17. Carey
Carey
The group trudged up the hall in silence. Some of us were undoubtedly too ashamed to speak after the brutally shocking revelations during the game, and others—like myself—were probably reflecting on the incredibly narrow escape.
“Anyone hungry?” Tate piped up, gesturing toward the drawing room. The door was still open, and the table was laden with half-eaten platters of food from our earlier dinner.
“Actually… yeah.” Zach stepped forward. “I’m fucking starving.”
“Me too, even though I had a big dinner,” Kiara said. “Maybe it’s an adrenaline thing?”
We all headed inside and took our usual seats. No one spoke the words out loud, but it was clear that none of us wanted to be alone right now.
I poured myself a soda and loaded up a plate with cheesy potato bake. The second game had gone so fast that the food was still warm. As I took my first bite, something occurred to me.
I finished chewing and stuck my hand up to get everyone’s attention. “I just thought of something. About the games.”
Jasmine rolled her eyes. “What now?”
“In both of the games we’ve had so far, there’s been a way for all of us to survive as long as we follow the rules and work together,” I said. “Maybe all the games are going to be like that. If they are, we just need to strategize and work as a team, like Maverick said earlier. Then none of us have to die, and we can all get out of here.”
“Good point.” Zach nodded slowly. “In the Game Master’s video this morning, he said that if we win, we get to go free. He didn’t say there can only be one winner. That means survival is definitely an option for all of us. We just need to be careful.”
“Well, if everything the Game Master said in that video is actually true, then that means he or she is one of us,” Tate said, eyes lingering on me. “I know we ran out of time to talk about it earlier because we’ve been so busy with other shit, but I want to finish that discussion. Right fucking now.”
A message suddenly came through on our phones, cutting the conversation short.
Congratulations on clearing Game Two! There are no more games scheduled for today, so you can unwind this evening in the drawing room or in your bedrooms. Curfew is at 10pm, and doors must remain closed thereafter. Anyone caught outside their bedroom after curfew will be subject to consequences.
“Tate’s right. We need to discuss this again,” Maverick said, forehead creasing as he looked down at his phone. “Who the fuck is the Game Master?”
Jasmine cocked a brow. “I know a few of you decided that it isn’t one of us, but I think it is, and I think it’s Carey.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered, shaking my head.
She shook a finger in my direction. “Think about it, guys. She had the easiest question in the last game. I mean, we already knew she was a dirty criminal, so her truth was hardly a shocking revelation, was it?” she said. “It’s almost as if she designed the game to be utterly humiliating to everyone except herself.”
“That’s bullshit.” April’s eyes narrowed. “Obviously, the Game Master didn’t have as much time to dig up serious dirt on her because she’s the new girl at school. Or maybe she genuinely has nothing to hide.”
“Exactly,” Zach said. “Also, she wasn’t the only one with an easy question. Tate’s was easy too. Nearly everyone knows he’s the biggest supplier on campus.”
April looked at him, nodding enthusiastically. I knew she was still furious at him over the cheating admission, but she was clearly willing to work with him in my defense. “Courteney’s secret wasn’t too bad either,” she said. “I mean, it’s kind of embarrassing, but at the end of the day, who really cares if her uncle is a serial killer? It’s not like she had anything to do with his crimes.”
“Actually, there are serial killer genes that run in families. I saw something about it on TV once,” Hudson replied. “So Courteney’s question could’ve been a clue about her involvement in all this shit.”
Jasmine’s eyes rolled upward again. “Oh, you saw it on TV? I guess it must be true, then.”
Kiara snickered. “Also, if Courteney was the Game Master, why the hell would she put a question in the game that makes her look guilty?” she asked.
“No shit. You’re so fucking dumb, Hudson,” Jasmine added. “Although, how much brainpower can we really expect from a dirty fucking sex predator?”
Hudson opened his mouth to snap back at her, but April lifted a hand and clicked her fingers to shush him. “Back to your earlier comment, Jasmine,” she said, eyes fixed on her from across the table. “How could Carey possibly know any of our secrets in order to create that Truth or Die game? She’s only been at school for a month, and judging by the secrets that were revealed, the Game Master has been digging up shit on all of us for years.”
