Love Island

6. The baby bomb

Day 3
Couples:
Asher and Taylor
Hannah and Mason
Jodie and Kyle
Violetta and James
Zoe and Alex
Dougie

"Hey." I smile awkwardly as I reach Jodie, Kyle and James, and they all smile enthusiastically back. "James, can I have a chat with you please?"

"Um, sure." He replies nervously then gets up from his seat, leaving his drink on the table. As we start to walk away he whispers to me, "is everything alright?" I don't answer him, I just carry on walking, because I honestly don't know if things are going to be alright between us after I tell him this. Once we're sat down in a spot away from the other islanders, he asks me "what's going on? You're scaring me."

"I know, I'm sorry." I shyly reply, knowing that I'm probably not doing this in the best way. "There's something I want to tell you because I really do trust you, I'm just a bit nervous about how you're going to react." I bite my lip anxiously, then decide that it's easier to do it quickly, just blurt it out. "I'm a mum." He looks me in the eyes, not saying a word. I think he's too in shock to say anything. "I should probably explain. I got pregnant at eighteen on a night out, all my friends told me that keeping her would be stupid and would ruin my life but I couldn't get rid of her. And I'm so glad I didn't because she's honestly the best thing in my life."

After saying this and opening myself up to him, something I'd never thought I'd do in such little time, he slowly takes my hand and squeezes it tight. "You shouldn't be scared to tell me more about who you are." And with those words I breathe a sigh of relief, and a massive smile magically appears on my face. "What's her name?"

"Sofia." My voice cracks a little when I say her name, but I don't think he noticed, I just miss my little girl so much. I look down at my lap, "She's so beautiful-"

"She must take after her mother then." This makes me look him in his eyes again, those eyes that make me feel so at home. I feel his thumb stroking the side of my hand as he talks. "What about the dad though?"

"He's most definitely out of the picture." I reassure him, not wanting him to think that I have feelings for another man. "I don't think he was ever in the picture in the first place."

He unlaces his fingers from mine and puts his arm round my shoulder, and I rest my head in the space between his neck and his shoulder. I don't ever want to leave, but fate thought otherwise. "Guys!" Jodie shouts, causing our little moment to be over and we both see Jodie and Kyle running towards us urgently. "Sorry to interrupt but this is important."

Kyle then decides to take over, "I think Asher overheard you and Dougie talking earlier. She told everyone."

I look at James, who's looking at me. Then I look back at Jodie and Kyle, "why would she do that?" I ask, genuinely hurt by what she's done, "why would she think she has a right to share that information?"

I'm on the edge of tears now, and James immediately stands up and faces Jodie, "Jodie, stay here with Violetta, me and Kyle are going to sort this out." And with that the two boys walk away.

"I'd be shitting myself if I was Asher right now, two of the most muscular boys in the villa hate her." Jodie comments, and I have to agree with her. Kyle looks like a professional body builder, and James looks like a Greek god carved from the heavens. "Just so you know, nobody thinks of you any differently, it's just Asher and Taylor who are acting like a pair of knobs."

"I want to hear what they're saying." I tell her, and even though James told her to keep me here, I know she understands that I can't just sit here and do nothing. So we both get up and walk into the villa, we hear voices coming from the bathroom, so we stay in the bedroom where we can hear it all.

"You were way out of line, Asher." Kyle argues, and he sounds really angry. It's nice to know that I have someone that will stand up for me, even if I've never really spoken to him.

"Oh boohoo, cry me a river." Asher remarks, and I'm starting to see just how much of a bitch she really is.

"Do you realise how difficult it was for her to tell people that?" It's James speaking now, I could recognise his voice a mile off. "For you to go around and gossip about her like that is fucked up. No wonder she feels like she can't trust anyone when there's people like you in the world."

"Look," Asher starts, seeming not to have a care in the world. And that makes me hate her even more, the fact that she has no guilt whatsoever, she probably thinks she's done nothing wrong. "It's not my fault that she's a slut. She probably doesn't even know the guy's name."

I run out of the bedroom, back outside where I can get some air. The tears are really rolling down my cheeks now. I run to the beach hut, the only place I know I'll be alone. I knew coming on this show was a bad idea, I should've known it would end in tears. After about ten minutes of non-stop crying, the door to the beach hut opens, and James gives me a small reassuring smile. "Jodie told me you ran off."

"I just wanted some space." I say between sobs, really not being able to keep myself together at this point.

"Mind if I come in?" He asks, and I give him a nod, then move over in the chair so he can sit next to me. Instead, he lifts me up effortlessly and places me on his lap, his arms wrapped around me. "Don't listen to her, she's probably just jealous that you have someone so amazing in your life."

"But she was right." I admit, wiping the tears from my eyes, but more start appearing. "I don't know his name. I never did." I sniff, trying not to get snot on James' nice clean shirt. "But I'm not a slut."

"I know." He instantly responds, and at this point I'm just overwhelmed with emotion. How can he be so nice to me after everything that just happened?

I know I have to tell him the truth, if I don't tell him now then I never will. But the words are hard to say, it's been a long time since I've admitted this out loud. It's been years. "I was raped." The words barely come out as a whisper, but by the expression on James' face, I know that he heard.

His grip on me gets tighter, pulling me into a proper hug, "it's okay." He reassures me, "it's okay." After a couple minutes of silence, I finally stop crying. "I'm so sorry, Violetta, you really didn't deserve to go through something like that."

I look him in the eyes, and he's a little bit blurry due to remnants of tears still pooling at the corners of my eyes. "It's not your fault, why should you be sorry?"

"Because I care about you."