A Collateral Attraction (9 page)

We have breakfast on the same balcony where Blythe and Ethan had theirs the day before and where Blythe delivered her sisterly message to me via her Instagram post. Harris’ hilltop balcony has the breathtaking view of the Pitons, two volcanic spires that make up the Soufriere Volcanic Centre. According to Harris, the designated World Heritage site is the remnant of one, or possibly more, collapsed stratovolcanoes.

Harris is warm and friendly, and I can see how it’s easy to drop one’s guard with him, with his easygoing personality and nurturing energy, for it really does radiate from him. He wants to know everything about you, and seems genuinely interested in what makes you happy and sad, even fearful. But it’s this skill of his with questions that reminds me of Heath’s warning about his grandfatherly act.

But grandfatherly act or not, he also reminds me of the grandfather I’m named after, and soon I’m laughing at his jokes and feel flattered by the way he doles out the compliments, about how I’m definitely warmer and friendlier than my sister, or that he’s figured out how to tell us apart.

“It’s the way you smile, dear,” he says. “It’s from your heart. You’re authentic. I can see that as clear as day. Now I’m not saying Blythe doesn’t smile from the heart because she does. Yours is…dare I say…so pure, so unaffected by the world.  Now I just want to know where Heath has been hiding you all this time.  You’re such a gem, my dear!”

“Nevada City,” I blurt out, every single word of warning that Heath gave me earlier forgotten. I feel Heath’s hand covering mine on the table, a gesture that isn’t lost on Harris who beams.

“She’s precious, Heath. I wish you both nothing but the best in the world,” he says as the staff arrive to clear away the table, leaving us with our cups of coffee and a bowl of fruit. “Now don’t let this young man hide you away where no one can see you, Billie. He can be such a recluse at times I’d hate to see your beauty and your light just tucked away-”

“Harris, don’t scare the poor girl. Just because you don’t see me traveling the same social circles as you and Ethan doesn’t mean I don’t get out at all,” Heath says and though he’s smiling, there’s an edge to his voice. Behind us, two of Harris’ security team pretend to look at the view but I can’t help but think they’re hearing every word.

“That’s because you don’t!” Harris laughs, “or at least not where I get to see you as much as I would like to. There’s more to life than just the boardroom, Heath, or work for that matter. You really do need to live life a bit more, and I know you don’t like it when I say such things to you — I’m sure it reminds you of your father-”

“It does,” Heath says, his voice clipped.

“But I can’t help it,” Harris says, laughing as he gives me an apologetic look. “Did you know I watched them all grow up — Heath, Ethan, Jessica. They’re like my own children! They used to play with Daniel and Sylvia up until they all had to go to finishing school. Daniel and Ethan did theirs in England, as did Sylvia and Jessica in Switzerland, and-”

“I’m sure Billie would rather hear of more exciting things than where we all went to school, Harris,” Heath says. “Don’t you, Billie?”

I flash him a smile and shrug. It’s the only thing I can do and appear neutral.

“Anyway, I do hope I get to see you both in Santa Barbara in time for Ethan’s tournament,” Harris says, turning to look at me. “Tell him to go to Santa Barbara, my dear. If you’ve never been to a polo tournament, then this is the place to be. I hear Prince Harry is going to be playing.”

“I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell Billie what to do, Harris,” Heath says. “By the way, where are Ethan and Blythe staying? Small world to have them here having breakfast with you yesterday, and now, here we are.”

And like a light switch that’s just been turned on, the atmosphere around the table thickens with something that doesn’t feel quite as friendly as it had been — not that Heath hadn’t contributed to it already with his warning to Harris about not telling me what to do.

“Feel free to walk around the grounds, my dear. I’m sure we’ll be boring you to death in no time with our talk of business,” Harris tells me.

“I’ll get up when I’m bored, if that’s okay,” I tell him, flashing him the friendliest smile I can manage. I’ve always hated confrontation and though my first instinct is to do as Harris says and flee the table, maybe even run back down to the beach and enjoy myself, I won’t, not when I’m here on a mission.

“In fact, I’d love to see, or even talk to Blythe if I can, while I’m here,” I say, realizing I could actually use this moment to find out Blythe’s phone number. “I lost my phone, and can you believe it, but I don’t have her number memorized! Do you know where she is?”