“Maybe she isn’t really new,” Tate chimed in. “Maybe she’s been watching all of us for years now. Stalking us.”
Maverick snorted. “Oh, fuck off, man. That’s not possible.”
“Okay, okay.” Kiara rapped on the table. “I have an idea that might help us determine which one of us is the Game Master, if it’s actually one of us.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go around the table, one by one, and figure out who had the most and least enemies before we entered the mansion. If someone had a problem with every single person in this room, then they’re the most likely suspect, because the Game Master clearly hates us all.” Kiara turned her catlike gaze to me. “Carey, seeing as you seem to have the largest number of targets on your back, you can go first. Who are you friends with here, and who do you have a problem with?”
I took a deep breath before answering. “Well, you already know I’m friends with April, Brooke, and Zach. I didn’t know Courteney or Evan before I got here, so I never had a problem with them. And the rest of you…” I hesitated, eyes lingering on Maverick. “The rest of you have clearly had a problem with me since I started at Babylon. You haven’t exactly hidden it.”
“You forgot Maverick as a friend,” Hudson muttered.
I frowned at him. “Huh?”
He raised his voice. “You and Maverick aren’t enemies. You’re always staring at each other. It’s obvious you want to fuck each other’s brains out.”
My cheeks instantly flushed hot. “That’s not true.”
“Then why are you always looking at each other?”
“We aren’t,” I said hotly, gritting my teeth. “I look at him the same amount as anyone else around me.”
Maverick jumped in. “Look, we share a dorm, so we’re used to seeing each other a lot,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “Maybe it’s a familiarity thing. Totally unconscious behavior. We don’t even notice we’re doing it.”
“Uh-huh.” Hudson smirked. “Keep telling yourself that.”
I stared down at my plate, mind whirling as I wondered if Hudson’s little theory could possibly be correct. Could Maverick actually want me, and the reason he was always so nasty to me was because he didn’t want to show it?
Hell no.I wasn’t going to let myself become one of those delusional ‘he’s only mean to you because he likes you!’ people. That was total bullshit. Guys who were mean to girls were assholes, plain and simple.
Still, the mere thought of Maverick possibly wanting me—even just a sliver—made me far more nervous about confronting him alone later. I was still going to do it, though. I needed to know why he hated me so much.
“Okay, Carey, we’ll take your word about the Maverick thing and say you have five friends and six enemies here.” Kiara abruptly turned her attention to April. “Your turn.”
After we were all done, it was determined that Hudson and I had an equal number of haters before we arrived at the mansion. Everyone else had fewer enemies, meaning there wasn’t a single person who had an issue with everyone in here.
“So it can’t be one of us,” Rhys said, speaking up for the first time since his shocking admission during the last game. “Like Kiara said, the Game Master clearly has a reason to hate all of us, and no one in this room fits that profile.”
“Hold on.” Tate sat up straight. “What if it’s Evan? He could’ve faked his own death, and now he’s watching us through all those cameras.”
“God, Tate, are you really that fucking stupid?” Jasmine snapped. “We all saw him die. No one can fake something like that.”
“Yeah. We’ve already established that the deaths here are real,” Maverick said. “Also, Evan didn’t have a problem with anyone here, as far as I know. So why would he be the Game Master?”
“Wait.” I lifted a palm. “Kiara’s idea was a good one, but it relied on all of us being totally honest about whether or not we have a problem with certain people in here.”
Understanding dawned on Brooke’s face. “She’s right,” she said. “What if one of us has a secret reason to hate everyone in here? It’s not like they’d ever admit it. Not if they were the Game Master. And how would we ever know they were hiding this stuff? It’s not like we can see inside everyone’s minds and force them to tell the truth.”
“Shit.” Kiara’s shoulders sagged. “We’re back to square one, then.”
“Yeah. Looks like it.”
April scrubbed a hand over her face before flashing a meaningful look at me, Brooke, Courteney, and Zach in turn. “Should we?” she muttered.
“Tell them about the Rhys thing, you mean?” Zach asked, forehead wrinkling. She nodded, and he nodded too. “Yeah. I think it’s time.”
“What are you guys whispering about over there?” Jasmine said sharply.
