#Fate

by Cambria Hebert

  “I should have known you’d understand.” His tone was warm, his lips softly curved in a smile.

  “I do, and it’s okay. We can’t not do the things we love because it’s scary. If that were the case, you and I probably wouldn’t even be together.”

  His face darkened. “That’s not even an option.”

  I smiled. I liked when he was growly.

  “Return to racing when you’re ready. When you are physically and mentally ready. Give them hell, and take your title back.”

  “Yeah?” His teeth flashed.

  “I’ll be right there cheering you on.”

  “I won’t race forever. I’ll take a job at the NRR, something less risky.” He promised.

  “Okay.”

  “Thank you,” he whispered fiercely. “Thank you for always being exactly what I need.”

  “Get some sleep. The crew will be here early,” I told him.

  “Kiss me first,” he demanded.

  Leaning over our sleeping son, I kissed him languidly until he sighed in satisfaction.

  I’d be lying if I said him getting back on the track didn’t make me apprehensive, but I’d meant every word I said. And after everything we’d been through, I knew that doing anything less than exactly what we wanted was not the way we were meant to live.

  I had faith that fate would take care of us. Just the way it had up until now.

  No one said life would be easy, but it didn’t have to be in order to be happy.

  * * *

  I’m coming to you today from behind the walls of a notorious compound on the western side of Maryland. Acres of land surrounded by a stone wall and attainable only via a large wrought iron gate are quite imposing when first approached.

  I wasn’t sure what to expect when the gates swung open, allowing me and our team at GearShark behind the coveted walls. But I can say what I found was somewhat surprising. Though the property is very large and it is no secret that the people who live here are blessed with fat bank accounts, nothing is pretentious.

  Nothing screams of money and privilege, except, of course, the two large houses positioned deep into the acreage. But even those, which are enormous and beautifully built, do not invoke an air of celebrity. Instead they just make me feel like I’m being welcomed by family.

  As I drive under the canopy of mature trees, dogs race across the open grass and children run about with them. I know which house belongs to our featured couple immediately because right beside it is a massive garage and Drew’s famous blue fastback parked out front.

  A large, hairy dog, of which breed I cannot determine, is lying by the front door, and a boy with incredibly dark hair and eyes sits beside him with about a dozen race cars scattered around.

  There are chalk roads drawn everywhere—down the concrete steps, over the walkway, and even around the driveway. A larger toy Mustang, the kind that small children can drive, is parked beside Drew’s fastback, and I have to say I find it incredibly charming.

  Now here I am, sitting in the middle of the home our feature cover models share, a place that is simply done in mainly black, white, and gray but is livened up by the pops of colors from all the toys and baby items scattered about.

  This is the first interview given by either man after the tragic and quite dramatic accident that cut short Drew’s racing career with New Revolution Racing. Since his accident a few months ago, rumors have swirled and headlines have highlighted the turmoil this race star has faced.

  Trent nor Drew have spoken to the press… until now.

  We at GearShark are honored and thrilled to welcome back these beloved boys for a raw and eye-opening interview where the notoriously private men have promised to come clean and tell all.

  And once these boys have spilled the tea and your thirst is quenched, you can flip through a few exclusive photos we’ve been given permission to share from their recent wedding (yes, they’re married!).

  Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and let’s get this interview started.

  * * *

  Interview key:

  GS = GearShark (that’s me, Emily!)

  DM = Drew Mask (not Forrester anymore!)

  TM = Trent Mask

  * * *

  GS: First things first. Thank you for allowing GearShark the privilege of coming into your home.

  DM: Thank you for coming all the way here for this interview.

  GS: It’s truly my pleasure. It’s wonderful to see you again. It’s been quite awhile.

  TM: You’re looking beautiful as ever, Emily.

  GS: Thank you so much.

  GS: Drew, you are looking well. Better than I honestly expected. How are you doing after the crash?

  DM: I’m alive, and alive is a pretty good thing.

 

  GS: So you did almost die, correct?

  DM: Yes. I flatlined on the operating table.

  TM: I don’t like to think about that.

  GS: I’m going to ask some hard questions. Are you ready?

  DM: Ask.

  GS: What is it like to almost die? Do you remember any of it?

  DM: Yes. Some people might call it a near-death experience. I saw myself in surgery, I saw the doctors operating on me, and I saw the monitors flatline.

  GS: Were you scared?

  DM: I was confused more than anything, and then I was scared. I remember looking for Trent.

  GS to TM: How does it feel to hear that as he was dying, he looked for you?

  TM: I don’t think I can put it into words.

  GS: Can you try?

 

  TM to DM: It’s okay, I know the end of the story.

