Page 43 of The Version You Hide

Chapter 15

MACKENZIE

I’m learning that Dylan has this uncanny ability to make me feel comfortable like no one else can. Conversation flows easily between us, filling what would otherwise be awkward silence. During our little road trip to the cape, he’s mostly spoken of his experiences out in the ocean, but he mentioned his sister a couple of times and I got the feeling that the two of them are close.

When he finally merges off the highway, following signs for Cape Charlton, we find ourselves navigating quiet roads that lead to large, expensive-looking vacation rentals. We travel along a secluded road that leads out to the sea when Dylan abruptly turns, stopping outside of a tall ornate metal gate.

“What’s wrong?” I ask. “Is there something wrong with the car?”

I can think of no other reasonable explanation we would be stopping here on this secluded expanse of road.

“We’re here,” he says.

“Uh, where exactly?” I ask, confused.

He doesn’t seem to hear me. He’s already reaching out the window, tapping out a six-digit pin number into an electronic keypad situated on a sandstone wall. The gates swing open, revealing a winding driveway lined with trees and tall lamp posts strategically placed every few metres.

I’m stunned into silence as we pull up to an extravagant two storey building lit up like a beacon. Even the trees adorning the property are illuminated by fairy lights, a soft glow radiating from an elaborate fountain in the centre of a horseshoe driveway. It looks like something I’ve only ever seen in movies.

“Dylan, what the hell is this?” I finally ask, disbelievingly, my mouth agape.

He pulls the handbrake up noisily. “This is the party.”

“Your parents live here?”

“No,” he replies bluntly.

“Oh,” I say, relief washing over me. “For a second I thought you were going to say that…”

“They live in the city. This is their vacation home.”

“Oh,” I stare at him wide-eyed, unsure of what else to say.

I guess I should have assumed when meeting Dylan’s parents at the tavern that they came from a higher socioeconomic background but I’m just now starting to see why Dylan’s father had questioned my intentions.

Why he’d wondered whether I had been a gold digger.

“Come on,” he says, looking less than enthusiastic. “Let’s get this over with.”

He exits the vehicle, leaving me in the silence of the empty car. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Snapping out of it, I fumble with the door handle. It takes two goes to get it to open but I eventually succeed. I round the front of the car and join Dylan near the fountain, the mansion looming high above us.

It’s as though the energy has been drained right from him. Gone is the carefree, adventurous guy I’ve come to know. The sadness in his eyes as he stares at the front doors and the way his jaw is set hard are definite signs of his reluctance to enter his family vacation residence. I’d known from the phone call I overheard with his father that things were strained with his parents, but it’s becoming blatantly obvious to me now just how much.

His hand reaches for me, but my instincts kick in and I brush it away. In my peripheral I see his head swivel in my direction. I slowly turn, expecting to find annoyance in his gaze. Rejection even.

Instead, I only see his concern for me. I hate that this is how I’m programmed now. To refuse all human touch. Ethan did that to me and I’ll never forgive him for it.

Dylan drops his gaze to the ground, his shoulders slumping. For reasons unknown to me, he really doesn’t want to be here.

I don’t even want to go. The only thing keeping me sane the last couple of days was knowing that you were going to be there with me.

Suddenly, my fingers are gently grazing his, my palm looping around until our hands are flush together, his skin warm against mine.

“Come on,” I tell him, nodding towards the house. “We’ve got this.”

His mouth slowly curves in a smile, a glint of gratitude in his eyes. Knowing that I might be able to somehow make this night easier for him fills me with something I’d thought I’d lost long ago.

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