“Something we talked about earlier,” April said, leaning forward. “We didn’t want to say anything earlier, just in case, but I think we should come clean now. We were discussing Rhys.”
“As a suspect, you mean?”
April’s lips tightened. “Yup.”
Tate grinned. “Ah, yes, let’s throw the sister-fucker under the bus. Makes sense.”
“Shut up, Tate.” Brooke glared at him. “This is serious.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. Why do you think it’s Rhys?” Kiara asked, tilting her chin.
April haltingly ran through our earlier discussion about Rhys’s capacity for lying, high intelligence, and aptitude for engineering.
“Whoever designed these games clearly knows a thing or two about engineering,” Brooke added. “So… yeah. That’s our theory.”
Rhys sighed and put his head in his hands. “I get it,” he mumbled. “Makes sense, really.”
“Is that an admission of guilt?” Jasmine asked.
He lifted his chin and looked over at her. “No. I’m just saying, I can see how it makes me look suspicious when it’s all put together like that. But it’s not me. I don’t know how to prove it, but I swear, it’s not.”
“Wow. Really? That’s your only defense?”
Rhys slowly shook his head. “Actually, no. There’sone thing I can say in my defense,” he said. “A high schooler who has an interest in a future engineering career isn’t necessarily an engineering genius. Do you guys really think I can plan and build this sort of shit by myself? Especially when I have no money, as Kiara and April have so kindly pointed out to everyone.”
“You might be able to pull it off if you received financial help,” Brooke said, eyes lingering on Hudson. “From a good friend, perhaps.”
“Let’s put it to a vote,” Kiara said. “Who here thinks Rhys is most likely to be the Game Master?”
Seven hands went up, including my own. Only Rhys, Hudson, Jasmine, and Tate kept their hands down.
“What about you guys?” Kiara asked, eyeing the four of them. “Who do you think it is?”
All of them pointed in my direction. “Carey,” they said in unison.
“Oh, great, we’re still on that bullshit,” Zach said sarcastically.
Maverick rose to his feet. “Obviously we can’t come to an agreement right now, because there’s not enough evidence,” he said in an authoritative tone. “So, for now, I think we should go back to our rooms and go to bed. We’ve had a long day, and we don’t know what sort of shit we’re in for tomorrow.”
“Good idea.” April stood too. “We need to rest.”
We filed out of the drawing room and headed upstairs to our respective rooms. I made a beeline for the shower, longing to wash away the perspiration that had clung to my skin all day. Despite the mansion’s cool interior, the persistent stress and fear of being here had made me sweat like crazy.
When I was finished, I slid into a pair of clean pajamas that the Game Master had left for me in the drawer. Then I glanced at my phone to check the time. Only 8:22. That gave me plenty of time to confront Maverick.
I took several deep breaths, finally working up the nerve to do it. Then I left my room and headed to the top of the hall. Maverick’s light was on, so I rapped on the door.
No answer.
I knocked again. “Maverick? Are you in there?”
I figured he might not have heard me, so I tried the door and found it unlocked. I slowly opened it. I understood how rude it was to enter someone’s space uninvited, but I still wanted to do it anyway, given how long it had taken me to work up the nerve to come down here.
Maverick wasn’t on the bed or in the chair at the desk. He wasn’t sitting on the nook beneath the window, either. My eyes slid over to the bathroom door, and I heard a masculine voice faintly saying my name. He must have heard me at the door after all.
As I stepped closer to the bathroom, I realized Maverick was in the shower. I must have imagined hearing him say my name, because he wasn’t speaking at all. He was grunting and panting and so clearly… oh, God. I shouldn’t be here. I couldn’t be here.
I retreated, quietly closing the door behind me. The image of Maverick touching himself in the shower was burned into my mind, and my cheeks were aflame with embarrassment.
I hurried back to my room, heart pounding, desperate to put some distance between myself and the awkward encounter. Despite my better judgment, a rush of conflicting emotions were stirring inside me at the thought of Maverick’s wet body, hard cock, and pumping hand.
Closing my door with a soft click, I leaned against it, grappling with the unsettling truth I could no longer deny.
Whether I liked it or not… I had feelings for him.