 

  TM: I feel helpless and small. It’s quite literally my worst nightmare for Drew to need me and me not be there.

  GS: Let’s talk about that for a minute. About some of the rumors that still circle, even months after the accident.

 

  GS: There have been many reports as well as a very heartbreaking image circling the internet that say you were thrown out of Drew’s hospital room and banned from his bedside. Is that true?

  TM: It’s true.

  GS: Why?

  TM: Drew’s parents showed up at the hospital with a will Drew had crafted when he was very young. It named his parents next of kin and basically control over his medical care.

  GS: Drew, you didn’t have control over yourself at the time?

  DM: I was in a coma.

  GS: What were the extent of your injuries exactly?

  DM: Uh…

  TM: He had broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a traumatic brain injury with stitches and debris in his skull. He also has a broken leg and various other minor contusions and lacerations. He also had swelling of his brain, was on a ventilator for several days, and had a chest tube.

  GS: How was it seeing him like that?

  TM: It was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. If I could have traded places with him, I would have.

  GS: You caused quite a ruckus at the crash site. There are also several reports that Ron Gamble, ah, paid off several of the emergency workers that you attacked while trying to get to the car Drew was inside.

  TM: Ron Gamble is an upstanding man who would never do anything that wasn’t lawful.
>
  GS: That’s quite a political answer.

  TM: It’s the truth.

  GS: Do you deny that you were aggressive at the crash site?

  TM: Why would I deny it? There are videos floating all over the internet showing it.

  DM:

  GS: What was going through your head at that time?

  TM: Nothing. All I could think about was getting to Drew and getting him out of that car. He was pinned, and the rescue workers were having a hard time getting to him safely.

  GS: But you didn’t care about your safety.

  TM: My safety depends on Drew’s.

  GS: Those scars on your wrist, what are those from?

  DM: That’s from when he reached through the fire inside my car to get me.

  GS: You put your hand through fire?

  TM: Yeah.

  GS: Would you do it again?

  TM: A million times over.

  GS: Back to the hospital. So Drew’s parents had you removed from the room. Why? Were you still acting aggressively like at the crash site?

  DM: Trent isn’t aggressive. He’s extremely protective. There’s a difference. And he didn’t do anything wrong.

  GS:

  DM: My parents kicked him out of the room because he’s gay. Because we are in a relationship.

  GS: And your parents don’t approve?

  DM: No. My father is dead set against it. He disowned me five years ago.

  GS: That must have been very painful.

  DM: It was. I spent a long time doubting myself. Fighting against who I really was to be who they wanted me to be.

  GS: But you don’t do that anymore?

  DM: No. I learned that real love doesn’t have limits. Real love doesn’t have boundaries or rules.

  GS to TM: There’s a photo. This was leaked to the press. Is this you?

  TM: Yes.

  GS: Did you know this photo was being taken?

  TM: No. I thought I was alone.

  GS: Was this after his parents made you leave his bedside?

  TM: Yes.

  DM: I hate that photo. Put it away.

 

  DM to TM: Seriously, T. Where the hell are your shoes? What’s with those thin clothes?

  TM: I was wearing scrubs because my clothes were bloody and dirty, and they wouldn’t let me in to see you that way. I’m not really sure why I wasn’t wearing shoes. I don’t remember many details from those first couple days.

 

  DM to TM: I’m sorry.

  TM: Don’t be sorry.

  GS: So Drew’s parents kicked you out of the hospital room because you’re in a gay relationship?

  TM: Yes. I think he was hoping Drew would have some type of amnesia and he could erase me from Drew’s life without any resistance from him.

  DM: Shows how little my father knows me. I won’t ever forget Trent. Ever.

  GS: What happened when you woke up?

  DM: I asked for Trent.

  GS: He was the first person you asked for?

  DM: Duh.

  GS: How did you feel when you realized what your parents had done?

  DM: Ashamed. Angry. Responsible.

 

  TM: Responsible?

  DM: I should never have allowed things to get that bad. If I’d had the courage to cut them out of my life completely, they never would have been able to hurt Trent that way.

  TM: They’re your parents.

  DM: No. They’re just people with bad hearts.

  GS: Is this why you got married? Maryland recognizes same-sex marriage, so you now have all the legal rights a spouse has.

  DM: I married Trent because I love him.

  GS: I don’t think you’ve ever said that in an interview before.

  DM: Surely, I said it when we came out.

  GS: But probably not since then. And you’ve touched him more in the last ten minutes than I have ever seen in the last five years combined.

  TM: We aren’t being lowkey anymore. We aren’t going to refrain from showing how we feel or even saying how we feel for the benefit of others. Doing things for the benefit of other people only hurts us. I care more about Drew than anyone else.

