Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“Yeah.” I sighed. I knew exactly what the ‘shit’ was about.

“Where the fuck are we?” He sounded worried, and I knew he was thinking what I was thinking. How the hell were we going to get off this island?

“So about that whiskey . . . ?” I tried to crack a joke as we sat there in silence. Come to think of it, as much as I didn’t like Jakob, I was glad I wasn’t here by myself. If I were alone, I’d be sobbing already. “Do you think this is like that movie?”

“What movie?” he finally asked. “Swiss Family Robinson?”

“No, that crazy movie where that guy is pretending he’s dead, but really he’s waiting to see what happens.”

“I have no idea what movie you’re talking about.”

“Saw. That’s the name of the movie.”

“Weren’t they in a locked room?” He sounded confused.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “So?”

“In case it escaped you, we’re not in a room.”

“I know that,” I huffed. “I just meant, do you think that someone put us here so they can watch us, like some sort of experiment?”

“You mean, like It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World?”

“What?” I was surprised at his response. I didn’t know many people who’d watched that movie. In fact I didn’t know many men that enjoyed movies that didn’t have explosions and sex.

“They made a remake. Um, I think it’s called Rat Race.”

“The movie with Whoopi Goldberg?”

“Yeah. These rich men send a bunch of idiots on a quest around the country and place bets on what they think will happen.”

“I know. I saw it.” I grinned to myself. I bet I’d seen every movie he could think of.

“So, you think we’re being watched? Do you think there are cameras watching our every move?”

“Shit, that sounds a bit like The Truman Show!” I exclaimed. “Or Hostel.” I shivered. “Shit, if it’s Hostel, we’re so dead. That movie was so scary. I thought I was going to—”

“Bianca, as impressed as I am by your knowledge of movies, I’m afraid I have more pressing concerns on my mind.” His voice sounded superior as he cut me off, and I stuck my tongue out at the sea. “For the record, I don’t think there are cameras watching us.”

“For the record, neither do I. And yes, I do know a lot about movies. I know a lot because I’m a movie critic.” Okay, so maybe I wasn’t exactly a critic. All I really did was watch a lot of free movies and write synopses, but I wasn’t about to admit that.

“Oh?” He sounded impressed for a second. “For the New York Times?”

“No.” I muttered. “They aren’t the only newspaper that reviews movies.”

“Okay,” I could tell that he was trying to be patient with me. “Let’s try to focus on the matter at hand right now and we can talk about movies once we’re out of these ropes.” I could feel my face burning at his words. He was such an arrogant jerk. “Let’s try to stand up.” He continued.

“And go where?”

“We need to walk and see if we can find a rock.”

“I already told you that all I can see is sand and water.”

“And?”

“And so that means I’m not seeing any rocks.”

“Well, if we keep sitting on our fat asses, we’re not going to see anything.”

“Are you calling me fat?”

“Oh my God, you’re not going to be that girl.”

“What girl?”

“Lean back against me and let’s slowly try to stand up.”

“What girl?”

“Bianca,” he groaned. “Please, let’s just try to stand up.”

“You’re not all that yourself, you know,” I blurted out, and he laughed.

“One, two, three.” He leaned back into me and struggled to stand up. “You have to attempt to stand as well.”

“You didn’t say ‘go.’?”

“What?”

“You didn’t say ‘one, two, three, go.’?”

“Are you joking?” He sounded exasperated, and I grinned. Take that, Jakob. You’re not the only one who can be difficult.

“Do it like this: One, two, three, go.” I leaned back into him and tried to stand up. At first, I thought we weren’t going to make it, but then he pressed his back against mine, hard and still.

“Lean back into me. Let me act as your support. Trust me, Bianca. You need to trust me.” His voice was gentle. “That’s it. Press your weight against me. Don’t try to balance on your own two feet.”

“If I wasn’t a klutz, I’d take offense to that statement,” I responded as I pressed against him again and shimmied up.

There was a point where I thought I was going to fall right back down, but Jakob seemed to sense it, because he shifted his position to support more of my weight.

“I did it!” I was exuberant as I stood on my two feet. For a couple of minutes, I forgot that I was suspicious of him.

“Yes, we did.” His voice was full of humor, and I smiled reluctantly. “Good job.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Yes, we did.”

“It’s okay. It’s amazing how much help I can be in a pinch.” Then he started moving. “Come on. Let’s see what we can find.”