Chapter Four
Trevor was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for. He wasn't a genius, not even close, but he wasn't stupid either. In addition to this, he also knew Drake better than anyone in the world, including his mother. He knew about the abuse the younger had suffered during their childhood, and knew how he had coped and as he entered his best friend's bedroom to find him at his desk studying, his heart stilled in his chest.
Drake hated school, a byproduct of being picked on in their elementary years. Drake had been the nerd, the smartest kid in class…but he hated school. To him it was an escape from the hell that his father created with his harsh words and harsher fists. After Audrey had discovered the beatings and his father had been sent to jail, Drake let his grades slip, no longer wanting to wear the geek label and by middle school he was one of the most popular kids in school and skating by on a D+ average.
That Drake was studying meant something was wrong. Something he didn't want to think about.
"Dray?"
The other musician jolted and looked up with wide listless eyes.
Trevor fought a shiver.
In all his years of knowing the other boy he'd never seen him so lifeless.
"Yes?"
"You're studying." He pointed out, knowing that Drake would catch his meaning. Murky honey brown eyes glanced at the work before them then slid back to meet his worried green.
"Why are you here?"
Trevor narrowed his eyes. "You scheduled band practice for today, remember? Ms.P sent me up to get you since we've been waiting for ten minutes."
"Oh." Drake responded softly, closing his book and standing.
His clothing only made it more obvious that something was wrong. Drake hated baggy clothes, yet he was clad in loose-fitting sweats and a loose long sleeved t-shirt, his hands barely visible beyond the sleeves. In fact, looking closely, the shirt was one of his that he'd left over during their most recent sleepover two months previous.
"Yes, 'oh'. Have you written anything?"
Drake grabbed his guitar case, his entire frame oddly tense.
"Yes."
Raising a skeptic brow, the older teen followed his friend from the room, and down the stairs pondering just what was causing the changes in his friend…and how he could change it.
As they entered the Parker-Nichols family garage, their other bandmates, Donnie and Scottie, frowned at them, fully set up and ready to go.
"Drake, what the hell man? We've been waiting for fifteen minutes and you're normally the first one set up." Donnie scolded, shoving a strand of his messy dark hair behind his ear.
Their band leader didn't reply, instead removing his guitar frm it's case with strangely hesitant movements. Scottie's frowned deepened, full of worry.
"Dray? Hey, man you alright?" He placed a hand on one of the younger teen's slim shoulder only for the boy to pull away with a dark glare and a snarl.
"Don't touch me!"
The three stared at their youngest wide-eyed. Drake was the most touch-friendly person in their group, always leaning on one of them as they chilled after practices or resting his foot in one of their laps, a product of the childhood he hid from most. That he was denying it at the moment was extremely worrying. His sleeve slipped just a bit giving them a glimpse of the fresh day bruising on his wrists, only a few days old.
Trevor's eyes narrowed into a dark glare and he shared a look with the remaining members of their group.
Many often forgot just how violent the three could be, some didn't even know that the three had bonded with Drake over their shared pasts.
Someone had hurt their friend, and Walter better hope it wasn't him because they would let Drake have another abusive father.
"Get ready." The order was softly spoken, so unlike it usually jubilant counterpart but they obeyed, readying their instruments.
Drake nodded with a slight quirk to his lips and placed the new sheet of music in front of them and they began to play, fighting a shudder at they produced. This song, they realized, was a result of whatever had happened to their friend.
Can't wash it all away
Can't wish it all away
Can't hope it all away
Can't cry it all away
The pain that grips you, the fear that binds you
Releases life in me
In our mutual shame, we hide our eyes
To blind them from the truth
That finds a way from who we are
He was speaking of his past they realized. Of his fear of becoming his abusive father and of the shame the abuse evoked in him. But there was something else. Something deeper hidden in the emotions in his voice.
Please don't be afraid
When the darkness fades away
The dawn will break the silence
Screaming in our hearts
My love for you still grows
This I do for you
Before I try to fight the truth my final time
Still speaking of his father it seemed, but the words were something each of them could understand. None of them had had very upstanding fathers, Drake's being the worst of them all, and yet they still loved them.
Can't wash it all away
Can't wish it all away
Can't cry it all away
Can't scratch it all away
Lying beside you
Listening to you breathe
The life that flows inside of you
Burns inside of me
Hold and speak to me
Of love without a sound
Tell me you will live through this
And I will die for you
Cast me not away
Say you'll be with me
For I know I cannot
Bear it all alone
As they continued to play they found themselves contemplating the meaning behind the last verse, for while the beginning of the song had touched on the past, the two phrases following had been about the perfect lover he yearned for ad the women he used to fill the space and hide his preferences from his family, especially Josh. The last phrase however was directed at someone unknown to them, most likely the cause of their friend's torment.
They chanced a glance at the lyricist.
He was crying silently as he sang.
Can't fight it all away
Can't hope it all away
Can't scream it all away
It just won't fade away, No
The music sped up slightly and his voice became stronger and more impassioned.
Can't wash it all away
Can't wish it all away
Can't cry it all away
Can't scratch it all away
(Can't fight it all away)
(Can't hope it all away)
Can't scream it all away
Ooh, it all away
Ooh, it all away
The music began to fade and they swallowed thickly.
No something deeper was going on, something Drake was desperately trying to escape, yet found himself incapable of not thinking about.
They thought of his earlier reaction to Scottie and the glimpse of dark bruises on porcelain skin and didn't like the picture it painted.
Drake 's eyes slid open, still wet with tears that fell in crystal rivets down his cheeks, the lackluster gold darkened with humiliation and a soul crushing pain.
No, they didn't like it at all.
TBC…
A/N: Alrighty folks, the issue with my USB has been dealt with for the most part and I have started on rewrites of my unposted stories. However, I am trying to focus on finishing on my WIPs so it may be a moment before I post any new stories. This being said, feel free to follow me on Tumblr under the same name Silas Solarius (Claw06)
Song: Understanding by Evanescence