Page 43 of Full Throttled

My mind is foggy, but it registers the dip in the bed. The sound of quiet crying. I sit up and take in my surroundings. Drake’s scent invades all of my senses. I look down and even the dark of the room I know the softness of Drake’s long sleeve Henley t-shirt. I crawl over to his sitting form. “Drake, I’m here,” I whisper into the darkness. His shoulders shake, breaking my heart in turn. This is bad. I already know what he’s going to say before he says it.

“She lost the baby. She’ll be okay physically, but she looked so vacant and lost. Jagger is so angry. He literally put his hand through the window of their car. He had to be stitched up.”

My heart clenches and aches for them both. They were always amazing people and parents. Their love showed and I hate that right now they are having to go through something this awful. “They’ll get through this. Why don’t you shower then come lay down?”

He nods and I climb off the bed and go into his bathroom and start the shower. Drake always liked a scalding hot shower, so hot that it leaves your skin red. I turn it on and let it warm up. He comes into the bathroom. His eyes are red rimmed but he smiles when he sees me in the light. I pull at the hem of his t-shirt. It barely reaches my mid-thigh and suddenly I’m uncomfortable in so little clothing. He reaches for my hand and laces his fingers through mine. “Don’t pull at it. It looks good on you.”

I step forward and wrap my arms around his shoulder and capture his mouth with mine. He drops the clothes in his hands onto the counter and wraps his arms around me. The kiss becomes consuming in an instant. My nails dig into his collarbone as his tongue meets mine. His hands roam my body before reaching down and latching onto the back of my thighs. He picks me up before depositing me onto the bathroom counter. My blood rushes through my body as my heart pounds in my chest. I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him as close to me as possible. When his mouth moves down my neck, leaving a trail of heated skin, my breath hitches.

Drake pulls away, resting his forehead against mine. Our chests rise and fall rabidly. “I’m sorry.”

“Please, don’t be sorry,” I beg him.

He buries his fingers into my hair and pulls slightly to get me to meet his eyes. I don’t want to because I’m afraid I’ll see regret etched into his face. “Zoey, I’m not sorry for that. I want that, but not like this. I would be using you as an escape and that's not fair. I don’t want it to be like that between us, okay?”

His words lick at my old scars, making them feel better than they have in a long time. I nod my head. “Okay. I’ll let you shower.”

“I’ll be to bed soon.” I nod and leave out of the steam filled bathroom. When I crawl between the sheets, they feel cold against my heated skin. My eyes grow heavy and by the time Drake crawls into bed beside me I’m nearly out. I feel his arm wrap around my waist as he pulls me into him. He presses a kiss to my shoulder before I slip back into sleep.

****

My mind is disoriented as the sleep still hides around the foggy corners of my mind. The warmth next to me causes my eyes to jolt open. I look over and see Drake. His face looks peaceful at the moment, the sadness etched into it last night, is not visibleright now. His arm is draped across my stomach, his large, strong hand gripping my hip. The sense of comfort I find in this position is not lost on me. The sun peeks through the blinds. It’s still early.

A thought enters my mind, and I slowly and reluctantly move out from under Drake’s grip. I quietly move around the room, picking up my clothes and his phone, I slip out into the bathroom and get dressed. I check his phone to see what time his alarm normally goes off. I still have thirty minutes before the time that he would normally get up. I turn the alarm off and make my way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. I look at the contents in the fridge and cabinets. I pull out ingredients. I start to make breakfast for us. When I check the time again, I notice it’s close enough to time to wake up Aubree.

I walk into her room and kneel down beside her bed. “Good morning, Aubree,” I say, as I shake her lightly.

She yawns and rubs her sleepy eyes. When they finally open, I see a bright smile on her face as she registers that it’s me. “Zoey!” She throws her arms around my neck. I hug her back as my heart grows more for this little girl. Aubree pulls back. “Wait, where’s my daddy?”

Her face falls and I can tell she’s scared. “He’s fine, I promise. He’s asleep. Your daddy had a rough night and I was going to get you ready for school and what not before we wake him up, if that’s okay with you?”

Aubree nods. “That’s okay with me.”

“Good. How does chocolate chip and banana pancakes sound with bacon?” I ask her, as I wiggle my eyebrows in her direction.

She laughs. “I’ve never had that before.”

“What?” I ask, with over dramatic flair. “You’ve never had the goodness that is this breakfast? You have been missing out.”

“Can Jack come too?”

I stand up and reach for her hand. “Well, of course. I was hoping he would.” Aubree smiles and grabs Jack before taking my hand and letting me lead her to the kitchen. I sit her at the breakfast nook that looks out the window before sitting across from her. She takes a small bite of food. “How is it?”

Aubree claps her little hands together. “So good!”

The rest of breakfast is quiet as we eat. Once it’s done, I tell Aubree to go brush her teeth and then I’ll be there to help her get dressed. I rinse the dishes and place them in the dishwasher before heading down the hallway to her room. “So, are you ready to get dressed?”

“Yeah, give me the boring clothes.” She pouts for a minute and I can’t help, but laugh to myself. Once she’s dressed, I slip a headband into her hair to help control her curls.

“Why don’t you get your backpack ready and I’ll go wake up your dad, so he can tell you bye before we leave for school?” Aubree nods and disappears into her room. I go back into Drake’s room and sit on the bed before running my nails up and down his bare back. He rolls over and his sleepy eyes find mine. “Good morning.”

Drake darts into a sitting position. “What time is it?”

I pat his shoulder to calm him down. “It’s okay. I let you sleep in. I made breakfast and got Aubree ready for school. Your breakfast is on the stove. I was going to take Aubree to school if you’d like but if not there’s still time for you to get dressed and take her yourself.”

“Zo…,” he says my name, like it’s an answered prayer.

Aubree comes bouncing into the room. “Daddy!” She quickly climbs up the bed and into his outstretched arms. “Zoey made the best breakfast ever and she made my hair look so pretty. Can she take me to school today?”

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