by JR Thompson
“Brock, please. I’m begging you. I need this.”
“If I whipped you right now, it would be abuse. I am so enraged that I would not be able to deliver only the discipline you deserve. It would be far too severe. I do have to notify the police, Titus. It’s my moral duty. Surely you know that, right?”
Titus shuttered. “I know, but if it’s okay I’d like to talk to the Russells and my folks first. And then I’d rather turn myself in. Is that okay?”
Brock was too stunned to speak. Slowly, he nodded his head. Titus wrapped his arms around him and extended him a small hug before heading out the door.
40: Change Of Heart
Collin met Titus halfway up the driveway. “I already told Remington he’s not ever going to be allowed to spend the night with you. If that’s what you’re coming to ask, forget it.”
“No, sir. I came over because I have something I need to say to you and your family. Can we go inside?”
“Are you planning to side with them? Saying I need to be institutionalized?”
“No, sir. It’s about the store. I know who burned it down.”
“Who?”
“I’d prefer to tell all of you at one time. Can we please go inside, sir?”
With that, Collin turned and headed toward the house with Titus following close behind.
Inside, Collin hollered for Remington and Alayna to join them in the living room. “Titus here says he knows who burned the store,” he growled.
“I do, but if you all don’t mind, I’d like to back up a little first.”
“Keep it short,” Collin insisted.
“Actually, Remmy, would you like to tell ‘em about what happened that day down at the construction site? The thing about me and Scottie and about how I dragged you into something?”
“I thought you told me—”
“Never mind what I said. I was wrong. Either you can tell them or I will.”
Collin and Alayna exchanged expressions of concern.
“One day,” Remington began, “Titus and I made a bet. To win, Titus made it look like Scottie threw a temper tantrum so he’d get a spanking. Then, that night, since I lost the bet I sneaked out of the house. Titus and I drank some beer and well… I’m sorry.”
“Let me get this straight, son,” Collin replied. “You watched Titus trick Brock into spanking Scottie for something he didn’t do and you didn’t come to Scottie’s defense? You allowed him to get in trouble for something you knew he didn’t do?”
“I’m sorry, Dad. I wanted to tell you about it, but—”
“I told him not to,” Titus interjected. “I convinced him it would only cause more harm than good.”
Collin could not even begin to hide his anger. “And you drank beer? At your age? Son, you know better than that!”
“It’s not his fault,” Titus said, coming to his defense. “It’s mine. I’m the one who pushed him into doing it.”
“He has a mind of his own,” Collin retorted. “Yes, Titus, you were wrong. You had no business taking our son out in the middle of the night. I trusted you. But Remmy knows right from wrong and he could have said no.”
“Dad, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I know what you’re going to be thinking after Titus leaves. You’re going to be thinking you don’t want to sit down for a while.”
“Sir, please,” Titus begged. “It was my fault. Please don’t take it out on Remmy. I’ll gladly take his punishment.”
“You leave my parenting decisions up to me. I’m his father and believe me when I tell you he’s gonna get what he has coming to him.”
“But sir—”
“But nothing. Okay, let’s move on. What happened to the store?”
Titus hung his head. “I knew you had found Scottie close to the store earlier that day so I… I framed him. I lit it on fire and then planted a pack of matches in his pocket.”
Collin jumped to his feet and ran at Titus. He stopped when their noses were about two inches apart. “You burned our livelihood? I ought to skin you alive!”
Alayna grabbed the back of Collin’s shirt. “Calm down, honey. Let’s call the police. We have a confession. They’ll take it from here.”
“You don’t have to do that. I came over here to tell you because I’m turning myself in.”
“Get out! Get out of my house right now!” Collin ordered.
Cautiously, the repentant teen stepped backward until he got out the front door. He closed it behind him and started down the walkway.
“Please Dad… I’m sorry!” he heard Remington yell before it sounded like a belt was being used for something other than holding up someone’s pants.
Great, Titus told himself. Now because of me, two different kids have gotten their behinds wore out, while nobody’s laid a hand on me. I’m pathetic.
He broke into a jog, hoping not to hear any more of the whipping than was absolutely necessary.
When he got back to the Pearsons’ house Brock, Victoria, and Scottie sat on the couch motionless — not even glancing in his direction as if they were afraid of him. Titus picked up the phone and called his folks.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, bud. How are things going?”
“Not so well, Mom. Is Dad there?”
“He is. What’s the matter?”
“Can you put me on speaker phone?”
His mom obliged. “Mom, Dad, I have something terrible to tell you. I know you’re gonna be ashamed of me and I’ll understand if you never want to speak to me again.”
