Bedroom Games
Page 54

“Kandis,” he began.
I shook my head, stumbling away. “I don’t want to talk to you,” I stated again, heading quickly for the exit door that was always locked. “Just leave me alone.”
“Baby, please—“
“Don’t call me baby,” I snapped. Blind with the tears that threatened to spill out of my eyes, I put my hands on the exit door. It was always sealed except for when it was confessional time or someone was being evicted. The green light was on, showing that the door was open, and it was time for me to go.
Time for me to go.
My game was over.
I reached for the door with a trembling hand. I still had a chance to turn around and tell Brodie what I really thought. How hurt I was. How betrayed I felt. How completely, utterly foolish and betrayed and stupid and betrayed and angry and betrayed…but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. With a shake of my head, I headed into the hallway and out of the House Guests house.
As I emerged out of the tunnel that led to the house, bright lights flooded my face, and I hastily wiped at my eyes, thankful that I’d worn waterproof mascara. There were people cheering, the stands filled with a live studio audience, and Becky Bradley was there, smiling, extending her hands at me.
“Kandis Thornton,” she announced. “You played a great game, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.” She gave me a wimpy hug and then gestured at the seat next to her. “Sit down, and let’s have your exit interview.”
In a daze, I sat.
I mumbled answers as Becky fired questions at me, though I was never really quite sure of what I was saying. I was still too numb, too detached from the situation. I hadn’t packed my bags. Hadn’t made a big speech about how I’d played the game or even tried to save myself. I’d thought I was safe, because the guy I was sleeping with, the guy I’d been partners with since the beginning, the guy that had declared love for me, had my back.
Which was all just a lie.
I was leaving the house a loser in all ways. No money to save my mom, no chance to fix things, and worst of all, completely and utterly betrayed by a man I’d known in my heart not to trust. I had twenty-five grand to fix everything.
It’d be a drop in the bucket.
“So, Kandis,” Becky said, and she touched my leg to bring back my wandering attention. “Tomorrow night is the finale. How do you think you’ll vote?”
I stared at her woodenly. “I honestly have no idea.”
 
 
~~ * ~~
 
 
Once the show was finished, I was handed off to an assistant, Cassie. She was responsible for driving me to the jury house where the rest of the cast was staying until tomorrow night. And as she drove, she chattered on and on, rambling about the weather and the show and how good it would be to get back to Hollywood instead of North Carolina, which wasn’t her favorite place.
I listened to her in silence, my mind still focused on those last few minutes in the house. I felt betrayed, of course, but I also felt really stupid.
Trust me, Kandis. I’ll make this right for both of us.
I snorted. What a liar.
“Hmm?” Cassie looked over at me.
“Nothing. Just thinking.” I wasn’t in the mood to talk.
The car pulled up to a hotel, and Cassie parked in the check-in zone and handed her keys off to an employee. “Come on, Kandis. I’ll show you to your room.” I followed her, but she paused, frowning at me. “Did you forget your bag?”
“I didn’t pack it,” I said listlessly. I hadn’t really considered the idea of Brodie betraying me. He’d asked for my trust, and I’d given it to him a hundred percent.
Which, looking back, was pretty stupid of me.
“Oh.” Cassie looked perplexed for a moment. “What size are you? I can get you some clothes from a nearby store for the finale.”
I told her, and she continued chattering on the way in. The show had rented out the entire eighteenth floor of the hotel, and it was nice to have their own floor but it was still inconvenient to be on the eighteenth floor and it took some getting used to and did I want to go hang out with the other jury members for a bit before we shot our scene for the evening?
“Scene?” I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Yep. The jury has to get together and make it seem like they’re hashing out the vote. We use it as a cut segment for the finale. Since we’re on a truncated schedule, I’ll come get you in about six hours.”
“Oh.” That was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment. “Can I just go to my room, please?”
“All right,” Cassie said, and we got into the elevator. “But as a reminder, no phone calls and no television. We’ve removed both from your room for now, but we also ask that you don’t approach anyone else to try and borrow theirs, either.”
That wouldn’t be a problem. What would I call my mother and say? Hi Mom, I tried to win us a million dollars to get you out of debt, but I fell for a guy that ditched me at the last minute. Sorry about our future and all.
 
 
~~ * ~~
 
 
I napped the time away. It was a curious kind of limbo, really. The world wouldn’t start moving again until after the finale, and until then, I had nothing to do. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t want to read a book, and for once in my life, I didn’t want to exercise.
I just wanted to mope, really.
Brodie’s betrayal hurt me so much. I’ll make this right for us. How was voting me off making it right for us? I just didn’t understand, and I hated that I was obsessing. I’d been played. I needed to get over it. Instead, I just kept thinking of Brodie.
He’d told me he loved me. How did someone just make that shit up?
Cassie came to get me at two in the morning. “We’re going to a lake,” she explained as I sleepily rubbed my eyes and repaired my makeup. “They’ve got logs pulled up around a campfire and everything. It’s very intimate looking. Anyhow, they’re going to set the others up and you’re going to come in last. It’s going to be a big surprise for them.”
“Don’t they know I’m here? Did they not see the show?”
“They’re not allowed to see any of the footage until after the vote.”
“Then they’re in for a treat, aren’t they?” I was guessing that I was the last person they expected to see walk in. How they’d laugh at the sight of her.
We drove into the woods, and Cassie busily consulted her GPS as she drove. I slumped in the passenger seat, not exactly chipper. Okay, I was sulking. It didn’t matter. I was pretty sure this confrontation was going to be an unpleasant one.
We pulled up to the spot on the lake. A short distance away, I saw the campfire and a few people seated around it. I also saw three different cameras and their attendant cameramen hovering nearby. A sound guy held up a floating microphone above their heads.
Intimate, my ass.
“Someone’s coming,” I heard a voice say in an overly theatrical whisper.
I wanted to roll my eyes at the drama of it all, but that would just look petty. So I forced a bright smile to my face and headed toward the campfire. And I gave them all a small wave. “Hi, guys.”