by Alora Kate
“Thanks, Cole.”
“You’re welcome, Madi. Good Luck.”
I hung up and decided I better get drawing so I could figure out what color I was going to use. Black was always good and if they had bright colors maybe I could splash some of that on as well. I drew in my book, I worked out an outline, and this time I was waiting for Isaac when he came out of his container.
“There’s my girl.”
“Not your girl,” I reminded him. I glanced around to make sure there were no cameras around.
“Best friend.” He grinned.
“Better.”
“I’m starving,” Isaac commented slapping his belly. “Let’s do this.”
Today we had a taco bar and we loaded our plates and went to our normal table.
“Do you think it’s weird we don’t talk or hangout with the other contestants?” I asked in between bites, and glanced around the room. No one bothered us and we didn’t bother them.
“They all think we’re dating.”
I choked on my food and took a drink of water. “What?”
He laughed at me and continued, “Don’t really care to get to know them.” At least he was honest. “We’ll be in the final.”
“You think you’re that good?” I teased.
“I think you’re that good.”
“Appreciated.”
“Don’t let it get to your head.”
After lunch and after I was done with the paint booth, I was sent to do my confessional. I loved the old Junker they set up as the booth. The windshield was missing and the camera sat in its place. Jayne sat off to the side this time to ask the questions. I wasn’t sure if she’d be filmed also or just my answers. I loved the experience but I was still very nervous about it. It was only my second one.
After I shut the door she started, “How do you feel about immunity this week?”
“I wish I could use it at my discretion.”
“Why?”
“Because my bookshelf is totally going to kick ass. I’d rather use it when I felt like I wasn’t able to complete the challenge or if I felt my piece was going to lose. ”
There was silence and I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to keep talking or not. I figured they could edit the dead air out.
“You seem close with Isaac.”
I glanced her way. “Was that a question?”
She looked down at her notes, and even though the room was dark I could see her fidgeting with her papers.
“I guess,” she mumbled.
I looked back at the camera and clearly stated, “Isaac and I are friends. If you ask him the same question, he’ll say best friends. That’s it. We work well together.”
“What about the other contestants?”
“What about them?” I asked running my hand over the steering wheel. It was leather, but was worn out and pieces were torn and missing. I wasn’t making it any better by picking at it.
“You don’t seem to,” she paused for a few seconds, “like them.”
“I have nothing against the other contestants. They seem nice, but I’m here to win and we don’t really get that much time to sit around and chat. We’re in our containers most of the day.”
“But Isaac.”
“Isaac what?” I was getting frustrated. Why do they care if Isaac and I are close?
“You guys are close.”
“Is there a point to these questions?” I didn’t give her a chance to answer. “I’ve got work to do. Can I leave?”
“Sure.”
I climbed out of the car and walked away. I guess if I have to redo it or answer more questions; Matt would let me know.
Chapter 8
Rocco always thought Adalyn was a sweet and nice woman. Very down to earth and easy going. She is pregnant at the moment and had come by to visit him again about the whole Madi situation.
Hormones. Women and their damn hormones.
“How much longer, Rocco?”
“You can’t drink until you pop that baby out.”
She raised an eyebrow at him and didn’t laugh. She was sitting at the bar at two p.m. on a Sunday and she wanted details. Answers. Answers that he wasn’t going to give her because she’d tell Madi. He wasn’t ready to talk to Madi. She was doing her thing, and he was doing his. There was no need to talk. There was nothing to talk about.
Adalyn was still staring at him. “You haven’t returned a message. Not one.”
“I know,” he confirmed and continued to stock the beer cooler.
“She said she leaves a message every day.”
He gave her a quick nod because she was right. Sometimes he would wake up to see a message from Madi, early in the morning. Sometimes she would leave one late at night, her voice thick with sleep and uncovered yawns filling his ear. She hasn’t missed a day yet, and he wondered when she would slip up.
“It’s been a month, Rocco! Talk to her.”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Adalyn,” he bit back.
“Um, yeah there is.”
He slammed the door to the beer cooler, grabbed the empty boxes, and walked to the end of the bar and through the swinging doors towards the back room.
“I’m not going anywhere!” she yelled which put a smile on his face.
Rudd was wearing off on her. He’d been out to the house a few times to help Rudd out and they managed to get the wood chopped and delivered to everyone on Rudd’s list; he finally was caught up. The builders were almost finished with Ian’s house and he heard that he would keep an eye on Madi’s house until she came home. Rocco knew she was still in the game, she told him via text message after every challenge, and then Adalyn would stop by with weekly updates. There was no doubt in his mind that she’d win.
He thought about her every day, he couldn’t help it. His feelings for her wouldn’t change no matter how many days passed. He was being stupid but at the same time thought it was best to give her space, let her focus on what she needed to do and wait for her to come home.
He tossed the boxes in the back room and would deal with them later.
