Page 99 of House of Deceit

He’s finished.

He made it to the final three. The boy that has been in the middle of the pack or just above the bottom two the entire game, is the first into the finale.

I block everything out once more.

Making the final few turns, my ball slides over the finish line, the table lighting up green milliseconds before Cain’s.

I did it.

My hands come up covering my face as tears start streaming down it.

I’m in the finale.

Cain explodes from his chair, snapping. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

“I’m sorry, Cain, but the votes have been tallied. Parker will be continuing on into the finale. I’m sure the disappointment you’re feeling is intense right now, but you have been eliminated from House of Deceit. Please exit the mansion,” Jacob Jacobson says.

The TV he was on goes black as, I assume, they have moved on to other announcements for the show.

“You shouldn’t be here!” he says pointing at me. “I thought you’d get tossed with the tape!”

“What t—”

I don’t get to finish my sentence as he lunges at me, grabbing my arms and shaking me.

“You should have been eliminated, you stupid bitch! I should be in the final three!”

My teeth rattle as it feels like my brain is being slammed around inside my skull. I’m shoved down to the ground, my shoulder slamming down.

I hear the sound of flesh on flesh as Parker punches Cain in the face. The room is flooded with production assistants helping him to secure the incensed Cain. Parker comes over to me and tucks my hair behind my ear.

“Are you hurt? We can get medical in here.”

“No,” I say, brushing his hand off my face. “I’m fine. Thanks for having my back, even though I wish it could have been me to punch him.”

He laughs as Jayden, Parker, and I are ushered to the kitchen so everyone can focus on Cain.

Cain is watched the entire time while he packs his things to leave the mansion. He yells from the dressing room, outrage and insult dripping off every word, but we ignore him.

“Look at us,” Jayden says, smiling. “We are the final three.”

Parker and I smile at each other. “Holy shit.” I say and we all start giggling.

Production ushers Cain out of the mansion. “You shouldn’t be here, bitch! They said you’d be disqualified. You shouldn’t be here!” He tries lunging at me again, but this time the assistants are ready and block him.

“What the hell is he talking about? Why would you be disqualified?” Parker asks.

“Hell if I know,” I lie, not wanting the story of my heartbreak to be headline fodder, “but thankfully I’m still here.”

“Which one did you like?” Tom asks, stabbing his salad.

The sun is warm against my skin, but I feel cold. Every time I think of Charlie, which is every second of every day, I miss her. I can hardly sleep at the thought of her in the mansion without me. Of never seeing her again.

“The one with black hair has the most on-camera potential. If you get her a few acting classes to tighten up that thing with her voice when she has to do serious lines, crowds will love her. She has that spark,” I tell him, without any feeling.

“Hmm, I was thinking the blonde had a bit more of a camera presence,” he says.

The birds chirp around us. Our table is secluded from the remainder of the alfresco diners. I take a bite of my perfectly prepared chicken and mull over his comment. Washing it down with a sip of the wine Tom had insisted on, I look out at the park.

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