Page 33 of House of Deceit

“Welcome to the first immunity night at the House of Deceit! Season ten promises to have new twists and turns for our guests. Tonight, you’ll watch them be put through an excruciating obstacle course that will challenge their mental and physical strength. The bottom two will be up for elimination on Sunday night. Earlier in the day, the contestants were randomly assigned the order they would tackle the course. Now, let’s take a moment to say hello.”

He turns toward the monitor on his right, the live stream of the competitors waiting for Jacob showing on the screen. He presses a button and appears on the TV in the house.

“Hello, Deceivers!”

“Hello, Jacob!” they intone.

“As you know, tonight is the immunity challenge. The bottom two will be eligible for elimination, while the winner will be Head Deceiver and immune from elimination next week. Not only that, they will also have a private bedroom to enjoy and will receive a special surprise! Your ranking will be determined by how quickly you finish the course. If no one finishes the course, it will be based on the last element completed, with any ties broken by time.”

They clap as they have been told. Each wrangler coaches their player on the expected reactions at various announcements. While the goal is for everything to be authentic, there are a few instances where we want to ensure enthusiasm is shown. Their commitment to the show can wane when they are tired, hungry, and annoyed at being locked in.

Jacob reviews a few more rules and explanations, and the group moves to the backyard. During the day, all the windows are blocked so no one can see what the crew is setting up for them. There are exclamations as they see the course. The obstacles use every inch of the space, including the pool.

Lily pads, rope climbs, a rock wall, sandbag carry, and more are spread throughout the space. Ten total obstacles stand between them and possibly being eliminated.

Colyn is first to run. She stands at the starting line, nerves obvious in her stance, but when the bell goes off, she exposes herself as a threat. She’s through four of the obstacles before I can blink. Pepper, her wrangler, shouts encouragement at the screen, her food completely abandoned.

Colyn pants as she tries to lift the sandbag onto her shoulders. Her arms are shot from the extended time it took her to complete the overhead bars portion of the course and before we know it, the gong rings out as she fails, three obstacles from the end.

Keith makes it a decent way through, taking his time, ending one obstacle short of Colyn, while Parker is the first person to complete the entire course.

Charlie is the last to run the course. Cain is solidly in the first position, and unless she learns how to fly, I don’t believe she will beat him. Sharon and Ezra currently sit in the bottom two places. All Charlie must complete are four obstacles and she avoids being in the hot seat for the week. I watched her watch every competitor before her with sharp eyes, seeming to make note of the best way to beat each test.

She stands at the starting line, and I am hunched over, ignoring all jabs from my coworkers. Nothing matters beyond Charlie. The bell rings, and she’s off, sprinting across the lily pads in the pool, barely causing a ripple. She hoists the sandbag across her shoulders and trudges a hundred feet through sand. Her slow and steady pace is smart. With the top spot out of reach, better to take her time and avoid putting a foot wrong. She looks up and studies the ten-foot rock wall, picking her path through the scarce holds. Almost to the top, she wipes sweat from her brow. Reaching up, she makes a grab for a hold, but she slips.

Time stops as she tumbles through the air, her hair blowing around her as the wind rushes by, and lands on the crash mat below her. She puts her hands on her head and stares in shock at the sky. I’m standing, my mouth hanging open. Eyes find me.

Charlie is in the bottom two.

She could be eliminated, and our time with House of Deceit could end a mere seven days from when it began. Charlie rolls off the mat and stands. Some people circle her, trying to comfort her, but she shakes them off and storms into the house.

The shot goes back to Jacob in the studio.

“Well, folks. We are almost done with our first week of season ten of House of Deceit. Cain will take over the winner’s room Monday morning. He will also be exempt from elimination in week two. Charlie and Sharon are first on the chopping block. The polls are now open for you to cast your votes and will close one hour before the live elimination on Sunday! Now, let’s look in on our contestants as they go on with their evening, some unsure if they will go home in a mere forty-eight hours.”

He moves out of the way as the camera zooms in on the television behind him, showing the live feed of contestants milling about congratulating Cain on his win as the show ends.

On my phone, I switch through the various feeds inside the house until I find Charlie, sitting on the couch, holding her head in her hands. Her fire-red hair is all pulled over on one side and Parker lingers, his eyes not leaving my contestant.

I push the button to go over the announcement system. “Price, to the interview room. Now.” I watch as she drops her head before pushing up from the couch. I pace my office, trying to get myself under control before I storm through the wrangler corridor.

The door to the interview room is at the end of the hallway and the closer I get, the more red I see. I burst through the door, slamming it behind me. Charlie sits on the chair looking dejected and sad, but that doesn’t stop me.

“You’re just trying to lose already, is that it? Can’t wait to get back home to your life so you’re just going to tank it?” I see my dreams going down the drain with Charlie.

My contestant hasn’t been out in the first week ever. I sit on the chair, before immediately jumping up once more to pace the room, my anger riding me hard. “I could have picked anyone. The stack of applications was taller than me! But no, I decided on someone that used a nickname and was put in the wrong fucking stack! But I picked you! I picked you because I had a gut feeling you could win. You’re the horse I bet my entire career on!”

A single tear falls down Charlie’s cheek and the wind disappears from my sails. Guilt runs through me as she swipes angrily at the tears I’ve caused. I sit down on the chair, breathing to further calm myself.

After watching my sister cry herself to sleep every night for a year after our mom died, I have no place in me that can handle the tears of another. Ex-girlfriends thought it was weird I’d get up and leave at the hint of a tear, but they never understood I soaked up Lorelei’s like a sponge and I’m too sodden to take any more.

“So much for ‘me and you,’ I guess,” she says, and I feel like an asshole the size of Jupiter.

“Charlie—”

Her eyes are bright with hellfire when she looks up at me.

“You are such an asshole. My God. Did you think, even for a second, how maybe, just maybe, I was feeling pretty awful about myself? Do you know how embarrassing it is to be up for elimination on week one? I choked, I admit that, but you don’t need to make me feel worse about it.” Her ire with me puts steel in her words. “And, let’s get one thing straight. Your career is not my problem. I will do the best I can in this competition for me and you can suck a big, furry dick if you think I’m not doing well enough for your benefit. But if you jump down my throat again, you’re going to regret it. Consider it a condition of me keeping you around.”

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