Lily’s eyes turned on me, and I instantly regretted my words. There was something incredibly terrifying about the smile that spread over her face.
But, ‘You’re lucky the cameras didn’t catch you saying that,’ was all she said.
‘Can someone please tell us what the hell is going on?’ asked Parisa, the tall Persian woman who’d been standing next to Dylan at the Necklace Ceremony. ‘Stage Four restrictions? What does that mean?’
There was a murmur that rose to a roar as everyone started asking questions, before producer Suzette stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled. ‘Girls! Listen up!’
I glanced at Dylan.We’re adult women,she didn’t say. Her jaw was clenched.
‘I know you’ve got a lot of questions about the Stage Four restrictions and what they mean,’ Suzette said. ‘We’re going to do a proper briefing for you tomorrow or the next day, but for now all you need to know is that it’s not going to change life in the Villa that much for you. All it means is that once you’re eliminated, you can’t leave the set.’
‘What doesthatmean, though?’ asked a Japanese woman I was fairly sure was named Kumiko.
‘We’re going to repurpose the Romeo Residence as a space for the eliminated Juliets,’ Suzette said.
‘Wait, what?’ another woman asked. ‘The Romeo is going to stay with the eliminated girls?’
‘No, of course not!’ Suzette said, a note of exasperation in her voice. ‘We’ll put him somewhere else. Look, we’re still figuring out the details, but you don’t need to worry about any of this. Things will proceed as normal in the Villa. The only difference is that when you get eliminated, instead of going straight home, you’ll go to the Convent until the end of the filming period.’
‘The Convent?’ Lily said. ‘You’re calling the house for rejected women the Convent?’
‘Blame Murray,’ Suzette said shortly.
Lily started laughing. Like, she startedlaughing. Tears beaded at the corners of her eyes, leaving black smudges of mascara as they fell. She clutched at the wall with one hand, holding her side with the other like she had a stitch.
Everyone was looking at her strangely, but she either didn’t notice or didn’t care. ‘Tell him it’s perfect,’ she gasped out. ‘Tell him he’s a genius.’
Well, nearly everyone was looking at her strangely. Beside me, Dylan still had her arms wrapped around herself, fingers digging into her elbows so tight her knuckles were pale. She was staring at the floor.
‘For now, just get to bed,’ Suzette said. ‘You’ve got a big day tomor—well, today, actually. Get some sleep while you can.’
‘All right, room assignments!’ Carrie said, reading off a clipboard. ‘Bedroom 1: Kanda, Heather, Belinda, Kumiko, Parisa and Jess D! Bedroom 2: Marija, Amanda, Naya, Jess K, Dylan G and Lily Fireball! Any problems with that?’
I looked at Dylan again. Her eyes were still fixed on the floor.
Even now, even like this, so stricken, so upset, she was magnetic.
‘Good, because we’re not changing it!’ Carrie said. ‘Bedroom 1 girls, you’re with me. Bedroom 2 girls, you’re with Suzette. Let’s go.’
The layout of the Juliet Villa reminded me of the house inThe Sound of Music.When we’d first entered the Villa, we’d come down a flight of stairs into the main part of the house, but there were also two staircases leading up from the entryway, one going to the left, one to the right. Carrie led the Bedroom 1 women up the left staircase. Suzette led the rest of us up the right one.
I half-expected Dylan to stay rooted to the ground, frozen in place. She didn’t, but she moved slowly, dragging her feet, like she was walking through water.
I didn’t dare touch her again, not when I still had the feeling of the nape of her neck on my fingers, but I leaned in close. ‘Are you okay?’ I asked in an undertone.
‘What am I doing here, Mandie?’ she said. ‘What was Ithinking?’
‘It’s all right,’ I said. ‘You’re all right. I promise.’
Her arm shot out and she grabbed my hand, her fingers squeezing mine so tight it was almost painful.
I wanted to pull away. Should have pulled away.
Would have pulled away, if it weren’t for the fact that I actually didn’t want to, not even a little bit.
I could practically hear Mum’s voice in my head.This is a fantasy, Mandie,she was saying.It isn’t real.
But I laced Dylan’s fingers through mine and squeezed back. ‘You’re all right,’ I repeated. ‘You’re here. With me.’
