I want to tell them it’s not that cut-and-dried. I want to tell them I’m Easton’s father. But I won’t add to their grief. Now isn’t the time and my needs are bottom of the list of priorities. I don’t want to leave without seeing Vivien, but I don’t want to fall out with her parents either. I can always come back later, when they are not here, and sneak in to see her. “Okay. I’ll go.”
“I would like to see her,” Ash says. “Is it okay if I stay?”
Lauren looks undecided.
“Stay,” Jonathon says. “Audrey and Alex will be here shortly. Talk to Audrey. See what she thinks. If she says it’s okay, it’s fine by us.” Lauren closes her eyes, and she looks like she can barely stand any longer. “I’m going to take Lauren to the house to freshen up. We want to be there when our grandson wakes.”
“Maybe we should swap numbers,” Ash says. “That way we can keep each other informed if there are any developments.”
They exchange numbers as I rouse Ro. “Come on,” I tell him. “We’re leaving.” I hug my sister. “Keep me posted too, please.”
“I will. I promise.”
I jerk my head at Jamie, dragging my brother to his feet. Wetting my lips, I eyeball Viv’s parents. “I’m very sorry for any distress I may have caused you or your daughter. I just wanted to be here for her. I know I have made mistakes in the past, and I can only imagine what you must be thinking, but Viv is the love of my life. There has never been anyone but her. I know she’s devastated and traumatized right now, and I would never add to that. I will give her space, but you should know I’m going nowhere. I let her walk away from me once, and I’ve regretted it every day since. Being apart from her all these years has killed me, and it’s a mistake I won’t be making again.”
After a trip to the bathroom and the hospital cafeteria, Ro and I make our way outside, using the side entrance, keeping our heads down. There’s a big ruckus out the front of the hospital, where the fans and reporters are, and I’m guessing the Millses have stepped outside. At least it means no one is focused on us, and we make a quick dash across the parking lot, finding my Land Rover exactly where Jamie said it would be.
I’m behind the wheel, ready to pull out of the space, when Ash calls me. “Have you left yet?” she asks.
“I’m still in the parking lot.”
“Come back inside. Lauren and Jon have gone. Audrey and Alex are with Viv now. She’s been moved to a private room, and I know where. You can take a glimpse at her, but that’s all, Dillon. No talking to her, and you can’t let her see you. That’s the dealio. Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take it. Thanks, Ash.” I couldn’t love my sister more in this moment. I know she’s mad at me, and she’s going to be even madder when I tell her everything, but she’s still going to bat for me.
“Stay here,” I tell Ro, handing him the keys. “I won’t be long.” He lowers his seat, to take another nap, while I grab a hoodie from the back seat. Yanking the hood up, I climb out of my car and head back inside the hospital.
Ash is waiting for me as soon as I step out of the lift. “Good call with the hoodie,” she murmurs, dragging me down the corridor. “Security just found a reporter on this floor, snooping around.”
“We need to get protection up here for Viv,” I say.
“I’ve already messaged her parents asking if they want me to organize that. It seems Reeve has his own team of bodyguards. They are sending a couple over, which means you have to do this fast. Audrey will be pissed when she sees you, Dil, so just take a quick look at Viv and then go.”
Jamie nods at his fiancée as we pass by. He’s crouched over the nurses’ desk, distracting the burly-looking blonde behind the counter, so we can sneak past.
Ash slams to a halt at a closed white door. “This one,” she whispers, pointing.
Without stopping to second-guess myself, I open the door and step inside Viv’s darkened room. She is semi-propped up in the elevated bed, her tangled hair resting on a bunch of pillows. A large purple bruise on her cheekbone matches one on her right temple. A white bandage is strapped around her wrist, and she’s hooked up to a drip and another machine. Lighting is low, and the blinds are closed, to help with her concussion, I’m guessing. She looks battered and bruised and lost, but at least she’s alive.
“What the hell, Ash?” Audrey says from her place beside the bed. She is stroking Viv’s hand, and exhaustion is clearly evident on her face.
A tall guy with sandy-blond hair and red-rimmed brown eyes growls at me from the other side of Viv’s bed. This must be Alex. Audrey’s husband and Reeve’s best friend. Hostility rolls off him in waves as he stands. “Get the fuck out of here before I make you.”
Viv winces, slowly turning her head in my direction.
“Alex,” Audrey murmurs, shaking her head.
A cry bursts from Vivien’s lips, and her tortured hazel eyes fill with tears. She tries to sit more upright in the bed, clutching her stomach, in obvious pain, at the sudden movement.
“You need to stay still, babe,” Audrey says. “You’ll rip your stitches.”
“Reeve!” Viv cries, staring at me with bloodshot eyes. “Tell them to bring Lainey back. They took our baby!” Her hands move to her deflated stomach. “I can’t feel her, Reeve. She’s not kicking.” Her eyes stretch wide as she looks up at me.
Horrified shock splays across Audrey’s face as she stares between us. “Come sing to her, like you usually do,” Viv adds, shoving the covers down and running her hands over her much smaller bump. “C’mon, Reeve. She’ll wake up when she hears you singing. You have such a gorgeous voice.”
I am rooted to the spot in horror. I shouldn’t have come here. This is only making things worse. I want to leave, but I’m afraid to leave now. I don’t know what I should do. I look at Audrey, beseeching her to tell me what to do. Silent tears are streaming down her face. She turns to face her husband, pleading with her eyes for him to do something. But he’s as shell-shocked as we are.
This is tearing strips off my heart. I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t want to do or say anything to set her off. She’s clearly traumatized and probably still drugged up and disoriented.
“Reeve, please.” She stretches her arms out. “I need you,” she wails, as tears trek down her face.
I move toward her as if on autopilot, hoping my instincts will guide me. Alex has moved over beside his wife, cradling her in his arms as she cries her eyes out. They watch me, and it only adds to the responsibility I’m feeling. Cautiously, I sit on the edge of Viv’s bed, struggling to hold my own emotion inside. All I want to do is hold her and tell her I still love her. That I never stopped.
But I know I can’t.
She grabs my left hand. The one I don’t wear rings on. “Where’s your wedding ring?” she asks, her voice rising. “Where is your ring, Reeve?” She stares into my face, and her eyes pop wide. She drops my hand as if it’s poisonous. “You’re not Reeve!” she croaks in a hoarse voice. “You’re not him. You’re not my husband.” She pummels her fists against my chest, but there is no strength in her motion. “Go away! I don’t want you! I want Reeve! Reeve!” she rasps, her fragile voice bouncing off the walls. “Reeve! Where are you? I need you.”