THE MAFIA LORD

A Hell-Hole

The Past

July 2018

Hinsdale, Illinois.

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As Drake sat, his eyes roamed about the crowded hall, watching as people jumped and moved their bodies to the sound of the beat.

He could sight some couples standing by the corner of the rectangular hall, making out with the least care in the world and he scrunched his face up in disgust.

Where were their manners? This was one of the reasons he hated the club. He just could not stand the level of carelessness that was displayed on a steady.

Tired and frustrated, Drake jerked up suddenly from his chair as he turned to go but the cold fingers wrapped around his wrist stopped him.

Sighing heavily, he turned around to look at the frowning blonde who was holding his wrist tightly.

Drake sighed again, wishing she would let go of his hand but she held on to him tightly, even when he made it obvious that he wanted to leave that instance.

"Where are you going?" Due to the loud music that was blaring from the speaker, she shouted.

Because of the noise, one had to scream their lungs out — another reason he disliked the club. His reasons were endless and this was why he had not wanted to come along at first.

"Nicole," Drake whispered even when he knew she would not hear him, but he felt his facial expression was enough to show his plea to be let go.

But rather than give heed to his plea, Nicole rose to her feet and this finally got the attention of the others who were sitting in the reserved booth.

Drake shut his eyes tightly. This had been what he had been avoiding and now that they had noticed, there was no way they were going to let him leave in peace.

"Where are you going with your teddy bear?" Jeremy asked, scowling darkly at Drake whose eyes were now staring at his feet. Jeremy was the worst person anyone could encounter and Drake had always tried to avoid him.

But now, it seemed like he had run out of luck. He did not know what to do in this situation and he wished Nicole would let him be but she kept holding on to his wrist.

"None of your business, Jeremy," Nicole replied, provoking Jeremy further. Sometimes, Drake wondered if she deliberately said the things she said just to provoke Jeremy even when she knew how bad Jeremy could be.

However, Jeremy did not look like he was ready to give up the contest he had started. So he asked Drake instead,

"Where are you going, moron?"

Everyone sitting in the booth was now staring; it was clear they were excited about this and their eyes shone as they stared from Drake to Nicole and then at Jeremy.

"Don't call him that!" Nicole seethed in anger but Jeremy ignored her, his eyes still on Drake, expecting an answer.

Drake felt like he had been pushed to a corner and he felt overly conscious under their penetrating gaze.

He knew that whatever he was going to say had to be what Jeremy would like to hear, otherwise, he would land himself into a bigger problem, so he racked his brain, thinking of a good answer to give.

"Or is it none of my business too?" Jeremy continued, smirking a bit; revealing a gold tooth in the process which glistened in the dim light. The mere sight of his sardonic smile made Drake shiver in fear.

Jeremy seemed to notice this because his smirk broadened and he began pulling his goatee, staring right at Drake with a goofy grin. Jeremy gave the vibe of an oppressive slave master who knew his slaves were suffering but derived pleasure from their sufferings.

"Leave him alone, Jeremy. He doesn't answer to you." Nicole yelled, her brows knitting together in a frown as she glared at Jeremy who only laughed loudly.

"I guess he answers to you then." He retorted and this provoked laughter from the onlookers in the booth. Nicole gritted her teeth as she glared at them — all thirteen of them — before pulling Drake away with her.

It was still strange how his colleagues would derive so much joy in picking on him. They were colleagues for crying out loud: they worked together tirelessly at the hospital; they ought to be a family.

Drake shook his head as he let Nicole drag him. He could not tell if he was angry with her for exposing him when he could have crept away without anyone noticing. Shouldn't she have known that he was not comfortable there and wanted to leave?

"I really shouldn't have come," he muttered to himself. Of course, he knew his going to the club that night would end in a mess — this was not the first time it was happening. A weekend hangout with his colleagues was definitely not a good thing.

He knew this but had wanted to try his luck once again — maybe he would be able to get them to like and accept him. Even the new intern, Donald, who had just been added to their unit barely a month ago was already becoming more popular than he was and Drake could not help but get jealous.

Seeing his colleagues whom he had worked with for two years laughing and joking with one another while treating him like he was invisible was something Drake thought he would one day get used to but it was dawning on him that he might never get used to it.

After all, who liked to be left alone? Everyone wanted to be accepted.

His colleagues only remembered him when they needed someone to make fun of. Being the best doctor in the unit did not make them pick on him less, rather it made them hate him even more.

Sitting there in the booth with them was pointless and that was why he had decided to leave. He had a list of the many things he could do to spend the night: there was a novel he had just bought and wanted to read.

He could even relax with an interesting movie or study the encyclopaedia as he had done the previous night. Weren't all these things better than being laughed at all night?

Nicole did not release his wrist until they were outside the club hall and when she finally did, she began to pace around before him.

"He pisses me off." She yelled. "All the time!"

Of course, Drake knew who she was talking about but he chose to ignore her. Rather than agree with her or try to calm her down, Drake settled for examining his wrist which had now reddened because of how tightly Nicole had been holding him.

"One of these days, I'm gonna have to poke him in the eye. I just can't stand him." She shuddered before turning to look at Drake. He looked away, avoiding her eyes.

She stared at him for a while before folding her arms above her tummy.

"So where were you going?"

"Away from this hell hole." He blurted out as though he had been waiting for her to ask him that question again. A bang of his black curls fell over his face and he pushed it away angrily. "I told you I didn't wanna come. I knew it was gonna be a waste of time."