Chapter 4

I refused to stay in the medic tent. I couldn't stand the thought of being hidden away while he was out there with her. Ignoring the throbbing in my ankle, I limped back to the main beach area where the rest of the cast was gathered around a bonfire. The first thing I saw was Jake and Chloe, sitting close together on a log. He was listening intently to something she was saying, his body angled toward her, completely shutting out the rest of the world. It was a picture of intimacy that made my stomach clench.

Just then, the host clapped his hands together, gathering everyone's attention. "Alright, lovebirds! It's time for our nightly 'Heartbeat Moment'!"

A collective groan and a few excited squeals went through the group. The rules were simple. Each contestant had to send a single, anonymous text message to the person who had made their heart beat fastest that day. The messages would be revealed on the big screen, and if two people sent messages to each other, they would be declared a "Heartbeat Couple."

My eyes immediately went to Jake. I saw Chloe lean in and whisper something in his ear, her lips brushing against his skin. And then I saw it, something I hadn't seen in seven years, something I thought I might never see again directed at someone else. A smile. It wasn't a big smile, just a small, genuine curve of his lips, but it was enough to shatter the last fragments of my composure. It was a smile he used to save just for me.

My hands trembled as I took out my phone. What was I even doing? This was pointless, humiliating. But I couldn't stop myself. My fingers moved automatically, typing out a message filled with a desperate, foolish hope.

'The beach was always our place. My heart still beats for you.'

I hit send, my gaze fixed on him. I watched as he glanced down at his own phone, his thumb swiping across the screen. His eyes didn't linger. He didn't look up, didn't search the crowd, didn't look for me. He just put his phone back in his pocket, his attention immediately returning to Chloe.

The host began reading out the messages on the big screen. My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out the sound of the crackling fire. When my message appeared, I held my breath.

Then, Chloe' s voice, high and triumphant, cut through the air. "Oh, Jake! We got each other!"

She held up her phone, showing the screen to everyone around her. On it was a message: 'Tonight's victory was for you.' Everyone knew it was from Jake. The host confirmed the match, and the group erupted in cheers and applause. They were the night's "Heartbeat Couple."

It felt like the world was spinning. He hadn't just rejected me, he had actively chosen her, publicly, in front of everyone. The humiliation was a physical thing, a hot flush that spread across my entire body.

As if that wasn't enough, my phone buzzed with a notification. It was a link to the show's live comment stream. My fingers, acting against my will, clicked on it.

'OMG, Ava is so pathetic.'

'Does she not get the hint? He's moved on.'

'She's just embarrassing herself. Go home.'

'Chloe is so much better for him. Ava is just some desperate ex.'

The words blurred through my tears. The anonymous hatred of strangers was a new and vicious kind of pain.

"And a little surprise for tomorrow!" the host announced cheerfully. "We have a brand new contestant joining us to shake things up!"

I didn't hear the rest. I couldn't take it anymore. Pushing myself up, I ignored the sharp pain in my ankle and the sympathetic looks from a few of the other contestants. I just needed to get away. I limped away from the fire, away from the laughter and the celebration, and disappeared into the darkness, my own personal heartbreak swallowed by the vastness of the night.