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Chapter 41
Remy
A few weeks later, Remy shut off the car and rushed through the summer rain. Andre had texted her that it was urgent that she get over to the Hope Facility where they were working. Her texts asking if Mikel was okay went unanswered. Her stomach knotted with nerves as she opened the front doors, escaping the rain. Wiping the droplets from her face, she walked inside to the main room as a familiar voice spoke.
“I grew up a lot like you guys. My mom committed suicide when I was a kid. My dad was a mean drunk who was abusive … in every sense of the word.”
The man she loved stood in front of a large group of kids, his life story pouring from his lips. His eyes met hers, surprise painting his features. He cleared his throat. “After he was gone, I got hooked in with some bad people. I became a runner in high school for a drug dealer.”
She shivered at the reminder of Joe Canoby. He was a monster, and she was glad he was safely locked away from society; from her family.
Mikel shifted his gaze down. “I did a lot of things I’m not proud of to survive. Eventually, I started using myself. Just a little something to numb the pain and make life a little more tolerable.”
Remy took a seat in one of the empty chairs in the back, listening intently as her boyfriend continued.
“I met this amazing girl. I fell in love, but because of my addiction, I ruined that too.”
Her heart squeezed as she wiped away a tear.
“I abandoned her when she needed me most, and I went on a bender. I tried to kill myself. For some reason, I woke up. Then I spent the next five years volunteering in third world countries, building schools and hospitals. I met someone there who helped me see life as a gift rather than a curse. I learned I wasn’t too broken and damaged to be loved. Everything I have been through in life shaped me in some way.” Mikel took a breath as his gaze swept the crowd of teens.
“Sure, I was bruised and dented. Chipped at the edges and cracked. But, that didn’t mean I was broken. I wasn’t unfixable if I was still breathing.”
Remy inhaled as his words stirred an aching gratitude in her chest.
“Coming from the life I lived gave me a unique understanding of people and pain. I had a choice, just as you all do. I could let it consume me, and remain someone who spread that pain. Or, I could choose empathy and gratitude. I have a lot of privilege to be thankful for that most people in the world don’t have.” Mikel tapped his heart with his finger. “I needed to work on myself. First and foremost, I had to learn to forgive myself and then love me.”
Remy wiped away the tears streaming down her face. Pure adoration and pride exploded in her chest like fireworks.
“Did you get the girl back?” one of the kids asked.
Mikel met her eyes as he smiled. “I did, and I’m working my ass off every day to be a man who’s worthy of her so I can keep her.”
He was so vulnerable now, nothing like the guarded man who’d kept everything to himself and been closed off from everyone. There was no more distance, only connection. No more doubt, only hope and belief. Only forever.
