Raw and Broken Ch. 02

Again, there was no response. Especially from Drake. I'd not seen him this stubborn since that night in the hospital's conference room. Was he impervious to any criticism?

"Now, this bullshit with your wife's ex-boyfriend..." my brother-in-law said with a sigh.

I had been staring at Drake's lap...at his hands that were resting there. They fisted now. Malcolm had hit a nerve.

"This is between me and my sla— wife," Drake said. "It can be taken care of back home."

Malcolm smacked his fist down on the end table, making the lamp rattle. "I said no one is going anywhere! And her name is Daphne, or have your forgotten?"

"I have not." Drake's voice was clipped, like a smart-ass child.

"Good. Now what the fuck have you been doing with Jimmy Driscoll? You know very well how damaged he is. What he did to Daphne—"

"This is none of your business!" Drake yelled, shooting to his feet.

Darryl leapt from his chair toward me just as Becca threw her body across the front of mine. Their protection was not needed as Drake just began to pace.

Becca got up as well and stepped in front of her brother as he headed back toward the fireplace. "It is my business when my sister-in-law can't even pick up the goddamn phone and call me!"

Drake yelled at her to move. She screamed at him to grow some real balls. Malcolm told them both to calm down.

"You didn't even tell her I was married!" Becca said, pointing at me. "I wanted you at my wedding! But you thought it was more important to hold a grudge. Has it been easy to pretend we don't exist?"

I couldn't see Drake's expression with his back to me, but I imagined he was glaring at her.

"You know what you are, Drake?" Becca poked her finger into his chest now. "You're a coward."

He raised a hand.

Becca flung her arms out. "Do it! Hit me like you want to hit your wife. Just like her fucking ex did!"

"Don't you dare!" Malcolm leapt up from the couch.

Drake held up both hands in surrender and tried get around Becca instead to get past the coffee table. She resisted, moving to block him. They did a little side-to-side dance that would have been comical if not for the gravity of the situation.

I don't know if it was the childish bickering or that fact that I'd felt so suppressed for so long, but something inside of me snapped.

I shot up from my seat and screamed at the top of my lungs. It felt so amazing, I did it again. When I opened my eyes, everyone was watching me. Drake had his hands on Becca's shoulders, and Malcolm had his hands on Drake's, apparently trying to pull him away.

I yelled, although my voice was hoarse now, "Stop it! Just stop it!"

Whatever adrenaline had been in me seemed to have escaped with my outburst. My whole body was shaking. Suddenly, I collapsed.

Darryl caught me as I almost missed the couch. "Daphne, are you okay?"

I blinked and nodded. Tears slipped down my cheeks. God, as cathartic as that felt to let out my frustration, it didn't solve the problem.

As soon as he got me seated again, Darryl ran into the kitchen and brought me a glass of water. He sat down beside me and helped me drink, although water trickled down my chin.

Becca crossed her arms. "Malcolm, maybe we should talk about this later. What with Daphne—"

"I'm pregnant, not fucking incompetent to carry on a conversation." I sighed and laid my head back against the softness of the couch.

Becca gasped, and one of the guys groaned.

"You're what?" Drake yelled.

I squeezed my eyes shut, realizing my mistake. I laid my hand on my belly that was far from showing. I felt snarky all of a sudden and laughed. "Pregnant, Drake. Expecting. Bun in the oven. Knocked up. I'm having a baby."

"I know what it means." Drake grunted. "I suppose this is your lover..."

Before I could even react, I heard a loud smack. I opened my eyes to see Drake stumbling back into the chair he had previously vacated. Malcolm was clenching and releasing the fingers on his right hand.

"Fuck you, Drake!" Becca turned to her husband and gasped. "You're bleeding!"

"It'll heal," Malcolm mumbled. He stepped closer to where Drake was slouched in the chair and leaned over him. "Maybe if you had spent more time at home with your wife and actually talked to her, you would have found out the right way that you're going to be a father. You're a real piece of shit, you know that?"

"It can't be mine, we always use protection," Drake said, his voice softer but still gravelly. He worked his jaw for a moment, his hand pressed to his face.

"Trust me, Drake, it's yours. Darryl is not my lover. We just met yesterday." My voice was shaky, and I felt impending tears in my eyes. I hadn't imagined he would accuse me of cheating on him. "I haven't been with anyone since I met you."

