Series/Pairing: Open Heart - Bryce Lahela x F!OC (Maggie Layne)
Disclaimer: Most characters belong to PB, Maggie is sort of mine
Other Characters: Pamela Henderson
Rating / Warnings: T
Summary: Maggie wants to know why Bryce never talked about his family. He tells her what happened when his last girlfriend’s family found out.
Word count: 777
Comments/Notes: Written for the Luck of the Draw Challenge hosted by @moodmusicmonday. (Sorry it was late.) My assigned song was Never Sorry by Jeremy Renner. It was a challenge for me. I’d never heard the song before. And I never knew Jeremy Renner could sing. I listened to it and I looked up the lyrics. And I saw Ethan, circa book 1, telling MC that he wouldn’t apologize for how he was. So, I decided to write a fic about Bryce instead. This is set right after Maggie meets Keiki in Book 2, Chapter 5. Much thanks and love to @jerzwriter
“I’m glad I got to meet you, Keiki.”
Keiki smiled at Maggie, before smirking at her brother. “Meet me, or find out I exist?”
“Keiks,” Bryce began.
“Both, actually.”
Keiki bade them both good night before she disappeared into Bryce’s room.
This LOTD submission will have you reaching to hug good ol Bryce from OPH! Thank you, @lucy-268 , for sharing this sweet story with us and for participating! And we can’t forget…
THANK YOU for suggesting this entire event! We love you!
Pairing:(mentioned) Drake Walker x MC (Riley Brooks)
Word Count:~1140
Warning: Language, Alcoholism, mention of gambling
A/N:I am so excited to be bringing up the rear in @moodmusicmonday’s special event “Luck of the Draw”! I was given the song “Ballroom Blitz” by Sweet, and it definitely threw me for a loop! But, it inspired this little fic, and I hope y'all enjoy! Big thanks to @kat-tia801 for taking a gander at this and helping me brainstorm the ending! All characters belong to ours friends at Pixelberry.
~~
An erratic ear-piercing hum overwhelms his fragile senses, startling him from his whiskey-induced slumber. He dares to open one of his swollen eyes, but the brilliance of day seals it shut. His limp body lays prostrate against a cold marble floor, the frigid chill of the ornate stone serving as a nice reprieve on his heated, ruddy skin.
“Mr. Walker?”
Drake jerks his body at the eerie sound of his name. He hesitantly lifts his head, squinting his eyes painfully as they adjust to the blurred lines of the sunlit room. He carefully sweeps his head to the left before taking in the scene to his right.
“Brooks? Li?”
No one is there.
He finds himself alone amongst the debris and disarray of a large ballroom. Broken glass, crumpled up napkins and cigarette butts litter the once pristine floor. With a deep grumble, he lays his aching head in his calloused hands. The familiar foul stench of barley and fermented sherry rests in his unkempt beard. The thunderous rhythm of his own pulse courses between his ears, stirring deep within him the one thing that can take away this discomfort.
A drink.
“Drake? C’mon. Get Up.”
The sudden strong hand of Drake’s best friend grips tightly to his elbow, pulling him to his knees. Still slumped over in a stupor, Drake finds his footing, finally standing up on his own two feet.
“Thanks, Li–” Drake feigns sobriety, “–’preciate that hand–”
“We need to talk, old friend. Now.”
“Now?” Drake chuckles. “The party is just getting started,” he jovially slaps his hand on the back of Liam’s shoulder, but the tall blond’s demeanor remains stoically grave. “Alright, alright,” Drake shoves his hands in his pockets, “let me grab some drinks–”
“No,”Liam growls. “No more drinks. No more excuses.” He hands over a thick, white envelope to Drake.
Drake’s face grows long. “What is this, Li?”
“Drake, you knew–”
“What the fuck is this, Liam?”
Liam sighs, grimly taking in the sight of what has become of his best friend. “Drake,” he clears his throat, “last night was the final straw. Actually, it’s been the final straw for a while.”
Drake leans in closely to Liam, “But–but, Liam, you can help me, right? Please–”
“Drake,“ Liam looks away, grief creeping into his voice. "I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Drake snarls.
Liam refuses to look at him. “I’m sorry.” He whispers. “The council got involved. It’s out of my hands.”
