Page 78 of Taking the Heat

My midnight fantasy cabin rendezvous.Frantically, I ran through the possibilities.Would Chris still go? Would I still go? Would I even want to sleep with him right now? What if he wasn’t there? What would that mean?

I made up my mind. ‘I have to go.’ Running to my bedside table, I snatched up my fantasy cabin key and headed for the door.

‘Wait up! Tara!’ Greg pounded along behind me as I sprinted down the walkway.

I knew where my fantasy cabin entrance was—I’d passed the sign with the number FC15 on it when I was looking for Jen. At the time I’d studiously ignored it, but as I turned along the smaller pathway with Greg on my heels, I was very glad I didn’t have to search to find it.

The path twisted deep into the undergrowth of the jungle, the night air dank and close. We reached an ornate wooden door, and I halted, suddenly terrified.

‘Are you going in?’ whispered Greg.

‘Yes.’ My voice sounded far more confident than I felt. Pushing the heavy metal key in the lock, I twisted it and pulled the door wide.

A short corridor lay in front of me, the walls and the carpet a rich black. There was no lighting to be seen. At the other end, a second door waited.

Leaving the first door open so I could see what I was doing by the pale moonlight, I walked cautiously to the second door, but the knob spun uselessly in my hand.

‘It’s a light lock,’ explained Greg. ‘It won’t open until you close the first door.’

‘Okay. Okay.’ I took a deep breath for comfort. ‘Greg, what time is it now?’

‘Um … it’s one minute to midnight on my watch, so it’s either 11:56 or 12:02.’

‘That’sreallyunhelpful,’ I hissed.

‘Sorry …’

I shut the door in his face and the room went dark.

Robbed of my sight, I put my palm on the wall and inched along until I came up against the other door again. This time, the knob clicked and the door pulled inwards.

I stood at the threshold, perfectly still, my every sense alert. Staring into the silent blackness, there wasn’t even a glimmer of light or the faintest outline of a shape. Listening, I was certain I was alone; there was no breathing or movement other than my own. When I let out a ragged sigh of relief, my voice felt close and contained, giving me the impression of a smallish space.

There has to be a bed, right?Keeping one hand on the door, I leaned forward, stretching out my arm. My fingers brushed something soft; silk sheets, slippery and cool. Experimentally, I felt the curved edge of a bed and, taking a leap of faith, I left the security of the door, bringing both hands to the mattress. Sitting softly, I began to wait.

It felt as if I waited for an eternity. My mind vomited forth every horrifying possibility while I sat, helpless in the dark:no one will come, the wrong person will come … Dante will come.The Italian’s leering features swirled before me, his hands grabbing for my breasts while I screamed into the inky depths, trapped by him with no reprieve.

My heart rate and breathing both reached a fever pitch. I was strung like a bow, every muscle taunt, my brain flapping frantically around my skull.It’s way after midnight. If it was Chris, he would have been here by now. Get out! Get out!I wanted to leave but my muscles were frozen.

When a door on the other side of the room clicked, I freaked out, instantly springing off the bed and launching myself at the exit.Where’s the handle? Where’s the handle, oh god, oh god!

My hands finally closed over the knob. I yanked it open and fled.

***

Transcript of Tara M’s video diary: Day 18

I was pretty popular in high school, mostly with the boys, but I had a few close girlfriends too—right up until the day I started dating the school captain. Suddenly, none of the boys wanted to talk to me and the girls were furious. I broke up with him after a few weeks of feeling like an outcast, but things were never quite the same.

Walking into the sandy lagoon area where everyone was milling around sent me hurtling back to my lonely Year 11 days. Contestants I’d considered my friends just yesterday were staring at me like I was anchovies on their Hawaiian pizza. Backs were turned, ranks were formed against me.No one wants to be friends with the dirty two-timer …

I wanted to leap up onto the little raised platform at the front and scream,That wasn’t how it happened! Don’t believe Miles and his screen of lies!Considering all the loathsome things we all knew about each other, surely my sin wasn’t that bad? But I remembered how quickly we’d all shut out Callum and the karma seemed to fit the crime.

Chris leaned against a palm tree, mouth-watering in his navy blue board shorts and Billabong tee, the look capped off by his serious, distant expression. His gaze fell on me and I waved, just using my fingers. He raised a weak hand, saluting me back.

Maybe we should just talk?I took a single step towards him before Aanya appeared, sidling up to Chris and engaging him in conversation.Right. That’s how it is.

Clara was lying on a towel, sunning herself and staring adoringly at Toshi.No point trying to interrupt that …Jen stood alone, so I wandered over to her instead. ‘What a rough night,’ I said. ‘I swear to God, people are being so judgemental—’

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