My next beach hut interview began the following morning after breakfast. I received a text that was underwhelming to the other Islanders, who thought the message to my phone was a challenge. Instead, I walked in solitude inside the villa and down the vacant hallway. The room looked and smelled just as it had the first week, with a slight vanilla fragrance and brightly colored pillows lining a comfortable teakwood couch. I took my seat and read the first of several questions. The first asked a very vague question about Charlie.
"The decision to forgive him was hard, but it was the right thing to do. People make mistakes. But we're still on a trial run to make sure he lives up to his promises, you know? I still care about him; that part of me never went away. No matter how angry or hurt I could be, I find myself just wanting to be around him. I think there's something special there." The second question discussed Noah.
"I try not to terrorize myself with the 'what if' questions. That only leads to overthinking. In the best-case scenario, Noah realized the same thing that I did and found himself an absolutely wonderful girl. Which won't be hard; he's the definition of a gentleman. And he deserves someone that he's known for more than a week." The monitor above the camera asked if I had any regrets with Ella.
"I should apologize to her, definitely. She never did anything wrong and has always been kind to me. I guess I got wrapped up in my feelings last night and didn't even think of hers, which is wrong. If she will make the time for me today, I'd want to talk to her."
The final question asked if Charlie would be my partner in the final. "Anything could happen, so I don't want to jinx it. But I'd like him to be my partner in the final. I mean, I think we're good together. We still have a lot to learn, but I'm excited to spend more time with him."
I smiled and stood to my feet, exiting the beach hut after what I would consider a successful interview. I stepped back into the garden and returned to my small group with Polly, Lucas, Charlie, and Peach.
"Just go over there," Polly was saying to Peach, gesturing to Gray and Julie.
"What's going on?" I asked, taking my seat beside Charlie. He tested the boundaries by slowly putting an arm around my waist. I accepted with a subtle shuffle toward him.
"It turns out that Julie's toxic overprotective tendencies toward Lucas are not an isolated event. She's guarding Gray now. I can't even say good morning to him without the risk of being bit," Peach explained. "And Polly, don't be hypocritical. You couldn't stand up to her either." Peach let out a playful giggle.
Polly sat forward. "Yeah, but it's much easier to tell someone else to do it! So I'm going to enjoy finally being on the sidelines." She smiled and looked over at Lucas' arm, then picked it up and put it around herself. "We're finally a couple, Lucas. Don't shy out now."
Lucas never looked happier, with his thin lips pulled into a genuine, tight smile that crinkled his eyes and his cheeks. "Sorry, Polly Pocket."
"Oh my gosh, I remember those!" I commented. "Those tiny little toys with rubber clothes!"
Charlie smiled fondly. "That rhymed. My older sister used to play with them. I chewed on the outfits."
"Ew!" Polly giggled into her hands.
"How'd they taste?" I teased.
"Mixed reviews. The blue overalls were a bit bland, but the pink dress had excellent texture," Charlie smirked. "What, you guys are gonna tell me you didn't chew some toys?"
Lucas thought for a moment. "I had a Littlest Pet Shop set when I was really young. I never chewed them, but I used to carry the penguin figurine everywhere with me. Even in school, he'd just be hanging out in my shirt chest pocket. He was my little buddy."
"What was his name?" Polly asked.
"Waldo."
Ella passed by our group quickly, and my internal conflict grew louder in my head. Primarily, I didn't want to risk the potential of making her feel worse. But I knew that the right thing to do would be to talk to her; if I were in her shoes, I would want the same thing. So, I dismissed myself from the group once more and followed Ella into the kitchen. She grabbed grapes from the fridge and began the process of destemming them into a bowl.
"Hey, Ella," I said as I sat down on a stool across from her.
Ella looked up in slight surprise but kept preparing her breakfast. "Oh. Hi, Maddie."
"I wanted to talk about last night. I'm sorry about how things went down. This was sprung on you at the last minute, and it wasn't fair." I tapped my fingers nervously against the bare skin of my leg.
