Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Courtney
Landon and I decide to go to bed after our shower.
Mainly because I don’t know how the fuck to pretend everything is okay when clearly it isn’t.
We aren’t safe; I don’t know what to believe or who to trust. Honestly, the only thing I know for certain to trust in is Landon.
We’ve been inseparable lately, but all day today, it’s like we’re one person.
He doesn’t leave my side, even for a moment.
This man has even been following me to the bathroom and waiting on the other side of the door.
He doesn’t know how much I appreciate it.
My mind is still reeling as I try to make sense of everything, but the pieces are clicking into place.
I don’t get it. Something had to have happened between Cora and Andrew being voted off and us finding Andrew’s head at the bottom of an isolated lake in the forest. Less than twenty-four hours, what the fuck could have happened?
Did Andrew fight with someone? Did he accidently fall and smash his head on a rock, after which it popped off like a cherry and rolled into the lake?
Not likely, but what’s the alternative? To believe that there’s something seriously fucked up going on here?
That when people are getting voted off, they aren’t going home? They’re…
Oh my God.
Cora’s bunny.
She wouldn’t have left that, not in a million years. No matter how upset she was, she just… wouldn’t have.
Does that mean they didn’t pack themselves? Or at all?
My stomach has been in knots since yesterday, and I don’t think there’s any sign of that easing. Images of Andrew’s head plagued me all night, and I kept waking up in a cold sweat. Landon reminded me it was okay and I was safe each time, but am I? Are any of us?
A piece of popcorn hits my chest, and I blink out of my thoughts to see Luna staring at me expectantly.
“Dude, what is your issue? You’re, like, tuning me out.”
I shake my head and do my best to feign a smile. Landon and I both agreed it would be best to act as if nothing happened. We don’t know how closely we’re being watched, but if I had to guess based on how disbelieving that woman was of me, I’d guess very.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell Shane and Luna everything, to devise a plan to get the fuck out of here. I don’t know… anything. I hold back, though, because Landon is right. We hold the power right now. If we remain ignorant, or appear that way at least, we’re safe.
“Sorry. I slept like shit,” I say, shaking my head. “What did you say?” I ask.
Landon’s hand is resting on my thigh in a comforting gesture, and I smile up at him as best as I’m able. He returns a convincing one of his own.
“I said, I fucking miss Cora. That bitch better look us up when she gets home or I’ll kill her.”
My head snaps to Luna. “What did you just say?”
My tone instantly throws her off, it throws me off, but why the fuck would she say that?
Luna side-eyes me like I’ve lost my mind, and honestly, I feel like I have. Standing up, I try to laugh it off and move towards the pool. Before anyone can say or do anything, I dive into the cool water and allow myself to sink to the bottom.
I’ve been a fucking wreck these past few days.
I feel like my body is shutting down—I can’t eat; I can’t sleep.
My body is wired with adrenaline, looking for anything and everything that could be suspicious.
Landon is being supportive but also telling me I need to keep my emotions in check.
I’m trying, but I’m fucking scared. Now more than ever, I wish I could talk to Lily.
I’m kicking myself for sending that letter.
They have the address of where she’s staying now.
If they’re capable of hurting Andrew, what could they do to my sister if they found out what I knew?
That thought alone is enough to send my stomach rolling.
I’m waiting in the hallway for Landon to finish going to the bathroom when Noah comes walking down the hall. I’m clearly his target.
Oh, great.
“Hey,” he says, scanning the area like he’s looking for Landon.
Given the way he beat the shit out of Noah, I’d be scanning my surroundings too.
“What do you want?” I ask.
“I just wanted to check on you. You’ve seemed off lately. Is everything okay?”
If Noah has noticed, then I’m definitely not playing things cool. Shit. I have to bottle it all up. I don’t know how, but I have to.
“I’m fine. Thanks for your concern. You can go.”
Noah’s brows furrow like he doesn’t believe me, and he takes a step closer to me. I instantly take a step back, and his frown deepens at that.
“Is he hurting you?”
“What?” I snap.
“Landon. Is he hurting you?”
“Why the fuck would you even ask that?”
Noah looks at me like I’m na?ve. “He’s aggressive.”
“Only to you,” I scoff.
Noah shakes his head like he doesn’t believe me. Honestly, I don’t have the mental bandwidth for this jackass.
