She risked a sideways glance at Valerie sitting beside her on the log. Had Valerie experienced the same dizzying rush of awe and fear? Or had the fact that she’d been here in this spot before given her a spine of steel?
Valerie wasn’t giving anything away. She stared straight ahead while her fingers remained completely still in her lap.
“The remaining partner will stay in the game, but as a ghost.” That was a new reference, one that Adrienne quite liked. “The ghost will not vote. You will not participate in the reward challenge. Not until the next Sending when someone else is left without a partner.”
Then Vivian paused and let the silence do the heavy lifting. A moment later her eyes locked onto Adrienne. She flashed a bright smile. “Adrienne, you’ve become quite the lightning rod out here this season,” she said.
“Have I?” Adrienne asked, tilting her chin up a fraction and smiling so sweetly her lips could’ve been made from sugar. She had no idea whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. But if Zeus himself wielded a lightning bolt, then surely it was a position of power.
Vivian looked thoroughly amused. “Not only were you the only one to swap pairs, but you’ve also caused a bit of an uproar at camp.”
“Uproar?” Adrienne asked, raising both brows. That seemed like an exaggeration. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Hallie,” Vivian said, turning toward the firefighter instead of explaining herself. Which was red flag number one. Adrienne had watched enoughOutlast Herepisodes to know that as soon as Vivian involved input from the other contestants, there was trouble.
Hallie cleared her throat and took her time. The nerves buzzing in Adrienne’s stomach had gone full feral. Usually, she didn’t mind being in the limelight. In fact, she welcomed it. But this felt dangerous. “Adrienne hasn’t exactly been a team player,” Hallie said. “She’s got a tendency to go missing whenever there are chores to be done.”
“Why don’t you just say it like it is,” Tamera chimed in. She leaned forward onto her elbows and faced Adrienne, and all Adrienne could think about was how she’d become David while Goliath was looming over her from down the log. “You float around the beach like you’re a guest at a five-star resort. You don’t help with anything. And when any of us asks you to do something, you flat-out ignore us.”
Adrienne hadn’t expected that slap in the face, but then again, did anyone ever? She opened her mouth to defend herself, but then Eden beat her to it.
“Tamera is right,” Eden said. “You don’t seem to realize that we’re all starving. We’re all exhausted, and yet somehow you’re above lifting a single finger.”
Fine. She’d sinned a little too hard. Maybe flatly refusing to help Eden reinforce the shelter yesterday evening hadn’t been the most tactical of ideas. Maybe rolling her eyes when Hallie had asked her to wash out the rice pot this morning hadn’t beenthe best idea either. Maybe she could’ve refilled the bottles like Safiya had asked instead of giving her a death stare.
“Adrienne,” Vivian said, turning back to her. “Do you think that’s a good strategy considering your fate is in everyone else’s hands?”
But Adrienne didn’t get a chance to reply.
“Adrienne doesn’t seem to have a strategy,” Niko said, running a hand through her shaggy hair. “Or if she does, she isn’t making it obvious. I haven’t seen her talk to anyone. I don’t even think she knows all of our names.”
“That’s not true,” Adrienne said, though not as confidently as she’d like. There was a tiny chance she’d forgotten someone’s name. Names rarely came to her unless they were attached to important people. It was a character-flaw yes, but she couldn’t help it.
“It is,” Niko shot back. “The only person I’ve seen you talk to is Valerie, and even then, I can’t imagine you’ve said much. You’re always lounging on the beach catching a tan.”
“Lounge is a strong word,” Adrienne interjected before someone else could stab her in the back with a blunt knife. “You don’t need to be chopping wood and having a hundred different conversations to have a presence in this game.”
“There’s a difference between a quiet game and an invisible one,” Eden said. “Right now, all you are is an extra mouth to feed.”
“That’s a bit harsh,” Isla added. Adrienne remembered why she’d always liked Isla. “We’ve only been in this game a few days, and I think Adrienne can still prove us wrong.”
“What do you think, Valerie?” Vivian asked. “Do you think Adrienne has shot herself in the foot? Or do you think she can salvage her game?”
Valerie didn’t speak at first. Or even after a minute. Adrienne was suddenly taken back toThe Valentine, watching that doorswing closed in her face. Valerie still hated her. Hooking up didn’t mean anything, and it didn’t change anything.
“I think Adrienne deserves a second chance,” Valerie finally said. “I think everyone’s focusing on what she hasn’t done, rather than what she’s capable of. Just because she doesn’t play the game the way everyone else does, doesn’t mean she isn’t playing.”
What?Adrienne could hardly believe her ears. She was just about to turn to look at Valerie and mouth thank you, because at least someone was willing to back her, but then Valerie added, “Besides, she’s exactly the kind of shield you want to keep around. If she’s rubbing everyone the wrong way, she’d be an easy target later.”
Well, now, that was a brutal little twist of a knife. Was that really all she thought of Adrienne? A shield to keep herself alive? Adrienne tried to catch Valerie’s eye, but Valerie’s gaze remained forward. Was Adrienne even surprised by the whole thing? She had no time to answer the question in her head when Vivian gave her signature one clap. “Let’s vote! Hallie, you’re up first.”
Chapter Eleven
Valerie was still in a state of shock. She’d believed without a doubt that the first Sending would’ve ended up with the two of them at the bottom and quite possibly Adrienne going home.
Instead, it had been Eden and Isla who had racked up the most stones. They had four of them, while Valerie and Adrienne had only two. And even more surprising than that, Eden had gone home.
Which meant that little remark that had come out of Valerie’s mouth about Adrienne being a human shield had quite possibly saved Adrienne’s life. Which was what she wanted, right? She wanted to save Adrienne’s game because, honestly, that kiss had changed everything, hadn’t it? She’d be lying if she said it hadn’t. Her pants would be on literal fire if she said that she didn’t go more than an hour without thinking back on that moment with her back pressed against the pine tree.
