Loving Drake (5 page)

Authors: Pamela Ann

BOOK: Loving Drake

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My response made her smile. “Ah, that’s true… but you know what? I don’t care.” She kept on smiling with those evil, crimson-tinted lips of hers. “You need to watch out—I’m sure his parents pushed him to marry you. I mean, he asked me to marry him when he found out I was pregnant with his baby.” She shrugged. “He won’t stay in the long run… he’s one of those guys that are hard to tame. He might be crazy about you now, but the moment you become pregnant, he will withdraw from you immediately. So watch out, that’s the only advice I can give you.”

I saw red. “Oh, so you’re giving advice now? You don’t know Drake!”

“You don’t know him, either! Stop deluding yourself. You’re merely a filler, just like the rest of us, so stop acting like you’re so fucking special,” Shannon fought back.

The hate spewed out of me, taking hold of me. “Get. The. Fuck. Out!” I screeched at her. “Get out before I drag you out by your hair, bitch!” I was shaking with rage. God help me if she wasn’t planning to leave me alone that instant.

She glared, flashing me her hateful eyes, huffing before finally turning to flounce out the door without looking back at me.

Bile surged into my mouth immediately. Placing a hand over my mouth, I ran towards the bathroom, needing to wretch every God awful thing Shannon had brought back from seeing her. Flashes of the incident almost a year ago played in my mind.

Drake being placed in the ICU speaks volumes about how serious his condition is, but I have to be strong. I need to see him. I have to or I will go crazy.

When we get to the private lounge, Hugh and Patricia look worse for wear. It takes me about ten minutes to convince all of them to go home and get some rest. I want to be alone when I see him. I want to spend time with him.

I still myself before I enter his room. I’m not prepared to see the state that he is in.

Drake has tubes around his mouth, his head is wrapped with a bandage and his complexion is pale and ashen. I sag against the closed door frame as I watch the up and down bleeping of the monitor and his breathing ventilator as that too, eerily moves up and down. My tears instantly pool in my eyes as I slowly walk towards his bed.

“Drake,” I whisper chokingly as I reach for his lifeless hand. I stroke it lightly, hating the cold feel of it. “It’s Lily. If you can hear me, I beg you, don’t leave me like this.” I wipe the tears that fall down my face. I want to say more, but I start to bawl hard.

I think I hate myself more for being so selfish with him the last couple of weeks. All that wasted time, for what? Because I was hurt before? Now that there’s a big possibility of him dying, I don’t think I can forgive myself for wasting the precious time that I could’ve spent in his arms because I was being selfish.

I clutch his hand, hard. My heart lurches when I hear an alarming sound.

The sound of death.

It’s the flat line sound of the heart monitor. It takes me a good second to realize what’s going on.

With hot tears in my eyes, I stare at his hand, and then back to the monitor. Then, I scream for help. I know the nurses were alerted the second his monitor went flat, but I’m not prepared for the commotion that rattles into the room. Six nurses and a male doctor come in with a rush. The doctor is barking frantic orders as the Defibrillator is being prepped for use. They open his gown at his chest and place a good amount of gel before the doctor uses the paddles to attempt to resuscitate Drake back to life.

I’m against the cold hospital wall as I watched it all in horror. I think half of me dies when the doctor yells, “Clear.”

I close my eyes as my tears fall down my face. I pray, drowning the rushed scuttle of their voices and movements, not wanting to hear any of it as they try to bring his lifeless body back to life.

“Please, please! Hear me. Give Drake his life back. Don’t take him from me. I love him. Please . . . Hear me . . .”

I tense when I feel a strong hand on my arm. “Mrs. Tatum?” I don’t even think to correct him that I’m not Mrs. Tatum because I wish I was now.

My misty eyes flutter open and connect to the worried face of the doctor. How I wish I was now. Fuck! My stomach drops.

“No! NO! NO!” I scream and fall on the floor when my legs give out.

The doctor and a couple nurses help me into the chair. “He’s alive. We managed to bring him back. The nurses will be back to check again with his progress and get more scans from him.” I merely nod in my dazed state.

When they’ve all left, I stare at Drake’s body. I’m scared to reach out and touch him, just in case he dies again. I don’t think I could endure it if he dies when I touch him a second time. So, I stay in my seat, on edge. After an hour of nurses going in and out of the room, they wheel him out to get CT scans. I didn’t realize I fell asleep until a stranger’s voice wakes me.

“Miss Lily?”

I blink a few times before I focus on the warm smile of the nurse before me. When she sees my questioning look, she smiles wider. “He’s awake. He’s been asking for you.”

I suddenly stand up and look over. When the nurse leaves, I slowly walk over to the bed.

“Drake?” I shakily whisper his name.

Drake slowly turns his head, groaning. “Lil,” he mumbles without opening his eyes.

He’s really awake! My Drake is awake!

In that instant, I go and cry on his chest. Bawling and howling my sorrows. “God, I’m so sorry for being so awful. I’m sorry.” I slowly lift my upper body, scolding myself for being stupid. His chest is probably hurting after what it has gone through, my heavy head doesn’t need to add to the problem.

