Page 84 of Falling

36

Sky

I always thought ‘time stands still’was an exaggeration, like in the movies when there’s a momentary pause before a bomb explodes and fills the screen with chaos. Wrong. The surreal world I live in freeze-frames for a second then explodes with the intensity of a supernova. Dropping the phone, I stumble back against the sofa. Why is this all so hard?

“Sky?” A distant voice comes from the phone and I pick it back up, blinking away the darkness covering my eyes.

“What happened?” I croak.

“We don’t think Dylan meant to do this,” says Liam, voice faint on the bad connection from the States.

Of course, he didn’t, I want to yell, he loves me, and he wouldn’t do this. “What happened?” I repeat, voice stronger.

“Medication and alcohol. Nobody knew,” continues Liam.

“Steve knew!” I yell, “Steve bloody knew!”

There’s a silence. “Okay, maybe he thought Dylan had stopped since he met you.”

“Are you saying it’s my fault for not being there?” I demand.

“No, Sky. He got wasted with Jem, drowning his sorrows. He’d taken some pills he was prescribed then drank too much. We think he’d taken some painkillers too. Something for flu. At least he was with someone.”

Stories of stars dying alone in hotel rooms filter through the horror. This happens. And this nearly happened to Dylan.

“Where is he?”

“He’s here, at the hospital. He’s gonna be fine, just needs watching until everything’s out of his system. He wasn’t out long before Jem called the ambulance, so no damage.”

“Can I talk to him?”

“He’s sleeping, Sky.”

Shock abates to silent tears, as I hold in the anguish. I have Tara in the hospital here, Dylan in the hospital over there. I’m torn in two. “I want to come back to the States.”

“Sure, we can arrange that. I’ll get Steve on it.”

What do I ask? Say? “Will you tell me when Dylan wakes up? I need to talk to him.”

“Of course.”

When the call ends, I stare at my phone as if the object is guilty for bringing me more bad news. Dylan almost overdosed because of medication that he shouldn’t take— a cocktail of drugs and alcohol to erase the pain.

And I know the one thing that tipped him over the edge.

* * *

I storm from my flat,wrapped up against the winter weather, scarf wound around my head in the hope of disguising myself. Still numb from Liam’s call, I walk along the street focusing on where I’m going. Bus stop. Hospital.

I halt.

Three men with cameras block my way. I need to pass them. Wrapping the scarf higher across my face in an attempt to disguise my teary eyes, turn back and walk away. Footsteps follow, rapidly catching up.

“Sky! What’s happening with Dylan Morgan?”

I bend my head and keep walking, heart charging adrenaline around my body. My scalp prickles, anger coursing throughout me, at life, at Lily, at them. Someone pushes a camera into my face and snaps my resolve of the last few weeks.

“Leave me alone!” I scream at the young guy holding the camera. His sandy blond hair flops across his forehead and he’s wearing a smug look I want to smack off his face. The camera flashes. “I said leave me the hell alone!”

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