He nodded, and he leaned over to give me a quick kiss on the mouth. “Just sad about Jendan, is all. He’s a good guy.”
“Yeah, but we’re almost to the end,” I told him. “Not much longer now.” I gave his thigh an affectionate squeeze, and then got up, heading to my chair.
Then, we were on the air. Becky Bradley’s face showed up on the monitor. “Hello, House Guests!”
“Hi Becky,” we called out.
“Welcome to the second to the last show of this season’s House Guests! It’s been an exciting one, hasn’t it?” She didn’t wait for us to answer. Instead, we heard her talking to the studio audience about the challenge earlier that day, and then silence, which indicated they were showing a film clip. When they came back, Becky began to grill us.
“Brodie, how does it feel to have won?”
He ran a hand down his chest and stretched. “Feels awesome, Becky. It means I get to relax.”
She tittered. “And your teammate, Kandis. She chose not to participate at all. How does that make you feel?”
“I honestly do not blame Kandis one bit for not participating.” He looked over at me and winked, and then turned back to Becky’s monitor. “I’m scared of STDs, and if it was a barrel full of STDs, I don’t think I would have jumped in there for all the money in the world.”
I snorted and then smothered my laughter behind my hand. What a ridiculous thing to say. But I knew how Brodie worked. He was trying to divert Becky’s attention away from me and back to him. In a way, he was protecting me by being outrageous. That was so sweet.
“Jendan, how do you feel about Kandis not participating in the challenge?”
I looked over at the stuntman. He hesitated for a moment and then threw his hands up. “It is what it is. I can’t blame her, because I think she’s a lock either way. So if I were in her shoes, I don’t think I would have done it, either.”
For some reason, his words bothered me. Did he think I hadn’t participated just because I knew I was safe? That wasn’t how I felt at all. I frowned at Jendan, but Becky was talking again.
“How are you feeling tonight, Kandis?” Becky’s voice was silky smooth.
Gee, that was a loaded question. I smoothed my green blouse and then ran a hand down my jeans, trying not to fidget too much. “Well, I’m disappointed I didn’t participate in the challenge, of course. I feel like I should have, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“With that in mind, do you feel vulnerable for eviction?”
I looked at Brodie’s smiling, handsome face. “No,” I said honestly. “Brodie’s had my back, and I trust him. So I’m going to keep on trusting him.”
Brodie’s smile didn’t change.
“All right, then,” Becky said. “When we come back, we’ll let the nominees have one final statement, and then we’ll take the only vote— Brodie’s. Stay tuned!”
An unnatural silence hit as we waited through the commercial break.
“Good luck, you two,” Jendan said. “No hard feelings all around, right?”
I looked at him and smiled. “No hard feelings.”
“It’s all just business,” Brodie said easily. “After all this is over, we need to go out for drinks. Winner buys.”
Jendan chuckled. “Sounds fair to me.”
Then, we fell silent once more.
“And we’re back,” Becky said, an interminable amount of time later. Her hair and smiling face filled the stretched-out monitor once more, and for a moment, I had the weird impression that she was leering at us. “Since there are only three House Guests remaining, Jendan and Kandis are the nominees for eviction. Brodie is the Power Player this week, and he is also the only one that can vote. We’ll let Jendan and Kandis each have a turn to plead their case to Brodie. Jendan, let’s start with you.”
Jendan stood up and crossed his arms over his chest, a wry smile on his face. “There’s really nothing I can say that can change anyone’s mind at this point. I just want to let you guys know that we’re going to leave here as friends, no matter what, and may the best man—or woman—win this thing.” With that, he sat back down.
I smiled at him, feeling relieved. The last thing I wanted was for Jendan—who had been my friend since I’d stepped foot into this house—to be upset over getting voted out.
“Kandis?” Becky inquired.
I stood up and smoothed my palms against my jeans again. “I don’t have too much to say, either. I’m just glad we’re all going to leave here friends.” I glanced over at Brodie and smiled, and then sat back down again.
“All right, then. It’s time for the final vote.”
Brodie inhaled, as if steeling himself, and then he got to his feet. He moved to the center of the room, facing the two of us. And paused. After a moment, he began. “This is a hard vote for me. Harder than I thought it would be. I told myself I was coming in here with no strings attached, and what happened would happen. But I find that even the best promises aren’t always ones we can keep.”
He looked at me.
I started to get a funny feeling in my stomach.
“Kandis,” he said. “Beautiful, gorgeous, smart, funny, Kandis.”
In slow motion, I watched his shoulders raise in a regretful sigh, his face sorrowful.
“I’m sorry, but I’m voting you out.”
The world crashed.
My ears rang, blood roaring in them. I stared straight ahead at Brodie, waiting for him to show me he’d been lying. Joking.
Something.
But he just stared at me with big, blue eyes that begged me to forgive him.
“What the hell?” Jendan’s voice was a mere whisper. I looked over at him to see if he’d been planning this with Brodie, but he looked just as shocked as I felt.
No, I wasn’t shocked, I realized as I stood. I was numb. Completely, utterly numb.
I’d trusted Brodie Short. Brodie the betrayer, who’d dicked over his sister last season just so he could hook up with a hot chick. And I’d fallen for the guy. He’d told me he’d loved me and that I needed to trust him, and I had. He’d told me he’d win the last challenge for us, and I’d believed him.
And now he’d just voted me out.
As I stood, Jendan did, too. I gave him a stiff hug of goodbye and patted him on the back. “Good luck, Jendan,” I told him in a soft voice.
“I swear, Kandis, I didn’t know,” he said.
I nodded. “It’s okay.” Then, I pulled away from him and turned to my so-called partner.
Brodie was standing there, his hands shoved into his jeans pockets, a tortured look on his face. When I moved away from Jendan, he began to approach me.
I put a hand up, warning him off. “Don’t touch me right now.” My voice was shaking. I couldn’t believe this. Brodie had just humiliated me on national television. Even after all the logical talking I’d done to myself, positive that I was going to be cool as a cucumber and make strategic decisions, I’d played with my heart in the end and gotten burned on the process.
“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?