Enzo remembered his sister’s advice, don’t be crass, and the worst thing he could do in that moment besides the situation itself is lie. “See, here’s the thing,” The man slowly rose from his chair and turned to walk a few steps away before turning around, “Before the Greenpoint takeover, I got involved with Eleanor Cabello in a way that wasn’t…sane. I knew how it would look to the faction, to you and Oliver, but I have to leave. Drake, I,” Enzo struggled to spit the words out, “I can’t stay here. And Sid, don’t punish her for this.”
Drake stared at Enzo, not taking a single moment to process what the man had just said; he didn’t need to. “Get the fuck out of my territory.” There was a lot of freedom his inner circle had, but mingling with another faction was the highest of treason. “You take your bike and you ride to Greenpoint or I’ll have someone dump your body there. If I ever see you here, I’ll cut out your girlfriend’s eyes and feed them to you. You understand?”
“I found more than that.” Enzo mumbled, dreading the part of the conversation he promised Sid he would have with the leader. “Drake, I did something and I can’t take it back. I need you to hear it from me first before word gets out and I’m fucked.”
Drake had had a rough time of it since waking up, knowing that the world had gone to shit in his absence didn’t sit well. The last thing he expected to see was the discomfort on one of his most loyal friend’s face. “What the fuck is going on, Enzo?”
There was a part of her that remembered the Savitri post about Eleanor being seen near Drake posing with a blonde wig. Ryan wanted to ask him about it, but the moment that her brother hugged her back, it all went out the window. That wasn’t the most important thing to her at that moment, Drake was. She couldn’t help but sob into his chest as he spoke to her, cementing that he was alive and awake after thinking that she’d never hear him speak to her again. Eventually Ry was able to pull away, wiping the evidence of her tears from her face with the back of her hands before reaching down to hold his hand in hers. “Are you okay? Do I need to get Sid at all?” Ryan asked, even though she knew that the doctor always wasn’t too far away, “or I could call Ollie and have him bring over Abel if you’re up to seeing him?”
Drake ran his hands through his sister’s hair, holding her close as she cried. It broke his heart to hear her heartbreak. He always wanted to protect her, and he knew that he went to an extreme measure to do so. But he would always go to the extreme, he would do anything to protect his sister and not have to let her go. “I’m better with you here,” he said into her hair. The thought of having them all here with him made Drake smile. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”
Not right now, but once you step foot out the door, that’s a different story. Everyone’s going to swoop in like buzzards. I can sabotage the prep if you want?
I’ve got something for you, though– the keys to your baby. I’ve been keeping her shiny and in great condition while you slept.
“Drake… you really are awake,” Ryan said in disbelief as she entered his room, running over to his bedside before she flung her arms around his shoulders. She held him as hard as she could without hurting him and agitating his injuries, but Ryan needed to hold him to remind her that him being awake wasn’t a dream. “I’m so sorry.”
“Ry,” he sighed in relief. This time it was actually her, not a blonde imposter. He wrapped his arms around her weakly, tightening his hold as much as he could. His hand rubbed up and down her back, tangling in her hair as he pressed a familiar kiss to the crown of her head, like he always had growing up. “It’s okay... I’m here.”
There wasn’t much Drake wouldn’t do to protect family.
He would do anything to protect his sister, even if it meant putting his own life on the line.
Ryan, to Drake, was the little girl with blonde curls and ripped corduroy overalls. He remembers her with grease on her knees, following him around like a shadow of light. Their Pop would tell Drake how he’d have to look after her, that there would be a point in time when he wouldn’t be there for her; it was a job Drake took seriously from a young age. Whenever someone messed with Ryan, they messed with Drake.
When she went away, no one had been prouder of Ryan than him. He followed every step of her journey, cheered from their home as she chased every dream she deserved. As much as he missed her, and as much as he desperately wanted her back, he’d been so happy to see her far away from the pain of their city. Only the happiness he had for her crushed when she met Sebastian Ainsworth.
There was no happy ending with an Ainsworth, not one who disregarded family so easily.
So, no. There was nothing Drake wouldn’t do to protect his family.
And he didn’t regret making a deal with a devil.
