Love Island

Chapter 5 - Hide and Seek

"Good morning," a soft voice flowed through the bedroom, whispering to each sleeping body and pulling them into a peaceful trance. "It's a beautiful morning in the Love Island villa. A beautiful morning, filled with beautiful people." The voice ambled accompanied by a soft metallic tone. I squinted one eye open and saw the walls had been washed orange by the rising sun. Across the room, Blake held a triangle at shoulder height. He'd left his side of the bed messy, with the white sheets crinkled and the pillow askew.

"What time is it?" Eli mumbled from somewhere nearby.

A brief silence. "Six fucking a.m.," Amelia growled. She flipped onto her side and curled her body around the extra pillows piled on her mattress.

Blake turned around, striking the instrument once more. "It's okay if you're not a morning person."

Amelia flipped back around. "Where the fuck did you get a triangle?" She shouted, causing a few of the Islanders to stir beneath the blankets.

"I use it for my meditation," Blake said proudly. He played another note and started walking around the room. "And I think everyone could benefit from its healing power." He stopped by the foot of the bed and looked down at me. "Right, Maddie?"

"I want to be supportive, but I'm so tired that I can't," I said. My eyes began to slide shut. Another note sliced through my ears, rattling my brain.

"This just proves how badly we needed this." Blake continued his walk around the room, playing his instrument and giving vague fortune cookie praises. "You are the best you that you can be. Good luck will come your way if you breathe deep and manifest."

Charlie sat up slowly from beneath the covers. The blanket folded with gravity, exposing his torso. "I do not consent to this meditation." He dropped back down onto his pillow. Peach giggled beside him.

Blake stood in the middle of the room. "Fine. If just one person gets up, I'll stop."

"Maddie!" Michael and Katrina yelled in unison.

Polly slid her eyemask up onto her forehead. "Maddie."

My name was volunteered from almost every pillow in the bedroom.

"Fine," I whined, throwing the covers off of me. The tile was freezing beneath my bare feet. I grabbed my phone and mic pack from the night table and passed Blake on my way out of the bedroom, not making eye contact and not returning his friendly smile. I quietly made my way up the stairs so that the others could get some rest. With my eyes barely open, I got changed in the dressing room into a pale blue bikini, clipped the mic pack around my waist, and walked out onto the balcony. The sun was rising behind the villa, painting the sky orange and the clouds purple. The moon drifted over the sea, slowly disappearing as the strength of the sun's rays pushed it out of sight. With the moon now just a faint blur, my eyes locked on the waves, blue swells wrinkling the sea.

"Can I join you?" Peach appeared from the balcony door with two mugs. She was dressed in pink with her black mic pack strapped across her hips. "I didn't know if you liked coffee or tea, so I made hot cocoa." She walked over to where I was sitting and handed me the beverage.

"Thanks! What are you doing up?" I asked. I took a sip of the warm drink, feeling it slide down my tongue and spread comfort across my body.

Peach smiled amusedly. "You're my partner in crime, remember? I didn't think it was fair that you had to get out of bed."

"I didn't think it was fair that anyone had to get out of bed." I looked past her shoulder and checked the patio doors for listeners. "That was ignorant of him."

"You're pretty annoyed, huh?" Peach raised the mug to her lips.

"'It's okay if you're not a morning person!'" I mocked quietly. "I'm annoyed because I most definitely am not a morning person. I'd rather stay up until six than wake up at six."