9
Dillon
“Turn on the TV,” Ash shouts, barging into the recording studio on the grounds of my L.A. pad, with tears streaming down her face. “Hurry the fuck up, Jay!” she yells at her fiancé, impatient with his slow reaction. “Stick CNN on now!”
“What’s going on?” I ask, immediately alarmed.
“Dillon,” she sobs, throwing herself at me.
Goose bumps sprout on my arms, and my mouth is suddenly dry. Keeping one arm around my sobbing sister, I remove my guitar, setting the Fender aside. Ro shoots me a quizzical look, as Jamie flicks through the channels. Conor is sprawled across the leather couch, smoking a joint, oblivious to the tension in the air.
“This is bad, Dil,” Ash whispers, wrapping both her arms around my body as the screen loads. “So, so, bad.”
All the blood drains from my face as I read the headline flashing across the screen.
REEVE LANCASTER AND PREGNANT WIFE IN LATE-NIGHT CAR ACCIDENT
My heart throbs painfully behind my chest cavity, and I hold my sister tight as the reporter speaks from the scene of the crash. Yellow police tape cordons off the road, and I watch with mounting horror as the shattered remains of a black and gold Maserati are hauled onto the back of a tow truck. Crowds of reporters, photographers, and innocent bystanders surround the cordoned-off area, holding up umbrellas to ward off the heavy rain that continues to fall.
“What can you tell us, Claudine?” the anchor in the studio asks the reporter.
“All we know at this time is that Reeve Lancaster and his pregnant wife, Vivien, were returning from a charity event when their car was hit by another vehicle. According to a local resident, who witnessed it from his bedroom window, Reeve lost control of the car and they crashed into a tree. The couple was trapped in their vehicle until firemen from a nearby station cut them free. Unofficial reports say Reeve was confirmed dead at the scene while a severely injured Vivien was airlifted to the hospital.”
I tune out after that, shucking out of my sister’s hold as I grab my jacket and keys. Panic slaps me in the face, and bile churns in my gut. “I need to go to her.” I toss a look at Ash over my shoulder as my fingers curl around the door handle. “Find out which hospital they’re at, and call me on the way.”
“Like fucking hell I will.” Ash stomps forward. “I’m coming with you.”
“Will they even let you near her?” Ro asks, standing from his seat at his drum kit. “It’s not like any of us have had any contact with her since she left Dublin.”
Guilt swirls in my veins. I’ve been keeping so much from everyone, and it’s all about to come out in the worst possible way. But I can’t think about that now. All I can think about is getting to the hospital to see Vivien. “They’ll let me in.” I have no clue if they will, but I’ll use the brother-in-law card if I have to.
“We’re coming with you.” Jamie slides his arms in his brown leather jacket.
“Conor can stay here and lock up,” Ro says, stalking toward me. Conor grunts, barely aware of this conversation. Jamie grabs my car keys from my hand. “I’ll drive. You sit in the back with Ash.”
We race outside, climbing into my Land Rover. “I need to tell you something,” I say after Ash has made a few calls and confirmed which hospital they have taken Viv to. Ro eyes me through the mirror as Jamie takes the next exit onto the highway. “I’ve seen Viv recently.”
“What the fuck, Dil?” Ash fixes me with an incredulous expression. She jerks her head back suddenly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Please don’t tell me you’re having an affair with her behind Reeve’s back?”
“Jesus. Of course not.” Vivien would be the last person to cheat on her husband, and my sister knows how I feel about the subject. I shake my head. “It’s nothing like that.”
“Then what is it like? And why are we only hearing this now?”
I wet my dry lips and exhale heavily before admitting the truth. “Reeve Lancaster is my twin brother.”
Ash gawks at me. Jamie’s mouth hangs open, and Ro’s expression conveys shock. Silence descends for about three point five seconds before my brother, my sister, and my best friend all explode, talking over one another, as they fight to get the first word in.
“I fucking knew it!” Ash thumps me repeatedly in the arm. “You fucking laughed when I said you looked uncannily like Reeve after you removed the contacts and returned to your natural roots.”
“Jesus Christ.” Ro glares at me from the front passenger seat. “You knew all along, didn’t you? I remember your reaction to Viv that night we first met her. You knew who she was, and you said nothing!”
I nod, and Ash thumps me again. “Stop fucking hitting me. I know you’ve got a shit ton of questions, and I promise I’ll answer them, but not now.” My throat clogs with emotion. I take a shuddering breath, clamping my hand over my mouth as the seriousness of the situation hits me full force. “If anything happens to her—” I croak, horrified when tears stab my eyes. “She’s got to make it. She’s got to pull through.” I cannot imagine a world without Vivien in it. It doesn’t matter that we’ve been separated for so long. She still means everything to me.
Ash’s pretty features soften. “Oh, Dil. It’s still her, isn’t it? Even after everything.”
I nod, locking eyes with Jamie as he indicates to turn right. My best friend is the only one who knows I’ve been pining for her all these years. He knows she’s the love of my life and how badly I wish I could change the events of our last few days together.
But Jamie doesn’t know the rest of it. I purposely didn’t tell anyone so they weren’t accomplices. Shame crashes over me as I think of the stress I’ve put Vivien under these past couple of weeks. If my actions have caused this, in any way, I will never forgive myself.