20. A Meeting Of The Minds
Chapter twenty
A Meeting Of The Minds
Stanley
A few days later…
This is the first time Drake has ever missed work. Not since he came down with a terrible flu a few years ago. With Edward being off-duty, Drake’s nurses looked to me to figure out what was happening. I had no excuse to give them, of course, and told them I would look into it.
Hence why I’m standing outside his apartment door.
I jab my thumb against the doorbell several more times, hoping that if he’s asleep, he’ll eventually hear it and come to the door.
No such luck. So I do the next best thing.
I slip an old and expired credit card into the seam of the door and wiggle it a bit until I hear the loud thunk of the lock being undone.
A quick glance down either side of the hallway reveals that no one else has seen my little act of “burglary.”
“Drake?” I call out. The first thing I notice is that the place is a mess, which is out of sorts for him.
Despite his line of work, he likes to keep his place tidy.
It gives him a sense of control, so he’s said.
Something he can keep in line and keep predictable.
So I know something is very wrong when there’s an overturned lamp, a few unopened bills on the floor, and a half-filled plate of food sitting on the coffee table.
“Drake!” I cup my hands around my mouth this time. Maybe he’s in the shower?
There’s no running water the further I step into the apartment. At least most of the mess has been confined to the living room, making it easy to navigate the rest of this place.
No body in the tub. No bloody corpse in the kitchen with a knife protruding from its chest. No crumpled heap lying at the bottom of the four stairs leading to the laundry room.
Where the hell is he?
I pause and backtrack when I notice a pile of sheets and blankets on the floor, looking vaguely human-shaped. On further inspection, I can see a leg poking out of one side. I roll my eyes and prepare myself for whatever chaos I’m about to find.
I drop to my knees and peel back the covers. There Drake lies, fast asleep, drooling on himself, and an empty pill container on the floor, a few inches from his open hand.
Goddammit.
“Drake. Drake.” I shake him hard by the shoulder. Nothing. I roll him onto his side and try again, taking care not to rattle his noggin against the floor.
He mumbles something under his breath in his drunken stupor before he finally peels his eyes open.
“You piece of shit.”
“H'muh?”
I roll him over onto his back and slap him right in the face. That’s enough to jolt him out of his stupor as his eyes try to focus on my face.
“What the fuck...?” he mumbles, clutching the covers to his chest. He better not be naked under there.
I reach over and grab the pill bottle to throw at his chest.
“That’s what the fuck. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Drake averts his gaze and starts to pull the covers over his head.
If he thinks I’m going to let him escape that easily...
“No. You don’t get to do that.” I grab a fistful of the covers and yank them off of him, naked or not.
“Hey!” He tries to make a grab but completely misses. “Why are you even here, Stan?”
“Because you missed your shift. Which started an hour ago. That’s why I’m here.” I ball up the covers and chuck them into the far corner of the room. He’s going to have to go through me to get them.
“Oh...”
“Yeah, ‘oh.’ Be glad Edward wasn’t on shift today or he’d be kicking your ass all across this apartment right now.”
“Don’t say his name,” he grumbles. He balls up his hands into fists and presses them against his forehead, curling up further into a fetal position.
“What? Edward? What the fuck has he done to you this time?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it.”
“That’s too damn bad. Either we talk about it or I’m calling up the Board right now.”
Drake rolls over so fast that he almost smashes his head against the leg of his bed. He dares me with a glare, but I’ve known him long enough that his glares mean nothing.
“Can I at least take a piss and wash my face?” he asks as he pulls himself up off the floor.
“Hopefully not at the same time.”
“Har har.”
With Drake out of the room, I have more of an opportunity to fully take in the state of the room. There’s an empty short glass by the bed but no empty bottles. I give the glass a cursory sniff: bourbon. I can’t tell if it’s been freshly drained or a few days old.
Other than that and the pile of sheets in the corner, nothing else seems amiss.
I close the door behind me as I leave and wait for him to exit the bathroom. If I’m going to confront him, I need to do it in a more open and clean space.
I glance at the living room.
Okay, a more open space. Half-way isn’t so bad.
