Page 2 of House of Deceit

Charlie,

I need space and to be with someone who has drive in their life. I’ll let you keep my half of the rent this month.

Scott.

“Oh, you’ll let me keep your half of the rent? What a fucking saint! Two years and not even a conversation?” I grab the vase of dead flowers from the counter and fling it against the cabinets.

This.

Fucking.

Day.

Moving to the cabinet above the refrigerator, I grab the tequila and take a long swig, picking up my phone as I go.

Courtney sits on my loveseat, her legs hanging over one arm as she screams at the television screen, supporting me as she has every day since we met in third grade.

“You’re blowing this! You need to create a pyramid to reach the ring!” she yells at the TV.

“Remember that time in high school when the cheerleaders had to make that pyramid, but the bases had the flu and were too weak, causing the whole thing to come tumbling down?” I ask, lifting a glass to my mouth. The ice cubes clink around as I swallow the last dregs.

“I don’t think the male population could have been more excited if some boobs had popped out,” Courtney says, laughing.

My stomach grumbles, reminding me I have only consumed alcohol since coming home to Scott’s note. I shimmy my way out of the depths of the couch, stumbling to the kitchen where the Chinese food we ordered sits. Stuffing an egg roll into my mouth, I grab the pitcher of margaritas out of the fridge. The condiment bottles knock together as the door slams shut.

Grabbing the egg roll from my mouth, I call out, “Do you need anything?”

“Bring me the cashew chicken!”

I shove the half-eaten egg roll back into my mouth and grab the white container with my empty hand.

The container smacks into Courtney’s stomach as I drop it on her before shoving the rest of my egg roll into my mouth, chewing madly.

“What season are we on again?” I ask, settling back into my seat, covering my legs with a blanket.

“Two.” Courtney says, holding up two fingers, for emphasis.

“How many are there?”

“Nine. But I’m pretty sure they are filming season ten. Or are about to.” She pauses as two of the contestants yell at each other for a moment. “Did you hear that Jimmy and Jean got married? From season six?”

“How many couples does that make?”

“Seven, I want to say? More than most of the dating shows.”

We continue watching the show, talking throughout. Critiquing the competitors’ strategy, yelling suggestions, and wishing some of our favorite couples would kiss.

“What is a privilege that you would want to win?” Courtney asks.

On a weekly basis, the contestants split into teams, competing for a privilege while the losing team receives a week-long punishment.

“An ice cream sundae party. No question.”

I can practically hear the eye roll in her response. “I should have known.”

“Fine, what would you want?”

“A hot tub,” she says