Week 5: Secrets Come at a Cost
"Why did you have to do it?" Zoey asked, trying to contain her anger. "There are plenty of other people who deserved to leave before she did."
"Plain and simple, she went against the house in the last vote," Jeremy shrugged as he plopped himself into his usual chair.
"Don was her friend. Could you vote out Tyler if you were told to?" asked Gwen, rage creeping into her voice.
"There's no point, guys," Drew said, finally moving away from the door. "We're already in their crosshairs because we wouldn't vote out our friend. Isn't that right, Jeremy?"
Jeremy shrugged, but Quinn confirmed what Jeremy was unwilling to say.
"Yes. Anyone of you is next."
Gwen clenched her jaw, trying to keep from slapping Quinn's arrogant smirk off her face.
"Good to know," she said. "At least this time, you had the decency to tell us to our faces."
Zoey and Drew led the way out of the room, with Gwen close behind. As she passed Tyler, she gave him a look of disgust and he hung his head in shame.
He should
, she thought.
Gwen felt betrayed by him. They had slept together and were actively considering a relationship with one another. Although they had not talked game or strategy, she thought it was understood that he should not have voted out Hattie. As irritating as Jeremy was, Gwen would have spared him this week because he was Tyler's friend. It did not seem that Tyler had the same consideration for her, making her question her choice to be with him already.
The Sacrificial Lamb
"What are we going to do? We're grossly outnumbered," asked Zoey, taking a drag of her cigarette. She was visibly stressed, as were Drew and Gwen.
Jessie was by no means an expert at this game, but he knew Gwen's situation was not ideal. It was the three of them against the rest of the house. If they did not find some way to change the tide, Gwen would not last longer than the next three weeks. He did not know how she was going to pull herself out of this one.
"You guys aren't going to do anything," Drew said, lighting one of Zoey's cigarettes for himself. He had never seen him smoke so far in the show. "You're going to be nice to them, laugh at their fucking jokes, and try to befriend someone."
"And what about you?" Gwen asked.
"I'm about to be public enemy number one. And by this time next week, I'll be out the door," Drew said, puffing out the smoke. His eyes were trained at the ground.
"Why?" asked Zoey, snubbing out her cigarette before grabbing another. Jessie always considered it a disgusting habit, but given their situation, he could understand why Zoey was puffing like a chimney.
"One of us is leaving this week. There is no stopping it. Voting for Jeremy gave me the bigger target, so I'm going to take all the heat off you guys. In the coming weeks, you're going to have to make some big moves to survive, so now is the time to start."
Drew put out his cigarette and headed back into the house. Gwen and Zoey sat in complete silence as Zoey finished her cigarette and headed inside as well.
Gwen was visibly upset by the departure of her best friend in the house. Jessie had seen them together daily, talking and laughing. Gwen had been closer to Hattie in the few weeks she had been in the house than she was with some of her friends back home. He knew she was taking this hard and he wished he were there to comfort her, although he was unsure of how he was going to do that.
The odds were stacked against her and although Gwen was smart and capable, she lacked allies and had openly called out the rest of the house. He knew Gwen's days were numbered and a small part of him was relieved. Although he wanted her to win the game and the prize money, he wanted her home and away from the predators in the house, particularly Tyler.
As if on cue, the despicable excuse for a man slipped out of the house and approached Gwen slowly. His head was down and his hands were in his pockets.
"Gwen, are you okay?" he asked. Gwen made no acknowledgment of his existence as she stared out over the backyard and away from Tyler.
Jessie had noticed that things had been weird since Gwen and Tyler returned from The Suite. Tyler was not his usual dismal self upon returning, in fact, he seemed happy. Gwen had been her usual self and spent time with her friends upon her return. Jessie was not sure what had caused the change in Tyler, but he had a sick feeling inside as to what it was.
"I'm sorry for voting Hattie out," Tyler said, sitting on the table in front of her. He tried to take her hand, but Gwen pulled it away, wrapping her arms around her.
"Then why did you do it? Why did you get rid of my best friend?" She still was not looking at him.
"I'm in an alliance with Jeremy and Quinn. We've been a team since the first night. They asked me to get rid of her, so I did."
Gwen finally looked at him, anger and disappointment in her eyes.
"So, if you're in an alliance with them, where does that put me?"
