Broken Beautiful Hearts(71)

The tree house is nestled among three huge oaks. It’s small with a flat roof, but branches and vines have grown around the outer walls, and now it looks as if it’s part of the forest.

Owen’s dad nailed four logs onto a tree trunk to serve as steps. Owen is right. It’s not very high. The platform is just above his head.

Owen hops onto the first step and offers me his hand.

“I can’t climb up there.” If my knee gives out or I miss a step, I could end up in even worse shape than I am now.

“I’m not asking you to climb.” He’s still holding out his hand.

“Are you gonna lift me up with your Superman arm and set me up there?” I ask.

“You’re such a smart-ass. Hop on my back. I’m gonna carry you up.”

I take a step back. “No, you’re not.”

Owen jumps down and kneels in front of me. “Just hop on my back. It’s four steps.”

I don’t move. After watching Owen pin Ricky Dios and put him in a chokehold, I think he’s strong enough to carry two of me.

He looks up at me. “I’d never let anything happen to you.” The way he says it makes it feel as though he’s talking about more than just carrying me up the steps, and it gives me goose bumps in a good way. “Trust me, Peyton.”

He doesn’t know what he’s asking. How impossible it feels to trust any guy after what happened with Reed.

But things are different with Owen.

We’re friends, and my friend Owen won’t drop me.

“Okay. But if you drop me, I will kill you.”

Owen motions for me to hop onto his back. When I wrap my arms around his neck, it changes things. He hooks one arm under my leg. “Okay, ready?”

It takes him less than two minutes to pull us up the steps, but it feels like forever—and not because I’m afraid I’ll fall.

We reach the platform and he sets me down, so my legs are dangling over the edge. It isn’t high, but it must have felt like a tower when he was a kid.

Owen dusts himself off and ducks through the doorway. “You coming?”

I follow him inside.

The tree house is one huge room with two open windows, and right now it’s full of leaves. I would’ve loved this when I was younger—having a place that was all my own.

“This is amazing.” I turn in a circle and check out the space.

Owen’s initials are carved next to the door, above NO GIRLS ALLOWED.

I tap on the words. “I’m not supposed to be in here.”

Owen looks me in the eye. “You’re an exception.”

Coming up here was a mistake. I can’t stop looking at his mouth, and all I can think about is the way it felt when he kissed me. If I didn’t need his help to get back down, I’d take off right now.

Owen sits on the floor and pats the spot in front of him. “Come on, have a seat. This is as good as it gets.”

From where I’m standing, it looks pretty good. I sit in front of him, and it’s impossible to ignore his big brown eyes.

He’s quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry if I scared you last night.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay. And I wish you’d told me.”

Owen leans forward and rests his hands on my hips. With what seems like no effort, he gently pulls me forward so we’re practically nose-to-nose.

“You’re the first person I’ve ever wanted to tell. Only a few people know about my condition—my parents, my doctors, and now you.”

He must be exaggerating. “What about your friends?”

Owen shakes his head. “Nope.”

“Why didn’t you tell them?”

He looks away. “I didn’t have any symptoms as a kid. Then two years ago, I had an … attack. Everything changed overnight. The doctors wanted me to stop kickboxing and wrestling, and I was spending more time at their offices than at practice. So I quit the wrestling team. I started avoiding my friends. I didn’t want to tell them what was going on. That’s why Titan has a problem with me. We used to be friends.”

“Really?” I can’t picture Owen and Titan hanging out.

“Titan wrestled, too. When I quit, he took it personally. He said I bailed on the team. He was right.”

“You should’ve told him why you quit. You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about,” I say gently. “Lots of people have asthma.”

“The type I have isn’t common, and I have to manage it. I wasn’t used to having any limitations, and suddenly I had tons of them. The last thing I wanted to do was tell my friends and get stuck answering a bunch of stupid questions.”

“Maybe they wouldn’t have been stupid?”

“I guess I was scared,” he admits. “I didn’t feel like myself anymore.”

“I get it.” I feel that way all the time now. “But Cutter and Lazarus must know?” I can tell from his expression that he hasn’t told them. “Cutter is your trainer. She shouldn’t be in the dark.”

“Cutter might not look at me the same way if she knew. I know you don’t understand, but it could change things.”

He’s right. I don’t understand. He’s taking unnecessary risks with his life because Cutter and Lazarus might see him differently?