It Could Only be You

Episode 103: The Dumping

The fort is put away by Daphs and Bobby; they both remain quiet throughout the process, turning to one another suddenly with a look on their faces that show they aren't going to be the one to cave first. The air is joking, but that doesn't mean that they both don't mean business.

As they return the sun loungers, the last thing to be put away, Mickey shouts out, "Text! Everyone!"

All heads turn to him like meerkats in the wild.

"Islanders," he reads out, "please get ready for tonight and gather around the firepit. One couple is going home tonight. Hashtag, within reach, hashtag, not made the cut."

A lump forms in Daphs throat despite not even being up for the dumping. She seeks out Chelsea and goes to get ready with her, knowing that it could very well be their last chance to do so...

The mood in the dressing room is subdued; both Jo and Chelsea receive multiple hugs from the other girls in preparation for what's to come. Daphs finds herself welling up more than once.

Downstairs, Daphs pulls Mickey and Rahim into long cuddles, unable to comprehend that before the night is out, one of them will be gone.

Noah gets a text through on his phone to say that it's time.

Everyone gathers at the firepit in their couples; Chelsea and Mickey are on one end while Jo and Rahim are at the other. They're the only ones standing as everyone else looks solemnly on.

Noah's phone goes off again. He reads out, "Islanders, the public have been voting. The couple with the fewest votes will be dumped from the Island tonight."

Rahim pulls Jo in for a hug, kissing her cheek. Jo sniffs back a tear, hugging him back.

Daphs can't help it; emotions are running too high. Though Bobby already has his arm around her, she leans into him, cuddling him closer. He holds her tighter.

"Here we go," Noah says, his voice thick. He throws a nervous glance at Rahim, obviously willing for him not to be the one to go tonight.

If it had come down to the Islanders voting like it had last time, Daphs knows all too well that Chelsea and Mickey will be goners. The public vote is their only chance. Daphs, however much she loves Rahim, would vote to save Chelsea; she's Daphs' closest friend in the Villa at the minute, and though she should probably be voting based on the strongest couples, Daphs isn't about to be fair when it comes to Chels.

As for the other's, with all the boys – especially the O.G.'s and Lucas (practically an O.G.), Daphs can't imagine them voting against keeping Rahim; he's their boy; Bobby, Noah, Gary, and Lucas are all so close with him, Daphs has no doubt in her mind that that relationship outweighs any friendship their partners have with Chelsea.

Some people's departures are more devastating than other's; Priya's was the hardest for Daphs, followed by Marisol's. If Rahim goes tonight, Daphs knows it'll be a shock to everyone; Chelsea's will be a similar vein, having been in for weeks and weeks now alongside them; she, like Lucas, is the longest standing person who is not an O.G., having been in before Casa Amor.

"So," Noah continues to read off his phone. Chelsea takes a slow breath as Daphs reaches up to take her hand. "The couple with the fewest votes and who will be leaving the Villa tonight..."

Daphs heart races double the normal speed, then triple, and quadruple, quickly picking up speed as the tense silence hangs in the air...

Another phone goes off. It's Lottie's.

Her skin is like chalk as she gets it out. Her face crumbles when she reads the text, dropping her phone to her lap, announcing, "Jo and Ibrahim."

Daphs feels nothing, like a hole has been burrowed through her chest. Gasps ring out all around, the loudest of all coming from Chelsea. Daphs can't take her eyes off Jo and Rahim; she shuts her eyes and bows her head while Rahim lets out a sigh, biting down on his lip. He nods, resigned.