not the only one

don't shut me down

"Are you okay? You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Hm?" Alex turned to see Henrik next to her, a look of concern on his face. "Sorry, what?"

She was still sitting at the firepit, in the exact same spot she'd been a few nights earlier when she'd reamed Henrik out for picking her. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she'd been glaring in the direction of the kitchen where Rahim stood amongst a group of islanders, introducing his new fling to everyone. What had she said her name was? Sarah? Sharon?

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to leave you single," Henrik said. "I just didn't think you'd mind being rid of me."

"Oh. Yeah, no, I'm not mad at you," she replied, returning her gaze to Rahim. "We were never really a couple, and as far as I'm concerned, you were single to pick whoever you wanted."

"Oh, good!" He smiled, his shoulders dropping in relief. "I was kinda scared you were gonna yell at me again. You had that look on your face."

She snorted and nodded towards the group. "I'm mad at him."

Henrik turned his head to where she was indicating and understanding dawned on his face. "Ah, right. I'm sorry."

"Why did he switch?" Alex turned to Henrik, her eyes glassy with unshed tears, begging for an explanation. "How could he do that to me?"

He shrugged his shoulders in ignorance. "I honestly don't know. We all saw them talking, but he told us the first day that he was going to stay loyal. I'm not sure when that changed."

Alex sighed. She was going to have to go rejoin the others at some point, and somehow find a way to steal Rahim away from the girl who had glued herself to his side. She wasn't sure what she would say to him yet, but she needed to get to the bottom of this.

She rose to her feet and took a determined step, only to be stopped by Henrik's hand on her arm. She turned back towards him with a raised eyebrow.

"Just... take it easy on him, okay?" He pleaded.

She chewed her bottom lip between her teeth as she stared at him for a moment, before finally nodding. Yelling at Rahim wasn't the way to play this; it would only make her look bad and push him further into the new girl's arms.

Alex looked around for Hope, needing her guidance, but her friend was nowhere to be seen. She was probably busy dealing with her own issues – she had enough troubles of her own sorting out her feelings for Noah while still being coupled up with Jakub.

As she began to make her way towards the villa, she heard her name being called. She turned her head towards the sound, finding Bobby waving at her near the pool where he and Gary were sitting on the beanbags, drinks in hand. She hesitated and glanced back towards the kitchen where Rahim still has his arm around the curvy redhead as they laughed with Marisol and Graham. Maybe now wasn't the best time to pull him for a chat. In the meantime, she could certainly use a distraction and a couple friendly faces.

She veered towards the boys, and Bobby hopped up out of his seat, coming over with his arms outstretched for a hug. She accepted it but kept herself stiff and aloof. She didn't need him getting any ideas about getting together again now that they were both single again. That ship had long sailed, and she had no interest in going back there.

When they separated, Alex put her hands on her hips and looked at Gary. "You just gonna sit there staring or are y'gonna come give me a hug?" she asked.

He grinned and lifted himself up off his beanbag, stepping over to embrace her. She leaned into him, hugging him warmly. They had spent plenty of mornings together in the gym, and their friendship had been an easy one since the early days in the villa. He reminded her of her brothers, right down to the plaid shirts, ripped jeans, and work boots.