Harris looks surprised at first, but then pulls our his phone. “That’s funny. Blythe lost her phone, too, just before coming here. In fact, I helped her get a new one. There’s a place in town where you can get one here, and I can tell Heath where to find it. But let me call her for you, dear. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you. She has a new phone number anyway, so even if you did know it, I doubt you’d have been able to talk to her.”

“Thank you,” I say as Harris dials a number and waits as it rings. My heart is hammering against my chest, and I glance at Heath, trying hard not to look alarmed. We didn’t plan this part, and it leaves me no choice but to get up from the table should Blythe answer the phone and decide it the best time for her to scream my head off.

“They’re at Jade Mountain. She wanted all the spa treatments, from what I heard,” Harris tells us as his face lights up and he starts speaking. “Oh, Blythe! It’s Harris. I hope it’s not too early to have called. I’ve got your sister here — yes! She and Heath just had breakfast, and she’d like to talk to you. Turns out she lost her phone, too. Weird how it happens to twins like that, isn’t it? As long as either of you don’t lose your boyfriends at the same time — What? Oh, yes, here she is.”

He hands me the phone and taking it, I get up from the table and walk away, barely looking at Heath as I leave. Blythe is already talking and she’s not happy.

“How dare you follow me all the way here!” she exclaims. “I can’t believe you’re there at Harris’ house — you and that…that monster! You’re such a bitch!”

“Blythe, listen to me,” I begin, praying that she will stop her hissing and listen to me even for a minute. One of Harris’ security guys rounds the corner, but stops when he sees me before disappearing again.  “I don’t care if you hate me, but you need to know that someone is setting you up. They’ve got four million dollars under your name in Swiss bank accounts, which means if you’re found guilty, you’ll go to jail.”

There’s silence on the other end of the line, and I wonder if she hung up on me.

“Blythe? Are you there?”

“So I have four million. Ha ha. You know, I also have a Gold Card-”

“-that’s been cancelled, and as of yesterday, you no longer have access to company property, not even the penthouse. Do you know what that means?”

There’s another pause, and I strain to listen but hear nothing, just the sound of a door closing.

“Of course I know what that means, Bee. It means you’re drinking Heath’s fucking Kool-Aid and he’s got you good,” Blythe says. “Are you that hard up for a man that you’ll believe everything he tells you? He’s doing this to get back at Ethan, isn’t he? Did he tell you what Ethan found at his mom’s house? Well, maybe I should let him tell you, since that’s the only thing you’re willing to believe — his bullshit.”

I don’t know why I feel like I’m talking to a stranger, but I do. This isn’t the same Blythe that I know, definitely not the same person who met me at the airport two days earlier, who gushed with excitement when she saw me and held me so tightly I thought I was going to pass out because she wouldn’t let go. Who is this woman who is now calling me names I’ve never heard her say before?

“You’ve changed,” I say quietly and Blythe stops talking. “I never would have thought you’d say such things to me-”

“That’s because I’ve seen your true colors, Billie Bee. You got so sick and tired of living in the boonies that not only do you screw the first guy you see — even if he happens to be the man who took Ethan’s company away from him — but you try to ruin me, too,” she says coldly. “Jackson was right when he told me that he could tell you couldn’t be trusted. The moment he saw Heath all over you that night, he knew just what kind of a bitch in heat you-”

“Now you stop that right now, Blythe Natalie Delphine,” I say angrily, remembering how my mother used to address Blythe when she got her mouth running like this, though back then, it was the lite version of the Blythe I’m talking to now. “How dare you take the words of some man over your own sister? If anyone should be talking about true colors, it should be me.”

“Oh, please,” she scoffs. “Don’t make me laugh. At least now I know who you really are-”

“-like I know you for who you really are?” I snap, hating myself for playing Blythe’s game, but I can’t help it. She’s nowhere near me to silence with a fist, though even that I would never do to Blythe or anyone after this morning. “Who bled mom and dad’s account dry with requests for money you said was for your rent, when it was really for designer clothes so you could party all night? Who lied to them about having to work holidays when you were really vacationing in Florida for the winter with your friends in the biz instead of spending Christmas at home? And when they died and I was in the hospital, who breezed right through town with every intention to sell her share of the property even before the ink was dry on their death certificates? Who, Blythe?”

