Scott stands and puts himself right in Landon’s firing line, clearly as prepared for a fight as Landon appears to be. And it isn’t until Seffi gets up, too, and makes a beeline for Landon, her fury quite clear on her face, that I shunt myself in between all of them.
“Stop.” My free hand goes up to Landon. “We don’t know anything for sure, and you can’t—”
“I can, and will. If there was ever a reason for them not to be together, we’ve just found it.” He moves towards me, as if ready to take matters into his own hands by shoving me out of the way and physically throwing a Foxton out of this place.
Willow gets in front of his face, too, probably hoping to help. “Landon, no. Calm down.”
“Look, I don’t know what this is, but wearetogether, Landon. I thought you were alright with that?” Seffi says, clearly pissed at Landon’s tone. “You didn’t seem to mind in Paris, and nor have you questioned a bloody thing since then. What is going on?”
“That was before. This thing between you is absolutely off-limits now,” he grates out, fury building in his voice.
“What?” Seffi bites, in question. “What gives you the right to—”
“No more. Scott. Leave. Now!”
Scott steps around Seffi in response, dark brooding eyes seeming very ready for the fight that might well be coming. “Fuck off, Landon. If we have to do this again, I’m happy to, but you don’t get to dictate anything and if you—”
I step closer. “Scott, you don’t understand. We’ve found something that—”
“Stop, Ivy,” Landon snaps.
My eyes shoot to his, and I watch as he tries to tell me something without actually saying it. Oh, he doesn’t want a Foxton to know anything yet. Of course, he doesn’t. How stupid of me, but without telling them, how the hell does he think he can get them to separate?
“Oh god,” I mumble, falling back into a chair. The journals land heavily on the table next to me, and I sigh at the possible consequences of all this history. “They need to know, Landon. They need a reason.”
“The reason is because I’m saying so.” He’s travelling the space between them before I can blink, one hand grabbing for Scott and the other trying to keep Seffi out of the way. I get up in the scuffle to drag Seffi away from them, barely avoiding a fist that comes out of nowhere, and then we all manage to crash out of the French doors onto the terrace.
It isn’t until I watch Blake get in the middle of it that I begin to wonder who’s going to end up dead any minute. He gets straight into the centre of them, both hands aimed outwards at chests, as if trying to stop the brawl. “Now, now, boys. Let’s all calm the fuck down, shall we?”
Landon looks spitting mad, and Scott looks like he might tear up this whole place to keep Seffi in his arms. I don’t know what to do, but the fact is they do need a reason, and regardless of Landon not wanting a Foxton to know about this, someone should probably tell them the truth.
“Leave before I make you,” Landon shouts.
Scott’s in his face before Blake can get a good grip on him, and that just gives Landon the impetus he needs. The punch to Scott lands so hard he has to put a hand to the terrace floor to keep balance, and I watch on as Blake still tries to put himself between them as a barrier.
“Noah! Help him!” I spit, hoping he might at least get involved so Blake doesn't have to deal with this on his own. He doesn’t. He stands still and smirks a little, as if he won’t be brought into anything unless directed to by his boss.
Christ, it’s all fists and shoving, chests bouncing and more fucking punches. Seems like nothing’s stopping it now, anyway, not unless one of us girls manages to get in the middle of a three-way brawl. I look at Willow hovering on the side, and then Seffi full of tears and worry as she screams for it to stop, and then gird myself that someone has to do something.
My feet move, hands reaching for Landon, perhaps hoping he might see sense rather than whatever this is, but the sudden sound of close gunfire shocks me to the spot. I spin around and listen to the scuffle come to an abrupt halt behind me.
“What the hell was that?” Landon says.
I keep staring in the direction it came from, scoping out the area around the orangery, and then make a beeline for it.
“IVY! For fuck’s sake!” Blake shouts. I can hear him running after me, hear them all running behind me. It only spurs me on to move faster, to find the problem quicker, because who the hell would have a gun here? And why?
I skirt the boundaries, peering around the huge stone and glass orangery, and feel Blake’s hand trying to pull me back. No way. Not this time, and not when something is going on in my family that I need to find out about. I shake him off and creep closer, slowly trying to get a view through the east window, but vines and foliage block some of my vision. And then I see something that I’ll never forget.
My hands go to my mouth, legs falling over themselves as shock hits me.
“NEVE?” I shout, scrabbling along the wall towards the entrance. “What the hell?” She looks up at me briefly before I can get inside. Her hands are covered with our father’s blood. “What's happened to Father?” Her head shakes, the glisten of tears on her cheeks visible, and she mouths something to me—I’m sorry, perhaps. And then she sprints out of the far door of the orangery like her life depends on it.
I race to the door and rush to Father on autopilot. I’m so shocked by the whole scene that I half fall to Father’s side. My hands scatter uselessly on his still body, not knowing what to do or what the fuck is going on. “HELP ME!” I scream.
Landon slides down beside me, his own hands trying to do the same as mine, and all I can hear is Seffi screaming and crying in the background. There's blood everywhere, and he's so grey and lifeless, and I don't know what to do. "BLAKE!" Tears erupt in my eyes, breath struggling to cooperate, as I feel strong hands pull me away so he can get down to the floor. Blake leans over Father’s mouth, then tips his head back, and starts doing CPR on him while he pulls his shirt off and covers the wound in the middle of Father’s chest.
“Push down on that,” he says to anyone.