  GS: So you have a lot of skinship?

  DM: What the fuck is skinship?

  GS: You touch each other a lot. You’re intimate with each other.

  DM: Are you asking me if we have sex?

  TM to DM: Easy, Mask.

  TM to GS: Yes, we touch all the time. It’s been very difficult to hold back when we are out in public. And of course we have sex. Do people really think we don’t?

  GS: Just asking the questions the people want to know.

  DM: You’re a dirty woman, Emily.

  GS: If I was dirty, I would ask you to kiss.

 

  TM: Next.

  GS: Okay, so you got married because you love each other.

  TM: For a long time, I was afraid to get married. I was afraid it might ruin the perfection I thought we had.

  GS: You didn’t have perfection?

  TM: No.

  GS: Do you now?

  DM: We’re pretty fucking close.

  TM: Stop saying fuck. This is a professional interview.

  DM: You just said it.

  GS: Who’s the top and who’s the bottom?

 

  DM: Emily. This is a family magazine.

  TM: Who said we have to be one or the other?

  DM:

  GS: Do you have any kind of relationship at all with your parents now, Drew?

  DM: None. And I never will.

  GS: There is no room for forgiveness? Even if they see that they were wrong?

  DM: Some wounds are just too deep to come back from. I might be able to forgive what they did to me. But to Trent? I’ll never forgive.

  GS: How is your recovery coming from the wreck?

  DM: Slow but good. I’m just waiting on this leg to catch up to the rest of me.

  GS: Have you been behind the wheel since?

  DM: We bought an SUV. I’ve driven that a couple times.

  GS: Not your Mustang?

  DM: It’s a clutch, and I need two feet to drive.

  GS: Okay, what kind of SUV did you buy?

  TM: It’s an Infiniti QX80.

  DM: I’d rather have a Ford.

  TM: He’d rather have a Ford.

  GS: So why not a Ford SUV?

  DM: ‘Cause I thought this was better for my kids.

  GS: You bring me to my next talking point.

  TM: Bring it.

 

  DM: Emily, are you checking out my husband?

  GS: Me?

  DM: Stop it. Stop it now.

  GS: You are currently in the process of adopting two children, correct?

  TM: Yes.

  GS: Names, ages, gender?

  TM: Travis is five, and Andi is a few months.

  GS: Andi is…

  TM: She’s a girl. Her name has an “I” at the end.

  DM: But she’s named after me.

&nbs
p; GS: Andrew. Andi. Whose idea was that?

  TM: Mine.

  GS: Did you always have plans to adopt?

  DM & TM: No.

  GS: So how did this come about?

  TM: My brother told me this once—

  GS: Which brother?

  TM: Does it matter?

  GS: You have very famous brothers.

  TM: It was Romeo.

  GS: Please continue.

  TM: That’s how fatherhood is. The first time you lay eyes on your kids, you love them. You know they’re yours. That’s how it was when we met Travis and Andi.

  GS: The timing of this coincides with Drew’s hospitalization. Reports are stating that you met the children at the hospital.

  DM: I know this is a tell-all, and we’ll tell you as much as we can, but details about our kids are off-limits. The adoption is still going through, and frankly, the press is scary. We won’t do or say anything that might jeopardize them.

  GS: Your foster daughter and foster son are Asian, is that correct?

  TM: Our daughter and our son. Period. Never refer to them as anything but that ever again. And yes, they’re part Korean.

  GS: You love them.

  DM & TM: Duh.

  GS: What’s it like being new fathers?

  TM: Overwhelming, scary, but the best.

  DM: What he said.

  GS: What’s one thing you didn’t expect about being parents?

  DM: How small our king-size bed really is.

  TM: That love could be so infinite.

  DM to TM: You’re making me look bad, frat boy.

  TM: I love you.

 

  DM: I love you, too.

  GS: How long until the adoption is final?

  TM: Hopefully, not too much longer.

  GS: How do the kids fit in with the rest of the family?

  DM: Like it was meant to be.

  GS: Drew, you said you almost died. How did death change you? Are you now more scared of death than before?

  DM: Death made me grow up. All the way up. It made me realize that life can change in an instant. One minute, you’re happy, and the next, everything crumbles around you. I realized I’d been holding back without really meaning to. I don’t want to live like that.

  GS: And the fear?

  DM: I think death always conjures up some kind of fear. Not necessarily the dying part, but the being separated from the ones you love the most. Even in death, I looked for Trent. Even in a coma, he was the one voice I always heard. I’m not really afraid anymore because I’ve seen death, because I learned that not even death can keep me away from Trent.