There’s a deafening silence on the phone and I hear her gasp.  “Is that what you think happened when mom and dad died? That I just breezed through town?”

“Well, wasn’t that what you did?” I ask. “That’s what Andrew told me-”

“Of course, you’re going to believe Andrew, just like you believe everything Heath tells you. Just when I thought we’d spend time together this week, and bury the hatchet, here you go using another man to drive a wedge between us,” she says.

“That’s not true, Blythe.”

“Really? Why don’t I tell you what’s true, Billie Bee, once and for all?” Blythe says. “How could you know that I just breezed right through town after the accident?  You never saw me sitting by your bed while you were in a coma for two weeks. You never felt me holding your hand, massaging and stretching your fingers and every damn joint in your body just so they wouldn’t curl up like they do in those books you read about coma patients? You never heard me talking to you because the nurses told me that hearing was the last to go, and that maybe, if I kept talking, you’d come back. I listened to all their shit about neurons connecting with one another at the sound of a loved one’s voice, and it didn’t matter if was all made-up pseudo-facts and they were laughing behind my back but I did it — everyday for two weeks until you woke up and I had to get the house ready for you.”

Tears well in my eyes and I’m speechless, ashamed at the things I had just said — and appalled at the things I’m hearing. It’s strange sometimes the things we never know till it’s too late.

“Well, I did that — and more,” she continues, “but did I even get an ounce of thanks from you the moment you got back from the hospital? Hell, no! You accused me, of all things, of sleeping with Andrew just because you saw him in my bed, and not only that, but you believed him when he told you that I seduced him! Did it ever occur to you that your so-called first love was a certified asshole? That because he had keys to the house — that you gave him — he turned into Goldi-fucking-locks and slept in my bed just because he felt like it? Did it ever occur to you that he’s the one who lied?”

“You said it yourself, Blythe, that he liked you first and that he settled for me,” I say but even my words are empty. I feel empty.

“What did you expect me to say?” She says as static crackles on the line. “That’s what he told me when he was coming on to me at the hospital — right there at your bedside! I figured you might as well know that then rather than keep believing you were going to marry him and that he was going to love you forever. You’re not the only victim here, you know.”

There’s a knock on the door on her end of the line and I hear her muffled voice tell Ethan that she’s okay, and that she’s just about to say good-bye.

Then hang up already, babe. We’re leaving — now, I hear Ethan say.

“I warned you about hedging your bets with the wrong man, Billie, but right now, I don’t care. Your track record with men always sucked anyway, so this shouldn’t be a surprise,” she says, exhaling. “And if you think you can play this game against me and win, think again. You’re not ready for the big leagues, honey, and you never will. You’re better off going back to the boonies because this is one game you are not going to win — not even with Heath.”

“Oh, and as of today, Billie,” she continues, “I never had a sister, you hear me? Don’t ever try to talk to me again because you’re dead to me. You hear that? 
You are dead to me
.”

It takes me almost five minutes to recover after Blythe hangs up. But at least I’ve committed her new phone number to memory. Even my legs are shaking as I make my way back to the balcony, and I pray that none of the staff moving about the property notice how I need to hold on to a trellis as I force myself to breathe deeply — in through my nose and out through my pursed lips.

How could I have messed up on my one chance to talk to Blythe so badly? I shouldn’t have lost my temper, or brought back the past, only to have it bite me in the ass because I was in a coma with no way to know what really happened.

I had no idea she’d been there for me. I only knew whatever Andrew told me shortly after I got home — that Blythe had been too busy with other things to spend even an hour with me at the hospital, or that all she did was stay with him. But after waking up to the news that our parents had died instantly in a head-on collision off Route 49 when a drunk teen-anger lost control of her car, I’d been too lost to know what to do or think.  I couldn’t even remember that night, or what Mom and Dad walked about inside the car.

I wonder now if anyone else, like Kathryn, tried to tell me the truth only to have me refuse to listen. Or did choosing to believe Blythe drive her away from Nevada City forever?

In one of the open windows in the second floor, I see Pam waving at me. I wave back at her, my hand dislodging a few jasmine blooms from my hair and I shrug playfully for my clumsiness.

