"Darling, it's okay,"I say.
Courtney's tear-streaked face says otherwise. It's been two hours since I came home after she called, begging me to come instead of doing a show in Austin. And boy, am I glad I did.
Court grabs a bottle off the nightstand next to our bed, but I wrestle it away from her before she can open it and take more pills. Her doctor prescribed them to help with the nausea and sickness associated with her pregnancy, but now Courtney is too dependent on them. She is addicted, no matter what she may say.
"Courtney, you can't,"I tell her.
"Luke, I need them! Please! They take away the sickness..."
See what I mean?
"You need to get off them. It's hurting you."
"No, they're not, Luke."
I help her sit up and hold her hands, looking straight into her eyes.
"Court, remember when you accidentally overdosed and nearly killed the baby?"
"Yeah, but-"
"What if you die? I can't live without you."
"Yes, you can, Luke,"Coco sobs.
I hold her as she cries. I do my best to comfort her, but it's hard. Thank God Jude is asleep. I'm not sure how I'd take care of him AND Courtney. And speaking of thanking God, I know exactly what to do. I place Court on my lap and begin to pray.
"God, I thank you for this lovely day. Thank you so much for bringing me back to my beautiful wife. Help her,Lord. Help her to heal and get rid of her addiction. Please. I want her live free. Amen."
A horrible prayer, yes, but it works. I start singing "Shoulders" softly and by the time I'm done, Court's fast asleep. I lay her on the bed and tuck her in. After kissing her and her belly ('cause the baby), I lay down next to her and fall asleep.
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I stay home the next three weeks so I can take Courtney to therapy and watch Jude while she's gone. She's doing a lot better now, thankfully, and is off the pills.
But then she relapsed. Or so I thought.
"What are you doing, Court?"I exclaim one night.
Courtney is standing by the toilet, an open pill bottle in her hand. Before I can decide whether or not to tackle her and grab the bottle, Court turns to look at me. There are tears in her eyes.
"I'm burning my ships,Luke,"she says. "I'm gonna live now-with nothing holding me back."
And as she dumps the pills into the toilet and flushes them away, I believe her. Courtney has finally burned her ships.
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So how is it so far? Any advice to make it better? Because I'm seriously unhappy with the way my stories are right now.