Page 68 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

Bryan snorts. “You can drop the act, Alice. None of the producers really believe you instantly fell in love with Daniel the second Chase hooked up with Selena.”

Ouch, I guess Bryan’s buddy-buddy side is only for Chase.

“Don’t talk about my couple like that, you dick,” Leah spits. To me, she says, “Ignore him. Daniel’s over there.” She gestures behind her to a cot in the far corner before turning back to rip into Bryan.

I head to the corner to find Daniel lying on the cots, his eyes closed. His shirt is off, and there’s a bright white bandage around his torso. Before I can stop myself, I reach out to lay my hand on his forehead, but then he cracks an eye open.

“Daniel!” I jump back like I’ve been scalded. “You’re awake.”

“I was trying to eavesdrop,” he whispers to me.

“Are you okay? I mean, of course you’re not. Does it hurt? How are you feeling?”

“I’m horribly wounded,” he says with a dramatic sigh. “Survival is uncertain. Remember me as I was. Perfect and stunningly handsome.”

This guy. Why was I so worried about him? I give him my sternest teacher glare.

“Yikes, point that death stare at someone else.” Daniel pats the bandage on his side, then winces. “It hurts like hell, and it’s going to scar, but I’ll be okay, Alice. Don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried,” I say. “Who said I was worried?”

“I can see it in your face. You’ve got that little worry line,” he says. He reaches up and presses a finger to my forehead. “You used to look like that when your team was falling behind.”

“Did not,” I say automatically. But Cindy’s pointed out the same worry line before. How did he notice?

Daniel tries to sit up and groans. “Ow, fuck. You know, I read the waiver, but I didn’t think I’d actually get hurt.”

“Has anything like this happened before to Selena?” I ask. Despite Lex’s warnings, I wonder if maybe this is actually pretty standard.

“No, not that I know of,” he says, frowning. “But she’s been on a lot of shows.”

“Was Selena the one who pushed you to apply?” I ask, thinking of how Chase had all but signed the papers for me. It would make sense if Selena was the one who got them on the show. For all that Daniel is competitive, I can’t really imagine him deciding to go on reality TV. He’s never avoided the spotlight, exactly, but he never struck me as someone who wants to be famous.

“Applied? Selena was recruited. Someone from production reached out to her on Instagram,” Daniel says. “She said yes and asked me to join her. We’d only been dating about a month at that point, but it sounded fun. At least, it did at the time.” As if proving his point, he winces as he shifts to sit up more.

That cot can’t be comfortable. “I’m going to get you out of here,” I decide. I head back to Leah and the others.

“—this entire thing is going to set the schedule way back, not to mention the storm,” Leah says, pacing the floor.

“Can I take Daniel back to rest in our room?” I interrupt.

“I’m ready to get out of here,” Daniel contributes from behind me. He’s already grabbed his shirt. He goes to pull it back on and lets out a hiss of pain.

“Here, let me.” I help him tug the sleeves over his shoulders, my fingers lightly grazing his bare skin. It’s hot where we touch, and I remind myself to ask the medic for an ice pack, extra bandages, and antibiotic ointment just in case.

“Thanks, Slayer,” he says.

Guilt surges through me again. Just hours ago, I chose to betray him,and I assumed he would betray me too. But instead, he stayed loyal to me and, worse, jumped in harm’s way for me.

“Fine, go,” Leah says, all business. “I’ll send someone to check on you later. Get some rest.”

Once we’re out of hearing range of the producers, I take Daniel’s hand. “You didn’t have to do it,” I say softly. “Jump in front of me, I mean.”

He looks down at me. “I didn’t do it because I thought I had to,” he says, just as quietly.

“Then why?”

Something flashes in his expression that I can’t quite parse. He’s silent for a beat before he finally says, “It happened so fast, I don’t even know. It was just instinct, that’s all.”

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