Drake nervously bounced his leg as they waited for the doctor to come into the room. There’s something wrong. It shouldn’t be this hard. His mind raced, eyes frantically darting around the room. It’s barely been three months, but something just felt off. He couldn’t explain it even to himself but he knew in his bones something was missed.
Rebecca leaned over, her hands taking his. “Drake it will be okay.”
Drake jumped as he turned towards her, his hair wildly unkempt, dark circles under his eyes. “You don’t know that! You should be pregnant by now!”
“Drake, it takes time, you know that.”
He wrenched his hand from hers. “I know that Allen, and I know I said the same exact thing to you, but I shouldn’t have. I should have listened to you.” He ran his hands through his hair, making it stick out more. “I think something is wrong, I think the doctor did something to me.”
“Drake, why would the doctor do that?” She internally sighed, he’d suddenly become more paranoid over the last few weeks and she didn’t know how to help him. Olivia said his mother had a mental illness, maybe it’s that? She knew she should tell him to speak to someone but she didn’t want to make him spiral further by going too far when he already felt the weight of the works on his shoulders.
“I don’t know. I just know everyone is looking at me and laughing because I can’t do one thing.”
“Drake…”
“Duke and Duchess Walker.” Doctor Ramirez greeted with a small smile. “I have some answers for you.”
“Okay.” Rebecca said, her heart felt like it froze in her chest.
“As you know we sent your samples in under a pseudonym to prevent the press from being able to try to buy any information.”
Rebecca nodded, Drake wrung his hands in his lap. Just spit it out! You mangled me!
“Well it turns out that there was a patient with a similar name was tested by a different office at the same lab and they mixed the results up.”
“Okay. What’s the problem?”
Just spit it out woman and stop putting the blame on someone else you know exactly what fucking happened!
“I’m afraid Duke Drake, is and has been sterile from the beginning. I’m so sorry to put you through such an unnecessary procedure, there is no way it would ever have helped.”
Rebecca gasped, reaching for Drake’s hand, only for him to pull it away. “So that’s why I can’t get pregnant?”
How could I be sterile? Liam said this is the best doctor in Cordonia! How could she mess up something so simple?!
“Correct. You are still perfectly healthy Duchess Rebecca, you just would need a donor to become pregnant, I am so very sorry for the mix up.”
Rebecca turned to Drake. “Drake are you okay?”
Drake glared at the doctor. Why won’t you just admit it?“I’m fine.” He growled as he stood so abruptly the chair fell back.
“Drake.” Rebecca called after him as he stormed out of the office. She turned back to the doctor. “We don’t blame you. I guess we will be in touch when he’s come to terms with things.”
“Of course.”
*
Drake walked into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him, nearly hitting Rebecca who was trailing behind him. She flinched as the door came at her, barely catching it with her hands. He doesn’t mean it, he’s upset. “Drake will you please talk to me.”
“Why? So you can just keep telling it’s all in my head?” He sat on the side of the bed holding his head in his hands. “No thanks, I’m good.”
“I didn’t say it was all in your head, I said there was no reason to think Dr Ramirez would purposely sterilize you.”
“So I must be crazy? Right?! Poor crazy sterile Drake who can’t even do the one thing asked of him to make fucking amends!”
“Ohmygod Drake will you please stop acting like you owe Liam!”
“Fine!” He stood shaking his head. “I need a damn drink!”
“Drake.”
“What Allen? What could you possibly have to say to make me feel better?” He opened the bedside drawer, pulling out a bottle of whiskey, he brought the bottle up to his lips taking a long sip of the amber liquid.
Why the hell is he so angry and paranoid? She blinked back tears. “Drake what’s really bothering you? That you let Liam down or you let me down?”
“I let myself down! I’m never going to be a fucking father!” He took another sip, begging the liquid to burn away the truth.
“What are you talking about Drake? You will still be a father, they will still grow up knowing a caring loving father who wants to make things as normal as possible like taking them camping and fishing.”