Drake combs back his greasy chestnut locks before tearing open the letter. As he reads the news, red blotches of fury crawl up his neck, his wrathful eyes darting to Liam.
“Terminated.” Drake reads the word as if he were pointing a gunt. “You hired me, Liam, so that I would take over Bastien’s spot someday. I was supposed to be your right hand man–”
“Yes,” Liam slows him down with a deep punch of his voice, “but that was two years ago Drake. A lot has changed. Youhave changed–”
“–Li, if it’s the drinking, then fine. I’ll quit drinking–”
Liam sighs, shaking his head. “You’ve been saying that–”
“–and this time I will. I-I promise. Please–”
“Drake, we offered treatment for this several times. I begged for you to go when–” Liam abruptly stops, staring remorsefully into his best friend’s bloodshot eyes. “–when Riley and the boys left.”
Drake looks down at his feet, slipping his fingers in the back pocket of his jeans. “Th-that’s not why she left. You,” he scoffs, “you and your fancy friends brought that girl here and made her think she was royalty–”
“I appointed you both as such, Drake! Have you forgotten?”
“–we didn’t need your fucking charity, Liam!”
“Charity?” Liam snickers under his breath. “You really want to talk charity with me?” Liam furiously shakes his head before peering vengefully at his friend. “Who gave you the money to repair your truck after you wrecked after one of your benders–?”
“–oh, fuck off, Liam!”
“–and then this same person had to pay for several guards to keep silent and not turn you over to the police when they came snooping around with rumors of an accident. Oh, but, ‘we didn’t need your fucking charity, Liam’.” Liam starts to pace as he begins to raise his voice. “Or what about the time you gambled away your wedding band? The deed to your house? Your entire inheritance from your father? Christ, he must be so proud of you right now–”
“–Fuck you, Liam!”
“Who do you think is keeping you from being locked up right now for dissidence?”
With bated breath both men glare at one another with hatred, hands gripped into fists, sizing one another up.
“Mr. Walker?”
The haunting voice calls to him again, but Drake shakes it from his head as he remains focused on his best friend… his onlyfriend.
Liam finally exhales the breath he was holding, a look of sadness crossing his face. “Drake, I–I don’t know what to do for you anymore.” The king begins to ring his fingers, his eyes welling with tears. “I–I don’t know what’s going to get your attention.”
“Li, I’m fine.”
Liam raises a sorrowful eyebrow, unable to respond.
“I’m serious, Li, I’m fine.”
Liam takes a deep breath. “Okay, old friend. We expect you out by the end of the day.” Liam turns to exit the trashed ballroom.
“Wait… wait, where am I supposed to go?” Drake calls out to Liam, but the king never turns back around.
“Liam?Liam?”
“Mr. Walker?”
Drake finally opens his eyes, an older, colorful woman pulling him from his memory. “Are you ready, Mr. Walker?” She flashes a kind, friendly smile before turning her attention to the crowd that has gathered. “Shall we get started, folks? We have a very special guest tonight…”
As she continues her introduction, Drake begins to ring his hands nervously. Feeling his heart race wildly in his chest, he starts to recollect how he used to cure his anxiety, searching for the answers at the bottom of bottles, spending most of his days actively dying rather than living.
But not anymore.
“… please welcome Drake, thirty days sober.”
With a roar of celebration from the audience, Drake stands, straightening the wrinkles from his slacks before approaching his sponsor. She hands him a special red chip, marked with a giant ‘30’ before giving Drake a tight hug.
Drake bites his lip, fidgeting with the trinket in his palm. As he finally looks out into the crowd, a sudden crooked smile grows across his face.
There in the back of the room was a familiar, tall blond beaming with pride. Liam. With a gentle nod of acknowledgement to his lifelong friend, Drake blows away his nervous jitters
“My name is Drake,” he takes a deep, trembling breath. “And… I’m an alcoholic.”
Having to lose it all to finally get himself help. And to have his life long friend supporting him at such an important moment on his road to recovery..
We are currently spinning the wheel and matching usernames with songs! We will contact you in your DMs with what song you drew TODAY! We will then make a post here on tumblr about what happens next… PLUS we will post the playlist with all of the submitted songs!
So, here’s to the Luck of the Draw! Good luck, creators! And thank you all for making this event happen! This is going to be so much fun because of YOU!
