Page 21 of Sweet Surrender
Barra took a minute to think about it. “Have you ever been to Venice?” she asked.
“Yes,” Allie replied. “Twice.” Her third-ever lesbian kiss had taken place on the Bridge of Sighs. It had been very romantic. Until Allie had fucked it up with an “it’s not you; it’s me.”
“Well,” Barra said. “I love traveling. But mostly to places where the buildings are the main attraction. Like in Venice. And Prague. And Barcelona.”
“So you travel for the architecture?” Allie asked. “I guess they do say if you’re passionate about something it won’t ever feel like—”
“So, what do you two think about voting Valerie out tonight?” Sutton said, cutting her off. She dropped down in front of them and leaned back on her palms.
“Valerie’s got the protection bracelet,” Allie pointed out, feeling an itch of irritation she couldn’t describe. Or maybe she could. Maybe she was irritated that Sutton showed up and was ruining a perfect moment. A soft moment between Allie and Barra.
“She’s lying,” Sutton replied matter-of-factly. “And I hate liars.”
Allie caught Barra’s eye. Liars. They were the liars.
“Do you think Hazel will go for it?” Sutton asked Barra.
Barra snapped her eyes away from Allie’s and toward Hazel, who had joined the game of tic-tac-toe. She was standing with her hands on her hips, squinting down at the sand. Toph was standing beside her, scowling. “I’ll talk to her,” Barra said. “And Tilly and Toph too.”
Sutton looked satisfied. Then she smacked Allie’s ankle and leaped up. “Come with me to the watering hole. I want to catch Anna and Elodie, and I need you there as a buffer.”
Allie groaned inwardly but didn’t protest. “Fine,” she muttered, but only because without her, Elodie and Anna would probably shut Sutton down in under thirty seconds.
Allie wasn’t prepared to go out just because Sutton didn’t have a gentle bone in her body. She pushed herself to her feet and brushed sand from her legs. Then she shot Barra a look and mouthed, “wish me luck.” Though she probably needed more than luck.
Barra chuckled, and for a brief second Allie felt warmth slip down her arms. She almost stopped to question it, but then immediately shut it down.
It was just the sun. The relentless, baking sun.
Chapter Eleven
Barra wasn’t going to lie; she felt a little nervous walking back into The Sending. The last time she’d stood in front of Vivian, she’d won the title ofOutlast Herand watched as confetti had rained down from the sky. She’d watched as Dominique’s family stood stiffly to the side, giving tight smiles and polite claps, while her own had come rushing forward. Her mom had nearly knocked the wind out of her as she’d pulled her into a hug. Gabi had shouted, “You’ll be getting all my cinnamon-spiced lattes from now on.” And over her grand-nanna’s shoulder, Barra had caught Dominique’s eye. Just for a second. Just long enough to mouth “I’m sorry.” Just long enough to see Dominique frown like she didn’t understand why Barra was sorry. But she had been sorry for more than just winning.
It wasn’t that Barra was scared of going home, but more so that she’d be dropping a stone into a cup without Dominique. Whenever Barra had felt panicked, or indecisive, or just plain reckless, Dominique had been there, levelling her out. What if she couldn’t do it without her?
“Welcome,Outlast Hercontestants, to the first Sending of Season Seven,” Vivian announced, stretching her arms out like she wanted to embrace the whole lot of them. “We have six winners back for another round. Which means half of you know exactly how this works and exactly how quickly it can all fall apart.”
Barra couldn’t even force a smile. She simply looked to the ground, to the packed leaves, and headed straight for the furthest tree stump.
Season Five had taken place in the middle of the Outback under two gorgeous river red gums. This season, there was jungle pressing in close. Cecropia trees and coconut palms towered above their heads. To one side was a jagged wall of grey volcanic rock, and to the other a cluster of trees with woven palm lanterns hanging off their branches. Each lantern was filled with a short, fat, flickering candle.
Barra could hear the crash of the Pacific Ocean in the distance, but she couldn’t see it. At the center was a wooden platform holding the table with the six cups, and around it, a loose semi-circle of driftwood logs. Unlike the Flinders Ranges, where even the smallest spark could light up the place like a match, this clearing had candles everywhere.
Hazel sat beside her, but it was Allie, sitting behind her, who made her feel better. “Don’t be stressed,” Allie muttered softly. Barra didn’t have to look back to know Allie was leaning forward because she could feel her warm breath on her ear. “We’ve got this.”
She was right. They did have this. And with no help from Sutton.
Barra had easily managed to convince Tilly and Toph to join them on the vote. Neither cared who they were voting for as long as their names weren’t mentioned. Elodie and Anna, on the other hand, had been a different story entirely. Apparently, Sutton had done just the opposite of winning their trust. And that afternoon, a few short hours before The Sending, when Barra and Allie had taken to cleaning the rice pot—or more so Barra had watched while Allie scrubbed like a woman who hadn’t scrubbed anything in her life—they’d joined them at the shoreline.
“We want to trust you and Sutton,” Elodie had said, taking the pot from Allie, who had a black smear on her cheek. “But we don’t think we can. Sutton’s digging herself a hole.”
“And not with a shovel. She’s using a full-on digger-loader,” Anna had said.
Allie had caught Barra’s eye, and in that instant, Barra knew what she was going to do. She was about to drop the bomb about the protection bracelet, which Barra had encouraged with a single, almost imperceptible nod. Sometimes drastic measures were the only way forward.
“I’ve got the protection bracelet,” Allie had then said. “I found it underneath the table at the feast. It’s currently stuffed in the bottom of my bag.” She’d taken a breath, her shoulders literally lifting while Barra, on the other hand, had held hers so tight her traps ached. “I’m telling you this because I want to work with the two of you. I want your trust.”
Anna had turned to Barra. “Have you seen it?”
