Shut up, Drake

Drake’s POV

I started to rub at my temples, hoping the sharp, stabbing pain would fade away that had taken root inside my skull. What at first had been just a minor headache had been growing over the past days into something unbearable. And each time it flared, flashes of fragmented memories came with it, fragmented images I couldn't quite seem to piece together, so familiar faces, vague emotions, and unsettling scenes that slipped away the instant I tried to focus on them. My mind was in turmoil, and the pain did not help.

I had ignored it at first, thinking that it was work stress or perhaps the fallout with Charlotte. But when the flashes started getting stronger and more often, I knew something deeper was wrong. Then finally, it reached a point where, in a meeting, I just could not focus because searing pain shot through my head, I got up, excused myself, and left early, finally deciding to take the long overdue trip to the hospital.

I sat in the sterile waiting room, the hum of