It was Friday and the absolutely shocking news of the day was that Gemma, who went on a one-on-one date with Harry the day before, had decided on her own to leave the competition. She told Harry that she enjoyed the date with him, but it was confirmation to her that she just didn't have romantic feelings for him. There was a part of me who envied her, to be able to walk away so easily.

The second group of women were preparing for their date with Harry. The date card read, "Bianca, Demi, Keke, Jordin, Jamie, Shailene: Why don't we go there? But I can't tell you where. Until we get there. Love, Harry." 

I didn't understand why we all had to be seated, waiting for Harry to whisk them away. It was like the producers wanted to see how well we handled watching others go away with the man we loved. Maybe Demi was right - maybe this was all some cruel psychological experiment and they were just waiting for us all to turn on each other. I could see the headline now: Reality TV Show Goes Horribly Wrong as Contestants Ruin Each Other's Manicures.

I was torn. I wanted to catch a glimpse of Harry, say hello, hug him, and you know, maybe marry him, but at the same time, I just wished the date women would go and meet him somewhere else. Because every time I saw him, he made me feel like the only woman in the world. And that only made it harder when I turned around and remembered that I wasn't the only woman in his world. Not even close.

It wasn't long before he came wandering in, causing a round of squeals from the others. "Good morning, ladies," he said, making his way to hug those of us who weren't going on the date with him. When he came to me, I gave him my best smile and welcomed his strong arms as they surrounded me. He lingered a little longer with me, murmuring in my ear, "Is everything all right?" Then he released me so he could step back and hear my answer.

"I'm fine, Harry. Don't worry about me. Just go and have fun." I could tell he wasn't convinced, but I didn't have any choice but to let him go, seeing as six women were waiting for him. He gave me an encouraging smile and left the mansion with his dates. As we had gotten in the habit of doing, the rest of us followed him out to wave goodbye to everyone. My heart stopped briefly, just catching sight of his profile as he got into the SUV. He was marvelous, and it almost hurt to look at him in that sexy little man bun.

Almost everyone had eaten some form of breakfast, but I hadn't because I was feeling too agitated when I first woke up. Now I was feeling the hunger pangs. Merle followed me as I went to find sustenance in the kitchen. I found Annie there and I gave her the old "We've got to stop meeting like this" line and and made her laugh.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked. She seemed to be warming up to people, but she was still so stingy with the smiles. I wonder if she was one of those people who hated her teeth or hated her smile for some reason, so she always tried to keep a straight face.

"Same old, same old," I said shrugging. "My boyfriend just went on a date with six other women. You know, standard stuff." That made her laugh harder and from what I could tell, she had a very pretty smile. I decided to change the subject because I wanted to not talk about Harry all day. "So, you must think I'm a freak by going on and on about colors the other day." I poured myself a cup of coffee to go with the bagel I had just toasted, and I sat by the bar.

Annie sat next to me with her half mug of brew. "Not at all," she said. "I think everyone has a passion for something. You're a color nerd, and as for me, I'm a word nerd."

"So you're a writer or something?" I asked, thinking we were finally getting somewhere.

"Something like that," she said. "But I really do love words - where they come from, how they sound, how well they bring a thought to completion. All that, you know?"

"I can relate a little bit," I told her. "I'm in advertising, so just the right word can really make a slogan memorable." She nodded in agreement. "Can I ask where you're from? You have just the tiniest bit of an accent, but I can't figure out what it is."

"I can't tell you," she said, rolling her eyes with a hint of a smile. "I know, how secretive of me, right? I don't usually think I have an accent, but you know how it is - you can go anywhere in the world and people will have an accent compared to you."

"So you're not from the US, or...?"

"I didn't say that. I assume it's the same in the US, traveling from one state to the next," she replied, trying not to give anything else away. But she had already given herself away, at least a little, by saying, "I assume it's the same in the US." Meaning, she wasn't American.

"Well, just so you know, even though it's driving me crazy, wondering why you're here, I'm glad you are. You're easy to talk to. And...I don't have to compete with you for Harry's attention," I said, laughing.

"I'm glad," she said, putting her arm around my shoulder. She leaned her head against mine and said, "I like you too." A brief thought came to mind, making me wonder if this was what it felt like to have a sister since I had never had siblings.

For the rest of the day, I ended up kind of moping around the house, even though I'm not the mopey type. I took a long nap. I convinced Brittany, Victoria and Lucy to play Monopoly. Honestly, it felt like I was grounded, but I had no idea what I had done to deserve it.

