during the early hours of this morning, but the hospital had no idea who to contact until he regained consciousness a short time ago and could tell them my mobile number.’
Andy took a step towards him, only to come to an abrupt halt as she recognised that at some time over the past thirty seconds he had placed an invisible wall about himself, and one which she couldn’t penetrate. ‘Is he going to be okay?’
‘Let’s hope so.’ Darius intended to find out the details of Xander’s injuries for himself later; for the moment it was enough to take in that his twin was injured and in the hospital. ‘I really do have to go to him, Miranda.’
‘Well, of course you do,’ she accepted briskly.
Earlier Darius had wanted—needed—to put some distance between them, if only so that he could clear his head enough to try and work out what the hell had happened here today. But he certainly hadn’t wanted to leave under these circumstances.
The sooner Darius could get to the hospital, and see his twin for himself, the better he would like it.
‘Would you like me to drive you to the hospital?’
Darius looked up sharply. ‘Sorry?’
‘I asked if you would like me to drive you to the hospital,’ Andy repeated softly.
‘Why?’ He looked totally bewildered by the offer.
‘It’s what friends do for each other, Darius.’
‘Is it?’
‘Yes. Besides—’ she avoided meeting his piercing gaze ‘—you’re obviously upset, and probably shouldn’t be driving at the moment.’
He continued to frown as he gave a slow shake of his head. ‘I’m going to need my car later...’
‘Then I’ll drive you there in your car and get a taxi back. Look, I’m not asking any longer, Darius, I’m telling you I’m driving you to the hospital,’ she added briskly. An uncertain Darius was definitely out of character. ‘What happens after that will be completely up to you.’
Although she already had a feeling that she wouldn’t be seeing Darius again after today.
DARIUS KNEW HE’D had every reason to feel concerned about his twin as he looked down at Xander lying asleep in the hospital bed. His brother’s face was deathly pale apart from a colourful bruise on his brow from where his head had struck the windscreen. The doctor had taken Darius aside in the corridor and informed him that they were currently monitoring Xander for concussion, that his ribs were badly bruised, and his left leg had been badly broken, and required surgery.
Xander’s lashes flickered several times before his lids were slowly raised and he looked up at Darius with dark and pain-filled eyes.
‘What the hell did you think you were doing?’ Darius’s voice sounded harsh in the otherwise silence of the room, his hands clenched at his sides. ‘I realise you’ve been acting more recklessly than usual this past few months but not to the point of nearly killing yourself.’
‘Darius,’ Andy remonstrated gently, knowing it was worry for his twin that motivated his anger, and that he would probably regret this outburst later if it wasn’t stopped now.
Darius had been tensely silent on the drive over to the hospital, offering no objection when Andy got out of the car with the intention of accompanying him inside. Not, she had realised, because he had actually wanted her with him, but because he was so distracted and worried about his brother that he had simply forgotten she was there.
Her heart melted now as she saw the desolation in Darius’s expression as he looked down at her blankly.
‘I’m not suicidal, Darius,’ Xander spoke huskily, as if it hurt to do so. Which it probably did, when his ribs were badly bruised. ‘I just... I went on to the club late last night and something happened, Darius.’ Xander’s voice cracked, dark eyes glistening with emotion. ‘Something so—I lost control, Darius!’ He gave a pained groan. ‘I lost control, and I never wanted to be like him!’
‘Him?’ Darius repeated cautiously.
‘Our father!’ Xander snapped angrily. ‘I don’t want—I never want to be him.’
‘You aren’t in the least like him,’ Darius cut in harshly. ‘And you never could be.’
‘But—’
‘You are nothing like him, Xander,’ Darius insisted firmly. ‘If you lost control then you had a damned good reason for doing so, I’m sure,’ he added grimly.
Xander gave a shake of his head. ‘There’s no excuse for the way I behaved.’
‘There is!’ Darius’s hands were once again clenched at his sides. ‘There must be,’ he insisted firmly.
Xander’s expression softened. ‘I want to believe that, but...’
‘But nothing,’ his twin dismissed bleakly. ‘Xander, we both suffered at his hands, you physically, and me— Do you have any idea of the guilt I’ve carried around all these years?’
Xander visibly swallowed. ‘Guilt?’
‘Yes, damn it, because I was the one he didn’t hit!’ Darius moved restlessly away from the bed, his face as pale as his twin’s. ‘So many times I tried to draw his attention away from you, but it never worked.’ He drew in a ragged breath. ‘And all these years I’ve wondered if I could have done something differently. If I had maybe just...’
‘It wasn’t your fault, Darius,’ Xander reassured him gruffly.
‘It always felt as if it was!’ He breathed heavily. ‘That last time he hit you—I just wanted it to stop, Xander. For him to stop!’
‘I know, Darius.’ His twin spoke softly. ‘Mother and I have always known, but been too afraid to ask, to confirm, our suspicions. I’ve dealt with it by ignoring it, and Mother has dealt with it by a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that has resulted in the two of you barely speaking to each other unless it’s absolutely necessary.’
‘Dealt with what?’ Darius looked baffled.
Andy had been feeling decidedly uncomfortable these past few minutes, knowing she was intruding on a very private conversation between the two brothers, and that she was learning much more about the Sterne twins than Darius would thank her for when he was feeling less emotional. ‘I think I should go now and leave the two of you to talk,’ she put in softly.
The brothers both turned to look at her blankly, confirming they had both forgotten she was there.
‘When, or if, you have the time, could I ask that you call me to let me know how Xander is?’ she now asked Darius gently before turning to smile at Xander. ‘And you just concentrate on getting better, hmm?’ she encouraged huskily. ‘Your brother loves you very much.’
Xander’s smile was bleak. ‘I know.’
‘I’ll walk you out, Miranda,’ Darius stated evenly.
‘There’s no need, really.’
‘There’s every need,’ he insisted firmly. ‘I’ll be back in a few minutes,’ he assured Xander before following Andy from the room. ‘I’m sorry you had to hear any of that,’ he said gruffly once they were outside in the hospital corridor.
Andy wasn’t. The conversation between the two brothers had been very revealing. And it confirmed, she believed, that the way Darius distanced himself from others, and his difficult relationship with his mother, all stemmed from a childhood spent with what now sounded like an abusive father, and a mother who preferred not to talk about it after the death of her husband.