Drake wasn’t sure how long he’d been lingering in a coma, but he’d been dreaming.
It wasn’t numerous dreams, or even one that went on like a story. Drake dreamed of a moment he yearned for, dinner with his family: together. There was his son, Ryan and Ma – Oliver and Lola, everyone who was important was there and he cherished the smiles he saw on all of their faces. Family. It was the one thing that meant most to Drake, and in that dream he would have been content to live forever.
But life was cruel, and Drake was its puppet.
The first thing he was aware of was how dry his throat was, then it was the beeping of machines all around him. Slowly, his senses came back to him and he opened his eyes. Drake instantly closed them again, the sterile brightness hurting his eyes. When he opened them again, everything was blurred, but he made out a figure sitting next to his bed... blonde hair... feminine...
“R-ryan?” he called and his voice cracked.
“No, darling. Try again.”
Drake squinted as details slowly began to reveal itself to the last person he expected to be sitting at his bed side.
Eleanor Cabello.
“W-wha-tt th-e fuc-k,” he choked the words out, his tongue thick from disuse.
Eleanor leaned forward and pressed a glass of water with a straw to his lips. Drake drank greedily, but when Eleanor pulled the glass away he didn’t feel refreshed at all.
“You don’t have to speak, I already know what you’re going to ask: what do you want? Why are you here? I’m going to answer it all, don’t you worry. I’ve been waiting for you... though, that’s not technically true since I’m the one that chose this very moment for you to wake.”
Unease sparked in Drake, the smile on Eleanor’s lips and the mischievousness of her eyes unsettling him more.
“The doctors and nurses here are easy to buy,” she teased as she played with a clipboard. “And a lot of people don’t like you. You couldn’t imagine how many people were happy to have you sleep forever so that they could live out from under your thumb. Luckily for you, I see you as good business.”
Eleanor moved to perch beside him on his bed, dodging the wires attached to him. Drake didn’t stop her, even if he had the energy. As unnerved as he was, he was intrigued to hear what the little princess had to say. There was a low simmering annoyance too, the fact he’d been here under her control unknowingly put a damper on the sacrifice he’d been making.
“Leader to leader,” she said with a smirk as he undoubtedly looked confused. “I know what you did. It didn’t take long to figure out, once I started to become curious. Sebastian was so adamant it wasn’t him, he’s been so desperate to clear his name that he’s fucked up every relationship he has. You’ll be glad to know Ryan included.” The girl paused for a moment to drink his water, her perfectly painted lipstick not budging. “But if it wasn’t Sebastian.... who else would have such an intense and desperate motive to hurt you? Especially when the biggest outcome was the destruction of Ryan and Sebastian’s relationship. There’s only one person beside myself who wanted them broken up... that person is you.”
Drake didn’t react, just raised his eyebrow.
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on telling,” she whispered and winked, but Drake just stared at her with annoyance on his face. Intrigue had ran out quickly, now he just wanted her to get to the point. Eleanor must have decided to take pity on him, she rolled her eyes and tsked.
“Sebastian will want some kind of payment from you for what you did. That, or he’ll do everything in his power to take your sister from you. You and I can help each other. If you don’t oppose me, I will help you in any action you choose against Sebastian. If you oppose me, well...” Eleanor leaned forward and brushed hair from his face, Drake hadn’t realised it’d grown so much, but it made sense. She cupped his face and looked everything like the pleasant lover, “I know what your son looks like. He’s so young that it wouldn’t take long for him to forget you, if he hasn’t already. Oppose me Drake, and I’ll find him a family far away from here and you’ll never see him again.”
She pulled away as he jerked forward, but it hardly mattered as Drake cried out in pain, curling in on himself. Eleanor looked at him in mock sadness and gathered her belongings, fixing the blonde wig she was wearing.
“I don’t want us to be enemies Drake, not when we have a common foe. So, it’s best you just accept.”
She may be smart, but family blinds her, but don’t worry, this will be a skirmish all in the Vincent’s favor. You have to think though, Drake, will Ryan come home because of just a few scrapes and bruises? You gotta think drastically to get drastic results. You want her to come home, make it to where she wants to come home.