The following morning, I was the last one awake. I could hear everyone moving around outside the cabin, inside was hotter than the hobs of hell. I cracked an eye, Gerard was sitting on the bed beside me, sketching. Through the open window, I could see Charlotte and Frank, off in the distance, up in the trees, pitching more fruit down into the water.

"Hey," I croaked, my throat incredibly dry. Gerard looked up from his sketch book, and smiled.

"Morning, Monkey," he replied softly, reaching over to the bedside suitcase table, and grabbing a bottle of water, which he opened and handed to me. I struggled to lift my head, and began to sip slowly. "How are you?"

"I'll live," I replied softly, and he smiled at me. "It's really hot." He nodded. "Why don't you go cool off, take a swim or something?"

"I wanted to stay with you, make sure you're ok," he replied. I laid back, and we were silent for a moment.

"Thank you," I whispered eventually. "You know I love you, right?" He smiled, and took my hand, gently kissing my fingers.

"I know," he replied. "And I love you." I smiled at him, and carefully chose my next words.

"I'm not trying to push you away, or be a bitch, or anything, but...I think..." I began.

"You need some time alone?" he asked gently, and I nodded, quickly wiping my eyes as they teared up. "Not a problem. I'll go, but you call me if you need me, ok baby?" I nodded again, and he got up off the bed. He bent over me, kissing my lips softly, before walking out of the compartment.

I lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling .I didn't cry, I just lay there for hours, staring. In fact, I lay there all day, as through the windows, the sun began to set. I heard everyone talking and laughing below me on the mat, eating their dinner, and a few moments later, I heard someone climbing up the ladder, and the curtain to the compartment opened.

"Angel?" Gerard whispered. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," I replied quietly.

"I brought you some food, can you eat?"

"No, thank you, but I'm not hungry," I replied. "Can you come here for a moment?" I heard his footsteps approach in the dark, and a moment later, he sat on the edge of the bed. I sat up, and wrapped my arms around his neck. He put his arms around me, and we sat like that in the dark for a while. "Thank you," I whispered in his ear, and felt his head nod. After a moment, I pulled away, and lay back down. "I'll be alright tomorrow, I promise." He ran his hand through my hair.

"I'll go," he said softly. "But is ok if I come back to sleep?" I laughed.

"You'd better!" I replied. He got up and walked out, and I returned to staring at the ceiling. Soon, I heard him descending the ladder.

"How is she?" I heard Charlotte's concerned voice asking.

"She's ok. Sad, but she'll survive. She's tough," I heard Gerard reply.

"That's the most scared I've been since this happened," Charlotte said softly, and I had to strain to hear. "Seeing Angel loose it like that."

"I know," Tori added. "But it kinda made her seem more human, I mean, she's been so, well, strong. She was like Super Girl or something. That was the first time she's cried."

"No," Gerard said softly. "She's cried a lot. She's very private, though, and doesn't want anyone to see. But your right, she is strong. She's the strongest person I've ever met." I smiled to myself in the dark when I heard Gerard's words. Frank started laughing.

"I think someone's in love!" Frank shouted in a whisper.

"Yeah," Gerard said softly. "I am." His words were followed by a silence; even I was surprised, I didn't think he'd say it openly like that. But even in my grief, it made me happier than anything ever had.

"Ha!I knew it!" Mikey cried suddenly, and I heard the group laughing. A huge smile crept across my face. I was alive, and I was in love with a man who loved me. At that moment, everything was perfect. More perfect than anything could ever be. I got up out of bed, and pulled off the bloodstained clothes I still wore, quickly pulling on the light blue sun dress, and placing the bloodstained shorts and tee shirt in their zip lock in the overhead compartment. I pulled out my brush, and ran it through my long hair. Then, I hurried out of the compartment, and to the door, jumping lightly down onto the mat. Seven surprised faces looked up at me. Charlotte jumped up immediately.

"Angel, are you ok?" she cried, throwing her arms around my neck. I laughed.

"Yeah, Bubbles, I'm great," I replied hugging her tightly before stepping away. I walked over to Gerard, and held out my hand. He looked at me questioningly, but took it, and allowed me to help him to his feet. "I feel like a walk," I said. He nodded at me, and we turned our backs on the others, walking slowly across the sand. We passed the bonfire, stopping briefly to toss some more leaves and wood on the flames, before continuing, walking silently until it was out of sight.

"What's up?" he asked eventually. I smiled up at him.

"We were interrupted last night," I replied softly. "I was hoping maybe we could finish what we started." He abruptly stopped walking, looking stunned.

"What do you mean?" he choked out. I smiled again, and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"You know what I mean," I whispered, and then I kissed him.

Forty-five minutes later, we lay in the sand, side by side, hands held. Eventually, Gerard rolled over onto his elbow, looking down at me.

"I love you," he said.

"Oh, you just say that cause I put out," I replied, laughing.

"Hey, I'm being serious here!" he said, laughing as well.

"I love you too, Mr. Way," I replied. He kissed the tip of my nose, and struggled into a sitting position, zipping his pants as he did so.

"Good girl," he said, reaching into the pocket of his shorts and pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Hey, I want one too!" I cried, sitting up as well, and rearranging my sun dress.

"You smoke?" he asked in surprise.

"On occasion," I replied, winking at him. He pulled two out of the pack, lighting both at the same time, then handed one to me. I took a long drag, and sighed as I blew out the smoke. I put a hand up to my hair, it was full of sand. "Ugh, sandy hair," I said in disgust. Gerard reached over, using his fingers and brushing the sand out.

"You really have beautiful hair," he said. I smiled.

"Thanks, I was gonna cut it all off once I got to Australia," I said.

"No, don't cut it, please? I like it like this," he said, as he pulled it over my shoulder. I took another drag.

"Alright, twist my arm," I said, laughing. "You know, when we get home, I wanna do that every day."

"Shit," he said. "You don't need to ask me twice!" He was silent for a moment, both of us puffing on our smokes. "Will you, Angel?"

"Will I what?" I asked.

"Come to Jersey with me. Live with me," he whispered, his handsome face looking uncertain. I laughed, and draped my arm around his shoulders.

"Of course! You can't get rid of me now!" His smile returned, and he kissed my cheek. In identical movements, we threw our cigarettes out onto the sand.

"I guess we should get back before they form a search party," he said, getting to his feet before helping me to mine. He pulled me tightly into him, and kissed me again. "I do love you, I just want you to know I mean it."

"And I hope you know how much I mean it when I say I love you too," I replied. He wrapped an arm around my waist, and together we made our way across the sand towards the cabin. The yellow mat was deserted, and from the snores coming out of the cabin, I determined that everyone else was already asleep. Quietly, we ascended the ladder, and made our way to our compartment. I pulled off my tank dress, and threw it on the floor, as Gerard stripped down to his underwear. Exhausted, we crawled into bed, immediately reaching for each other, and wrapping ourselves together. Soon, I heard his breathing even out, and I knew he was asleep. I stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

So much death in such a short time! Amanda was gone, Zara was gone. And, score one for her, she had taken that motherfucker with her. I wondered if I would live to make it off of this damn island. But I had the promise of a new life with the man I loved, and I was sure as hell gonna try my hardest. With new determination for survival, I pulled Gerard closer to me, and, smiling to myself, fell asleep.