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“You really should be back in Dayton, trying to work things out with Lexie,” Cody tells me.
“I will be. Soon.”
Though, I’m not sure there’s anything that’s going to work at this point. Right now, my focus needs to be on Cody and getting him the help that he needs.
As soon as Cody agreed to go to rehab, I reached out to my teammate Landon Sutton. He has connections all over the place, and I was hoping he would be able to help me get Cody into some place good so he can kick this shit once and for all.
As always, Landon pulled through, and today is the day that Cody enters the Restoration Rehabilitation facility. The best part is it’s only an hour away from my parents, which will make it easier for us to visit.
We’re in the living room saying our goodbyes when Luke and Char enter the house.
“Uncle Cody, Uncle Carter,” Luke shouts.
Cody’s body tenses the moment he lays eyes on Luke. I step between them, giving Cody a moment to get himself together and greet Luke with a fist bump.
“Mom said Uncle Cody is going on a trip for a while, so I wanted to say goodbye,” Luke says.
I nod and look back at Cody. He still looks unsteady as he stands there, rocking from foot to foot. He takes a deep breath and walks over to Luke, squatting down in front of him.
“Actually, Bud, I uh… I have a problem. I’m…”
“Sick,” Char supplies.
“Sick, and I have to go someplace where people will help make me all better. That way, I don’t do bad things anymore,” Cody tries to explain.
“You don’t do bad things, Uncle Cody.”
“If I wasn’t sick, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt, buddy. You wouldn’t…” Cody bursts into tears, his head resting on Luke’s lap.
Luke looks at Cody, confusion masking his little face. “I jumped off the top of the swing set instead of going down the slide like you told me too. It’s my fault.”
My heart breaks, watching my brother fall completely apart, so he can finally get better.
Char kneels next to them and wraps her arms around her brother.
“This isn’t your fault, Cody. It isn’t anyone’s fault. It was just an accident. A horrible accident. Why didn’t you tell me you felt that way? I could have told you…” Her voice trails off. “Things could have…”
“Rock bottom, sis. I had to hit rock bottom.” He looks at me. “And knowing that I hurt both of my best friends, that was it. I’m going to do this. I’m going to get better.”
“You better, we need you,” she says.
I glance down at my watch. “We need to get on the road,” I tell Cody.
“I appreciate it, man, but no. Mom and dad can drive me. I’ve already created enough of a mess for you. You don’t have…”
“Cody, stop. I want to do this. I don’t care about the press or any of that stuff. I am going to be by your side. End of story.”
“I don’t deserve to have you as a brother,” Cody says.
“True, but I got stuck with you, so…”
Cody gives me a playful push.
* * *
The rehab facility looks nice and from what Landon said, they have the best program in the area. Best of all, Cody actually has a smile on his face when we pull up.
The woman at the front desk takes us to his room and says that the head of the program will be with us shortly.