Towards dinner time, Kimberly, one of the producers, came to find me. I was just a little shocked that she held my phone out to me. "Rumor has it that you might need someone to talk to," she said with a smile. "If you'd like, you can make a phone call home. It will be monitored, and it has to be to one of the people close to you who signed a non-disclosure agreement. Please remind them of the contract when you speak to them. And just remember, you aren't allowed to talk about any of the other contestants by name, including Harry."

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and switched my phone on. "Thank you so much." Kimberly and I took a seat in small room, where she closed the door so no one else would see or hear me.

As much as I wanted to tell Allegra everything - well, at least the things I could tell her - I really needed my dad. My fingers found his number in my contacts without even thinking. My heart raced as I heard it ringing, and when I heard my dad's voice, I choked up. "Hi, Daddy."

"Hey, Dimples!" He said, clearly delighted to hear from me. "I thought you couldn't call home. Oh wait, did something happen? Are you coming home?"

"No, Dad," I laughed through a few stray tears. "I'm just feeling kind of down."

"Why, sweetie? What's going on? Is Mr. Right not treating you right?" He asked.

"Do you know who it is?" I asked, thinking the outside world must have heard by now.

"Yeah, some music star, I heard. No idea who he is, but that sounds pretty fancy," he said.

"Yeah, he's pretty amazing. You could Google him if you're interested in finding out more," I suggested, and then, "Wow, that would make me sound like a stalker if I was talking about anyone other than him!"

"So, what do you think of this guy?" Dad asked. "A rock star doesn't seem your type. You have your feet planted firmly on the ground and I don't know, it seems like life with a celebrity would be...I don't know...too much excitement for you or something." 

"I had the same concern, and I still kind of do. But the bigger problem is that I'm really falling for him. Like really falling for him," I said, emphasizing the word more.

"You didn't sleep with him, did you? You've only been there a couple weeks," he said dryly.

"Dad! No, I haven't slept with him! You should know me better than that," I said, laughing. "Besides, I am 27 years old, so I probably won't be discussing my, um, personal life with you anyway."

We both laughed in the most comfortable way. I could talk to my dad about almost anything. I had no choice after my mom left. She wasn't there when I started developing and got my period and started having boy questions. Dad was probably horrified at first, but he rose to the challenge and bought all the supplies I needed for that time of the month, plus a bonus bag of m&m's with each month. And when I started asking questions about sex, he answered them candidly. And once in a while, he would suggest that I talk to my aunt Kate. She lived nearby; she had moved to Sacramento after my mom left, and I knew my dad was grateful for his sister moving closer to help us out. I didn't mind talking to Aunt Kate, and I did divulge some things to her that I really didn't want my dad to know. But for the most part, my dad was number one when I needed to talk.

"Well, I can't stay on long. Oh, and remember the agreement you signed. You can't talk to anyone about this. You're technically not even supposed to tell anyone I called you. So, this is our little secret, okay?"

"Okay, hon. I don't feel like I helped too much," he said apologetically.

"It was enough just to talk to you, Dad. Love you."

"Love you, too, Dimples."

I didn't mention to him that Ben said we were having an event to which we could invite family and friends. I would just let that be a surprise to him, but I couldn't wait to see him.

I don't know who tipped Kimberly off that I was feeling down, but I had an idea it might have been Annie. I was starting to think maybe she was just here as an advocate for us, to intervene if things got too out of hand with our emotions or relationships with the other women, or even just for someone to talk to who was outside the hype. But if she was an advocate, I wondered why they wouldn't just tell us that. Regardless, I was thankful for whomever was responsible for the phone call. It definitely helped me to remember that there was a world outside these four walls, no matter how tastefully decorated they were.

I felt a lot better after the reminder from my dad about who I really was. I was used to being in control of my life and my environment. While I couldn't do that as much here, I could still control my mind. I had known Harry just shy of three weeks and I was allowing myself to feel like there was no one in the world except him. Well, I mean, he was pretty spectacular....But still! I didn't have to let him so far into my life that if he suddenly sent me home, there would be an irreparable wound.

The only thing my dad said that bothered me was that I didn't like too much excitement. It made me sound like a boring old spinster. Was I so rigid and set in my ways that I couldn't handle a little spontaneity in my life? 

