Chapter 42
Chapter Forty Two
Courtney
This wasn’t how I pictured today going.
I stare at myself in the mirror, completely numb, my mind reeling.
I didn’t imagine signing up for a reality TV show and landing myself in the middle of some crazy orchestrated murder fest. I didn’t imagine coming here with only money on my mind and finding the love of my life.
I really didn’t imagine that I would be standing here, looking at myself in a white dress on what’s technically supposed to be my wedding day.
The dress is abhorrent. Some twenty-pound, poofy, tulle-and-lace ball of a nightmare. It’s definitely not a dress I would have chosen, then again, none of this is.
It was insane how quickly everything followed once I killed Savannah. The instant I lifted that key in the air, a helicopter appeared, aiming right for us. With the way things had been going, I half expected them to gun us down and that would be the end of it.
Surprisingly, though, as soon as the helicopter touched down, medics rushed out, quickly helping Landon and me onto gurneys.
Daryll and Julia were there, grinning from ear to ear and saying how proud they were of us.
They acted like we’d just won the Olympics, not committed double homicide.
The whole thing was so fucking weird, and yet, I didn’t even have the energy to process it all. I still don’t.
They put together this “wedding” in less than twenty-four hours.
Lucky me, that spear didn’t hit anything vital and they had a good supply of painkillers to shove down my throat.
So now, here I am, about to walk down the aisle in the house’s backyard with the crew in attendance.
I peek out the window to see several familiar faces, of course I don’t know a single name.
The woman who interrogated me after we found Andrew’s head is in the front row, rapidly texting on her phone as a man whispers into her ear.
They both laugh like they don’t have a care in the world, though they’re probably talking about body burial or something equally morbid.
A knock sounds on the bedroom door, and I’m surprised to see it’s Daryll.
“Are you ready?”
I lift a curious eyebrow. “Are you walking me down the aisle, Daryll?”
“Daryll?” he asks with furrowed brows as we begin walking through the house.
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been calling you. You guys never introduced yourselves.”
He nods like that makes sense before giving me a curious look. “And the best name you could come up with is Daryll?”
I smile sarcastically. “Would you have preferred Psychopathic Murderous Prick?”
Instead of being offended, he seems amused by that.
When we reach the back door, it’s opened for us, and we make our way down the white aisle runner that seems to go on for forty fucking feet.
Cameras, of course, are everywhere, as well as beautiful lit candles, red rose petals… The works. They didn’t spare a single expense on this moment.
Landon is on crutches now that his leg is in a cast. Apparently, he had a fracture from the hunting trap, yet the crazy bastard still walked miles in the jungle and fought to the death to save us.
Despite the crutches and the cast, I can honestly say I’ve never seen a better-looking man.
He’s standing at the end of the aisle in a black tux with a bow tie, looking way too hot to be a groom.
Though does this even count as a real wedding?
It feels more like we’re playing dress-up to satisfy someone else’s desire.
Still, the smile that spreads across his face when he sees me sends my heart racing. So, creepy staged wedding and all, things could definitely be worse.
I keep my eyes on Landon for most of the walk down the aisle, though I do make eye contact with a few cameramen and assistants, who beam up at me like it’s the best day of their lives. Fucking weird.
I don’t know why I didn’t see it coming, but when I finally make it to the altar, Alex comes out of nowhere, his arms spread wide.
“Thank you all for being here, and welcome to Locked In: Season One’s wedding!”
All of the “guests” clap in excitement, and Landon and I share a “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” look before we smirk at one another.
“Landon, Courtney, I think I speak for everyone here when I say we’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time.
It’s no secret amongst us that you two have been fan favorites and everyone’s golden couple.
People would literally die to be where you two are.
Oh, wait, they already have!” Alex guffaws as a thunderous roar of laughter comes from the audience.
I stare at him like he’s lost his goddamn mind because, honestly, that’s the only thing that makes sense.
“Speaking of our dearly departed contestants, we wanted them all to be here to celebrate this joyous day, but we just couldn’t find a graveyard big enough on short notice,” Alex continues.
Again, an unhinged amount of laughter comes from the guests.
What the fuck?
“So to commemorate them, we took the liberty of saving them some seats.” Alex smiles as he gestures to the left front row.
My jaw drops as my gaze skates over each chair. A printed headshot of each contestant is taped to the chairs, Luna and Shane being closest to the aisle and to us. Horror crawls through me as I look to Alex in shock, my throat tightening with raw emotion.
He gives me a smile, as if he’s hoping for a reaction from me. He’d probably love one. Any excuse to kill us, right?
Swallowing back my emotions, I try to push away the sick fact that pictures of our murdered friends will be staring at us through the entire ceremony.
It doesn’t last long. Alex talks about love and what it takes to be a committed partner.
To see each other through the hard stuff and come out the other side.
Landon and I keep our eyes on each other the entire time.
I just hope to God this isn’t part of their game and they aren’t going to shoot us dead after we say “I do.”
When his spiel is over, Alex gestures to us. “Courtney, do you take this man to be your lawfully Locked In husband?”
I frown at him before looking at Landon once more. “I do.”
“And do you, Landon, take this woman to be your lawfully Locked In wife?”
“Yeah, I do,” he replies, causing me to smirk.
How fucked up is this?
“Then by all of the mighty power that has been granted to me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!”
Landon and I lean in, and the instant our lips touch, fireworks explode behind us. A show that would rival any Fourth of July display paints the sky as the sun sets just enough to see the vibrance of it all.
We break apart and stare into each other’s eyes, ready to walk back down the aisle, when Alex pulls out two pieces of paper and sets them on the high-top table in the middle of the altar.
“Before the festivities begin, here’s your marriage certificate,” he says, handing a pen to each of us to sign.
We quickly do so, and I’m surprised to see that it looks to be a legitimate marriage certificate form.
Alex nods in satisfaction before showing us the other. “This is a more robust NDA, reconfirming that you forfeit your lives should you breathe a word about your time here at Locked In.”
I stare at him, smiling like the nutcase he is, as Landon shakes his head and scoffs.
“Sounds like a fancy way of saying you’ll kill us if we talk,” he mutters as he signs where Alex has indicated.
I do the same as Alex winks at Landon.
“We have a good legal team who likes to have fun.” Then he takes a step back and declares, louder for the audience, “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson!”
Landon Johnson. Is it bad that I’m just finding out what my husband’s last name is? What a crazy fucking meet-cute we have. That we literally can’t say to anyone or we’ll, you know, die. Just another casual day on this fucked-up island.
Landon and I look to each other and kiss once more.
When we pull away, he smiles. “Now let’s get the fuck off this island.”