Page 34 of Wild Hearts

IWAKE UP TO THE SHRILLbuzzing of the security system for the apartment. My heart starts to race as I blink my living room into focus. I fumble around, reaching for my phone which has fallen off the couch. I stifle a yawn, checking the time: 11:30.

The security system is still buzzing, and I stumble over to the panel near the door. I check the camera, surprised to see Ivy standing there biting her lip, her arms wrapped around herself. I press the button to let her in, unlock my front door, and head into the bathroom to freshen up. By the time I get back to the living room, Ivy’s letting herself in.

“Hey,” I greet her with a hug. “Are you okay? How did things go with your dad?”

“Terrible.” Ivy sighs. She walks over to the couch and pulls my doona over her. “Can I stay here tonight? I don’t want to go home to an empty house.”

“Sure,” I say, curling up on the other side. I fight a yawn. “But where is everyone?”

“Sorry,” she says, shaking her head and twisting her hair around her finger. “I’m all over the shop with everything that happened tonight. They’re at the hospital in Ballina.”

My stomach drops. “What? Why? Is Brady okay?” I whisper.

“He will be,” Ivy mumbles, closing her eyes.

I feel like shaking her. What does she mean? What’s happened? I need more information.

I’m about to demand answers when Ivy lifts her head and glances over at me with bleary eyes. “He was so messed up after seeing our dad. We went for a surf with the guys. Well, Jordan and Harley went out with him. I needed...” She blows out a deep breath. “I needed some time to think about everything. Apparently he got too close to the point...”

I squeeze my eyes closed, imagining how hurt Brady would be after being flung upon the rocks at Glasson Point.

“He managed to steer his board away, but he’s done some damage to his knee. He’s in a fair bit of pain and he’s just waiting on the results of some scans.”

Opening my eyes, I reach over and squeeze Ivy’s hand. “He’ll be okay,” I say. I’m not sure if I’m trying to convince her or myself.

“Yeah...” She gives me a wobbly smile.

“So, tell me about what happened with your dad. How was it meeting Theo?”

A tear slips down Ivy’s cheek and she brushes it away. “He’s so cute,” she says. She sniffs before adding, “They’re pregnant again. I’m going to have another brother or sister.”

“That’s... great,” I offer, not sure how she feels about it.

With a nod she starts picking at the seam of my doona. “They’re also having a Baptism for Theo at the end of April. They want me and Brady to be a part of it.”

Holy shit.No wonder Brady is so messed up. After the torment he put himself through keeping secrets from Ivy and their mum last year this is the last thing he needs – having to pretend to play happy family with the two people that rippedhisapart.

“How do you feel about that?” I wince when I realise how much I sound like my therapist.

Ivy blinks back tears. “I don’t know. On one hand, meeting Theo was so... surreal I guess. I mean, holding him in my arms, I was blown away that this tiny little human is a part of me, you know?” I nod. “But on the other hand, I also kind of resented him.” She blanches. “I feel so bad saying that, but he’s the reason my dad walked out on us. If Tarshia hadn’t gotten pregnant, maybe Dad would have realised what a mistake he was making. Maybe he wouldn’t have left.”

Ivy sighs.

“I don’t blame Theo, not really. It was Dad who put us all in this situation because he couldn’t keep it in his pants. I just don’t know if I’m ready for everything to change so drastically. It kind of feels like Dad’s replacing us with the Willis family 2.0, and that cuts deep.” She bites her lip. “I’m also worried about Mum.”

“Does she know?”

“Not yet. It didn’t feel right to tell her with Brady in hospital, but I don’t know if he’s going to tell her without me. It’s the kind of thing he’d do – take it all on himself to protect me.”

That sounds exactly like something Brady would do. I reach for the remote, flicking on one of the streaming services to find something to take Ivy’s mind off everything. “We can’t do anything about that now,” I tell her. “Let’s just try and forget everything for tonight, and tomorrow we can go check on Brady and your mum.”

“Thanks for being such a great friend, Wren.”

My stomach twists at the thought of mine and Brady’s relationship, if you could even call it that. Ivy still doesn’t know about us, and I feel like I’m lying to her as I sit here next to her, my heart and head at war with each other over my concern for her brother. Bradywillbe okay physically; his knee will heal. But with everything going on with his dad, I know it will be cutting him up inside and I wish I could take away some of his pain, but I can’t.

I shouldn’t have called him before he went to see his dad. I should have kept my distance. I wish I could turn my feelings off and just be his friend.

Instead of saying anything to Ivy, I press play on an episode ofOne Tree Hill, and we settle in to get lost in someone else’s drama.

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