hell down at Roxy’s, drinking and playing pool. Molly is at the bar with another girl. The friend leaves and this big dude comes up to Molly and starts yelling at her, causing a scene, but the music’s too loud and Owen can’t hear what they’re saying. I didn’t really give a shit and kept playing pool against this other guy.
“So the guy leaves Molly crying at the bar. Owen goes over to see what happened. The next thing I know, he’s dragging the guy out the front door. I look back at the bar, and Molly’s tears are all dried up, and she’s got this smug smile on her face. Only one reason a woman looks like that: she’s just played Owen. Her friend returns and says something. Molly says something back and the friend gets pissed and runs for the front door. I chased after her, but too late to stop Owen.”
Brody sucked in another deep breath and sighed it out. Owen wished Claire hadn’t asked. He hated going back to that night more than Brody hated telling the story.
“Owen confronted the guy in the parking lot. He accused the guy of hitting Molly in the stomach until she ‘lost the baby.’ The guy denied it, pissed off Owen would even suggest such a thing. Drunk and angry, he threw a punch at Owen, barely catching him when Owen ducked out of the way. Owen came up fighting and clocked the guy, breaking his jaw. Drunk, in a rage, Owen tackled the guy and beat the living hell out of him, until I caught up to him and pulled him off. Owen broke three bones in his hand, but the guy ended up in the ICU for a week and the hospital another five days.”
Claire’s gaze fell on him, but he couldn’t look at her. He sat quietly contemplating the moisture dripping down his water glass, seeing nothing but his bloody hands and the guy’s pulverized face.
“I make Owen take a seat on the curb. Molly’s friend is screaming and cussing, leaning over the guy, crying, ‘No, no, no.’ She jumps to her feet and runs over to Owen, standing over him demanding to know why he’d beat the guy half to death when he’d done nothing wrong.
“Still pissed off, Owen jumps up and gets in her face, saying Molly told him what he did to her. The friend gasps, put both hands over her mouth, then explodes with a string of swear words I won’t repeat in polite company, and tells Owen Molly is a lying bitch. She took Molly to the clinic a week before to abort the baby. The guy somehow found out and confronted Molly at the bar, pissed she got rid of his baby.”
“He was a good guy who wanted his child, and I beat him half to death because that lying, cheating bitch played me,” Owen spat out, still pissed about the whole damn thing.
Claire looked across the table at Rain and asked her, “Did you just hear the same story I heard?”
Rain smiled and nodded, knowing something Owen couldn’t figure out by Claire’s tone.
“Yes I did.”
“I thought you were going to tell me the worst thing he ever did,” she said to Brody.
“I just did.”
“Let me get this straight. The worst thing he ever did was defend a woman he believed to be innocent by beating the shit out of some guy he thought hit her when she was pregnant with his baby.”
“Yes, but it was a lie and the guy was innocent,” Brody clarified.
“Yes, I get that, but Owen didn’t know that. He didn’t do it for no reason.”
“It doesn’t matter why I did it, the guy almost died,” Owen snapped.
“I take it the cops came. What did they say?”
“The other guy threw the first punch. Owen got off on the fight, but they took him in for drunk and disorderly after he went to the hospital for a cast on his hand,” Brody said.
“Still, it sounds to me like the worst thing you ever did shows your true character better than anything.”
Owen scrubbed his hands over his face, wishing he never gave Brody permission to tell her the truth about him. He might have gone his whole relationship with Claire without her finding out his true character. He’d spent
“So the guy leaves Molly crying at the bar. Owen goes over to see what happened. The next thing I know, he’s dragging the guy out the front door. I look back at the bar, and Molly’s tears are all dried up, and she’s got this smug smile on her face. Only one reason a woman looks like that: she’s just played Owen. Her friend returns and says something. Molly says something back and the friend gets pissed and runs for the front door. I chased after her, but too late to stop Owen.”
Brody sucked in another deep breath and sighed it out. Owen wished Claire hadn’t asked. He hated going back to that night more than Brody hated telling the story.
“Owen confronted the guy in the parking lot. He accused the guy of hitting Molly in the stomach until she ‘lost the baby.’ The guy denied it, pissed off Owen would even suggest such a thing. Drunk and angry, he threw a punch at Owen, barely catching him when Owen ducked out of the way. Owen came up fighting and clocked the guy, breaking his jaw. Drunk, in a rage, Owen tackled the guy and beat the living hell out of him, until I caught up to him and pulled him off. Owen broke three bones in his hand, but the guy ended up in the ICU for a week and the hospital another five days.”
Claire’s gaze fell on him, but he couldn’t look at her. He sat quietly contemplating the moisture dripping down his water glass, seeing nothing but his bloody hands and the guy’s pulverized face.
“I make Owen take a seat on the curb. Molly’s friend is screaming and cussing, leaning over the guy, crying, ‘No, no, no.’ She jumps to her feet and runs over to Owen, standing over him demanding to know why he’d beat the guy half to death when he’d done nothing wrong.
“Still pissed off, Owen jumps up and gets in her face, saying Molly told him what he did to her. The friend gasps, put both hands over her mouth, then explodes with a string of swear words I won’t repeat in polite company, and tells Owen Molly is a lying bitch. She took Molly to the clinic a week before to abort the baby. The guy somehow found out and confronted Molly at the bar, pissed she got rid of his baby.”
“He was a good guy who wanted his child, and I beat him half to death because that lying, cheating bitch played me,” Owen spat out, still pissed about the whole damn thing.
Claire looked across the table at Rain and asked her, “Did you just hear the same story I heard?”
Rain smiled and nodded, knowing something Owen couldn’t figure out by Claire’s tone.
“Yes I did.”
“I thought you were going to tell me the worst thing he ever did,” she said to Brody.
“I just did.”
“Let me get this straight. The worst thing he ever did was defend a woman he believed to be innocent by beating the shit out of some guy he thought hit her when she was pregnant with his baby.”
“Yes, but it was a lie and the guy was innocent,” Brody clarified.
“Yes, I get that, but Owen didn’t know that. He didn’t do it for no reason.”
“It doesn’t matter why I did it, the guy almost died,” Owen snapped.
“I take it the cops came. What did they say?”
“The other guy threw the first punch. Owen got off on the fight, but they took him in for drunk and disorderly after he went to the hospital for a cast on his hand,” Brody said.
“Still, it sounds to me like the worst thing you ever did shows your true character better than anything.”
Owen scrubbed his hands over his face, wishing he never gave Brody permission to tell her the truth about him. He might have gone his whole relationship with Claire without her finding out his true character. He’d spent
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