As I’m about to round the corner heading to the balcony where Heath and Harris are still talking, I spot a thick jasmine bush filled with flowers and stop to pick a few blooms to fill in the bare spots in my braid. It also gives me more time to collect myself as I hear their voices drift towards me, though their tones are no longer friendly.

“Now while I don’t like to involve myself in sibling rivalry, Heath, I don’t approve of this behavior from both of you. I’m actually quite disappointed-”

“I’m not the one who stole-”

“Of course I know that. I even told Ethan I did not approve of him taking his mother’s letters and leaving the poor woman out of her mind — as if she isn’t already,” Harris says. “He knows those letters won’t do him any good in getting the board to vote you out — not unless you step down voluntarily.”

“Now why would I step down voluntarily, unless my performance has been less than exemplary? Does Ethan really believe that the board will vote him back in? Pigs may as well fly-”

“-which leads me to the next behavior I do not condone, Heath,” Harris says sternly. “Yours.”

“Mine?”

“This whole embezzlement scheme involving Blythe is your idea, isn’t it? Why else haven’t you reported it to the Ethics Committee, or to the board for that matter if not to allow the situation to get worse?” Harris asks.

“You know better than to accuse me-“

”You had all that time to tell me about this, Heath, your fellow board member and adviser. Instead, you and Tyler kept it to yourselves and only now do you tell me about it, but only because Ethan finally has something that paints you in a corner,” Harris says, chuckling wryly. “I am in awe of how far ahead you thought this over, Heath. I really am.  To blackmail your own brother just in case he blackmails you first.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard,” Heath says, his voice cold. “That line of thinking is very flawed.”

“Flawed?  Let me tell you what flawed is, Heath.  That you had to involve an innocent woman such as Blythe in all this is despicable,” Harris continues angrily.  “She has only ever been the sweetest woman I’ve ever met and because of that, I can’t even tell the Ethics Committee or call the Feds on this, not until I can prove that you are behind it —which of course, I can’t, can I? And worse, here you are, dating her sister! Do you always have to have everything your brother has, Heath, even a pathetic copy of the woman who’s going to be his wife?”

My hand moves up to cover my mouth as I stifle a gasp.
Pathetic?

“I came here because you were my father’s best friend, Harris, and my sister’s father-in-law.  Not only that, but you’re my brother’s godparent,” Heath says as I hear the sound of chair legs moving against the balcony floor. “But it is clear to me right now just what I am in  your eyes, and there’s nothing that I can say or do that will change it.”

“That’s not true, Heath,” Harris says. “I care for all three of you, no matter who or what you think you are, Heath.  Or what those letters say you are.”

“Really?  So how come I’m the only one you’ve decided has to be behind all this-“

“C’mon, Heath, admit it.  You’ve always been jealous of your brother and somehow you’ve cooked up the perfect way to get him out of the way completely and not only that, but completely destroy his name-“

“Holy guacamole! Your hair!” exclaims a voice behind me and I almost jump a foot off the ground.  “You’re, like, a princess, Billie, with all those flowers!”

As I spin around behind me, I see pam skipping through the garden with a lightness only a tween can exhibit, all arms and legs and a huge smile.  She stops in front of me and touches my braid.

“Hey, Pam,” I say, gathering my composure.

“This is so cool!” she exclaims, her voice lowering into an excited growl.

“Your uncle Heath slipped the flowers in my braid,” I say, forcing myself to stay calm. Behind me I hear the sound of chairs being pushed back and footsteps approaching.

“I think it’s so romantic. I wish my hair were longer so I can do just that, and look like a princess, too,” Pam gushes as Heath and Harris round the corner. Harris is grinning.  There’s no sign of the tense conversation they’ve just had seconds earlier, though Heath is unable to appear as carefree.

“But you already are a princess, Pammy, my dear,” Harris says.

“You’re just saying that because you’re my Grandpa!”

“Well, he’s still right,” I say, forcing a smile as Heath takes my hand.

“Thank you for breakfast, Harris,” he says. “Unfortunately, we can no longer stay as long as we had planned-“

“But why?  You just got here, Uncle Heath!” Pam exclaims. “I was going to give Blythe-”

“It’s Billie,” Heath says, his jaw tensing. “Her name is Billie.”

“Sorry,” Pam says.  “I mean, I wanted to give Billie a tour of the grounds.”