Drake shook his head. "Not possible."

I snorted this time. "Do you remember Blake's bachelor party?"

He blinked at me.

"Of course you wouldn't. You came home at least three sheets to the wind. And quite randy. You were in such a hurry, you forgot the condom."

Drake was no longer looking at me...or anyone for that fact. He was leaning over, his head in his hands. His voice was barely audible. "Why didn't you remind me? You know I—"

"Yeah, I know what you like. How about what I like? Did you ever think I might want to feel my husband's cock inside of me for once without that damn piece of rubber? I thought we were done with protection once we got married. I understood it before then. But insisting on it after, too? Do you have any idea how horrible that makes me feel? How you couldn't even make love to me on our wedding night without stopping each time to get a new condom? Way to kill the mood. Why the fuck would I stop you and tell you to cover up?"

There was a cough, and I noticed Becca was looking up at the ceiling.

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry, Becca."

She waved her hand. "Don't worry about me. It's not the first intimate conversation I've had with or about my brother."

"I hate to interrupt this bonding experience, but I think that we've established that the baby is Drake's," Malcolm said.

Darryl glanced at me, and I nodded that he was free to speak up. "I know I don't know the two of you well at all—and I'm no therapist—but I would like to say something I've observed from talking to Daphne yesterday and from listening today. There's something deeper going on here."

"Like Jimmy?" Becca asked.

"No, well yes. Jimmy is an issue, and the two of you will have to deal with that at some point. But like we said last night, this is far bigger than Jimmy. Even more than the collaring ceremony you had. This started before that. But I think the only person who knows when that was is Drake."

We all turned to my husband, who still was hunched over.

"Something had to have happened," Darryl continued. "Something you couldn't share with Daphne. Because according to her, your behavior changed after you got married, and she doesn't know why. You moved away suddenly. Wanted the intensive 24/7 living. You secluded yourself from everyone. Not to mention the secret meetings with the guy you knew was her abusive ex-boyfriend. Like I said, I'm not a therapist. But I've been around enough abused couples in the lifestyle to know that unless you confront the main issue, you can't move forward. You can't fix what is broken here."

I don't know what I was expecting to happen, but hearing Drake cry was not it.

That sound made my heart feel like it was being twisted inside of me. I had caused this. I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, Malcolm was kneeling in front of me.

"Don't you dare blame yourself, Daphne. I know you."

I clamped my mouth shut, clenching my eyes against my own tears.

"Drake?" Becca's voice was so soft.

I opened my eyes to see her kneeling beside her brother. She was trying to pry his hands from his face.

"I'm sorry, Becca." Drake took a deep, shuddering breath. "I shouldn't have forced you to attend the ceremony. I should have asked you. Tried to understand—"

"I don't care about the damn collaring ceremony, you doofus." She sat down on the floor and held one of his hands. I could hear her sniffling, struggling with tears as well. "What I do care about is you. And Daphne. What the hell is going on?"

Drake lifted his head finally and stared right at me. As if no one else was there. "I'm sorry."

I almost rushed to his side. I should have been where Becca was. But I couldn't move. Because there was something in his tone that indicated it was safer for both of us to stay right where we were.

"What exactly are you apologizing for?"

"I had told you I slept with someone else last year."

My chest tightened. I'd tried to forget. "Yes, I know."

"I know you didn't want to hear the details before. But you need to. Or rather, I need to say them."

I swallowed what felt like a stone in my throat. I'd forgiven him for this indiscretion, as much as it had hurt me to hear about it.

His timing for that confession could have been better...it was just a few days before we tied the knot. I'd been appreciative he'd told me but still a little apprehensive. I'd thought maybe he'd cheated because he was unable to tell me he wanted to break off our engagement. He'd insisted that the answer was no. He'd just wanted to clear the air between us.

My husband blinked, his eyes glossy now. "I haven't been entirely honest with you."

I pressed my hand to my head. As I'd said the night before, with Drake and I, our past was in our past. We chose to focus on the present. But I would be lying if I said I didn't want to know now.

My stomach churned, and I knew it wasn't morning sickness. I heard myself saying the words aloud. "Was it more than the one time?"

"No. That part was true. I mean I wasn't honest about when it happened." He leaned forward, almost putting his head between his knees, so that he was no longer looking at me. "Why we had to move."

~ H