Ch. 9

Nic

Nic and Olandria simultaneously leaped off the bed in search of their phones. Nic had once again forgotten that they were on a reality TV show. Not being in the villa and the absence of the other islanders made Nic feel as if he and Olandria were in their own little bubble. Leave it to the producers to burst it.

Nic found his phone in the pocket of the pants he'd worn last night and saw one unread message. "It's mine," he told Olandria, showing her the illuminated screen.

Her eyes were wide, "well, what does it say?" she asked impatiently.

Nic read the text, "Nic and Olandria, you two were dumped from the island but given the opportunity to explore a connection between each other. You have 36 hours left to decide if you want to couple up and return to the villa or stay single and go home. To help make your decision, you'll find a tablet in the drawer of your bedside table. There's a video for each of you that will show what your former connections are currently doing back in the villa and at Casa Amor."

Nic swallowed nervously and glanced at Olandria. His nerves were not for himself but for her; he couldn't stomach the thought of her seeing Taylor with Clarke. It was going to devastate her.

"We don't have to look," he suggested and Olandria stared at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"Of course we have to look!" She was already moving toward the bedside table.

Nic rushed to stop her, grabbing her by the waist and turning her to face him. "What if you don't like what you see?" She definitely was not going to like whatever was in that video.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nic gulped, "I just think Taylor really likes Clarke is all." He couldn't bring himself to lie to her but he also couldn't bring himself to tell her the whole truth.

Olandria frowned slightly and Nic felt like he'd been punched in the chest. She sighed, "well, I still want to see. So let me go."

Nic reluctantly released her and plopped down on the bed in defeat. Olandria pulled the tablet out of the drawer and turned it on.

Nic was sweating. If she cried he would have no choice but to punch Taylor for hurting her, friendship be damned.

Olandria navigated to the video and pressed play. Because she was still standing, Nic couldn't see what was on the screen but he could hear Taylor and Clarke's conversations, could hear the sounds of them kissing, could hear Taylor telling him and Ace that he had more of a connection with Clarke in 24 hours than he did with Olandria in a week. He felt his blood boiling. Did the producers have to include that?

Nic watched in horror as Olandria's whole demeanor changed. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her bottom lip was quivering. The video ended and she threw the tablet on the bed and ran into the bathroom.

Nic felt like he could punch a hole through the wall. He didn't know who he wanted to take out his rage on more: Taylor or the producers. He took a deep breath and tried to keep his anger tempered. Right now, his girl needed him.

He walked to the bathroom and rested his forehead against the door. "Olandr-" he didn't even get the opportunity to finish saying her name before she was yelling at him to go away.

Part of him wanted to respect her demand to be alone but another, larger, part knew that this wasn't something she should deal with on her own. He took a deep breath and decided to trust himself, trust that he knew her well enough to know she needed to be pushed to let him be there for her.

"No," he said firmly. "I'm not leaving you alone right now. You don't have to speak to me, but please let me in. Let me be there for you."

For a long time, Olandria was silent and the door remained locked. Nic wasn't leaving though; he couldn't. Eventually, he heard the click of the door unlocking. He slowly pushed it open and saw Olandria sitting on the floor. Her knees were up to her chest and she had her face buried in them.

Nic felt ill. He sat down and pulled her into his arms. She buried her face into his chest and he rubbed soothing circles on her back and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"I've got you," he whispered and it was like his words gave her permission to break. A gut-wrenching sob filled the air and Nic's heart shattered in two. He tightened his hold on her, trying to signal that she wasn't alone. That she could let everything she was feeling out because he'd be right there to hold her together and make sure that she didn't completely fall apart. It was clear that she was breaking right now, and god that killed him, but he refused to let her shatter.