Nate looked at me like I’d slapped him.
Then he did something I didn’t expect.
He looked at me the way he used to.
Before the hospital.
Before any of it.
“Laur,” he said.
“Please.”
“Tell him.”
“Tell him it’s not worth it.”
“He’ll listen to you.”
Everyone was looking at me now.
Owen by the door.
Nate by the wall.
Marcus by the elevator.
Two secretaries peeking out of an office.
For seven months, every person in my life had decided what I could handle.
Now they were all waiting for me to decide for somebody else.
I could have done it.
One sentence.
Owen would have walked away.
Nate would have kept his secret.
Everything would have stayed buried.
Nice and quiet.
Like clean scrubs folded on a shelf.
“No,” I said.
Nate’s face fell.
“It’s not my decision, Nate.”
“And it’s not yours.”
“It never was.”
I turned to Owen.