Adalyn was wiping down the bar when he came back through the door. Without looking at him she said, “Might as well keep myself busy.”
“Let me know when you’re done, I’ll have you mop the floor.”
“Whatever it takes.” She moved down the bar and continued to clean an already clean bar, which he wasn’t going to mention to her. He thought it was cute that she was intent on getting him to talk to Madi.
Sundays were slow until after sunset, so he went and picked some songs on the jukebox and went back to stocking the bar.
“Rudd know you’re here?” he asked after she was done.
She gave him an annoying sigh. “Of course.” Then she walked behind the bar like she owned the place. She was wearing a tight black sweater and he could finally see her small baby bump. He briefly wondered what Madi would look like with a baby bump.
“We don’t keep secrets,” Adalyn informed him, bringing him back to his reality. “Besides, he’d find out from someone if I didn’t tell him.”
Just like everyone found out he went to New York.
He didn’t care, but people would come into the bar just to give him shit. He didn’t let it bother him because he did what he thought was right at the moment.
“Is he going to kick my ass?”
Her hand paused. “Why would he?”
“Cleaning my bar while you’re pregnant.”
She huffed, “I clean the house while pregnant. What’s the difference?”
“True.”
“I always wondered what it would be like to work at a bar,” she mused while running her hand over the bar top she just cleaned. He thought Adalyn was handling the real world well, considering what a sheltered life she led up until earlier this year.
“I’d offer you a job but as you know, it can get rowdy in a bar.”
She smiled and leaned against the back bar that held the hard liquor.
; “As much as I would love to take you up on that offer, I’m way too busy to have another job.” She patted her baby bump. “This little one isn’t going to help either.”
“Do you know the sex?”
“Soon.” Her grin was infectious and made her eyes sparkle. Adalyn was born to be a mother.
Rocco jumped up on the bar, sitting on his butt, and leaned back on his arms. “Any names picked out yet?”
“If it’s a boy,” she said rubbing her belly and smiling at it, “it’s pretty obvious.”
“Are you nervous?” he asked, admiring her for the strength and unselfishness she exuded.
“Are you?” she asked lifting her head but continued rubbing her belly.
“Why would I be?”
“What are you going to do when Madi gets home?”
She was a persistent one and he loved that she cared about Madi so much.
“You’re a great friend, Adalyn.”
She smirked. “I know.”
Rocco dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling. “When she turned eighteen things changed. It wasn’t the first time I saw her or the second, but sometime shortly after that I started seeing her differently.”
“She’s very cute.”
“I agree.” He made eye contact with her again. “My feelings grew every time I saw her. Her smile. Those dresses. I took all her workshop classes just so I could see her. She always gave me shit about it and tried to kick me out, but I never left.” His smile grew, remembering each altercation with Madi.
“I knew you were a softy.”
“I’m a man, Adalyn.”
“A man in love with a girl.”
“A woman.”
Her smiled faded and she was overcome with sadness. “It was a miscommunication, Rocco. She misses you.”
“I know Isaac is still on the show.”
“They’re just friends. Besides, he’s dating one of the dress maker girls.”
“I’m giving her space.”
“You’re being an asshole,” she hissed and stomped out from behind the bar and sat back down on her stool. At the same time, the door opened and two men walked in and sat at the bar, with one stool between them and Adalyn.
“Gentlemen,” he greeted and waited for their order.
“Two bud lights.”
Rocco had never seen the two men before.
“Just passing through?” he asked.
“Truck broke down, staying at the hotel.”
“You’ll love the hotel,” Adalyn added to their conversation.
“Thanks,” one of them said putting his hand out. “I’m Andrew and this is Dustin.”
“Nice to meet you,” she told them while shaking his hand.
Andrew looked older with gray hair sticking out of his dirty ball cap along with the gray dusted into his short beard. Dustin, also wearing a ball cap, kept his eyes on the flat screen TV behind the bar and had a smooth clean face like Rocco’s.
He gave them each their beer and Andrew slid a twenty on the bar. “We might be here a few minutes,” he said with a small laugh.
“Sounds good,” Rocco replied and noticed that Adalyn had grabbed her purse and started to leave.
He walked around the bar to walk her to the door.
“I’ll talk to her.” The words came out of his mouth before he could take them back.
She turned to face him, stopping a few feet from the front door. “Promise?”
He shrugged a shoulder.
She stepped closer. “Where’s your phone?”
He grinned. “Now?”
“Yes now! Life’s too short for this kind of shit, Rocco.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “Get your shit together. If you don’t want to be with her, like at all, then just tell her. But know it’ll be your biggest mistake.”
She spun around and left Rocco standing in the middle of his bar. He did miss Madi.
He missed her terribly and decided to get his head out of his ass.
Chapter 9
“Welcome to the semi-final judgement,” Cole announced, while Nicole fidgeted at his side. “This challenge was different because you had partners. The person you sat with on the van at the start of the show was your partner. Because some people have already been kicked off, we had to pair off the other two couples.”
