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My heart might break.
Stella scoffed at her inner musings. Broken heart, that wasn’t her. She gave her thoughts the middle finger. Looking again at her watch, she finally stopped pacing. Any moment now, Quinn and Avery would be back from their three-day love fest. Striding to the desk drawer, she grabbed the container of Tums. The proof of her turmoil rattled in the nearly empty box.
“Stella, they’re back. I’ll send Avery up first for her thoughts on her time away. Then Quinn for her reaction, plus a reflection on all the contestants. You’ve got five minutes.” Monica barely finished her sentence before leaving with a trail of camera crew following in her wake.
Five minutes. She could get her game face ready in five minutes, piece of cake.
Twelve minutes later, Stella walked out of her room and across the hall to the new interview setup.
The crew had finally replicated the room to look like the one lost in the earthquake. However, due to the placement of the door, everything was mirrored, which had initially thrown Stella off. Hidden cameras adorned every wall, giving a false sense of security at being alone. It allowed the contestants to open up without getting tense from the camera crew at their back. The effect provided more authentic reactions.
She could hear the hubbub of the women downstairs, but the interview room was still empty. Good. It allowed her more time to slip on her host mask, one that was getting harder to fit on over her growing feelings for Avery. Not knowing what was going on during Avery and Quinn’s three-day getaway was excruciating. Did they sleep together? Not that it mattered. It wasn’t like she and Avery had any claim to each other. But the thought was hard to swallow.
“Are you ready for me?” Avery asked, tentatively hanging out in the doorframe.
“Come on in.” Stella waved for her to sit. “You look refreshed.” She took in her relaxed face and a slight smile.
“It’s like I’ve been on vacation. Not having to shop or get up super early for a job has done wonders for my psyche.” Avery plopped in the chair unceremoniously, bending her leg so one ankle rested on the opposite knee. She kept fidgeting with her shirt, a sure indication of nerves.
“I can only imagine.” Stella had no idea what it was like to struggle. Her family had been happily supporting her for years. She’d never known the sting of hunger as she waited for her next paycheck. “Are you ready to start the interview?”
Avery didn’t say anything; she just watched Stella with her warm brown eyes and nodded.
Stella took a moment before pulling out her TV smile. “I’m here with Avery, who is moments back from her three-day retreat with Quinn. Tell us, Avery, what was the best and worst part about the experience?” Stella sat forward. Her host mask finally snapped into place.
Tilting her head in thought, Avery took a moment before answering. Finally, she settled in by uncrossing her legs. “The best part was getting to know Quinn in a more intimate setting, away from all this.” She waved around the room. “I know there were cameras there, too, but seeing a different side of Quinn was nice. I think her walls came down, and I saw a new side. Not the date side, or TV show person, but maybe I got a glimpse of the real Quinn. Anyone who gets to see that side is a lucky person. She’s great.” Avery smiled at one of the hidden cameras.
Stella reached for her water, trying to calm her racing heart. “Quinn certainly has a lot going for her. I’m sure the fans would love to know if you had to face any problems—or was it all pretty amicable?”
“It was fairly amicable, until we played video games. She’s a completely different person when we were competing in different games. Maybe it isn’t surprising for someone who used to play a sport professionally.” Avery chuckled. “I’d say we fought, but once we cooled down, we discovered we were saying the same thing differently. It was nice to laugh about that afterward.”
Stella knew they would play that scene over Avery’s words, so she didn’t worry about her face as she listened. Instead, she drank in Avery’s demeanor and searched for a clue about what happened during their time away. The cameras were wrapping around her chest, squeezing her in a tight grip. The more she was unable to have a conversation with Avery, the more she resented their constant recording.
“Do you have a moment that stands out from your stay?” Stella asked, her voice pitched higher than usual to show excitement. She felt like they were two friends talking about an exciting date, but she didn’t actually want to know how it went.
“Let’s see. Oh, so I’m deathly afraid of spiders. And one night I came running into the living room shrieking about a spider, but I didn’t want to kill it, so Quinn MacGyvered this contraption and put the poor arachnid in the flowerbed outside. It was like ten at night, too. She was chill about it.”
Trying not to think about what they had been doing during the night and pushing away her thoughts about wanting to catch all the spiders for Avery, Stella placed her hands on her thighs, clenching them to keep from reaching out. “Sounds like you had an amazing time. I can’t wait to see the footage. Thank you for meeting with me, Avery. I have one last question. There are three more days until the finale. Have you thought about what you’ll choose if Quinn picks you?”
She’d asked all the contestants this when they returned from their extended trip, and this was the first time she didn’t want to hear the answer.
“To be honest, I have no idea.” Avery shook her head. She looked so torn that hope flared bright in Stella. Maybe there could be a chance for them outside of the show?
“You have three more days to figure it out,” Stella teased.
Standing with her hands on her hips, Avery replied, “Can’t wait,” in a teasing tone.
Stella was left watching her retreating form. Can’t wait? Can’t wait for what? There was something hidden in Avery’s expression that she couldn’t put her finger on. Yearning to chase, she instead stayed put, waving Quinn in with a smile.
Stella’s head lay on her hands as she peered at the ceiling, counting the popcorn bumps. Sleep was as elusive the last three nights as it was for this one.
“Can I come in?” Quinn tapped on the door.
Sitting up, Stella kept her lamp off, leaving the natural ambiance of the full moon to illuminate the room. “Come on in, Quinn,” she called out softly, wrapping her arms across her legs and leaning against the back of the bed.
“It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever.” The bed dipped when Quinn sat on it.
“Well, it has been nearly two weeks. Nine days both went by fast and slow, don’t you think?” Stella teased.
