Henry turned away from me as he began pulling clothes from the closet. Pulling out a pair of lace silk underwear, followed by a short white dress, that I hadn’t even seen before and a pair of Gucci sandals. He sat them in on top of the dresser.
“Get dressed,” he said.
“For what? Where are we going? I told you that I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what’s going on. You don’t get to have this any other way around.”
“Either way, you’re going to need to get dressed,” he said as he began undressing and changing into fresh clothes himself. He had been standing in his wet clothes for longer than I had. He hadn’t even had a warm shower and from what I could see, he didn’t even look cold. He wasn’t shaking and his lipswere pink. His face and his hair had been dried, though. Henry changed into a pair of black pants, a white shirt and he placed a camel-colored jumper over the top. He looked handsome, so goddamn handsome but right now, I was really unsure if I should be thinking that.
I wanted answers but right then I quickly changed into the clothes that he had picked out for me, still feeling a little chill.
“Henry,” I said, my voice shaking.
“Yes, Miss Molly,” he said, turning around he took a step forward, standing right in front of me, looking down at me. His face still and serious.
I gulped. “Do you know anything about what we found today?”
He nodded.
My heart lurched into the bottom of my stomach.
“And you knew about it when we saw it,” I said.
Henry nodded again. “Yes, I did. And I promise you, I will tell you everything, but I need you to come with me first,” he said. His eyes didn’t leave mine, locked in each other. But this was far from what it felt like to be inside the vortex of our gaze. My hands were still shaking as I clasped tighter onto the shawl.
“Why would I go anywhere with you, when you’re not telling me anything? You need to tell me the truth of Dylan. And you need to tell me the truth about whatever the hell we saw at the top of the waterfall before I go anywhere with you.”
“I will tell you everything, Molly, you have my word. But I need you to come with me right now because I have a lot to tell you—and show you.”
He looked down at me with the same expression as when he told me about his deepest hurts, his deepest feelings, his fetishes. There was obviously a lot more that he was still hiding from me.
“Where do you want to take me?”
“Out on the boat,” he said.
I nodded. “Okay, I’m coming. Just, can you give me a moment. I just need to go to the bathroom and fix my hair.” I couldn’t see my hair, but I knew for a fact it was still a wet mess.
Henry’s eyes flickered back to my hair, which he must have agreed the wet look did not fit my lavish outfit. Not that that should have mattered with whatever the hell he was about to reveal to me. “Okay,” said Henry, taking a set aside, walking towards the door of the wardrobe, opening it up to reveal Jackie standing stiff on the other side. “We’ll be waiting down by the pier. Don’t be long.”
“I won’t,” I said as I caught Jackie raising an eyebrow at Henry. He grabbed hold of her shoulder and pulled her back towards the elevator. I stayed still until the doors finally shut again.
I ran to the bathroom, nervous that the image of Dylan would still be standing in there. Thankfully, he wasn’t and I scrambled through the bathroom cabinet looking for the hair dryer. Taking a long hard look at myself in the mirror, I driedoff my wet hair. I played out the various scenarios that could have been waiting for me.
Maybe what I had seen at the bottom of the island was real. Maybe that’s why he was taking me out on the yacht. Maybe I too would be nothing but AI. My heart pounded harder as my mind began to run wild. I should have listened to my sister; I didn’t know Henry. Maybe he was too good to be true.
I dropped the hairdryer. All the scenarios flooded my mind but there was one truth that I couldn’t shake… the very words that he said, the very words that I believed to my core. We were meant to meet. We were too alike, him and I. He loved me, he told me, and I believed him. I saw it in the way that he looked at me. All my life I had wanted someone to look at me the very way that Henry did.
I was meant to meet him. I was meant to be here. And although I had no idea of the full truth that was about to lay before me. I think, I finally understood my own. I ran out to the side of the bed, searching for my phone as I quickly texted my sister. I tucked the phone underneath my pillow. I needed to keep my phone here and in reception, just in case Elyse needed to track it. I walked out into the elevator, taking a deep breath, and the doors closed.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“You look stunning,” Henry said as he held out his hand towards me. He smiled widely, as though anything that had happened today…hadn’t… as though, this was just nothing but a lovers’ outing, out on the boat in the rain.
I gulped as I took his hand. I’d never seen him be dishonest before. It was only now that I knew that he was keeping significant secrets. But the smile on his face. It wasn’t forced, but we both knew it was fake. Hiding the very truth behind the many questions that I had already asked him.
But there we were, the two of us walking down the long pier, hand in hand and dressed spectacularly as though I did not have a dead woman’s hair in my hands moments before, or I had never even seen the holographic replica image of my ex-boyfriend that my now lover had seemingly created. If anyone saw us right now, I’m sure we looked like nothing but the image of a perfect couple.
We neared the edge of the yacht. Henry helped me on then led me towards the back deck. That was when I froze. His cold hands placed themselves firmly on my shoulders, his tall body pressed against my back. And just as I hesitated, just as I wanted to turn around, to run back, I knew I couldn’t. How could I? This was an island. There was nowhere to go, there was nowhere to hide, and I still hadn’t got what I needed. I still hadn’t got the truth. The yacht began to leave the pier, as I still kept myself frozen, staring out at the back deck.
“Henry,” I sighed. “What the hell is this? No more secrets, please….” my voice drifted off, and I stared out at rose filled front deck of the boat. Perfectly covered by the rain, the whole edge of the boat was filled with red roses. It had become a garden, with petals scattered over the floor, many small candles lighting up the floral scene. In the middle was a small white table with two chairs sitting either side. The setup reminded me of our first date. it was the last thing that I was expecting to see. I was so confused.