“Maybe next time, dear.  Looks like your Uncle Heath is working again,” Harris says, squeezing his granddaughter’s shoulders. “But aren’t your friends coming over for lunch?”

“He’s always a busy man,” she pouts. “Oh well, it’s so nice to meet you, Billie. Next time maybe my hair will be longer and you can help me braid it. And if you’re in New York, maybe you can come with me and watch One Direction. It would be so cool. My mom can’t stand them.”

“Sure,” I say as Pam rushes to hug me, and then Heath.  Harris leans forward to kiss me on the cheek, before shaking Heath’s hand.

“I know you have to leave so soon, but I hope to see you in Santa Barbara, Heath” he says. “In fact, I’ll arrange for a meeting between you and your brother before one of you does anything you’ll both regret.”

Heath turns away and guides me down the path through the garden, before I realize that I’m still holding Harris’ phone.  “Hang on,” I say, pulling my hand from Heath’s grasp as I hurry back to Harris.

As I hand it back to Harris, he grips my hand warmly, though his eyes search my face.  “I hop you got to speak to your sister.”

“I did.  Thank you for calling her for me.”

“That’s what friends are for, Billie, and just as Blythe is like a daughter to me, so are you,” he says, pulling me into a brief hug before taking a business card from his wallet and handing it to me.  “If ever you need anything, even if it’s just to talk, my dear, do not hesitate to call me.  Your sister does it all the time.  My personal number is on the back.”

I can feel Heath standing behind me.  “Billie, it’s time to go.”

As I thank Harris, a part of me wants to be snarky, his words about me being a pathetic copy of Blythe still smarting, but I stop myself.   I won’t stoop to his level, not when it wouldn’t change anything.

“Thank you for everything, Harris,” I say instead.

“It’s my pleasure,” he says. “Remember, I love Heath like he’s my son so you’re like a daughter to me now.  You both take care now, Billie and I hope to see you both in Santa Barbara.  I’m sorry you have to leave so soon.”

Heath pulls me along the path towards the main house and I have to tell him that I’m not his rag doll before he lets go. He’s in a dark mood and I don’t blame him. I would be, too, if I weren’t already in one from my conversation with Blythe.

I don’t need to hear Heath say that we’re not meeting Blythe or Ethan at all, not when I already know that they were leaving as soon as Ethan found out we were on the island. There’s no way she’s going to talk to me now, no matter what I do or say.

As we enter the beach house and round the corner leading to the living room, Heath stops and turns to face me.  “How much did you hear?”

“I didn’t hear anything,” I stammer, the lie emerging from my mouth before I can stop it. For a brief moment, I see the eyes of a boy hurt by someone he trusted, but as quickly as the image comes to me, it’s gone and in its place is a dark pair of eyes where all I can see is anger. I must have taken a few steps back when he asked me the first time, for now my back is to the wall and Heath has placed his palms on the wall on either side of me.

“Let me ask you again, Billie. How much did you hear?”

“Nothing. Why?”

He studies my face for a few more seconds before bringing his hands down to his side though his expression tells me that he doesn’t believe me.  “Nothing.  Anyway, get dressed. We’re leaving.”

The realization that I failed to convince Blythe to come back with me hits me hard when I see a Lear jet on the runway after the helicopter lands. With a large black
K
and blue trim along its side, I can almost imagine seeing Blythe’s face through one of the portholes looking back at me though I know it’s my imagination because there’s no way I can see her at all, not as far away as we are. But I tell myself it’s her — Blythe with her thick-rimmed glasses looking back at me through the window because as perfect as she is, she’s blind as a bat without her glasses or her contact lenses.

And no matter how dramatic Blythe can be at times, her words to me that she no longer has a sister makes the pain even worse, as if someone is twisting a knife deep in my gut.  When the plane speeds up along the runway and takes off, I scream in anger and frustration, startling everyone around me.

I don’t even realize that Heath has taken me into his arms in an embrace that leaves me sobbing against him as he pulls me into the hangar office and shuts the door. It’s as if the dam that held all my emotions in check since Blythe left me in that New York bar finally crumbled under the pressure of it all, and there’s nothing I can do but let it all out — my anger at her and our unresolved past, my frustration at being on the constant defensive, and my helplessness against the games people play.