Read Online Breaking the Cycle by Zane - Free Book Online

I’m not sure how much more Mom can take. The drugs turned you into a totally different person, and we weren’t sure whether you could change back. I know I had my doubts.”
    Hector hugged him again. “You won’t ever have to doubt me again, Son.”
    “I know that, but Mom needs to know that. She was the one much more hurt by you than me. I’m just a messenger. Don’t go back to the way you were, even before you got into drugs. A part of you was hurting even then. Losing your job didn’t make you turn to drugs.”
    “I know I must change, but it’s hard. I’m not sure talking will help.” Hector’s face twisted with confusion.
    “Prayer; therapy; Ms. Willis. Do something, because you don’t have much time. Before you know it, we’ll be gone and the time for healing will pass.”
    Steven turned away and walked back toward Michael. Hector reached out for him, stopping him. “Where are you going?”
    “It’s time for you to wake up, Dad. You have a lot of work to do, and only you can do it.” Hector pursed his lips to say something else, but Steven was gone.

    “Steven… Steven… Steven!!” Hector waited for his son to come back.
    “Wake up, Hector.” That’s what he heard repeatedly until he woke up and found Heather standing in front of him.
    “What happened?” Hector looked around frantically. “Where’s Steven?”
    “He’s still in the bed,” she said, pointing at Steven lying peacefully, the machines still monitoring his progress.
    “I had the weirdest dream. I saw Steven and we were talking like he was fine,” Hector explained excitedly, but his enthusiasm vanished when he noticed the tears forming in the corners of her eyes, flowing down her brown cheeks. “Baby, I’m sorry… I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done to this family. If it were up to me, I’d change everything. I want to make it right and get cleaned up, not just for my family but for me.”
    She moved out of his reach. “I hear what you’re saying, but how can we go back to the way things were? Of course, you know that this will take some time. It’s not an overnight thing,” she said, running her hands up and down her thigh nervously.
    “I know. That’s why I want to do counseling. Family counseling, anything I need to get my life together. I’ll be a hero and better father to my son, and a better husband to you,” Hector expressed, feeling revived, and willing to do anything to get his family back.
    “Give me your hands and close your eyes,” Heather requested. Hector obeyed. “Now, I want you to pray.”
    Hector sighed, hoping he was ready for the beginning of a new life. “Father, I come to You today to ask for forgiveness. Forgive me for every wrong that I have committed. I lay my life down to You because I’m lost. I need You to guide me along the way, to follow the path of righteousness. I would give anything to be with my family and to have my son back. Heal me; heal my son; heal my wife. I have done her wrong also. I pray that she forgives me, too. Help me to keep my promise to Steven. I don’t want to fail him again, or my wife. Help me to be a better man in Your word. A better father and husband. In Your name, I pray. Amen.”
    “Amen,” Heather said, opening her eyes, hearing a noise.
    Steven held out his hand to Michael, shook it firmly, and walked away. Heather and Hector both turned, facing Steven. They got up and went over to his bed. Steven’s eyes fluttered until they opened and he took in a deep breath. Steven’s mom had nearly fainted, but Hector caught her, encouraging him to return. Their son was awake. Whether Hector new it or not as he smiled at his son, he had saved Steven, by breaking the cycle.
    J.L. Woodson is an eighteen-year-old native Chicagoan, and a freshman at Fisk University majoring in English and Theater. The Things I Could Tell You!, his first novel, was penned for an English assignment and published when he was only sixteen years old. A keynote speaker for