not the only one

move on

When Shannon found out about the kiss, all hell broke loose in the villa – or at least, that's how it seemed. Alex didn't care to involve herself any further, so she kept her knowledge of it to herself and bowed out of the conversation at the first opportunity. She spent the evening as far away from the action as possible and couldn't help but notice Rahim doing the same. The coward. They were fighting over him, the least he could do was face them and tell the truth.

She hung out with Henrik, Gary, and Bobby instead and filled them in on what had happened and how she'd finally had enough of Rahim's indecisiveness. They agreed that Rahim's behaviour was wrong and that she was doing the right thing, but it didn't help fill the hole in her heart that was left behind. She'd been pinning all her hopes on a man whose feelings were wishy-washy, and now she was left with nothing but regret – no prospects in the villa, and not much time left.

When she crawled into bed next to Henrik at the end of the night, she felt empty and drained.

"Henrik," she whispered when the lights went out, and he hummed his response, his back to her. "I know we're just friends, but I... I could maybe really use a bit of a cuddle right now."

There was only silence, and she hastily continued, "If you want to, of course. It's okay if you don't, I don't expect anything, just..."

The mattress shifted as Henrik finally rolled over to face her. "Of course," he said softly. "Whatever you need."

She turned onto her side and pressed her back up against his chest. When he draped his arm around her, it warmed her throughout, and it wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke again, it was to the sound of her phone going off near her head, followed by other phones around the room. She reached for the offending device and stared at the screen.

The girls were going on a beach day.

On one hand, it could be just what she needed – a break from the villa and time away from Rahim so she could clear her head. On the other hand, after the way the villa had blown up the night before, who knew what drama could be in store for them.

She was right to be worried. The girls' trip ended up being a complete disaster, as it didn't take long before the girls were bickering again and carrying on the previous night's unresolved arguments. It was headache-inducing, and nothing at all like what a beach day with sangria and spa kits was supposed to be. Chelsea did her best to keep things positive, and Hope did her best to keep things peaceful, but it was a losing battle as Jo and Shannon both refused to back down.

Finally, Alex had enough.

"Just shut the fuck up, all of you!" she yelled.

She was met with blessed silence and wide eyes as the other girls gazed at her in shock.

"Who fucking cares who kissed who, or who said what, or about these dumb nicknames and insults or whatever the hell they are!" She stared pointedly at Jo and Shannon. "Rahim is a jerk who can't make up his mind or keep his head in one direction, and he's not someone either of you should want to be with, but good luck to whichever of you bitches manages to get stuck with him. Like, honestly, congrats hun, big fucking deal."

Then she looked at Elisa and continued. "You can blame Chelsea all you want, but you knew the girl couldn't keep a secret and yet you told her something that was none of your business to begin with. You should've either kept your fucking mouth shut or talked to Jo or Shannon about it instead of wagging your tongue. And to all of you, Hope is a bad-ass boss bitch who's just trying to keep the peace, so give her some respect instead of acting like children. Please. And. Thank you."