Tyler hesitated, uncertainty in his face.
"You don't need to answer. I know exactly where that puts me," Gwen spat as she stood up and stormed off into the house, leaving Tyler alone outside looking wounded.
What the hell is going on?
thought Jessie. He had never seen Gwen behave in such a way, especially towards Tyler. There was so much unspoken between them. There was something more going on between Gwen and Tyler and it was frustrating Jessie that he could not figure out what it was.
His mind believed the worst had happened, but Gwen was a dedicated woman. She would not cheat on him, under normal circumstances. He could not forget how adamant Tyler was in his goal of sleeping with Gwen. He could not be sure that she could resist.
However, something told Jessie that Tyler had not completely succeeded. He viewed Gwen as a conquest. If he had taken her, then he would have left her alone and focused his efforts on sleeping with someone else. He would have gone after Patricia or returned to Quinn. Instead, he was trying to be friendly. At most, he might have stolen a kiss while they were in The Suite, making him determined, but Jessie wouldn't know. Even with the internet feeds, The Suite was camera free. This entire situation was driving him nuts.
The credits started to roll for the show and Jessie shut off the TV. He had to be at work early in the morning and he knew he should go to bed, but he could not. He had to know what the hell was going on between Tyler and Gwen. He needed something to abate his gnawing fear. He headed for his office and turned on his computer.
***
Jessie had been scanning the feeds for hours. His eyes were bloodshot and his head ached, but he was desperate for answers. He looked at the clock on his screen. It was three in the morning and he had to be at work in four hours on no sleep.
In his hours of searching, he uncovered nothing. Jeremy, the vile son of a bitch, had spent much of the night working out. Connor and Patricia were already asleep, while Zoey and Drew hung out in the game room. Quinn was lounging on her bed and, what Jessie could assume by her movements beneath her covers, was masturbating. Jessie did not spend more than a second looking at her, as he could not stand her.
Between the end of the show and the time it took for Jessie to get on the site, he had lost Gwen. He assumed she was asleep in her room since the lights were off. The cameras could see well in the dark, better than they had in years past, but Jessie could not get a good view of Gwen's face. He assumed she was buried under the covers.
Jessie had spotted Tyler in the backyard for some time after Gwen left. The longer he stayed there, the more relaxed Jessie became, although he would feel completely at ease once Tyler went to bed. However, while he was flipping through cameras around the house, he had lost him, leading him on a desperate, hours long search to find him. He would not rest until he did.
He had checked every room at least a half dozen times. Had he left the show? Jessie knew he would not. He was too determined to leave without claiming his prize and bedding Gwen. Jessie was about to give up, but decided to do one more pass through all the rooms. He should have just gone to bed.
Jessie scanned through all the public rooms in the house and found that nothing had changed. He checked Tyler's bedroom, but he was not there. When he scanned into Gwen's room, his fears became reality.
The image was not crystal clear. He could see movement under the covers where Gwen usually slept. He watched in disbelief for a few moments. He was hoping that maybe someone was using her bed, like Jeremy and Quinn to get back at Gwen. When the covers came down, he could tell it was not Quinn.
It was Gwen. Aside from knowing the face of his girlfriend, he saw the tattoo on her wrist as she stretched her arms above her to keep her head from smashing off the headboard. As her lover drove into her, the covers fell back, exposing Tyler, who was sucking on her breast. Jessie could hear the couple panting as they enjoyed each other's bodies.
Jessie was in shock. This could not be happening. This had to be some sleep deprived nightmare that he would soon wake. As time passed, he realized that was not the case. Gwen was fucking Tyler on national television. By the look on her face, she was enjoying it.
A mixture of rage and sorrow was coursing through Jessie. How could she do this to him? Another man was plowing his devoted girlfriend, the woman he wanted to settle down with and build a life. The man she chose to cheat with was scum that she met only four weeks ago. Tyler did not consider Gwen anything more than a conquest, yet she was throwing her life away just to have one night of passion.
Jessie could not watch another moment. He closed out the screen and pushed his head into his hands. Everything he had built with her was crumbling down and there was nothing he could do to fix it. His future was gone and his present was rapidly disappearing. All Jessie could do was sit in his office chair and let the tears stream from his eyes.
Forgiveness
