Page 61 of Never Ever Getting Back Together

Lauren places a hand on my shoulder. “That,” she says, “says a lot about you.”

The others nod in a chorus, while Skye valiantly suppresses laughter.

Well, let’s look on the bright side. Earned or not, this is the first time they’ve looked at me like maybe they wouldn’t enjoy my immediate, unexpected death. So, maybe we didn’t manage to rehabilitate my image for the camera. Is it possible that, completely by accident, we’ve managed to rehabilitate my image with the other girls?

“Well, I suppose I owe you my life now,” Skye says as we head into the filming room.

“Sweet. I love having people owe me.” I grin. “I might abuse this.”

“I wouldn’t expect any less.”

In the room, Isaac is waiting, as promised, with an enormous brown overcoat. “Jordy didn’t have one that looked right,” he says, “so I borrowed this from the camera crew.”

I put it on. It drowns me.

Gwendolyn peeks her head out the door to check on us, and presses a hand over her heart when she sees me. “You look so pathetic,” she says, sighing. “Like a little drowned puppy. Oh, Isaac, it’sperfect.”

As soon as she leaves, I go to yank the jacket off, but Skye and Isaac wrestle me back into it and convince me to head inside.

“Well,” Jordy says, once Grayson has finished his regular generic spiel for the cameras. “Today was… eventful. But I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. Today, I had the opportunity to see even more sides to all of you, and I have to say I’m getting more impressed by the day. But, sadly, if I’m going to get to know some of you even better, I need to figure out who I think is just a really awesome chick, and who I think might be the one who was right there all along. So, with that being said… tonight I’ve decided to keep Lauren.”

Lauren beams, hugs Jordy, and joins Kim, who’s standing beside Jordy already. Naturally, winning the night alone with him has given her a free pass through tonight’s culling.

“Perrie.”

“Maya.”

I can’t suppress a grin of my own, hearing my name. Jordy gives my back a condescending pat as we hug, like I’m a baby he’s trying to burp. “So glad you’re okay,” he stage-whispers,and I fight the urge to squeeze the air out of him until he chokes.

“And Skye.”

My stomach swoops with relief as Skye embraces Jordy and joins the rest of us. She locks eyes with me as she does, and we share a secret smile. It’s only when Jordy stops speaking that I realize the significance of the “and.”

I turn to Francesca, who’s staring at Jordy with a look that can only really be described as betrayal.

“Francesca, it’s been so amazing getting to know you better,” Jordy says, and I remember Francesca’s excited babbling about Jordy earlier. How he’d complimented her, and, by the sounds of it, charmed the heck out of her. Now, he’s choosing to cut her loose, right as she was feeling comfortable around him.

Gee. I wonder whatthatfeels like.

Francesca wipes the look of pain off her face for the cameras, and nods with a forced smile.

Grayson takes over at this point. “Time to say your goodbyes,” he says with a look of pity that somehow seems like a smile as well.

Francesca walks numbly over to us. “I… didn’t seethiscoming after today,” she says under her breath, her lips barely moving. “I’ll, uh… wow. Well. It was so great to get to know all of you.”

“You, too!”

“We’ll see you soon.”

“When this is over, we’ll all catch up again, okay?”

And, with the cameras following her, she walks, alone, out of the room.

“And then there were five,” Skye whispers into my ear. The heat of her breath makes my neck prickle.

Personally, I’m shocked to not be the first one sent home.Especially when I missed the chance to talk to Jordy alone today.

But here I am.

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