Love Island

Chapter 50 - The Beginning of the End

The text came when no one was expecting it. Hours after dinner, we considered ourselves safe as we prepped for bed, putting on cotton two-piece sets and matching robes, brushing out clean hair, and wiping off remnants of the day from our faces. I gripped a comb in one hand while the other lifted strands of hair in an attempt to detangle the mane. In the pit of my stomach, a small ache began to snowball. Still, I pushed away from the discomfort and continued my nightly routine. 

"My first night as a girlfriend," Polly sang the words to herself as she sat down at her vanity. She picked up a bottle of perfume and began generously spraying her neck and wrists. "I can't believe it! Can you guys believe it? Man, if Old Polly could see me now!"

"We're so happy for you, Polly," I smiled. My stomach twisted itself into a knot, causing me to rest my comb on the vanity and press my hands into my side. "I might need some pain meds, Peyton."

Peyton looked over at me and began ruffling through her vanity drawers until she found a bottle of Ibuprofen. The plastic container rattled as she handed it to me. "Cramps, huh?"

"Cramps," I confirmed. I could feel my lower back compressing and quickly popped two tablets onto my tongue and swallowed them with a mouthful of water. In an attempt for immediate relief, I walked around the vanities and laid down against the wall in front of my wardrobe. "I'm going to manifest that they go away within the next five minutes." I closed my eyes and listened as the conversation picked back up.

"What should I wear tonight that will tell Joshua that I'm not a slut, but I'm ready to get to know him?" Giselle asked the group. She was standing in front of her wardrobe, holding two potential sleepwear outfits in front of herself for the others to judge.

"I think the one on the left," Peach recommended.

"Yeah, the one on the left is classy yet sassy. I think the one on the right is boring," Polly said. 

Giselle hummed as she glanced between her two options once more before returning one of the outfits to the closet. "You guys are so right." I heard the sound of the bathroom door clicking shut as she stepped in to get changed.

"Maddie, you ready?" Peach asked. I could feel the vibrations of her footsteps as she approached me. I groaned in response, not willing to stand up yet. "Maddie, you can't sleep here."

"Yes, I can. Watch." I closed my eyes tighter.

"Super funny. C'mon, let me help you up." Peach grabbed my arm and gently raised me to a standing position. I kept my eyes closed, and she gave me a gentle pat on the back. "Alright, one step at a time." With her hands around my waist, we walked out of the room. I parted my eyes as we descended the steps. Just before we reached the bottom of the step, someone in the girls' dressing room received a text.

I looked over at Peach. "They can come downstairs and tell us what it says; my ass is not going back up those stairs."

"Fair enough. Let's at least let you sit on a bed," Peach suggested. I agreed with her statement immediately, and he walked into the bedroom where only Lucas and Gray were ready for bed. 

"Everything okay?" Lucas asked. He was holding a soft foam ball in his hands that he tossed back and forth with Gray.

"Yeah, I'm all good," I dismissed and sat down on the bed with my back against the headboard. I closed my eyes once more, and nausea disappeared, leaving only the faint ache in my abdomen. 

Surprisingly, there was no stampede after the text. I waited for several minutes for screams or excited jumping. Instead, there was only a haunting silence that filled the villa with smoky fog. A soft knock on one of the doors upstairs led to the squeaky whine of a door hinge. Soft voices muttered words that I couldn't understand from between the floorboard. Eventually, the remaining Islanders shuffled quietly down the stairs and appeared in the bedroom.