“Shhh, don’t cry, Babe.” Drake slowly lifts his eyelids, his eyes a little glazed over.

“I’m sorry.” I sniff and give him a smile.

His weak hand reaches out to me and cups my face as he slowly wipes my tears away. I close my eyes, loving the brush of his hand on me. “I love you, Lil. It was the only thing I could think about before the car crashed. I was thinking that I didn’t get the chance to tell you how much I love you.” His voice is paper-thin and hoarse.

I hold his hand against my face and kiss it. “I love you, Drake. I have never stopped loving you. When I spoke those words eight years ago, I meant them. It hasn’t changed.”

He gives me a weak smile before he closes his eyes. “Stay with me, please? I want you close.” Drake lightly coughs, his breathing ragged.

I wouldn’t dare move even if the President asked it of me. “Always. I will be here, next to you.” I pull a chair up and place it next to his bed. I hold his hand the whole time while I watch him breathe in and out.

Once in a while, Drake squeezes my hand, but keeps his eyes shut. I bet the drugs they gave him are powerful. Whatever helps him rest and heal.

Emotionally exhausted and pregnant, it doesn’t take long for me to fall asleep with his hand against my cheek.

“Lily, Are you okay?” Masie knocked before letting herself inside. I was hugging the toilet seat as if my life depended on it. “Want me to call Drake?” She crouched next to me, caressing my back.

I shook my head. There was no need for him to be alarmed. I didn’t want him to worry. I had it under control.

“I’m okay.” When she didn’t look convinced, I tried again, “I promise, Mase. The second I feel that I’m not, I’ll call him myself. Okay?” It wasn’t anything… it was
someone
. Shannon was a vile human being. Why had she come back anyway? To fuck with my head? I was certain that had been her purpose.

She gave in. “Fine.” She looked worried, but she was obviously willing to let it go. “If you’re sure…”

“I am.”

She hesitated before opening her mouth again. “I could take you to the doctors, too, you know.” Her reassuring smile made me feel grateful to have her as a friend. “After Drake’s accident, I know you don’t want him to worry. So if that’s the reason for you not going to the hospital, I can go in his place and be your person.”

“Thanks, Mase—really—but I’m good. Seriously.” I was about to get up when I heard my phone ring in my pocket. Reaching for it at the same time I wiped my mouth with a towel, I glanced down at the caller ID, indicating Drake.

“Hey,” I weakly greeted.

“Hi.”

The second I heard his voice, I knew this wasn’t one of his “don’t forget to eat” kinds of calls. “What’s wrong?”

“Dad had a stroke.”

Oh, no, not Hugh.

“I’m on my way over.” The weakness I had felt before vanished and was replaced with alarm and shock.

Drake gave me the hospital name. He was there with his mom, and my own mother was on her way as well.

Memories of my dad were brought to the surface along with more recent ones… The most frightening of all were the images of Drake, broken and bruised, telling me that I should name our baby with his last name. Losing our child haunted me… but that memory of Drake had scarred me for life.

Shannon and her vile visit was tucked somewhere in my brain. I was aware that the time would come that I would have to revisit it again. For now, however, I needed to focus on our family.

The dizzy spells came and went as I drove towards the hospital. I kept reminding myself to eat in the cafeteria and hunt down some ibuprofen for the splitting headache that had also sprouted out of nowhere.

Once I was parked, I rushed into the building towards the emergency unit. Drake and Patricia were both seated, hands intertwined as if in prayer. Both looked up when they saw me, but they didn’t say much. They looked grim, and the sinking feeling it gave me only worsened my headache.

“Thanks for coming,” Drake said as I sat next to him, kissing him on the cheek.

I didn’t need thanking. Hugh was my family, too. “He’s going to be okay, babe.”

He nodded like he was trying to believe my words.

“He will. Just keep on praying.” I reached out for his free hand, squeezing it.

He gave me a sad smile. “The last time you said something about a prayer was in this very same hospital.”

Goosebumps spread all over my body like wildfire. I hated thinking about it, yet being here—the smell of antiseptic, the coldness and the unhappy faces around—brought everything out.

“I know.” I knew we both were haunted by it.

“Thanks for loving me, Lil. It was you who I decided to fight—to live for. You.” He kissed my hand.

We barely spoke about that time. It was hard for both of us. I knew it was taking a lot out of him to tell me that, especially when his dad wasn’t out of danger.

“I’m always going to be here. Count me in for forever.”

Looking at the future at that moment seemed so uncertain, especially since we were in the hospital again. It only proved that life was short. No matter what happened the next day, I knew Drake and I would be okay as long as we remained true to each other.

Just like he’d said, he lived for me, and I lived for him. It was as simple as that.

~~~

Loving Lily

Drake & Lily’s Final Novel

Coming Soon

Read A.G. Liam’s new novel, Dark Incidence coming out in March…

OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR:

**** The Torn Series Order ****

1) Scornfully Yours (Emma #1)

2) Scornfully Hers (Carter Mason Novella)

3) Frayed (Trista)

4) Blasphemous (Emma #2)