But I’d dug my thumbs in hard enough in the right places. It worked anyway.
I got what I wanted from Cece. A little speech about how it was better for Dylan not to know about the ‘ugliness’ between her and Heather – better for him to keep his head in the game.
Romeo-Dylan was standing just behind me as Cece spoke. I could feel his gaze. Tender when he looked at Cece. Glowering when he looked at me.
Tomorrow, I promised myself. Tomorrow, I was going to cancel the whole day of filming. It would have been the Episode Five Last Chance Party and Necklace Ceremony,and with Heather’s elimination, we didn’t need to do those anymore. I was going to cancel everything, and I was going to sit down with Romeo-Dylan, and I was going to do whatever it took to get him back on side.
I was a master of detachment. It was hard to play chess when you cared about the pieces. I needed him to trust me. I didn’t need him to like me.
That didn’t help the sick feeling in my belly.
Romeo-Dylan insisted on staying to sit with Cece while I went into the Convent to shoot interviews. I let him. Any concession I could make – anything that would help him feel like I was on his team – I would do it.
I did my job with ruthless, clinical precision. I interviewed each of the women in the Convent about the fight. I got some grabs that would make this Very Special Episode one of the most talked-about pieces of television of the year. I got content that would make Fucking Greg cream his jeans.
I took Heather aside. She was crying, shoulders shaking, big blue eyes red with tears. ‘You have to help me,’ she hiccupped, clutching at my sleeve like a lifeline. ‘Please. They’re all bullying me.’
I fixed my gaze on her fingers on my arm and went completely, aggressively silent.
It took her a moment to catch up.
Then her breath caught in her throat. A stillness came over her, one I’d seen many times before: a stillness born of total, abject fear.
Slowly, she let go.
‘You should count yourself lucky,’ I said.
‘What – what do you mean?’
‘You thought tonight was bad, dealing with all the women down here.’ I didn’t have to dig deep to find my most terrifying, threatening, dangerous voice. ‘But I want you to think about how that would have gone if Lily Fireball was in the room.’
Heather paled, but she balled a hand into a fist. ‘I’m not scared of her.’
‘Then you’re not very smart.’
Her lip started quivering again.
‘Crying isn’t going to work on me,’ I said. ‘It’s not going to work on her either. She might not be down here yet, but she will be, sooner or later. Maybe even in the same bedroom as you. Do you know what it’s like to sleep with one eye open, Heather?’
Tears were pouring down her cheeks. ‘I didn’t do anything wrong.’
‘This place is full of cameras and microphones. Anything you say, I’m going to hear. And if I hear one thing I don’t like – not even one thing, half a thing, or the mere suggestion of a thing – you’re going to be sleeping in the same bunk as Lily Fireball.’
I leaned in closer. ‘Maybe we’ll even have a movie night, when Lily gets here. I’ve got plenty of footage of you from the Villa. I could put together a supercut of your greatest hits. Set up a screen out on the lawn, perhaps. Make some popcorn. Really make an event out of it.’
Heather buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking.
‘You know what that sounds like to me?’ I said. ‘Great television. Everyone would see. Your friends. Your family.Your co-workers. Sharing a bunk bed in here with Lily might seem like a relaxing holiday, after what you’ll face out there.’
‘Why?’ she sobbed. ‘Why are you being so mean to me?’
‘Because I want you to understand, Heather,’ I said. ‘I want it to be very clear. We have a zero-tolerance policy for racism on this show. If you put a single toe out of line in here, I’m going to know about it – and there will be consequences.’
Romeo-Dylan and Cece were still on the verandah when I left the Convent. They were sitting on the steps, the slightest of distances between them.
They were holding hands.
They looked at each other before they looked at me. In that glance, that silent, subconscious communication between them, all my suspicions were confirmed.