“You want to tell me what’s going on with you?”
“First, I got some questions for you.” He pulls the robe tighter around himself and plops himself onto the couch. “How the fuck did you find out?”
“How do you mean?”
“I asked Ed not to tell you. Did he fucking lie to me?”
I close my eyes and will myself to remain in the chair instead of slapping more sense into him again.
“Because you’re in a place to judge right now?”
“I’m just saying.” He sulks like a child during a temper tantrum.
“If it makes you feel any better, no, Ed didn’t tell me. I’ve seen you writing scripts. You were being pretty shady about it.”
“And you didn’t say anything?” He blinks at me in surprise.
“Because you’ve never done anything I’ve told you to do in the past. It’s like you go out of your way to do the exact opposite of what I recommend you do.”
“Have you ever considered your advice is shitty, Stan?”
That’s it. I’ve had enough of this. If he’s going to be such a pissant...
But as I stand to leave, he gets up with me and stares with those pleading eyes.
“No, wait, stay. I’m sorry.” He drags a hand down his face. “I get ornery after...”
“What you mean is that you’re having withdrawal symptoms. We should get you some help, Drake. And I’m not recommending it this time. I’m serious.”
“Already got help. Well, a number for someone who can help.” He then chuckles under his breath. “You’ll never believe it. It’s the same woman Maria used to work for. The one who had the twins Ed delivered.”
Small world. Speaking of Ed...
“What did he do to you, exactly? Is he the reason you’re like this?”
The mirth fades from his face. He clenches and unclenches his fist, summoning the strength to say the right words.
“I’ve got no proof... but I’m pretty sure Ed and Maria are fucking each other.”
I feel like a weight of bricks has been dropped on my chest. Here I thought the whole time that Drake and Maria were a thing and keeping it secret from all of us. To learn that she’s been shacking up with Edward?
Did I miss my chance to ask her out?
“What gives you that idea?”
“Iunno. I saw Ed at work yesterday and he seemed more... chipper than usual. He doesn’t get like that unless he’s getting laid.”
“You don’t know it’s with her.”
“No? He would’ve told us about whatever lucky woman he’s been taking home. The fact he hasn’t told us...” His words drift off into the ether, leaving us in the silence to ponder the ramifications of his assessment. Even if he is right, why is it any of our business?
“If it helps any...” I squeeze his knee and lower my head. “We’re in the same boat.”
“Come again?”
“She came by the hospital a while back, and we got to talking. She’s... I can see why you fell so hard for her. There’s something about her that’s just... radiant. Like just looking at her makes all of your problems go away.”
“Yeah, except you didn’t try to kiss her and get rejected. You didn’t have to see her sitting in a bar, laughing with some other man after she almost let you finger her.”
“You did what?”
Drake shakes his head. It’s obvious that talking about this is hurting him.
Then an idea crosses my mind. One I haven’t considered in a long time.
“Hey, what if...” I lean in close, as if I’m sharing some kind of secret. “What if we could both get what we wanted?”
Drake perks up.
“I’m listening.”
“Why not go back to our college days and see if Edward’s... interested in sharing her?”
Hearing the words come out of my mouth stops my heart in my chest for a few seconds. I’d almost forgotten those years, the adrenaline rush of being with so many bodies at once, the thrill and infinite pleasure that could last for hours on end.
“What’s the worst that can happen? She says no?”
“Yeah, and she breaks up with him for even suggesting the idea.”
“And how’s that bad for you?” I ask, raising my brows. “Either that gives you another shot, or she avoids us and you don’t have to think about her anymore.”
“That... doesn’t sound like a good thing to me.”
“No, but it will be for the rest of us. Now go shower, get dressed, and go finish the rest of your shift, you asshat.” I stand from the couch and kick some of the things on the floor out of the way.
“And call that Fisher woman before the day is out. I want to hear that you have an appointment and when it is. I’m not letting you get away with this shit so easily again.”
“Okay, Mom.” Drake follows me out and slams the door behind me. Whatever anger I held for him is gone; all I can think about now is proposing the idea to Ed and seeing what he thinks.
I should see if I can free up my schedule sometime soon.