Behind a facade

18.

“Renee Durand!”

Dakota crossed her arms over her chest, shooting a glare at the girl who is still leisurely leaning against the tree. The girl arched her neck to a side, and a corner of her mouth lifted. She slowly straightened her body within the next few seconds, without saying a single word. Mischievous glints in her golden eyes didn’t even shake for a bit under Dakota’s intense reaction.

“Renee Durand!” Dakota raised her voice this time. The unsteadiness in her voice indirectly expressed that she is about to lose her wits. “What is this? How come you show up here, in Lakeville?”

The girl’s mouth curved into a beautiful, wide smile. She quickly stretched her arms, keeping her smile steady manner. That familiar sign rang an alarm inside Dakota’s head. But it was already late. The girl close the distance between them using a few fast steps and jumped into Dakota’s embrace. She wrapped her hands around Dakota’s neck while hugging her. Dakota, on the other hand, held her back, trying to avoid the situation that both of them ended up on the ground.

“My dear favourite Cody…” Dakota heard Renee’s voice. She let out a giggle. “It’s so good to see you again,”

Dakota sighed, glancing at the girl who is still hugging her. From the corner of her eyes, she could see a childlike smile of satisfaction spread across Renee’s face. The usual carefree Renee! No one can remain angry with her forever. “I told you not to call me by that name… and let go of me, I am choked to death here,”

“I don’t want to,” Renee protested.

“I won’t ask you nicely next time,” said Dakota, faking an angry look. Her anger had already disappeared a while ago, yet she had to act tough with this stubborn girl. How come she travels here alone?

“Is this the way you treat your little cousin sister who found you across the country, ah?” Renee sulked, leaning her upper body back a bit. She looked at Dakota’s face with a complaining message in her eyes.

Dakota could clearly see through her facade. She was so familiar with Renee pretending to be sad even if she is not. Her ability to gain her loved one’s favour by cleverly addressing their weak points never failed. She was remarkably good at that. Dakota pressed her lips together to prevent her smile from slipping away. “Came across the country? Or you escaped when aunt is busy with something else?”

Since the first day Dakota moved to her aunt’s house in France, she knew Renee has a playful personality. Back then she was an eleven years old child, and her brother Jordan was eighteen years old. Dakota always felt grateful towards them. They looked after Dakota when she moved to France. Most importantly, they made sure to do everything to make Dakota feels comfortable at Durand’s house. In the darkest lonely period in her life, they were the people who brought Dakota back to the light.

Among the Durand siblings, Renee was the mischievous one. She enjoyed life in her own way, and people misjudged her as a spoiled brat most of the time thanks to her witty and brave nature.

Back when Dakota met her first time, Renee was an eleven years old child. She was much younger compared to both Jordan Durand and Dakota Kent. Yet at that age also Renee was braver than them. She constantly explored new things. Her playful acts and pranks always stole the peacefulness in their lives, but everyone knew without her around life would be boring as hell.

“Well…” Renee avoided Dakota’s eyes. The way Renee is avoiding Dakota’s eyes told her that she has done exactly the same thing Dakota predicted earlier.

“Jesus Renee! Aunt… Probably, she is freaking out right now. Do you even know how dangerous it is to travel by yourself in a new country,”

“Cody… Oh là là, ce n’est pas la mer à boire! Écoute, tu t’inquiètes pour rien. I left mama a note,” Renee blinked her eyes innocent manner. “Besides how old do you think I am now? I had my twenty-first last month, which means I am an adult here too. I passed the drinking age,”

“Excusez-Moi!” Dakota exclaimed. “Are you kidding me?”

Before Renee could react to those words, they heard someone make a surprised sound. A whistling sound followed up the surprising sound.

“What is happening here?”

Dakota recognized Miles’s voice. When did they end up following her? She turns her head in their direction, at the same time trying to release Renee’s grasp around her. As if she read the atmosphere Renee let go of her grasp around Dakota’s neck and held her arm instead, while peeking at the men who are gawking at them.

“Ah Miles… Vincent,” Dakota found her words at last. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Oh, we came here to look for you,” Vincent replied after another few seconds. His eyes darted between Dakota and Renee. More like he looked at the way Renee was holding Dakota’s arm. “Hold on.. did we interrupt something? I mean… oh sorry,”

Dakota couldn’t help but stare at him speechless manner. He talks gibberish. It slowly hit her that he might have misread the situation. “No... Vincent! Dude, it’s not like you think…”

“So… there is a beautiful lady,” Miles interrupted. He winked while taking a step towards Dakota and Renee.

Dakota confirmed her doubt. She realized these two men are thinking Renee is her girlfriend. Her face was all scrunched up.

Suddenly she felt Renee pinching her arm. There was a devilish smirk on her. Understanding the hidden message behind her expression, Dakota shook her head from side to side with a warning glare.

“Will you not introduce this beautiful lady to us DK?” Miles raised one of his brows. Then he lowered his voice, indicating a gesture of a secret conversation. “We can understand why you are trying to hide your girlfriend. Right, Vincent?”

“Yeah, it is obvious,” Vincent steal a glance at Renee and Dakota, chuckling.

Dakota clenched her hand, letting out a sigh. These guys never let her explain anything, but imagine nonsense things as if they were already aware of everything. “She is my…”

“Hi…” Renee’s modulated tone cut in before Dakota blasted out. She ignored Dakota’s gaze and extend her hand. “I am Renee Durand,”

“Vincent Kang,”

“Miles Garcia… from France, right?”

