More by Keren Hughes

Author:Keren Hughes [Hughes, Keren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Limitless Publishing LLC
Published: 2016-07-18T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Drake

“Hi…” Suddenly my throat felt parched and I needed a stiff drink. But drink was what I’d come here to get away from. I had to get my life back on track. I’d left the woman I loved, my son too, and it was the motivation I needed to get free from the drink once and for all—whether I could ever regain her trust and get us back on even ground was another matter—I needed to do this for myself, not just for Anna and Ayden, but because I wanted to be sober. I didn’t want to continue to throw my life away like I had been. I cleared my throat and started again.

“Hi, my name’s Drake and I’m an alcoholic.”

The room burst into a chorus of “Hi, Drake.”

I looked around at all their faces, young and old, black and white, male and female. Alcoholism, it seems, is a disease that does not discriminate.

It felt weird launching into my story about why I was here, but others had shared before me and more would after me, so I took a few even breaths and gave them a shorthand version of the events that led me to chase the elusive dream at the bottom of each bottle I consumed.

“My father dying was the catalyst for me to start drinking more heavily. I shouldn’t use his death as an excuse, though. I drink because I’m an alcoholic, but his death hit me hard and I hit the bottle harder.”

I felt watchful eyes on me. I wasn’t sure how much of my story to share. I’d shared it with Zeke in a private session and now I was mentally questioning whether I was ready to share with the group. I held my chip in my hand, rubbing my thumb over it like it was a good luck charm.

“The thing is, my life hasn’t always been easy. I don’t come from the closest of families we never really talk about feelings, just bottle things up instead. I began drinking when I found out I had gotten a woman pregnant shortly before I got with my wife Annalise. I didn’t find out about it until Anna was four months pregnant herself. If I’m really honest, I got with Annalise because I had fallen in love with her, but she was already pregnant by some stupid little twat that didn’t want anything to do with the baby. I had made a promise to Anna that I would bring the baby up as my own. We were his or her parents as far as anyone needed to be concerned.”

My throat went dry and I reached for the bottle of water I kept at my feet. I took a large gulp and inhaled a few deep breaths before carrying on.

“But then I found out that I was actually going to be a biological dad too and it knocked me for six. I was ready to take on Anna and her unborn child. But a child of my own that the mother didn’t want me to bother trying to contact? That was entirely different.

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