“That was that?” Tracy questioned, looking increasingly impatient.
Allie exhaled slowly. She’d been told these were meant to feel like self-monologues, a verbal diary of sorts, but today it felt like she’d been cornered by hungry dogs. Tracy was indeed starving for anything that would push the ratings up, and what would be better than a scandal? “We ended up enjoying each other’s company and afterwards went our separate ways.” It wasn’t a lie. Just a bent truth. “The next time I saw Barra was here, atOutlast Her.”
“And?”
“And nothing,” Allie said. “Barra didn’t choose me to be her partner, even though I guess I was expecting it. I don’t know what I was expecting, but in hindsight, it was probably a good thing.”
“You seem upset about it,” Tracy said.
“I’m not upset,” Allie said, feeling a flicker of exasperation itching her skin. How had they gone from talking about the protection bracelet to Barra? “Anyway, that’s not the point. What matters is that she now knows I’ve got the protection bracelet, so I’m hoping that will put us in some sort of alliance.”
She barely got the word alliance out before there was a sudden explosion of noise coming from the direction of the camp. Raised voices were overlapping.
Allie snapped her head toward the far edge of the beach where it curved.
Tracy turned, too.
Even Landon stepped out from the camera and squinted against the sun. “What’s that about?”
Tracy had just opened her mouth to respond when Allie leaped up from the log. She was both relieved at the distraction and desperate to know what the ruckus was about. “I have to go.” She didn’t wait for Tracy to give her the go-ahead before she took off toward camp.
“SHOW US,” SUTTON SAID, holding out her hand. “We want to see what it looks like.”
Valerie looked at Sutton’s hand and laughed. “Why would I do that?”
“Just show us,” Sutton pushed. “We want to see what it looks like.”
“What’s going on?” Allie muttered as she stepped in beside Barra. The Season Five winner was standing at the edge of a semicircle. In the middle of the circle were Valerie and Sutton in some sort of standoff.
Barra turned her head just enough for Allie to catch the edge of her smile. “Connie and Margaret found mail,” she said. “The Sending is happening tonight.”
“Okay,” Allie said, unsurprised. Day three was a perfectly acceptable day for The Sending. Alliances were already beginning to form, and based on the previous seasons, the timeline fit perfectly. But that couldn’t be the reason Sutton was looking at Valerie like she wanted to punch her. “I don’t understand.”
“Sutton saw Valerie hide something in her bag,” Barra replied just as Sutton scoffed loudly and took one step forward. She practically towered over Valerie, who couldn’t be taller than five feet two. Not that Valerie looked deterred. Chihuahuas were brave even when facing a Great Dane. And Valerie was no doubt a Chihuahua. “Then Valerie admitted to finding the protection bracelet.”
“What?” Allie stammered, feeling like she’d dropped her phone down a staircase. Had Valerie gone through her backpack and stolen her protection bracelet? Or had she found another one somewhere else?
Allie wanted nothing more than to run to her backpack leaning against one slightly lopsided pole of the shelter and dig through her things. Past the fancy shirt she’d worn on day one, the rolled-up linen shorts, the plum purple sweatshirt with RISD printed on the front, and right down to the bottom where she’d tucked it into a pair of socks. She needed to brush her fingers across the smooth, polished green jade beads strung onto a braided leather cord the color of sand.
But then Barra leaned closer. Close enough for Allie to smell sea salt in her wet hair. “She’s refusing to show it to anyone,” she whispered. “Which is rather clever, if you ask me.”
Allie must have frowned too deeply because Barra smiled and added, “Because you don’t know if she’s bluffing or not. She might have the protection bracelet. Or she might not.”
“Do you think she’s bluffing?” Allie asked.
Barra shrugged just as Sutton said, “Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest like some mean girl in high school and arched both brows. “You can show us tonight then... after we vote you out.”
Juniper made a strangled sound.
Allie couldn’t blame her. But then again, shouldn’t Allie be worried too? Sutton was acting like Regina George in Mean Girls, and didn’t everyone applaud when Regina got hit by that bus? Maybe it was Allie and Sutton who were on the chopping block tonight.
“Fine,” Valerie shot back. Then she made a noise like she was clearing her throat and turned on her heels before stalking off. Sutton did the same, except she went off in the opposite direction. The rest of the circle scattered, including Barra, who walked off without a word.
“Where are you going?” Allie called after her.
“To the sea,” Barra replied, not stopping. She didn’t even look back over her shoulder, and even if she had, Allie wouldn’t have noticed. Her gaze had flicked down to Barra’s long legs and stayed there. Her eyes only traveled up as far as her waist, and even then... well, she couldn’t help where they went next. Barra had a great ass.
Then, as if she’d been pinched, Allie realized she was staring. But only because Elodie and Anna were staring at her, watching her with annoyingly amused grins on their faces, as if they could somehow read her mind. But what was she even thinkingabout? Last night’s almost kiss. Obviously. And, annoyingly, what might’ve happened if she hadn’t pulled back so fast, if she’d let the kiss land, if she’d moved her hands down to Barra’s...