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CHAPTERTWENTY
Day Twenty-Four—Five teams remaining
Archer
Simon grinned,impressed by our view of the sunrise from the raft.
“This is worth being stuck alone on a remote island with an ex,” he quipped.
“Lauren’s great,” I said, an edge of defensiveness in my tone. “I don’t feel stuck with her.”
“It’s got to be weird, though, right?”
I shrugged. “It was a little tense at first, but we got used to each other.”
We’d hiked around six miles yesterday, and the terrain was tough in places. We’d barely completed the competition and made it back to camp by sunset. But I’d gotten to show Lauren that waterfall, because one of our clues led us to the base of it. I hadn’t let on how much I enjoyed watching Layla face-plant in the slippery mud on the way there.
She was just being protective of Lauren; I knew that. But her comments about me being callous and arrogant rubbed me the wrong way. If there was someone who thought they knew it all and didn’t, it wasn’t me, but her.
Simon and Layla would only be here for a few more hours. I’d enjoyed catching up with my teammate, but I was ready for them to go. Lauren and I were a team of two. We’d earned our way into the final five, and I wanted us to enjoy whatever time we had left here alone.
“Why’d you guys break up, anyway?” Simon asked me.
“I got drafted and wanted her to join me in Minnesota, but I wasn’t ready to get married and she wanted a real commitment.”
“What were you? Like eighteen years old? No one should be getting married that young.”
I shrugged. “What she wanted was to get engaged. She just wanted to know I was serious enough that I’d planned to marry her someday.”
“Yeah, but women can be pretty eager once that ring’s on their finger. Then they want a date. I don’t blame you for ending things.”
There was a tug on my fishing line, and I pulled up on my makeshift pole, trying to hook whatever was on the other end. The pole dipped, but I held fast.
“That’s a big fucker,” Simon said. “You need help?”
“Nah, I’ve got it. Sometimes it’s a fight since I don’t have a reel, but I usually get them in the end.”
It took around ten minutes for me to get the mackerel on the raft, but it was worth it. I wanted to catch enough fish to feed all four of us before our guests left camp, and this was a solid start.
“I wasn’t trying to end things,” I finally said.
Simon gave me a confused look.
“With Lauren,” I said. “I wanted her to come with me more than anything else. Leaving her was fucking hard. We just couldn’t agree on how to move forward.”
“Seems like it worked out for the best, though. You’re not tied down and you can focus on hockey as much as you want.”
I didn’t argue with him. Simon was twenty-seven and liked to keep his options completely open when it came to women. He was right—I wasn’t tied down and I could focus on hockey, but that had come at a price. And when I’d agreed to do this show, I hadn’t known that coming here meant literally coming face-to-face every day with the only woman I’d ever loved.
There were times I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge, getting an unsolicited look at the woman I’d missed out on because of my selfishness. It was hard, and I couldn’t wake up Christmas morning and atone for what I’d done.
Simon jumped up from his seat on the raft, a fish on his line. Linda was back at camp filming Lauren and Layla, and I could only imagine what Layla was saying.
Simon and I had given the women the shelter last night, but when I woke up this morning, Lauren was on the sand with me, her back against my chest. She’d murmured something about being cold in the night and then hurried back to the shelter.
“That’s probably enough fish, right?” Simon asked when I pulled in another one.
“Yeah, this is good.”
We used the paddles I’d built from branches to row back to shore, and Simon stayed behind to tie up the raft. When I walked into camp, Layla gave me a murderous look.
“What?” I asked her.
She looked over both shoulders to make sure Lauren wasn’t within earshot.
“She told me what happened between you two,” she hissed. “What the hell were you thinking, Archer?”
I shook my head and looked away. Of all the people the producers could have sent to our camp, why Layla? She’d had it out for me for eight years now, and though I’d ignored her jabs at first, my tolerance for her had worn thin.
“It wasn’t all me,” I said. “And Lauren’s a big girl. She doesn’t need you deciding what she should and shouldn’t be doing.”
Layla scoffed. “It wasn’t me who decided anything. She knows it was a mistake. Wasn’t it enough for you to break her heart once? Now you want to do it a second time, but on TV so the whole world can see?”
“What did she say? She thinks I’m going to break her heart?”
Layla’s expression turned guilty and she pressed her lips together. I looked over my shoulder and saw Lauren walking back into camp, carrying both canteens.
“Hey, did you guys catch any fish?” she asked.
I held up the line I’d carried into camp, with all three of our catches hanging from it.
“Nice. I’m working on boiling some rice and beans.”
Simon walked back into camp then.
“Is that all you guys eat?” he asked.
“Pretty much,” Lauren said. “Unless we win a competition. The reward is usually some kind of fancy dinner.”
Since Simon had never cleaned fish before, I taught him how to do it. Once our meal was ready, the four of us ate and shared water from the canteens. We’d almost finished when Sal drove up to camp in a golf cart.
“Ugh,” Lauren groaned. “That was the fastest twenty-four hours ever.”
Simon gave me a bro hug, both of us clapping the other on the back, and Layla gave me another death glare. There was no chance we’d be able to finish our conversation.
“It was great meeting you, Lauren,” Simon said, hugging her. “You too, Layla.”
They got onto the cart and Sal started driving away, both of them turning to wave at us as they left. Layla blew Lauren a kiss, and Lauren did the same.
“I still can’t believe she was here,” Lauren said wistfully. “And she’s already gone.”
I kept my expression somber, not letting on that I was thrilled they were leaving. Our camp wasn’t big enough for four people. Especially not when one of them was Layla.
“Did you and your sister get a chance to talk?” I asked, hoping she’d tell me about the conversation they’d had about us.
“We did. She caught me up on all the adorable things my nephews have done and said since I’ve been gone.”
I cleared my throat, getting right to the point. “Did you tell her about what happened between us?”
She gave me an alarmed look, and then waved one of her hands back and forth, like she could wipe away my question. “Oh, a little. Not much. Anyway, I think I’m going to lie down now. I don’t feel so great.”
It sounded like a weak excuse to get out of an uncomfortable discussion. I kept my mouth shut, though. A conversation between me and Lauren about what was going on with the two of us would go better after we’d each had some rest. And maybe a shot of whiskey.