She nodded down at her food, then looked up with a small smile. "Well, thanks. I appreciate you coming to apologize. To be honest, I had the slightest idea. Charlie was never over you, even when he thought you cheated. When we came back to the villa, I knew our couple was a ticking time bomb." She tucked a straight brown strand of hair behind her ear. "It's okay, though. He's a great guy, and you're really kind. I'm sure you're great together."
Her kindness only grew my guilt. "Thanks... how's it with David?" I asked.
Ella looked out the kitchen window and saw David across the garden, showing Mason something by the pool. "He's nice, but that's all I think of him as. I'm still looking at my options."
"Who else do you have your eye on?" I asked.
She thought for a second, her eyes scanning the garden. "Mason, honestly. Maybe Anthony, too."
She'd picked two guys who were currently happily coupled up with my friends, so I kept quiet. "How do you feel about Connor?"
Ella made a discouraging face. "Not into it. I heard him say that he dislikes dogs. I have three of them."
"Yeah, may not be the best match," I laughed. "What breeds?"
"Oh, they're all shelter mutts: an Australian shepherd mix, a chihuahua, and what we think is a lab mixed with a beagle. I work at an animal shelter, so all three of them were dogs that I just loved so much, I didn't want them to ever leave." Ella smiled fondly at her fruit as she remembered her life back home. "Do you have any pets?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. I'm still living in an apartment by my college, and pet rent is crazy-expensive. But whenever I move to wherever I move to, I'd like to get a bunch of animals. Turn my house into my own zoo."
Ella smiled and nodded. "That's really cool, I'm glad I met a fellow animal lover. Do you know what you want to do with your degree?"
"I've got a few ideas, but nothing that super sticks out. I could see myself working in an aquarium," I said.
"I think working in an aquarium would be cool." Ella offered the bowl of grapes to me and I took a few. "So, I'm good with you if you're good with me."
"We're good?" I summarized.
"We're good," Ella confirmed with a large smile. "You didn't do it out of maliciousness, you did it out of love."
"Well, I don't love him. At least, not yet. It's been a lot to process."
Her eyes slanted in confusion and her head subconsciously tilted. "Oh? Charlie said something about love to me last night. You don't feel the same?"
Heat rushed to my cheeks. "Not yet, I don't think. I really care about him, I just think he's a little ahead of me there. But I'm not afraid to catch up." I offered a soft smile, which she graciously returned.
"Very fair. Do you mind if I join you guys in the garden? I don't have a lot of friends yet. Apart from Julie and Abby, since we were in Casa Amor together. But Abby's always busy with Blake and Julie... well, I don't really like to spend a lot of time with Julie," Ella said.
"Extremely fair. Absolutely, come on," I smiled and led Ella out to the garden and over to where our group was sat down at the loungers. "Hey, guys. Ella's here to be initiated," I joked.
Charlie leaned forward. "Are you sure she's ready for the initiation?"
"I'm very ready!" Ella confirmed.
Charlie reached out his hand. "Give me your hand, I need your blood."
"What? No!" Ella laughed.
"Yeah, it's okay, no one else did it either," he shrugged.
"We're still trying to give Peach the support she needs," Polly began filling Ella in. "Peach and Gray definitely still like each other, but Julie's kind of in the way again."
Ella looked around at the group. "I can go talk to her," she said, pointing in Julie's direction while making direct eye contact with Peach.
"No, it's okay. I still don't even know what to say to Gray. Sorry for choosing Connor at the recoupling- oh my gosh, Connor!" Peach jumped to her feet and grabbed her phone off the table. "I totally forgot, I was supposed to meet him in the boys' dressing room. He said he had a surprise."
"Do you want us to come with you as backup?" Polly asked.
"No, I should probably go alone, just in case this is a great opportunity to break things off for good." Peach gave us a small smile and then disappeared inside the villa.
Lucas nodded, then his face twisted as his thoughts began to compress. I could see him processing some information, before clapping a hand over his mouth in shock. "Oh no."
"What is it?" Charlie asked.
