Page 51 of Totally Wrecked
He doesn’t give me time to answer, just heads off to collect several more coconuts from where Rex dropped them. I’ll take him up on his offer; I’m beat, and my head still hurts. I put my hand up and feel the large lump.Ugh. Sitting down, I poke the fire and feel grateful for Killian.
Him hammering at a coconut, his long floppy hair flies all over the place, making him look like Keanu Reeves. He is not wearing a shirt, and I can see his hip bone jutting above the line of his jeans.
Why am I noticing Killian’s hip bone? That’s fucking weird.
There is something so appealing about his quiet manner. And that Irish accent, for fucks sake. Or, for fecks sake, as Killian would say. If I were a girl, I’d be creaming my panties.
I give my head a shake. I’m getting delirious—dudes never do it for me.
A whoop echoes across the beach and Killian triumphantly holds up a broken coconut. Who would have thought Killian would become the most valuable player on the island?
It would be no surprise to anyone if Harvey was the first one voted off the islandSurvivor-style, but I would have guessed Rex or myself as the most “wilderness ready”. It makes me wonder about the sound-engineer's background. He’s a man of mystery for sure; maybe I’ll break a habit of a lifetime and ask him about himself. Social chit-chat is not normally my thing.
“I’ll break open a couple more nuts. Then we can eat,” he says, putting the split nut next to the fire.
Harvey comes over and joins us. “We can stuff the fish in the shells of the coconut,” adds Harvey. “Use the shells as dishware.”
So this is Harvey trying to be helpful after Rex “had a word”.
“Help Killian open more nuts,” I tell Harvey. “Pass him the boulder, Killian.”
Killian grins and tosses over the stone, which lands with a heavy thud.
I pull the hot fish off the stick and it falls apart in my hands. I divvy it up between the coconut “cups” and hand them out.
“Now,” says Killian. “Tell me and Harvey what you saw on your trip.”
Rex nods, then explains all we did and did not see. I’m not really listening to his words—more listening to his tone. I’m looking for cracks. This is the first time he’s been really tested since Buckletop, and I know this leadership has to be weighing on him.
Keyara. Brooke. Leander…
Their faces flash through my mind. They have to be alright. I know Rex won’t survive it if they aren’t.
At least he doesn’t have to contend with his dad this time.
Fucking Tough Love. I had been in the hospital room when he’d paid Rex a visit.
“Well son, did you assist, protect and defend? Or did you let half your team die?”
“Thomas!” I thought Rex’s meemaw was going to slap those words right out of her son’s mouth. “It was not Rex’s fault in any way. Leave the hospital and don’t come back if that’s all you’ve got to say.”
You do not mess with Meemaw Malone, but it was too late. Tough Love had already said the words that I knew had been echoing around Rex’s head for days. After everyone had cleared out, I’d sat by his bed and tried, in my dumb way, to reassure him.
“Your dad fucking sucks, Rex. The stick is so far up his ass it’s messed with his brains.”
“No, Gray. He’s right—it was all my fault.”
It wasn’t. The official enquiry made that very clear, but in Rex’s head he would always be responsible. From that day on, I’d never seen him look truly happy.
Rex finishes telling them about the second island.
“So if the others are not on this island, we try to go to the other? If it’s bigger, there is the possibility of civilization, even if you couldn’t see any from the peak,” Killian says.
“We need to make a signal,” says Rex.
I sit upright. “Shit, right, the smoke. I’ll get on that now before it gets dark.”
“We are already sending up smoke,” says Harvey, pointing at the fire.
