Page 13 of Room 710 (The Scarlet Hotel #15)

Elijah

When Ziggy had gotten up from his chair after the interview, I rose to standing too, feeling an intense urge to reach for him.

I had to ball my hands into fists to keep from pulling him close.

His gaze was glassy, and I was worried he was still sensitive after I’d brought up his father.

I wished I’d known the kind of sore subject it was, then I wouldn’t have mentioned it in the first place.

“Thank you… for the cupcake,” he said, inching toward the door.

I held my breath, feet frozen to the floor as I watched him walk away.

He turned to look back at me just once, and then…

he was gone. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, I turned and raced out the back door, sprinting down the path and across the lawn, then yanked open the trailer door and flung myself inside, panting.

Gods, my chest was heaving from the brief exercise. I wasn’t that old, was I?

Danny, the editor who was working on all the interview footage, raised an eyebrow. “Whoa, where’s the fire?” he asked.

I massaged at the stitch in my side, fighting to catch my breath. “No fire. Just wanted to, uh… Shove over,” I said finally, scooting him further down the desk. There was no good way to explain that I was eager to get back and hear what Ziggy had to say about me to his housemates.

Danny was already clipping together footage of Ziggy’s interview, so I grabbed some headphones and listened in on the house cameras.

Rune and Garfield were whispering furtively, just their typical nasty gossip, the two of them like oil and arsenic, but I didn’t bother trying to figure out what they were talking about.

They weren’t who I was interested in. I flicked over to the hall camera, and lucky for me, the bedroom door was open.

I could see Darnell reclining on his bed, reading a book.

I couldn’t tell for sure from his distance, but I thought it was the newest Jordan Kepler hockey romance.

Ziggy dropped down on the bed by his feet. “Hey, have you met Eli before?”

“Who?” he asked, setting the book down open on his chest to keep his place.

“The director, Elijah Campbell.”

“Oh, yeah, of course, a few times now. Haven’t you?”

“No… That’s weird, right? Why didn’t he introduce himself to me at some point?” Ziggy’s shoulders sank as he hunched over his knees.

I wished I could explain to him why I hadn’t introduced myself back at the beginning.

I’d told myself it was because I was trying to keep things professional, but I’d talked to everyone else.

In truth, it was because I knew I couldn’t trust myself with him.

Right from the first moment I laid eyes on him in his audition tape, I’d known there was something special about him.

That given a chance, he could be someone special to me.

But my hands were tied, his contract ensured that.

Win or lose, I had to wait for the show to play out.

“Wait,” Darnell said, tossing the book aside and sitting up with a curious smirk. “Are you saying Elijah was the one who interviewed you? That’s extra weird. It’s always Marc who does the behind-the-scenes interviews.”

“Really? Yeah, that’s… strange all right.” I cursed the bad camera angle because I couldn’t see Ziggy’s face as he said it. “Um, I’m going to take a shower.”

“Didn’t you just take one?” Darnell asked.

“Yeah, but I need another one. It’s awfully warm in here, isn’t it?” he said, as if that was the reason he needed a cold shower. Ziggy headed straight for the bathroom, but right before he disappeared from view, I swore I saw him give his crotch a squeeze. My cock gave a thickening throb in reply.

Fuck. I was in so much trouble.

After a long night of Ziggy-filled dreams of yearning and fantasy, I woke up hard and aching and more than a little irritable when reality came crashing down and I found my narrow bed empty of one delectable omega.

It didn’t help my mood any when I sat down in front of the monitors with my mug of instant coffee and found Ziggy making pancakes for fucking Devon Blake, the two of them laughing.

The other housemates soon joined them, lured out of their rooms by what they said smelled like buttery heaven, but it did little to improve my mood when Devon was all groaning and saying shit like, “Mmm, these are amazing, you’re so talented,” and “Ziggy, this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth,” and “I can’t wait to lick syrup off your body.

” Okay, so he didn’t say that last one, but it was insinuated.

It was at this moment, when I was grumpy and jealous as hell, that my phone rang. “What?” I snapped into my phone.

“Oh, uh, hey, it’s Danny,” he said, and I could hear his wariness over my gruff attitude.

I closed my eyes and took a breath, turning away from the screens so I didn’t have to witness their mating dance in real time, hitting mute to shut them out. Recentered, I tried again, this time with at least a small amount of my usual charm. “What can I do for you, Danny?”

