Redemption | A Drake Duology (2016)

F & D • 22 • Love

a/n: excuse errors.

Aubrey

After six days in Europe, I was finally free to return home. I decided on four last minute shows to bring in a little extra money before I took my year long break. This hiatus was bittersweet I needed time get back to myself. All I wanted was to focus on being nothing but a husband and a father and considering my last mistakes, I had zero room to do anything else.

While I was away, Sadie kept me updated on Roman. She reached 37 weeks today, which meant that the twins could vacate the premises at any moment. I had gotten a mouth full for leaving so close to her due date. She wasn't happy but eventually she gave in. I could feel the disconnect between us though. Sex was meaningless, just an attempt to quicken the labor. She made herself busy whenever I was able to finally sit with her, and she snapped on me more often than not. I could tell that it wasn't intentional. This was her indirect reaction to the news of leaving her in such short notice. I didn't want to leave but I felt like it was necessary.

We had just gotten to a place of contentment. She was rekindling things with her mother. She spoke to Logan over the phone and they agreed not to rush things. Both of them still needed time before seeing each other and they respected that. As all of this died down, we had time to focus on us. Important milestones were ahead of us and I didn't want her or our kids to want for anything. Mekhi was on his way to pre-school in the fall. We were still debating on whether to home school him or send him public school. He needed to socialize but the education system was depriving these kids of critical information and the corruption started so young.

For a moment, I found myself laughing at how my life turned out. A year ago, this was unheard of. I knew I wanted a family but I second guessed the reality of it. It didn't get real until Oliver's wife Lauren, who is also our midwife, had their son. Oliver changed up, as he should have. I then realized the sacrifice that I would have to make in order for that to happen. Watching him become the man that he is now was inspiring.

I stared out of window at the dark clouds that caused a ton of turbulence. We were still a far ways from home and I couldn't wait to get there. Noah and Celeste were taking Mekhi to Disney World for the week. I wanted to see my boy off but I was going to miss that. Celeste promised a daily FaceTime call to ease some our stress. Roman was still on edge about him being with other people. We trusted them but Khi was still a bit traumatized from what he went through with his mother. We just weren't sure how he'd act but were hoping for the best.

I kicked my feet up and pulled on my headphones preparing to sleep until we touched down on American soil. I allowed myself to completely relax and I was out. What was supposed to be a deep slumber turned into a two hour nap. My eyes popped open feeling a tap on my shoulder.

"Roman went into labor," Chubbs informed me.

"What?" I sat up pulling my earbuds out of my ears to make sure that I heard him right.

"Sadie said she went into labor about an hour ago. Turn your computer on,"

The search for my laptop turned into me frantically pitching most of my belongings across the cabin. It ended up being in the bag that sat underneath my seat. I took a deep breath to calm down while I powered it on. "How far are we from home?"

"Six hours," Chubbs answered.

"Fuck!" I ran my hand over my face and watched as all of the notifications came rolling in. All from Sadie, all about Roman. "I'm not going to make it in time," I mumbled.

Hearing those words come out of my mouth was heartbreaking. I was angry. Angry at myself for leaving when she practically begged me not to. This was my fault. I should've listened and been there for her while she needed me. I quickly typed a response to Sadie.