“And I remember something else that I didn’t share with the group.”
Oh no.
“You likepreachedto me.”
“What?” Samantha cried as Carol chuckled.
“Yeah, you kept telling me that Jesus died on a cross to save my soul from hell.” Renae laughed. “I didn’t remember that you were drunk too. Do you always preach when you’re drunk?”
“I don’t know,” Samantha said slowly. “Maybe I thought we were both going to die.”
There was a brief lull in the conversation, and Carol said, “That makes sense, actually. If you thought she might die without knowing Jesus, it makes sense that you would try to lead her to salvation, even if you were hammered.”
Renae’s eyes flitted back and forth between their faces. “So you guys are like, what ...”
“Christians,” Carol said.
She raised an eyebrow. “Christians in AA? That’s rich.”
“There are quite a few of us,” Carol said without sounding offended. “Christians can get addicted just like anyone else.”
“Oh. Well, anyway, thank you. I can forgive you for the preaching since you saved my life.”
“You’re welcome. See you around.” Samantha turned to go, but Renae said, “Hey!”
Samantha turned back.
“Do you know who you left with?”
“Left where with?”
Renae’s expression grew somber. “You got into a pickup at the hospital. I think it was black. Not sure. Maybe blue. Anyway, you didn’t go into the ER with me. You left me by the door, and then some guy took you to his truck.”
Her stomach rolled. “Oh,” was all she could manage.
Renae gave her a small, understanding smile. “Yeah. Sorry. I thought you might want to know.”
“Anything else you remember about the truck?” Carol asked.
“No, sorry.”
Carol put her arm around Samantha’s shoulders and steered her toward the door. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.” Once they were outside and free of the small crowd, Carol spun Samantha to face her. “Don’t panic. If something really dramatic had happened, you’d likely remember snippets. Probably some nice man just gave you a ride home.”
Samantha wasn’t comforted. “You don’t understand. I woke up with her blood on me. It’s why I stopped drinking. Or it’s a big part of the why, anyway. I’ve been scared for weeks. Scared that I did something, that I hurt someone, or that I witnessed something.” She wiped at her tears. “And then poof! The mystery is solved and everything’s okay, and then poof, suddenly it’s not okay.” She took a shaky breath. She needed to stop feeling sorry for herself. She’d done this. She’d made her bed.
Carol put a hand on each shoulder. “I am telling you that nothing bad happened. God protected you. If something bad had happened with that man, you would know it. You might not remember it, but you wouldknow. Do you know what I mean?”
Samantha wondered if Carol was speaking from experience. “Okay.” Either way, Samantha believed her.
“Good girl. Now, you want to crash at my place tonight?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am. I promise. I’m too tired to drink.” She laughed weakly.
“No such thing. You’ll call me if things get squirrelly?”