“Yeah, how could you..”

“Your accent…” Miles directed a friendly smile. “So you and Dakota…”

“Ah… consider me as her plus one for today,” Renee tucked her hair behind the ear, acting a bit embarrassed. “Didn’t she tell you guys?”

“No… no… we had no idea,” Miles and Vincent both stated at once.

“Renee!” Dakota was finally able to speak up. She lost her words seeing the drama Renee is putting on. She should have guessed this earlier when Renee stayed silent for a while. That was the silence before the storm.

Renee pretends not to hear Dakota. “She is shy,”

“Ha.. ha... we see,” Vincent shared a laugh.

“Guys, give me a second,” Dakota excused herself and Renee while pulling her to a side. She couldn’t tolerate this childish play anymore. Dakota lowered her voice. “What are you saying? Are you nuts?”

Renee winked. A mischievous grin spread across her face. “It’s just for fun. Isn’t it? Look at them. Seriously, how could they not notice there isn’t any romantic tension between us?”

“No, it’s not fun,”

“You and Jordan… seriously no fun at all,”

“Right. Thank you for reminding me. I am going to call Jordan right after this conversation. We shouldn’t have let you come with us to States,”

“You know it won’t stop me,” Renee showed her tongue at Dakota. “I have my own money. I can travel wherever I want,”

Suddenly Dakota noticed the wedding planner; Judith and Tessa appearing from the other side of the garden. They were carrying some boxes while discussing something serious manner. Great! They are the only people missing in this stage play, Dakota thought.

“DK… “Miles’s voice took Dakota’s attention again.

“Yeah,”

“Forgot to tell you… Tessa asked us to be inside the reception hall. The event will end within the next two hours. Earlier we were about to tell you,”

“Ah, I got it,”

Dakota could see Tessa and Judith walking towards them. Why aren’t they heading inside? Their curious gazes were studying the atmosphere among the group waiting outside the tent.

“Tessa!” Dakota heard Renee murmuring. “Is she the …”

Renee was scratching her chin, observing Dakota’s face. Another storm! If Dakota doesn’t do something Renee will end up creating a problem for her. Renee knew what role Tessa played in Dakota’s life. Unlike Jordan, Renee was an unpredictable one. Who knows what she will do?

“Sh… Just keep your mouth shut.. please,” Dakota whispered to Renee before she shout something and make everything awkward.

“What are you guys doing here?” Tessa asked, directing a sideway glance at Dakota and Renee. Judith was standing next to her with a pleasant smile on her face. “Where is Caleb?”

“We don’t know,” Vincent replied. “I thought he is with you or Ashley,”

Tessa scowled. “Not with me. I hope he doesn’t cause any problem,”

“Relax Tessa. He might act recklessly sometimes, but he won’t destroy his friend’s wedding. Everything will be fine. Here, let me help you,” Miles took the boxes in Tessa’s hand, flashing a reassuring smile. “Let’s go inside,”

“Won’t you guys come in?” Vincent asked, turning his attention to Dakota and Renee.

Dakota nodded. “We need to make a call, we will come after that. You guys go ahead,”

Miles and Vincent start coughing. Their teasing behaviour didn’t bother Dakota anymore. Trying to stop only compels them to tease her more. Meanwhile, Dakota caught a glimpse of Tessa whose gaze was on her and Renee.

…………………………………………..

“Cody… people here are really weird isn’t it?” Renee asked, keeping the glass on the table next to them. A line appears between her brows. Dakota noticed that she was thinking something hard from the moment she entered the reception hall. She is worried about something.

“Why are you saying things like that?”

“It’s just…” Renee took her time and flashed a confused glance at Dakota. You know the guy bumped into us earlier…”

Dakota narrowed her eyes. “Which guy?”

“The one who bumped into us right before we entered the hall… he talked with you,”

“You mean Caleb…” Dakota stated, remembering Caleb accidentally bumped into them. It was when they were heading inside the tent after ending the phone call with Jordan.

“So, you are friends with him?”

“Not exactly. We went to the same high school. Why are you suddenly asking about Caleb?” Dakota questioned.

Renee scratches her nose. There was a hesitation in her actions. “When I was waiting for you outside, he was in the garden. He didn’t see me, though. He was talking with someone on the phone and crying at the same time,”

“Caleb was crying?”

“Yeah… he was crying like a baby. An adult won’t cry like that. That’s why I remembered it. I mean people cry, it’s normal. But this guy was literally on the ground while begging for something. Honestly, Cody, it was hard to look at. He was miserable,”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Do you think he is dealing with a problem?”

“I don’t know Renee. Have to ask Miles and others. They are close to each other,”

Renee shrugged her shoulders. “It’s better someone talk to him. He sounds depressed,”

Dakota got lost in her own thoughts. Caleb Smith was someone who always showed off that he is a tough guy. He didn’t shed a tear, even if he got badly beaten by gangsters back in their high school days. As Dakota remembers Caleb was a bully and never expressed any sort of emotion except for rage. What causes a person like him to break down? On the other hand, people can change after ten years.

“We’ll see. Miles is the best for dealing with people,” Dakota uttered.

“That’s good. After crying like that, then he starts laughing like a maniac. It was scary as hell at that time. He looked like he lost his mind,”

Renee’s words again brought an obnoxious feeling to Tessa. She couldn’t help but feel she is missing something. Is it really simple as she thinks? That’s the question in Dakota’s mind for a while.