“What’d you do?” his dad asked.
“I... uh… well… lots of things, Dad. But the worst part is committing arson.”
“Arson?” Heather shrieked. “I better sit down.”
“What do you mean? I want details, son,” Fred spoke firmly.
“I… um…,” Titus’s voice cracked. “I burned down some buildings. One of ‘em was a church.”
“You burned a church?” Fred sounded furious.
“Not all the way to the ground. I lit it on fire though. Dad, I’m soooo sorry.”
“So what are you gonna do now, son?”
“I’m getting ready to turn myself in.”
The phone went silent. What was there to say?
“Well… Mom, Dad… I love you both. And I’m sorry. I know I let you down. Bye.”
With that, Titus hung up the phone and broke down in an uncontrollable sob.
Victoria stood up and hugged his neck. “It’s gonna be okay—”
Before she could say another word, a knock came to the door. It must be the police. Somebody snitched before I could turn myself in, Titus fretted.
The door burst open before they had time to answer it — it was Ericka. “Titus! You’re still here. Have you told them yet?”
“Everybody but the cops,” he told her, still crying.
“Titus, before you call them, there’s something you need to know. I have been praying and praying. I’m pretty certain God is telling me something.”
“Like what? That I’m a complete idiot and you should never speak to me again?”
“No! That you’re growing up. That you’re maturing. That even though you did some horrible things, you’re serious about turning your life around and living for God. Titus, I believe you’re going to be locked up. I have no idea for how long, but I want you to know this. I’m going to be praying for you every day. And I’ll come to visit you whenever I can. And… I’ll wait for you.”
“You’ll wait for me? What does that mean?”
“I mean, I’m not going to see any other guys until you get out of jail. I’m starting to think you might just be the right guy for me.”
Titus couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You deserve somebody a lot better than me,” he told her. “You shouldn’t have to waste your life waiting on a jailbird. You shouldn’t have to suffer because of me.”
“God wants me to be patient and longsuffering. If you’re the rig
ht guy for me, you’re worth the wait.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Police cars swarmed the Pearsons’ street. Six officers made their way to the porch where Titus was waiting. “Put your hands where we can see ‘em,” one of them shouted.
Scared out of his mind, Titus raised his arms high in the air. “I’m unarmed,” he announced.
The officers approached cautiously and began frisking him. “He’s clean,” one of them told the others.
Another officer placed him in handcuffs and read him his rights.
“TITUS, I’LL WAIT FOR YOU!” Ericka cried, running out of the house behind him.
Preorder Terrors of Troy, the next book in the Harmony Series
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The third book in the Harmony series is scheduled for release in February of 2018.
Terrors of Troy: Despair is Inflicted
If you are enjoying this series and are considering purchasing another book by this author, be sure to check out Revenge Fires Back.
Author JR Thompson is active on social media. To learn more about him and his writings, please check out his website at www.jrthompsonbooks.com
A PERSONAL STORY FROM
AUTHOR JR THOMPSON
My life has been filled with many trials and victories. I was born prematurely with a lot of health problems, but the grace of God kept me alive.
When I was four years old, our church was having a revival service and an evangelist asked if anyone in the crowd was interested in getting saved. I raised my hand, but I was such a little guy the preacher man didn’t see me. When we got home from church that evening, my dad sat me down and asked me some questions trying to see if I had matured enough to understand the whole concept of salvation. Once he determined I got it, he read me some passages of scripture and then asked me to pray by repeating his words. Something like “Dear God, I know I’m a sinner and I believe Jesus died for my sins. I believe He is Your Son, that He died for me, and that He rose again three days later. I would like to ask Jesus to come into my heart and save me. Amen.”
That happened on a Saturday night. The next morning, we went to church and my parents asked me to tell my Sunday School teacher what had transpired the night before. So, I did.
In grade school, I was not the most popular kid there ever was. Kind of clumsy, shy, not very athletic, and somewhat on the nerdy side. Somewhere around the fourth grade, I began taking my Bible to school with me. I read it on the bus and during any free time I had during class. It sometimes opened the door for me to have conversations with my classmates as they would ask me why I was reading the same book every single day. Unfortunately, those conversations never led to anyone receiving Christ as their Saviour.
By the time I hit sixth grade, the idea of fitting in was becoming more appealing to me. To impress my classmates, I began using foul language. Then I learned that if I made fun of other people, it helped take the attention off of myself and it kept me from being the target of ridicule.