“But they won’t be mine!” His hand ran through his hair, surprise etching upon his face as a clump came back with his hand. What the fuck? I’m not drunk enough for this shit!
She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “What does it matter what dna they have?”
He gave a flat laugh. “You don’t get it, do you? You think this is all about what I owe Liam but I also have to prove myself. I’m just the commoner, the king’s friend. I have no business being a duke and everyone knows it. There was one thing I could do that no one could take away from me, I could give Cordonia it’s next king or queen, but I can’t even do that! Don’t you see this will just prove to everyone that I don’t belong!” They already knew. I could hear the whispers and see them pointing. He turned, shrugging off her arm, his eyes flashing dark with anger as he brought the bottle back to his lips for another sip. “And to top it all off my wife can’t even be fucking faithful and goes off fucking the man she turned down!”
Rebecca was stunned, the words hitting her as though he’d slapped her across the face. “What the hell are you talking about?” How could he even think that?
Drake narrowed his eyes glowering at her. “You know exactly what I’m talking about! I smell his cologne all over you, all over the duchy.”
Tears streamed down Rebecca’s cheeks. How can he think so little of me? Her body shook as she tried to stop the sobs from spilling from her throat. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you Drake but I haven’t been with Liam since Vegas. He hasn’t even been in the country for most of the past month, a fact you know.”
Drake rolled his eyes, grumbling when he tilted the bottle up and found it was empty. He dropped the bottle to the ground. Where the fuck is another bottle? He crossed the room rifling through the bar cart until he located another bottle. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s out of the country. We both know he wouldn’t go anywhere without his whore.”
Rebecca’s lower lip trembled as sadness morphed to rage. She walked up to him, slapping him hard against the face.
“What the fuck Allen?” Drake exclaimed cupping his stinging cheek.
“Don’t you ever call me a whore again!”
“Why the hell not?! That’s what you are isn’t it? The king’s whore! I’m not sure why you turned him down when you’re still fucking him all the time!” He spat.
She pulled back her hand preparing for a second slap. She shook her head, allowing her arm to drop to her side. “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this. When you can actually listen instead of raving like a crazy person let me know.”
Drake scoffed. “Yup that’s me, poor crazy, sterile commoner trash Drake.” He shook his head. “I need to get the hell out of here, feel free to call your boyfriend!”
*
Drake sat in his truck staring out the windshield. He wasn’t sure what was going on anymore, it felt like everything was unraveling around him and he couldn’t make sense of what was happening anymore. Was she right am I losing it? He hit his hand against the steering wheel. What the fuck am I even doing here?
He’d slowly been becoming more paranoid, though it all seemed to come to ahead today. How could I be sterile? Confusion overtook him. He brought the bottle up to his lips. This will numb me, make all the pain go away. He knew he wasn’t cut out for this life, that’s why he always turned Liam down when he offered to make him a Duke. He could hear everyone laughing at him, pointing at the dumb commoner who couldn’t hack it as a Duke. He turned the keys in the ignition. I need to get away. He sat the bottle on the seat next to his phone, wildly flashing as call after call came in. Fuck her, fuck him, fuck them all.
*
Liam looked down at his ringing phone, smiling when he saw her name appear on the screen, the picture she took at the Eiffel Tower smiling back at him. “Hello?”
“Liam?! Have you heard from Drake?!” Her panicked voice coming through the speaker.
Liam sat forward. “Rebecca? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. We found out some bad news today and he completely lost it. He’s been talking crazy lately but this is the worst I’ve seen.” She sobbed. “He was drinking, and—and he just left.” She paused, the silence thundering in his ears. “Liam, I need your help. I’m scared, I don’t know where he is, I’m worried something happened to him.”
She knows she can always count on me…
A/N: just incase it isn’t clear Drake did drive drunk, I just couldn’t write it having lost someone to a drunk driver, even hinting at it was rough, but for once my muse was kind to me and let me off easy.
Please please please don’t ever get behind the wheel intoxicated it’s NEVER worth it!
