Page 36 of House of Deceit

Sharon cries silently, kneeling beside her suitcase as she folds her clothes.

“Hey, Sharon, do you need some help?” Molly approaches her like she would a wounded animal. A quiet voice, no sudden movements.

“That’d be really nice, thank you.” She runs the back of her hand against her wet eyes and sniffles. Her eyes are rimmed red when she looks up at me. “I’m happy it’s me instead of you. I miss my daughter. I don’t know if I could have lasted another week.”

I smile, dropping to my knees and grabbing a shirt from the pile.

“Thank you. I’m glad you get to go home to her then, but we’ll be sorry to see you go.”

Once Sharon has her things together, we help her to the front door, where the remainder of the group waits. Cain makes an effort to help Sharon with her bags and, while everyone else sees it as a nice gesture, I find him as transparent as glass, the calculation behind his moves obvious after working with Mark for years. There are tears from most of us, more from the reality of the game sinking in than any particular attachment to Sharon.

With a last wave, she climbs into the limo and just like that, there’s only nineteen of us left.

Monday is my favorite day of the week. It’s basically a day in limbo. There are no punishments or competitions. No wake-up calls. We just get to relax. Fortunately, I’m an early riser and I like to take advantage of the fact a lot of people sleep in on these days. But after the stress of possibly going home, exhaustion took over and dragged me deep into sleep.

When I finally roll out of bed, I see Raven is still buried in her ball of blankets while the other two beds are already empty. Jayden’s sits neat as a pin while Molly’s is more haphazardly made. Padding to the bathroom, I undo my braid I’ve taken to putting my hair in at night so as not to have a repeat of the first morning’s Einstein look.

By the time I get to the bathroom, I practically waddle, I need to pee so badly.

“Hey girl. Want to eat breakfast together?” Molly asks from her place in front of the mirror as I walk by her, going to the women’s side of the toilets.

“Sure thing,” I call out without stopping.

Pulling down my shorts, I sleepily take a seat.

Water starts dripping onto the bathroom floor, wetting my feet.

“What the fuck?” I say, looking down. But it’s not water on the ground. “What the fuck!”

I spread my legs, looking between them, and that’s when I notice it.

Saran wrap.

With a shriek, I stand from the toilet and sprint to the shower. Without a care, I strip as I run, leaving my clothes where they fall.

“What’s wrong?” Molly asks, but I ignore her.

“Get it off, get it off, get it off,” I say as I jump into the cold water, not wanting to wait for it to warm.

“What’s going on?” I hear Mateo ask. “I heard screaming.”

“Someone put saran wrap on the toilets!” I shriek from the shower as we hear a few shouts from the men’s side.

Soon all the showers are full as people are washing themselves from the misadventure.

“Fucking deceiver,” I yell as I wash myself from head to toe again. Just to be safe.

I know it’s Carter that’s to blame this week. Who else would put saran wrap on the fucking toilets but a frat boy, no more mature than a prepubescent boy.

He better sleep with one eye open whenever it’s my week to be the deceiver.

The sun is warm through the pergola over the daybed I’m dozing on. Jaxon is praying somewhere while Rebel chants on her yoga mat. Lucas yells out commands to the people who have joined him in his daily exercise routine.

“Good job, Ezra! Push it harder, Angelica!” he calls out.

I hear someone swimming laps, rhythmic slaps of arms against the water. The swimming stops, and I hear the person heave themselves out of the pool. A shadow and a few drops of water fall across my face, causing me to crack an eye. Parker’s abs are a work of art, especially as water runs down them. Each dip and divot makes me want to run my tongue over them, chasing each drop. He cocks an eyebrow at me with a slight smirk, and I realize I’ve been staring at him for a long time.

“Your light snoring is very cute.”

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