“Except for Madi and Isaac,” Nicole added. I did my best not to listen while Nicole talked. Isaac had been right, again, and rubbed it in my face for days. We had five days to build an entertainment center that had to be two feet high with three shelves. Then, we had to scour the city on a scavenger hunt and collect new and used items from several different stores so we could reupholster a three-cushion couch and chair. Our new working area for this challenge was behind our containers, which was where the couches and chairs were stored. I wasn’t sure where they got them from, but ours was horrible. There were only six of us left, with three sets of partners in this round. This was a huge round, because whichever team had the lowest score would eliminate that pair. The finale was next week, leaving just four of us, which was different from last year’s three-contestant finale.
The last month flew by with challenges, hanging out with the girls at the shop, and visiting Raymond at his club a few more times. I called Adalyn every other day and she updated me on Aster Lake news. Adalyn told me that the construction was almost done with Ian’s house, so they’d be moving in soon and my house would be ready for me when I return home. Adalyn’s dad works with Ian now, doing security stuff, as Adalyn explains it and her mom helps her cook and deliver food to her customers. She sent me a baby bump picture the other day because she is actually showing now, and it was the cutest little bump I’d ever seen. I keep telling her she’s having a boy, so we’ll see what happens at her next appointment.
Isaac shifted nervously next to me so I slipped my hand into his. We did this at every judgment if one of us was nervous. But I’ve never seen him this nervous.
Matt yelled, the cameras stopped, and Isaac’s grip on my hand was tighter.
“I need to tell you something, Madi,” he hissed while pulling me away from the group.
He put both hands on my shoulders and stared down into my eyes.
“Nicole showed up at my apartment last night.”
I glared up at him. I haven’t known Isaac that long, but we are very close now and have become the best friends that he used to tease me about. If he did something so stupid to go down that road…
I pointed out the obvious, “I will kick your ass if you cheated on Sam!” I wasn’t sure how serious they were but they had gone out on a few dates and in my opinion, that’s serious. I also know that Sam is really into him.
He removed his hands from my shoulder and stepped back. “Fuck, Madi. Seriously?”
He already looked like he had been punched in the gut so I believed him.
“I turned her away. She was pissed. And now she keeps glaring at me.”
I glanced behind us and saw that she was talking to Matt with her back turned towards us.
“I’m worried, Madi.”
I swung back around. “Why?”
“What if she tells someone?”
“You did nothing wrong, Isaac.”
“She was pissed, Madi!” he ranted quietly. “What if she tells them we did, just to be a bitch about it all?”
“Wait, weren’t you with Sam last night?”
“I walked her home around eleven, and Nicole was at my door when I got back.”
“I’ve never liked her.”
“No one does.”
“No one’s said anything, right?” I asked while I watched him continue to freak out.
I reached up and put both hands on his cheeks. “Stop looking at her or you’ll make it worse. Pretend nothing happened.”
He took a deep breath in and let it out.
“It will be okay,” I reassured him. “You can’t get in trouble for turning her down. It’s against the rules, remember?”
He gave me
a funny look so I reminded him, “It was in the packet. Staff and contestants have to keep it professional.” I smiled. “No mingling.”
I let go of his cheeks when we were told to get back to the line for the final judgment. I held Isaac’s hand again while they told us we were safe to the next round, along with Mark and Wayne, who always rode on the other van.
We headed to do our confessional together but Isaac wasn’t in the mood for it, so he stood outside the door and I sat in the seat. Jane flashed her eyes between us a few times before she asked the first question, “How does it feel knowing you made it to the final round?”
“Fucking awesome!” I roared and her eyes went wide.
“You can’t cuss.”
“They’ll edit it out.”
“Why aren’t you in the car, Isaac?”
I pursed my lips and kept my mouth shut.
He answered, “Got a headache.”
I hid my smile by dropping my head and ran my hands down my black dress. This one had neon colors in the small flowers that were sewn up the right side of the dress.
“Are you excited for the final?” she asked him, and he just grunted so I answered for him. “We are both very excited. One of us will win.”
“You seem confident.”
“I have to be. Isaac’s a pro.”
“Would you buy the items you made during this challenge if you had seen them for sale?”
Our three-cushion couch ended up being black, except for the cushions. We were able to find enough white material to cover the three of them and then found two small throw pillows that were black. It was simple yet elegant in my opinion. The black was made up of vinyl and the white material was suede. While it wasn’t the same texture, it blended very well.
“Yes, I would,” I said looking straight into the camera. “The entertainment center shelves pull out and the couch looks badass, even if it is just black and white.”
We finished our confessional, well I did, and then the van took us back home.
We didn’t do a confession with each round, which I was happy about because of the few times I had low scores. Not the lowest, but close enough and it’s not a good feeling to have. I did win the last challenge and Isaac had been second.
The van stopped and we climbed out first.
