Page 102 of Unscripted

It was a somber march back out to the garden and to the fire pit, no one feeling up for the usual group banter that made the villa feel alive.

We had just sat down when, from around the corner, in walked Gemma Row. She was wearing a mini dress made of tiny blue crystals sewn onto a fisherman's net, like some sort of tropical mermaid Barbie.

My stomach dropped. If Gemma were here, it couldn’t be good. Bad things usually followed her entrance into the villa.

Bracing myself for the worst, I focused my attention on just trying to breathe.

“Hello, Bellas!” Gemma called out. She was awfully chipper.

We all nodded back at her, no one feeling great enough to echo her excitement.

“I know I’m usually here to deliver bad news,” she said, looking around at each of us, drawing out her dramatic pause.

“But . . . ” She smirked.

But?

“There will be no more bad news. Not tonight, and not any time from this point on.”

Huh?

“Congratulations, you’ve all made it to the Bella Amore Final!” she exclaimed.

It was quiet for a beat, her words taking a moment to land. I blinked and leaned forward, playing what she said over in my mind, making sure I heard her correctly.

And then it was chaos. Screaming and jumping and hugging. It was like we were a team and had just won the Super Bowl.

No one else would be going home. We were through to the finals. We made it.

Callum and I made it.

I turned to him, threw my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, giggling against his mouth.

Even as we were pulled apart by the other Bellas, as we all ran to jump into the pool together in celebration, I knew that no matter what happened next, we had each other.

It felt like we already won it all.

***

I spent the next few days soaking up all that was great about the villa. I wasn’t even mad about the early wake-up time.

A feeling of cheer was rife throughout, everyone thrilled to have made it to the end. We swam, played silly pool games, napped in the sun. We had even started making breakfast and lunches together. No one wanted to be apart, no one wanted time to sit alone.

Two days after the final dumping, we woke up to a large gold envelope sitting in the kitchen. The last time I had seen an envelope like that, it was telling us to vote for our least favorite match. I knew we were all safe, knew no one would go home, but I still watched with trepidation as Molly opened it.

“Oh my god!” she squealed, tears forming in her eyes.

“What’s it say?” Liam asked from next to me.

Molly held up the letter inside and began reading out loud. “Bellas: today is your final day in the villa. To celebrate having come this far, you will each have a special visit with your families.”

Shouts went up, everyone thrilled at the prospect of seeing their families for the first time in weeks.

My heart sank at the thought of my own parents. I highly doubted they would they have been able to get time off work to come all the way to Italy.

I felt a hand slide around my waist from behind. I smiled, already knowing who it was. Callum pulled me toward him, pressing my back to his front.

He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You alright?”