Owen has been struggling with addiction since he was a teenager, but it takes a DUI involving another vehicle for him to finally face his issues. The road to recovery is a rough one, and for Owen it's a journey made harder by bankruptcy, loneliness, and repressed memories.<br><br>His new apartment doesn't help either. It's small, worn, and hot as hell. The only way to reach it is a tedious stretch of stairs that seems like the final insult on top of a whole pile of misery.<br><br>Thankfully, the mess comes with one bright spot: intense, pretty Sebastian, who seems to have a knack for keeping his head up and finding the beauty in everything.

Forty-Two Stairs

Owen opened both hands in a mini-shrug and widened his eyes. “I’m not asking you to. I don’t want you to. That’s not what this is about.”


Eli sniffed and flicked paint chips. “Good. Because—”


Owen reached out and stilled Eli’s hand. “Don’t do that. It’ll make more rust.” He didn’t let go even though he could feel more tension in Eli’s muscles than he’d ever felt in Eli’s body before. “I just want you to know that I really, honestly, truly am sorry. I fucked up our lives big time. And I know it doesn’t look like it at the moment—” he waved his other hand towards the police station, “—but I really am trying to turn myself around.”


Chapter 28