Beyond His World

14

8 p.m.

"Rylie!" Derek called out when he saw his son about to go out of the hospital.

Drake rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh before turning around to face his father, knowing damn well that he'll be stressed out after conversing with him.

"Yes?" He replied in a monotone voice.

"Pauwi ka na ba?"

"Yes. I'm tired." Again, monotone.

"Meet the Evangelista's daughter first. You've already rejected her a couple of times and it's giving a bad reputation to our company."

Drake subtly rolls his eyes to the side before lazily eyeing his father.

"Wasn't that enough to tell her that I don't like her? And that I don't like every single girl that you're making me meet? Dad, kahit anong gawin mo, hindi ako magkakagusto sa babae."

He takes a step forward, bravely matching Derek's intense stare.

"I'm gay, dad. You know that. Hindi ko na nga hiniling sa'yo na tanggapin mo 'ko, pati ba naman pagrespeto sa kung ano ako, hindi mo pa rin maibigay?"

Derek breathes through his nose, closing his fist tightly inside the pocket of his lab gown.

He speaks through gritted teeth, "Don't make me hit you, Rylie. We're in public."

The younger chuckles dryly, taunting him even more. "Yeah? You think I'm afraid? Hindi naman ito ang unang beses na sasaktan mo 'ko. Go on. Nang makita nila kung anong klaseng tao ka talaga."

"You disgust me, Rylie. You disgust me more than anyone else."

That struck something in Drake. It was as if a knife was stabbed straight through his heart.

It wasn't the first time he heard those words from him but after all those years of trauma, just when Drake thinks that he's finally over it, his dad says something that hits the bullseye and then, he's back to zero all over again.

He can never recover.

A tear escapes Drake's eye and rolls down his cheeks. His jaw moves as he looks at Derek with his eyes entirely filled with rage.

"I regret being your son. Ikaw ang pinaka-nakakasukang ama sa buong mundo and until I live, ipapaalala ko sa'yo na kinasusuklaman kita. You are the reason why mom left and hanggang ngayon, sinisisi pa rin kita. It's all your fault that this family went to waste. You care about no one but yourself. Puro nalang ikaw, you narcissist asshole."

Derek almost raises his fist to hit Drake but something inside him tells him he shouldn't.

He breathes heavily, still putting up his tough act infront of Drake.

"Fine, then. Umalis ka na. From this day forth, hindi na kita anak. You're no longer a part of this family."

Drake scoffs. "Fucking finally." He says before getting in his car and driving back home.

------

Drake did not go home right after that. He went to a mini pub and drank a good amount of alcohol. He let a bit more of it get into his system before he finally drives home, already tipsy but not at all drunk.

He has high alcohol tolerance and he knows how to drink only what he can take. Well, maybe a bit more tonight but it's okay, he'll manage.

As he got home, he plops himself on the couch and started thinking about everything that happened to his day.

His thoughts about Simon, his headaches, surgeries and treating sick people, Kiel's confession and his rejection, his toxic dad telling him to meet this girl from another company, and finally, the same dad disowning him and removing him from the family.

Drake then closes his eyes and chuckles to himself, "Mm, what a day."

But then again, as he closes his eyes, scenes of that moment start flashing in his mind like a tidal wave. His eyebrows furrow as he heaves a heavy sigh.

"This is so unfair, Sai. I miss you already." His words were all slurred but none of it matters to him.

Not exactly in the right state of mind, Drake fishes his phone out of his pocket and decides to dial Simon's number.