บททั้งหมดของ A BEAUTIFUL KIND OF WRONG: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 20

CHAPTER ELEVEN:Owen had been at the private practice for three weeks when he was assigned to the new client.His name was David. Twenty-eight. Dark hair. He sat in the chair across from Owen's desk with his hands folded in his lap, waiting for permission to speak."What brings you in?" Owen asked."My boyfriend," David said. "Or my ex-boyfriend now. I'm trying to figure out if I made the right choice."Owen kept his expression neutral. He'd learned to do this years ago. To listen without reacting. To hold space for other people's pain without letting it become his own."Tell me about it," Owen said.David took a breath. "We've been together for two years. He has a son from a previous relationship. The boy is seven. His ex-wife left the state, so my boyfriend has full custody. He's a single father working two jobs to pay for his son's school and his apartment. He's exhausted all the time."Owen wrote a note. Just the word "custody" to keep his hands busy."I love him," David continued

CHAPTER THIRTEENOwen drove to Roots at 7:00 a.m.The restaurant wasn't open yet. The lights were off. The door was locked. But Owen knew Lucas would be there. Lucas was always there before dawn, prepping for service. Cutting vegetables. Making stock. Building the day from nothing.Owen parked and went around to the side entrance. The one he used to use when he worked there. The door was unlocked. Everything at Roots was unlocked during prep. Rosa trusted the neighborhood. Lucas trusted the people who came through that door.Owen went upstairs first. The apartment was empty. Bed made. The kitchen is clean. There was no sign that anyone had lived there anymore. He came back down and went to the office in the back.That's where he found them.Lucas and Mercer. Against the wall. Lucas's hands on Mercer's face. Mercer's hands in Lucas's hair. Kissing like they knew exactly what they were doing. Like this wasn't the first time.Owen stopped moving. Stopped breathing. Just stood in the door

CHAPTER FIFTEENLucas sat in his car for twenty minutes before he could make himself go inside the apartment.He'd been living in his car for the past week. Parking in different neighborhoods so no one would recognize it. Sleeping in the back seat. Showering at the gym before opening the restaurant. Rosa thought he was sick. Carla thought he was working extra hours. The truth was he couldn't be anywhere. Not the apartment above Roots where every corner reminded him of Owen. Not his sister's house where he'd have to explain. Not anywhere.Mercer had been relentless. Texting. Showing up at the restaurant. Telling Lucas that Owen was weak. That Owen had abandoned his clients for a fantasy. That Owen needed to be forgotten.And Lucas had let him say it. Had let him touch him. Had let him kiss him in the office because it was easier than thinking about the fact that Owen had sent fourteen messages and Lucas couldn't bring himself to answer even one.He'd read every single one."We need to

CHAPTER SEVENTEENOwen's birthday arrived on a Tuesday.Sarah had planned a dinner. Just the two of them at a small Italian restaurant downtown. She'd made reservations weeks ago, before everything fell apart. Before Owen had accepted the Portland job. Before Lucas had shown up and torn open every wound Owen had spent two weeks trying to close.Owen dressed in the clothes Sarah had laid out for him. Dark shirt. Good jeans. He looked in the mirror and tried to recognize the person staring back at him.Sarah picked him up at seven."You look miserable," she said as he got in the car."I feel like I'm leaving something behind," Owen said."You are," Sarah said. "You're leaving this city. You're leaving your past. You're leaving Lucas."Owen didn't respond. He just looked out the window as Sarah drove.The restaurant was crowded. Couples. Groups of friends. People celebrating. The hostess seated them at a table by the window. Sarah ordered wine. Owen ordered water."Drink the wine," Sarah

CHAPTER NINETEEN:The call came at 4:00 a.m.Carla was crying. Her words were fast and fragmented. Marco had a high fever. He was unresponsive. She'd called an ambulance. He was on his way to St. Catherine's.Lucas was out of bed before she finished talking.Owen was already getting dressed. They didn't discuss it. They just moved with purpose toward the door.The hospital was fifteen minutes away. They arrived before Carla did, rushing to the emergency department and demanding information about Marco. The receptionist told them he was being assessed. They'd have to wait.Lucas paced. Owen sat in the uncomfortable plastic chairs watching him move back and forth, back and forth.Carla arrived twenty minutes later, her nurse uniform still on from her night shift. Her face was ashen."He's had a seizure," she said, sitting down hard. "I went to check on him before bed and he was burning up. By the time the ambulance got there, he'd already had one.""What are they saying?" Lucas asked."