Page 91 of House of Deceit

“I have a lot of thoughts on the status of your vagina,” he replies.

“What about the status of my fist in your face?”

“You can’t punch an Olympic athlete,” he says, affronted.

“Twenty bucks says you’re wrong,” Raven says, and I know she will do it if she senses a microsecond’s hesitation.

My attention is called back to the group as Colyn, sweet, shy Colyn says, “I am going to buy a monster truck and run over my car. I’ll probably have an orgasm while doing it, too. That stupid POS has broken down on me for the last time.”

The murderous look in her eye lets us know she’s not joking.

A large screen has been moved into the living room for today’s challenge. Currently, we only see the back of large playing cards. At the beginning of the game, I used to wonder about what was in store, but there have been so many things production has come up with I never would have thought of, I quickly gave up.

“Welcome to the week nine elimination challenge!” Jacob Jacobson calls out. His suit today is sky blue with a bright red tie and white shirt. It gives me a headache, but it’s tame in comparison to his normal wear.

I wonder idly if he learned the inflections he uses every time he talks to us from some acting class and never took the time to make them more believable. It’s like a robot was told what feelings are, but since it has never actually felt them, they can only make hollow mimicries.

One of our favorite pastimes in the house is to use our best Jacob voices.

“This week our theme is superpowers! You have all been dressed as superheroes to match your superhero comic!”

The cards on the screen turn over and there we are, forever memorialized on what look to be covers for six different comics. While Cain doesn’t have to play due to his immunity from last week, they still drew him.

The faces of the cards are all relatively busy and it’s difficult to distinguish one from another. I search for mine and there I am, a purple suit and mask hiding my identity. I’m flying above a city with my red hair fluttering behind me. I smile. No wonder Alec randomly asked me what kind of superpower I wanted last week.

“My dearest deceivers, this game is a challenge to your memory. The person to match all the cards the fastest will win”—the light changes and Jacob puts on his ominous tone—“while the bottom two will be on the chopping block.

“Earlier in the day, the remaining house guests drew the order they would go in this challenge. Parker, you’re first.”

Parker steps up to the screen and waits for the bell. His blue suit is almost indecent and I have no doubt the viewers at home are going crazy. He hears the sound and leaps into action, flipping the top card on both rows making note of the cards displayed. He moves on to the second card in the top row, realizes they don’t match either of the others and flips the second on the bottom row next. He moves down the rows methodically, matching the cards quickly.

I was never particularly good at matching games when I was younger. For some reason, my eyes don’t pick up patterns without taking my time.

Rebel steps up in her orange suit and readies for her turn. This time, when the cards flip, the scenes depicted are the same, but who is in what pose has changed. She moves through the rows of cards but with less of a plan and makes her matches. Parker remains in the lead with Rebel a good ten seconds behind. Red-suited Penelope follows and easily beats Rebel.

With sweaty palms and weak knees, I step up to the screen and follow Parker’s lead, however, I can feel I’m not moving fast enough. The changing poses are messing me up as I try to determine my matches. I make a few quickly, but I know I’ve not beaten Penelope or Parker. I make my last match and step back. Only two seconds before Rebel with Jayden to go.

My eyes don’t leave Jayden as he moves with startling efficiency through the board. Without missing a trick, every match he makes, I can feel the possibility of going home creeping up in my chest. As he finishes his round, I look at the flashing time. One tenth of a second secures Parker’s win.

But I’m in the bottom two. On the chopping block. In less than forty-eight hours, I could go home.

Ending all the hard work Alec and I have put in to get me here.

Two mugs steam in my hands as I make my way out to the pool deck where Parker sits beneath the dawn sky. The breeze caresses my skin as I set the coffee on the table beside him.

He looks up at me, shutting the book he was reading.

“Can I sit?” I ask.

“Always. You know you have my vote, right?”

Alec and I assumed his vote was in the bag, but having confirmation is always nice, and I tell him as much. We sit in silence, letting the sun rise as we drink our coffee. Unwilling to take the liquid for granted ever again, I sip slowly, savoring every drop.

“Cain is definitely never going to vote for me, same with Penelope, so my only hope is the audience wants to keep me more than Rebel.”

“I believe in you,” he says, as he gathers his blond hair and ties it up off his neck.

I fiddle with the edge of my shorts, pulling at loose strings. Thoughts of my family swirl in my mind now that I might be seeing them within a few days. If I’m being honest with myself, I never expected to last this long.

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