“The only man on this island who has hurt me, physically or emotionally, is you. So, please, do me a favor and forget my fucking name.”
Noah opens his mouth like he wants to argue when the door behind me opens, and Landon appears. He smiles as he spots me, but that smile instantly falls when he sees Noah in front of me—until he’s practically sprinting in the other direction.
“What did he want?” Landon snarls.
I shake my head. “It’s not even worth our time,” I sigh.
Landon nods and pulls me into him, pressing a kiss to my forehead, when a familiar, and extremely unwanted, voice carries through the house.
“Heyyy! Any lovebirds in here?” Alex calls out.
My gaze instantly moves to Landon’s, but he closes his eyes and shakes his head.
“Fuck,” he mutters.
“Landon,” I whisper, but he shakes his head, signaling we can’t talk freely now.
Blowing out a breath, I nod, then we make our way down the hall and find everyone heading out to the back deck. We all gather around Alex as the cameras get set up.
“Aren’t you all a sight for sore eyes?” he says, smiling.
“You literally saw us, like, five days ago,” Bella says flatly.
Alex’s plastic smile seems to almost crack at the seams. I never noticed that before.
“That I did, Bella, and you’re so beautiful I just couldn’t stay away.”
She looks unimpressed with his clapback, and I watch everyone very carefully as he continues.
“I’m sure you all can guess why I’m here. It’s challenge day!” he exclaims like it’s a great thing.
Shane, being the golden retriever he is, cheers in celebration, and Alex loves every minute of it.
“A huge part of a great connection is knowing your partner, from the little things to the big things. Today, we’re going to test that knowledge. Ladies, you know us men have a terrible reputation for remembering things, so the guys will be the ones who have to step up for this challenge!”
The cameras cut, and they begin ushering us out and down the beach.
“Oh my God,” I mutter under my breath when I see the setup. Landon’s hand slips into mine, squeezing it tightly.
Somehow, they’ve managed to set up crane systems with harnesses hooked to them, dangling off one of the tallest cliffs around.
Of course, the harnesses are dangling over water and are at least four hundred feet from the surface.
Oh, did I say surface? I meant a sharp rocky beach that’s straight out of a nightmare.
Shaking my head, I take a step back as all the other girls line up to get hooked up to their harnesses.
“No, no, no, no—I can’t do this.”
Landon pauses, blocking me from everyone as he cups my face in his hands. “Yes, you can.”
“No,” I say as my entire body begins shaking. “I can’t, Landon. I can’t do heights.”
“I know. I know.”
His lips mash together for a moment before he shakes his head. “We don’t have a choice. If we forfeit, we’re in the bottom two. There are five couples, Courtney. We can’t be in the bottom two.”
I know what he’s saying, hidden behind his words, and I know he’s right. Especially if our fears are true. I just… I don’t think I can physically do this.
“Come on,” Landon encourages gently, ushering us towards the group, where one of the showrunners is issuing instructions.
“Girls, you’ll all start out at the same height.
The goal is to make it to the platform for safety,” she says, gesturing to the built-out platform off the cliff.
“For every right answer your partner gets, you’ll be raised up a notch.
For every wrong one, you’ll be lowered. The two couples that are the lowest at the end will be up for elimination.
There will be no single winner of this challenge. ”
“What? That’s not fair,” Savannah whines.
The woman gives her a bored look before she nods to the crew to finish hooking us all up. I recognize the guy hooking me up as the one who took Landon the other day. I do my best to smile at him, but I think it comes out as more of a grimace. He doesn’t acknowledge my existence, though.
Before they hook me up to the crane, Landon walks over, yanking on each point to make sure it’s tight before he nods in satisfaction.
“It’s gonna be okay,” he says.
“You sure you know enough about me?” I laugh nervously. “I don’t like the idea of being lowered, or raised, actually, but in this case I’ll take getting higher. So, just in case, my favorite color is blue, my favorite animal is a panda bear and if I could visit anywhere in the world it would be—”
“Courtney, you never shut up. I’ve got this,” Landon says reassuringly.
I let out a shaky breath and nod before Landon presses a kiss to my lips. It’s meant to be a quick peck, but I throw my arms around his shoulders and hold him tighter. He doesn’t fight it, and we sink into each other, so many unspoken words between us when we pull away.