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He knew full well why he’d lashed out so terribly at Addisyn. Because she’d been right. He did have a secret.
And because of that secret, he’d hidden from God. Crashed his Olympic career. Lived a purposeless life. And now, he had lost the woman of his dreams.
The pain struck him with an intensity that took his breath away. He stuffed a fist in his mouth to stifle the sobs. What was he doing, falling apart like this?
Everything was coming down, the walls he’d so elaborately constructed crashing down in his soul. He was done with the lying and hiding and pretending. He didn’t care anymore. If he could only talk to his grandpa. He’d tell him everything.
He stared at the picture again. Suddenly another face came to mind—Terry Williams.
At first he dismissed the idea. Absurd. But slowly it gained force.
Terry had offered to talk with him. Terry was a man of strong faith and unspotted character. Terry was compassionate and kind.
Terry was the closest person to Grampy.
With the force of light breaking over the predawn earth, Darius realized what had to happen. No matter what it cost, he had to break free.
Not giving himself time to think about it, he grabbed his cell phone and shot Terry a text.Is your offer still good?
In less than thirty seconds a reply swooped onto the screen. My offer???
Darius typed back simply,To talk.Then waited.
Yes!!! Where u at, man?
Are u at the center?Darius was shaking with the sudden urgency, the need to tell someone the thing he had never wanted to tell anyone.
Yes, want to come here?
Yes.Darius looked at the simple reply a moment before sending it. He was committed now. No turning back. After today, he wouldn’t be able to pretend anymore.
Maybe he was crazy. Maybe that loose something in his brain had finally snapped all the way. But as he grabbed his car keys and sprinted out of his house as if something was chasing him, he had the strangest feeling. It took him all the way into the car and out of his driveway to diagnose it. Because he hadn’t had it in so long.
Hope.
He swerved into the stream of traffic and drove steadily, his gaze fixed straight ahead. He was about to do the craziest and most wonderful thing he’d ever done.
He was going to find God. Because if redemption was still possible for Darius Payne, he wanted it more than he wanted his next breath.
THE CLIMBING CENTERwas humming on a Tuesday afternoon, but when Darius stepped inside Terry’s office, the soundproof walls made it seem as if they were the only two people in the world. Terry was waiting behind his desk. “Hey there.” His smile was completely warm and open. No indication that he resented being interrupted in the middle of a busy workday. “I’m glad you texted me.” He indicated a chair. “Please, sit down.”
How he managed to awkwardly perch on the edge of the chair, Darius didn’t know. Now that he was here, what was he going to say? His heart hammered so hard it hurt.
“Um...let me just say...I’m scared to death.” Darius tried to laugh, but his chest was too tight.
Understanding washed over Terry’s face. He leaned forward, giving Darius his full attention. “Look, whatever you want to tell me, it’s okay. Like I told you—” his voice reverberated with a compassion that couldn’t be artificial—“I’ve got your back.”
Darius hadn’t been going to cry. But something in Terry’s tone reminded him so much of his grandpa. His eyes burned, and he pressed the palms of his hands against his face, totally embarrassed. “Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “I—I—” The words sounded dumb, but he said them anyway. “I need to get free.”
Terry smiled. “Free is good. And—” he looked Darius straight in the eye. “Free is scary. Am I right?”
“Yes, sir.” Darius gathered all his courage and burst forth. “I used to go to church. I led a youth group.”
Terry’s eyebrows raised, but he displayed no other visible sign of surprise. “Didn’t know that.”
“Most people don’t.” Darius knew he was traveling the long way around to get to the real issue. “My grandpa was the pastor.”
“That’s neat.” If Terry was wondering where Darius was heading with all this biographical data, he didn’t show it. He seemed completely accepting and infinitely patient. “Which church was it?”
