Page 93 of The Version You Hide

She spends a minute rolling her jeans up to her knees, then I take her hand as she lowers herself onto the step.

“Here,” I say, holding the bucket out to her. “Just take a piece of squid and then hold it out in your palm. Keep your hand flat so they don’t chomp your fingers.”

“That’s very encouraging,” she says sarcastically as she dips her hand into the bucket, her face screwed up in disgust. “Which one is Daisy, and which one is Cyrus?”

“That’s Daisy on your side and this is Cyrus over here.”

“Okay, Daisy. Here we go.” She blows out a nervous breath, plunging her hand under the water as Daisy glides smoothly toward her. She squeals as Daisy takes the food, flapping and splashing us both with water.

“She’s playing with you,” I say with a laugh.

“Playing with me? Are they smart?”

“Yeah. Very. And they like to play. Especially these guys because they’re so used to interacting with us. They even know their names and when they’re being called.”

“Amazing,” Mackenzie says in awe as she reaches into the bucket for a prawn. “Cyrus! Come here, boy!” Cyrus responds by siphoning the prawn straight from her hand. This time, she’s game enough to reach out and run a hand along his smooth body the same way I had. “Wow. Slimy.”

“Yeah,” I agree with a laugh.

I watch as she surveys the water’s surface, waiting for either of the stingrays to return to us, her face full of wonder. I’d hoped that I’d be able to get her out of her head for a while and I feel that I’ve accomplished that. At least for now.

“Hey, Daisy!” she calls out across the pool. “Can she hear me from all the way over there?”

“Yeah, they can hear us from anywhere in the pool,” I explain. “But they don’t need to hear us to know that we’re here. They can feel us in the water. They can feel our heartbeats.”

“They can not,” she says in disbelief.

“They can.” I nod. “They can even tell if a woman is pregnant because they can feel both heartbeats.”

“That’s incredible.” She holds out a piece of fish as Daisy surges forward, letting out a giggle when she touches on her shins.

My breath is taken away when her gaze meets mine. I’m in complete awe of the smile that stretches across her face. It’s a real smile. One that I’ve waited forever to see.

Then suddenly her chest rises with a ragged breath, her features falling in an uncertain frown. Like she’s just remembered that she isn’t supposed to be happy. That she doesn’t believe she’s allowed to be.

It’s the same look she wore when she returned to the tavern yesterday after spending the afternoon with Grace. I’d assumed she’d let me in on what’s bothering her eventually, that she’d tell me in time. But then I remember that Mackenzie is a vault, and without a little nudge, maybe she’ll keep it all locked up tight.

She wipes her hands on her jeans, drying them before she tucks her hand into her pocket. She pulls out a folded piece of notepad paper, identical to the paper I’d seen her shove into the pocket of her skirt yesterday.

She inspects it quickly, then returns it to her jeans and I realise she was checking to make sure she hadn’t gotten it wet. I get the feeling that this note, wherever it’s come from, holds the answers she needs. Though maybe she isn’t ready to hear them.

“Kenz,” I say, a hint of cautiousness in my tone. “Are you okay?”

She turns to me, sadness in her eyes, her shoulders sagging as she says, “No.”

She wades over to the side and flops down onto the edge of the pool, her legs still dangling in the water below. It means everything that she can be this honest with me.

I move across the step and take a seat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. As usual, she stiffens at my touch, but only for a second, before she lets out a long breath and drops her head to my shoulder. Warmth shoots through me as she nuzzles into my neck.

We sit like that for a moment, Daisy and Cyrus looping through the depths below before I finally work up the courage to ask. “Does this have anything to do with that piece of paper that’s been burning a hole in your pocket since yesterday?”

She nods in response, her eyebrows pinched together in despair. I hate seeing her like this.

“You wanna tell me about it?”

She simply shakes her head, closing herself off to me.

“Okay,” I tell her. “I get that, but you should tell someone though. If you can’t talk to me, maybe you should try telling Daisy and Cyrus. They’re great listeners. Trust me. I know.”

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