That continued into middle school. I began hanging out with the wrong crowd — people who smoked cigarettes, experimented with marijuana, and engaged in inappropriate romantic relationships. No matter how hard I tried, I could not fit in. There was something about me that was different, even though I had no idea what that was.
In high school, I was still somewhat of a misfit. I became a part of a small clique and in that clique, we didn’t like anyone who wasn’t just like we were. Somehow our tiny circle of friends were the only people that mattered to us.
We intentionally provoked others to anger. We did a lot of things I’m still ashamed of to this very day.
When I turned sixteen, I started working at my first job in the evenings after school. The next thing I knew, I developed a crush — on a nineteen-year-old who was already unhappily married to someone else. We didn’t date or anything, but we did take our lunch breaks together — including going out to eat. I never saw anything wrong with it… that is, until the one evening when she said “JR, duck! There’s my husband!” We were riding in her car and she was scared to death of what her husband might do to either or both of us if he saw us out together. That’s when it hit me. Even though we weren’t dating, I was playing with fire and could easily have gotten burned.
My mom had a Christian novel laying around the house and one afternoon I picked it up and read the back cover. I wasn’t much of a reader, but the book captured my attention. I began reading and the next thing I knew, I was hooked.
Somehow, God spoke to my heart as I read that novel. I began feeling like something was wrong inside of me. At work one afternoon, I told my crush that I was seriously considering trying to change the way I talked. To this day, I remember her response. “You wouldn’t be anywhere near as funny if you didn’t cuss.”
Not too long after that, the company I worked for got bought out and all of the employees were let go. I was devastated. I loved my job and I adored my co-worker. What I didn’t know was that God was protecting me from ruining my future. I needed to lose that job, whether I knew it or not.
I continued haphazardly reading my mom’s novel and one day something really clicked. My soul was in trouble. Something was wrong. Really wrong.
Without saying a word to anyone, I locked myself in my bedroom and knelt down on the floor. I cried out to God and told him I wasn’t sure if I was really saved. What kind of a Christian would use foul language, lie, skip church without thinking twice about it, and take part in a whole host of activities he shouldn’t be without thinking twice about it?
I apologized to God for the way I was living my life. I told Him I remembered repeating some words after my father when I was a little boy, but that I wasn’t sure if I had really meant those words when I said them. I was doubting my salvation like I had never doubted it before.
I told God I knew for certain that He was real. I knew for sure Jesus was real. I knew I was a sinner who deserved to die and spend an eternity in Hell.
Then I said something like this, “God, I don’t know for sure if I got saved when I was a four-year-old little boy or not. I might have and I might not have. If I got saved when I was little and I have been living the life of a hypocrite, I am sorry. You have been so kind to me and I have taken that kindness for granted.
“But God… if I didn’t truly get saved, I am ashamed of myself. I don’t want to go to Hell. I want to know that when I lay my head on my pillow each night, I don’t have to fear dying in my sleep and going to Hell. Lord, please save me. Please give me the strength to live for You.”
I’ll tell you one thing, something happened that day! My life has never been the same since. I still don’t know for sure if I got saved when I was four or when I was sixteen or seventeen. But I know I’m saved. I know God did a huge work in my heart and He has carried me through many storms and many trials of life. Oh, what a difference He made in my life.
So why am I sharing all of this with you? Because I realize someone might be reading this book who has never truly accepted Christ into their heart. If that’s you, I would like to encourage you to give your heart to the Lord.
There aren’t any magical words you can say that will get you into Heaven. Let me show you, using scripture, how easy it is to get saved.
The first step is realizing you’re a sinner. I have met people who believe they’re going to Heaven because they haven’t murdered anybody. B
ecause they’re generally good people. But the Bible says every human being who has ever been born has sinned.
Romans 3:10 “As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one.”
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Once you realize you’re a sinner, the next step is understanding that sin has a price that has to be paid.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
In other words, for sinning we deserve to die spiritually. We deserve to spend an eternity burning in Hell.
The price paid for sin can either be paid by us spending all of eternity being tormented or we can accept the gift God gave us. The gift of His Son dying on that cross of Calvary for our sins.
Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
You know what? God didn’t have to send Jesus to die for us. But He did! He made a way for us to go to Heaven when we had no way of getting there. Look, Jesus already died for you. Are you going to allow His death to be in vain or are you going to accept that He suffered that cruelty because of the love He has for you?
To accept the free gift of salvation God is offering you, simply call upon His name, ask Him to forgive your sins and save you… and He’ll take care of the rest.
Romans 10:9-13 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”