Page 42 of One Week in Paradise
Lacey glances my way, arching a perfect blonde brow.‘You know, after I watched The Video, I realised something. I know the girl in it. Not you, the other one. Ethan’sactualgirlfriend.’
My blood runs cold.
‘She’s a friend of one of my cousins. I reached out to her and asked her what happened, and she told meeverything.’
Everything.
She says that word so slowly, letting each excruciating syllable hang in the air.
‘I know what you did, Bailey. You’re not as innocent as you like to pretend. Does he know?’ She nods over to where Cash is tossing the ball to Sara.
‘Please don’t say anything,’ I whisper. Out of everything that’s happened since The Video went viral, I think Cash knowing the truth might just be the worst thing. Any goodwill I’ve acquired during this trip will evaporate in an instant. He’ll tell Dane. Dane will tell Mum. Mum will tell Dad. And I’ll never be able to escape their disappointed stares and mumbles for the rest of my life.
‘God, you’re pathetic.’
Pathetic.
She’s right. She turns away from me and pulls her sunglasses over her eyes. I’ve been dismissed.
Despite the heat, my entire body feels cold. I push myself up from the lounger, blinking back tears as I walk rigidly back to our suite.
‘What’s up, Bailey?’ Cash calls from the other end of the pool.
‘Got a bit of a headache,’ I mumble. ‘I think the heat’s getting to me. I’m gonna lie down for a bit.’
I don’t wait for his response. As soon as I’m back inside our suite, I pull the curtain over our large sliding doors and submerge the whole room in darkness.
Once I’m sure I’m hidden from the others, I crawl into bed, hug my knees to my chest, and let the tears fall.
Chapter Thirteen
I spend the rest of the day in bed.
Cash is kind enough to give me all of twenty minutes to myself before he slips quietly into the suite. I’ve wrapped myself in a cocoon of blankets, and I don’t turn to look at him as he enters.
‘Bailey?’ he says, his voice quiet and uncertain. ‘Are you all right? Do you need me to get you anything? Paracetamol? Water?’
‘I’m fine,’ I rasp, wincing as I hear myself. It’s obvious that I’ve been crying. I cough to try and mask the obvious emotion in my voice. ‘Go back outside with the others.’
There’s a moment of silence, and then his footsteps pad closer towards the bed. The mattress dips slightly, and I realise that he’s crawled onto it.
‘Cash—’
I freeze, my voice locking in my throat. Cash has slipped under the blankets and pulled me flush against his chest. His arms wrap around me, and he gives me a gentle squeeze. ‘You’re okay, Bailey. You’re okay.’
The floodgates immediately open, and I bawl into his chest. He doesn’t say a word. He just lays there, gently rubbing my back as I incoherently wail. I don’t think anyone’s ever been this gentle or patient with me before.
When my sobs eventually die down and become infrequent sniffles, Cash pulls back slightly and rubs a thumb along my tear-stained cheeks.
‘You want to talk about it?’
I shake my head. ‘Not yet.’
I expect him to push, but all he says is, ‘Okay,’ and we fall back into an easy silence.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to go back outside?’ I ask, my voice slightly muffled in his chest. ‘Seriously, you don’t have to wait in here with me.’
‘I want to,’ he says simply.
