That Day - (Complete).

Chapter Five

"Come on, you'll never get around if you stop every five seconds woman."

It seemed my new tour guide was anal when it came to timekeeping.

"I'm taking everything in, too many years spent here but never appreciating the small stuff." I replied. I knew first hand that life had a way of making us remember sometimes. I thought the high walkways would worry me, I'd never been comfortable around heights. But as the fear crept up my body, like a mould growing over my skin, suffocating any courage I had, Dillon sensed my change and grabbed my hand, enclosing it with his. That small movement unlocked my chest and warmth spread up my arm.

"Come on" He said, his head cocked and a small smile formed on the corner of his mouth. He led me from one path to another, stopping to step closer to the edges, but with each pause he fitted his front to my back and spread his palm across my stomach, anchoring me to him. It was an intimate touch and one that should have made me feel uncomfortable. But it didn't. I felt perfectly placed. "Look." Dillon said pointing to the end of one of the walkways, it was like the end of a pier, somewhere to stop and oversee the whole rainforest. I nodded but said nothing as he guided us towards the viewpoint. Neither of us spoke, but I could feel his hot breath on my ear as he once again stood behind me. Apart from that one small sound of air moving back and forth from his mouth, the whole world around us at that point was filled only with birds' calls, insects making their presence known and trickling water.

Dillon's voice broke my thoughts. "I used to come here." He stopped and I waited. "This was a place for me to find solace." I wondered what he needed solace from, but it wasn't the time to ask. I twisted my head to face him and as I looked up into his pained eyes I knew there was a torment within. He didn't explain further, so I swivelled myself back to face our view.

"Whenever I was here, alone, I tried to do something new. So now we're here and there's nobody else around." Dillon swung our bodies left and right, the whole time never letting his hand slide from my stomach. "Is there anything you've always wanted to do?" He asked. I shook my head. "Come on Ani, there must be something." Once again I shook my head no.

"I'm just happy to be up here." I told him. I heard his stifled chuckle. "With you." I added, that stopped his humour and his hand spasmed against me.

"I want you to let go Ani, I get the feeling you don't do it often."

I didn't reply, there was nothing to say, in a matter of hours this man had figured out my inner workings in a way nobody else ever had.

"I..." My courage faltered as the words caught in my throat.

"What? You can trust me." Dillon's voice was gentle as he placed a finger on my chin and drew my eyes to him. "Do you trust me?" He asked outright. His eyes darkened from their light blue to an almost sapphire and it felt like he peered inside me, like he could see my soul. I knew then that my answer would be important, the crazy thing was, I did trust him, and I didn't understand why.

"Yes." The husk to my tone gave away the fear that still enveloped me. I had been carefree once, then things changed, now I second guessed everything, even myself. At times, so much fear emanated from me, that I felt like it left me stale and putrid.

I watched as a mass of emotions washed over Dillon. Then he nodded, seemingly to himself before leaning down and whispering in my ear. "Trust me, turn around and let go. I can see you're burdened Ani, lighten the load."

Slowly my gaze crept from his face, across the multi-coloured rainforest, until I faced forward. I bit my lip, closed my eyes and finally, something inside me snapped, allowing a small part of me to let go.

"I hate Tony." I coaxed the words out, so quietly that I strained to hear my own voice.

"Again, louder."

"I hate Tony." I repeated, but it was still only a mutter.

"Again, louder." Dillon encouraged.

"I hate Tony." There was no hesitation from me this time as my voice rang clear.

"Again, louder." He demanded it now and my response was automatic.

"I hate Tony!" I screamed the words. "I fucking hate him!" The sentence was ripped from deep within me and as I closed my mouth, I sagged forward. Dillon still had me, but now his one hand was joined by the other as he held me up and grounded me all at once.

My movement was stilted as I whirled around to him. I expected him to ask me about Tony, who he was and why I hated him, but he didn't. Although my cheeks flamed at the spectacle I had just made of myself, I also felt like I could breathe a little easier, somehow this man, had managed to relieve some pressure from within, something I didn't know was even possible. Guilt tried to creep inside as I considered whether it was right for me to feel less burdened, but I looked into Dillon's smiling eyes and knew he was pleased I had trusted him enough to let go. Something twinged in me, and I realised I was happy I had pleased him, I didn't want to lose that feeling so I pushed the guilt away.

"What about you?" My voice was raspy but he didn't comment on it.

"What about me?" He asked, shrugging. "I have let go of most of my demons at this very spot."

"Okay, so if you have let go of them, what do you do when you come here?" I asked.

He looked down at his feet and rubbed the back of his neck, the nervousness was back, which only made me eager to learn more. "I sing." He informed me, our eyes locked once again.

"Sing?" I squeaked out.

He shrugged one shoulder but didn't reply.

"I want to hear you." I told him.

He started to shake his head, but then stopped. "Okay, deal, you shared so I will, but I want you to sing something after me right?"

"Errm." I struggled with my reply and he responded by arching an eyebrow. I held my hands up in a surrender pose. "Okay, deal. But you have been warned, I love to sing, but I'm really bad." I told him and his eyes widened momentarily before he grinned, huge.

On the first few words I recognised what he was singing, The Best That I Can by Vance Joy, I immediately smiled. The smile quickly dropped as I listened, mesmerized by not only Dillon's voice, but the emotion that he threaded through the words. I wondered who he was singing to, what he was feeling, and I watched as his face changed and moved with the words and then his eyes closed. I realised this man had affected me, more than anyone ever had. I needed to know him, I wanted to know him and I hoped he wanted to know me too.

I grabbed his hand without thought and his eyes shot open and pinned me as his stare held through the last line of the song. He repeated that line and it seared my soul. It felt like he needed me to know, to understand that he was doing his best, like the words of the song, but I didn't, not completely, because I didn't really know anything about him. I pulled my hand from his and held it to my throat. I'd been hurt before by people that should have protected me, I didn't need to feel that again.

The birds continued to call as I backed away from Dillon. The fear of heights forgotten as I turned and fled, like the coward I knew I really was.