the door. Then she watched Alex drive away.
