Page 62 of Unscripted

Jess, and even Ella, had the good grace not to pry any further.

Callum and I weren’t alright.

I wasn’t sure if we ever would be.

28

Ella and I hadn’t been close since we entered the villa. Her brusque tone and the not-so-subtle digs she would mutter under her breath had initially rubbed me the wrong way, so I steered clear of trying to get to know her. Now, though, I couldn’t have been more grateful for her presence.

She didn’t pry, didn’t ask questions about Callum or what brought me to tears.

Instead, she simply made me a cup of tea.

“This always helps whenever I’m not feeling great,” she said with a small smile that suggested she’d been in a similar situation before.

It was the exact kindness I needed. I didn’t want to talk about Callum anymore. I didn’t even want to think about him, or us, or what I was going to do now that I clearly needed to find a new match.

I wouldn’t be able to avoid what was going on forever, though, and I was called into the Love Shack soon after finishing my tea. I’m sure I was a sight, eyes red from crying and still in a bikini. As I entered the confessional room, Harry immediately beelined for me, wrapping his arms around me and enveloping me in a hug. I let myself absorb his warmth, the caring embrace of a friend.

Harry covered my mic with his hand and said in a low voice the camera wouldn’t be able to pick up, “Don’t worry, this will be quick.”

I nodded at him, mouthing a “thank you”, and took a seat.

Not waiting for him to ask any questions, I launched into what I was feeling. I wanted to get it over with and knew what the producers needed from me. I was the odd man out in a love triangle. I’d seen it happen on the show before. I knew how it went.

I didn’t even need to play up anything. Didn’t need to force the tear that fell. The sting of rejection and the underlying hurt it caused were all real.

Harry must have been feeling particularly bad for me because when my interview was over, he let me go to the glam room instead of back outside. I was thrilled, finally able to have a moment to myself.

Sitting in the quiet of the empty room, I felt at ease for the first time in days. I knew I was still on camera, but to be otherwise alone while I sorted out my feelings was a luxury I hadn’t realized I was in desperate need of.

The situation with Callum was not great. There was no taking back our last conversation; we couldn’t undo the tension that had developed between us over the past few days. The worst-case scenario had happened. He picked another girl over me, destabilizing my place in the villa. All I could do now was decide how I was going to move forward. What was I going to do next?

I was still thinking about my next move when the rest of the girls began shuffling in to get ready for the evening.

Sara was, yet again, being particularly horrible.

“Callum and I had the best chat today,” she blabbered away. “We—”

She was abruptly cut off by Ella standing up and leaning over her vanity to look her square in the eyes.

“Sara, shut up about Callum. No one wants to hear it,” Ella said, giving her a glare that would have frozen me over on the spot.

When Ella sat back down at her vanity, I caught her eye and mouthed “Thank you.”

She simply nodded in reply, which I took as Ella-speak for, “You’re welcome. We’re friends now.”

Once everyone finished their glam, we lined up to head into the garden, and Chiara shuffled over toward me, grabbing my hand and holding it in hers.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you today,” she said.

Chiara had been dealing with her own share of drama over the past few days. Adam had ignored her yesterday and spent the day canoodling on the daybeds with Amy. Chi came out of the confessional mid-afternoon with red, puffy eyes.

“I’m so sorry too, about everything with you, and Adam, and Hugh,” I replied, feeling just as bad for not being a better friend.

“It’s okay. I told Adam today that we were better off as friends, and I’m glad I did. I really like Hugh, and it’s not fair for me to be one foot in, one foot out with him just because I was matched with Adam first,” she said. She seemed more solid, like the weight of deciding had been lifted.

I wished I were feeling the same.