Later in the evening, while we were just sitting around and - you guessed it - drinking wine and listening to some music, Bianca, Demi and Keke came straggling in, looking despondent.

"You guys got sent home, huh?" I asked sympathetically. "That sucks."

"How would you know what that's like, Ms. Perfect?!" Demi spat in anger towards me and went upstairs.

I just stayed silent, wondering if anyone else was going to jump on the crazy train. But Bianca just said, "Don't mind her. She's been acting very strange today, like someone was out to get her."

"You mean like one of the girls has it in for her, or what?" Victoria asked.

"Nooo," Bianca drew out the word. "Like, for real, she thought she recognized about three different people throughout the day and she begged us to hide her or she run into the bathroom to hide out until they were gone."

"Oh, my heavens," Victoria commented. "What's that all about?"

"I honestly think she's mentally unstable," I whispered. "I'm not saying that to be mean, I'm 100% serious."

Everyone pitched in their little scenarios that they had been through with Demi. Finally, I said, "We have to talk to Ben, but obviously, he's with Harry and the rest of the date right now. I wonder if we can get some time with him in the morning, before the candle ceremony."

"So, how was she with Harry?" Victoria asked. "Did she act like that around him? What did he think when she freaked out, thinking someone was after her?"

Bianca shook her head. "It always happened when he was away from her. I don't think he witnessed it first-hand, but I think he's realizing that she's a little off."

"A little off?!" I practically shouted. Then I lowered my voice. "She's a nut job!"

"Okay, so we need to talk to Ben in the morning. First thing," Bianca agreed.

Changing the subject, I said, "Tell us about the date!"

Bianca and Keke filled us in about spending the day in Monterey, down near San Francisco. They went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and had a scavenger hunt, which was what determined which three would stay and who would come home. They went out to the Great Tide Pool and did some snorkeling, but the biggest surprise was when they boarded a tourist submarine and went out into the ocean and were able to see some big creatures up close, like humpback whales and great white sharks. It would appear that Harry had a liking for marine animals. Maybe there would be another date when I would get to experience something like that with him. 

* * *

I was up bright and early the next morning, and the first thing I did was to wake up Bianca and Victoria. Jordin had been with me during that "psychological illnesses" discussion, but she had probably been out really late with Harry and the other girls, so I didn't wake her. Finally, I found Annie and asked if she would be willing to come and talk to Ben with us, since she too, had witnessed Demi's bizarre behavior.

"Absolutely," she said, her eyes widening with interest.

After asking around a bit, Ben was located and came to meet us in a private room in the mansion.

"Good morning, ladies," He grinned, grabbing a seat. He saw Annie and was a little surprised, but then he said, "Oh, hi J...Annie," quickly correcting himself. Jannie? Jamie? I thought. What was he going to call her just then? Ugh, I was dying of curiosity, but there were more pressing matters at hand. "How can I help you?" Ben asked.

For some reason, everyone looked at me. "It's about Demi," I began. "We think that there's something...wrong...with her."

"Like what?" Ben asked, not catching on.

"Like, she's not mentally stable," I said. He looked a little more concerned, but not alarmed as I relayed stories to him about many different situations people had witnessed with Demi.

When I finally finished, he said, "Wow. I wasn't aware of any of that. Have any of you felt threatened by her?" He asked. Everyone said no, but we admitted we were all on our toes around her, not knowing if her behavior would change suddenly. "Do you have any realistic reason to believe she may become violent?" Most of us gave an emphatic yes, ensuring him we hadn't seen violence but she talked about violent and morbid things. "Well, I'll certainly discuss this with the show's security team. I'll have the producers do some searching into her background checks and see if we might have missed anything."

Annie had been sitting quietly, but when Ben was about to leave, Annie said in a worried voice, "Ben, please don't let anything happen to Harry."

"I won't," he said. "Annie."

That was weird. Annie had a stronger connection with Harry than she had let on. Especially if she knew Ben well enough to talk to him like that. My mind was boggled as it was, so I went back to my room and took a hot bath. We would have a pool-side cocktail party later in the evening, before the elimination ceremony. I was eager to see Harry, but at the same time, I reminded myself that I had to keep my distance. I wasn't going to allow myself to fall hopelessly in love only to have my heart shattered.

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hey, we're almost at 20K reads!!! Thanks so much! 

The next chapter is the candle ceremony, and it's one you'll never forget!

The guy who plays Harper's dad is Howard Deutch, Zoey Deutch's dad in real life :D