"I may have overheard Connor telling David he was going to ask Peach to be his girlfriend," Lucas said from behind his hand.
My jaw dropped to the floor. "Oh, Jesus. Don't tell me he's going to ask her in the boys' dressing room." I covered my face with my hands in disappointment.
"What, you wouldn't want me to ask you to be my girlfriend in the sweatiest room in the villa? I think it's romantic," Charlie joked.
Polly answered for me. "Absolutely not, she does not want that! Nobody wants that! Take us to the beach, the balcony, anywhere but a dressing room." She rolled her eyes at the thought.
Lucas squirmed a little. "The beach, huh?"
"Yeah," Polly looked over with a small smile, her cheeks blushed pink. "I think it's romantic."
"Noted." Lucas wrapped his arm around her tighter.
My phone chirped, but not in the same tone as used by producers, telling me it was a personal message from another Islander. I squinted at the dim screen. "It's from Peach... SOS, get up here, I think something's happening." I threw my phone down on the coffee table and urgently gestured for Polly and Ella to follow me. "Come on. Guys, I think you should stay here."
The three of us sprinted into the villa, bounding up the steps and down the hall. We entered the boys' dressing room without knocking and found Connor on one knee in front of Peach. The two of them looked shocked as the door was nearly busted off of its hinges, then Peach's face relaxed in relief.
"Um, hey, guys. Can we have a minute?" Connor asked.
I was speechless, unsure of what to say or do. Peach and I locked eyes, trying yet failing to telecommunicate.
Finally, Peach took a deep breath and gestured to us. "I got this." She turned and pulled Connor up off of his knee. "First of all, never ask someone to be your girlfriend from one knee, that was terrifying. I thought you were going to propose. Second... Connor, we've been coupled up for a like, three days."
"Love doesn't have a time limit." Connor shook his head. "I know what I want, Peach."
"I don't think you do. I think this is a way of trying to secure me or trap me into something we both know I'm not ready for. My answer is no, Connor. I'm sorry." Peach's lip quivered as she turned away from him and began walking toward us in the doorway. We all backed up and allowed Peach to exit. The door swung closed behind us as we retreated to the girls' dressing room. We opened the door to find Giselle crying at her vanity.
"Are you okay?" Peach asked.
"Are you?" Giselle replied.
Both of them shook their heads and embraced in a hug so tight that it must've damaged at least a few pairs of ribs, but neither of them pulled away. The rest of us sat down at nearby vanities that didn't belong to us, surrounding our two friends who were in their own troubles at that moment.
"What happened, Giselle?" Peach asked. A tear began traveling down the side of her cheek, but she didn't bother wiping it away as another followed suit.
Giselle shook her head and sniffled. "I was really happy to be coupled up with Anthony, but he was different today. He chose to couple up with me, but he's been treating me more as a friend. He keeps talking about how good Peyton looks... what happened to last night? Did he only like me when I was dressed as a literal princess?"
"If that's what's going on, he's a dick," I tossed in my input.
Peach nodded in agreement. "I don't like the way he's been treating you. You deserve to be treated like a princess 365 days of the year, not one night when you're in a gown."
"What's up with you, Peach?" Giselle asked.
Peach smiled weakly, her eyes showing her emotional exhaustion. "I was about to break up with Connor and he just asked me to be his girlfriend. So that was a really hard conversation to have."
Giselle nodded. "But you did the right thing. Don't keep a fish on your line if you're not going to reel it in." She leaned forward and gave Peach another hug, this one more gentle than the others.
"This might be our last hug," Peach whispered into Giselle's shoulder. Chills ran across my body; I hadn't even thought of the dumping tonight until just now.
Giselle pulled away. "Don't talk like that."
"I don't have a chance now, do I? I just broke it off with my couple. That literally makes us the worst couple here!" Peach laughed, which quickly turned into a sob. "Sorry, I'm a big cry baby."
"No, baby. You're not going anywhere. America absolutely loves you," Giselle said, putting her hands on Peach's shoulders. "You're not going anywhere."