Page 57 of Make Me Yours

Drake’s gaze softens with understanding. Deep down, he knows I’m right. Despite what I feel or don’t feel, Stella will never be for me.

“Zeke will let you out. He didn’t even want you to be a part of The Cobras in the first place.”

I shake my head defiantly, suddenly on the defensive. “I don’t want him to, Drake. It’s taken all of me to convince my uncle Zeke to let me in on his legacy. For years he wanted nothing to do with me, supposedly it was for my own good. Either way, he left me all alone in a foster house with strangers instead of keeping me at his side, instead of raising me to be a man. I don’t blame him for it. I wouldn’t want to take on a fucking weak, punk ass kid who couldn’t stand up to the beatings he endured from an old, dead-beat alcoholic. But he’s the only family I have left Drake. I won’t lose that over some pussy, no matter how tight and sweet it is.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it, Kai. You have all of us Graysons. We’re your real family, and as for Stella, she is a hell of a lot more than just a hot piece of ass to you. You may be too much of a fucking coward to admit it, but you know damn well that I’m right.”

Drake stands and pushes into me, taunting me, and trying to force me to react to his words. So I do, standing to his height, and pushing him back with my chest. “Yeah, you are right. I’m a fucking coward! A piece of shit bastard thanks to my old man and the hell he put me through. You think I want to be like this?” my voice gets louder, and I notice the heads around the bar turn toward us, some guys looking a little on edge as they watch us.

“Kai…” he pauses, a glimpse of regret passes through his eyes.

“The stuff you know about my past, Drake. It’s nothing compared to what it really was like. I envy you for growing up without your parents.” He huffs, anger radiating off of him as he stares at me without blinking. “Yeah, that’s probably a fucked-up thing for me to say, but it’s the truth. I would have given anything to watch my old man die right before my eyes, to watch his dead corpse rot and never have to endure one of his whippings again. You’ve seen the scars on my back, you know what I’m talking about. I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy.”

“Doesn’t mean you have to throw away your life because you think you don’t deserve to be happy, Kai.”

I chuckle, wondering when the hell did my brooding best friend become such a sentimental fucker. “That’s exactly what it means, Drake.”

Drake continues to shake his head in disagreement. “No Kai, trust me. Until recently, I had the same mentality. I would fight, beat the shit out of undeserving fuckers just to make myself feel good.”

“And what’s changed now, huh?”

“I don’t know, man, but…”

I place my hand on his shoulder. “There’s no use in trying to convince me, Drake. No good will come from being with Stella. Stephan will never allow it.”

“Man, fuck Stephan Silver!” he shouts, making more than the few heads who were already watching look in our direction.

“He’s a monster Drake. I think he has her threatened or something. You know how she gets when he’s around, the fucking anxiety pills he has her addicted to. Look what happened a few months ago when she passed out and nearly convulsed from mixing her meds with alcohol.” He nods, understanding where I’m coming from and reluctantly agreeing with me. “And I know you’ve seen them too, bruises she tries to cover up. I never realized it before. I’m not sure how any of us didn’t, but it all makes sense. She flinches when you get close to her. She always has this deadpan look like she dazed off. It’s all the telltale signs of abuse.”

I’m one to know. It’s everything I went through and worse. I feel a sharp sting in my gut, afraid he’s laid a hand on her in any other way, like my father’s girlfriend almost did to me. I don’t think I could stomach the truth about that.

“So, you’re just going to leave her there, and let her keep living in that hell?” Drake asks, but deep down I know he’s aware there’s nothing I could do.

“She’s better off than with me.”

“You’re a fucking moron, Kai,” he hisses, getting up and slamming his fists on the bar counter.

“It’s true. Stephan’s already threatened me and The Cobras’. Can you imagine what he’d do to her if he suspected we were together? I can’t steal her away, Drake. I wouldn’t be able to keep her safe, and he’d just snatch her back out of my arms. It’s best I stay away from her.”

Drake sits back down in indignation. “That’s some fucked up logic man, but whatever, I’ll drop it, but I’m telling you Kai, life’s too short.”

Then why does it feel like the longest damn thing?

---