“I was just wondering if you had a chance to look over the edited version of Ziggy’s interview I sent you.”

“Yeah, I did. It was good, but I need you to cut the bit about his dad,” I told the video editor.

There was this long pause on the line. “Why would I cut that? It was emotional gold. Viewers eat that shit up.”

“I said cut it,” I snapped, gripping my knee. The thought of viewers getting to see that vulnerability made me see red.

“Sure, yeah, okay,” he rushed to say. “I’ll cut it. You’re the boss.” Damn right, I am .

I could feel a headache building behind my eyes.

I needed off this call ASAP. “If there’s nothing else—” I began, turning my chair back to the screens.

My jaw dropped at the scene that greeted me.

Blood everywhere, all over the counter and floor, like some kind of murder scene.

Several people were huddled on the floor around someone prone.

I hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

I was on my feet and running, my heart in my throat, adrenaline flooding my body.

“Call 911!” I yelled to the security guard, ignorant of what was going on inside.

What happened? I’d looked away for less than a minute! Who was it? Oh gods, was it Ziggy? My brain refused to believe it was a possibility.

The front door was locked, but I didn’t even pause in my stride, just lowered my shoulder and barreled straight through like I was playing football again and breaking through the defensive line.

I heard a sharp crack as the door jamb splintered, and I stumbled into the hall.

There was no doubt I would be bruised to hell tomorrow, but right now, I was feeling no pain.

Somewhere behind me, I heard the member of security running after me, on the phone with the 911 operator.

I could hear someone crying, and down the hall, I could see Costas pacing back and forth, face tinged gray and a hand held over his mouth like he might barf.

I barged into the kitchen, blurting, “What happened? Who’s hurt?

” I was in full-on panic mode, but I forced myself to be gentle as I nudged Darnell and Prairie aside.

On the floor at my feet was Garfield, skin pale as a bleached sheet, eyes shut. Ziggy was kneeling beside him, wrapping a blood-soaked towel tight around his hand. My first emotion was one of relief, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel guilty about it.

My knees buckled as the adrenaline released me from its grip, and I landed hard on the floor, eyes locked on Ziggy. “You’re okay?” I asked in a rush, scanning for an injury, taking in all the blood staining his clothes.

His eyes flicked up to mine and held them.

“The blood’s not mine,” he confirmed. “Garfield wanted to make a fruit salad, but the knife slipped. I don’t think it’s that bad, but as soon as he caught sight of the blood, he keeled over.

I think he might’ve bumped his head when he fainted, though.

He should probably go get checked out at the hospital. ”

I nodded in agreement. “Thank you for helping him,” I said. Most of the other housemates were keeping their distance, looking pale themselves. “You look pretty calm, considering.”

He shrugged. “I work in a kitchen. It’s not the first time I’ve seen someone cut themselves.”

“Wha-What happened?” Garfield asked groggily, blinking up at me as he regained consciousness.

We filled him in on what happened, and when I took a peek at his cut, I decided Ziggy was right.

It might need a couple of stitches, but the bleeding had already stopped.

The security guard had some first-aid training, and we collectively agreed that it wasn’t ambulance-worthy and told the 911 operator that we would drive him in. Garfield still seemed pretty out of it.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got him from here,” I told Ziggy.

When I went to pick Garfield up, Ziggy seemed skeptical. “He’s pretty heavy. Don’t…” He trailed off, his cheeks glowing with a creeping blush.

“Throw my back out?” I asked, eyebrow raised.

“I’m not that old.” Yet . Did he see me as being geriatric at 32, compared to his ripe age of now 22?

So yeah, I might’ve been showing off a bit as I scooped Garfield up like he weighed nothing more than a feather, when in reality, I was biting back a groan as my muscles protested.

I might’ve played football through college, but as soon as I’d graduated and stopped working out so much, it had shocked me how quickly my body changed as time and gravity did their best to reclaim what was rightfully theirs.

I didn’t dedicate as much time to the gym as I should, but I made a vow to make more of an effort from here on out.

Manhandling a certain omega was suddenly of the utmost importance.

Marc was pulling up out front right as I stepped outside, nudging past the broken door, careful not to bump Garfield on the way through. Garfield whimpered, his head tucked under my chin, his hand cradled to his chest.

Marc ran over. “What can I do?”

I gave a nod toward my car, and he opened the passenger door for me.

It was a relief to put the man down, and my spine cracked as I arched my back.

“So, uh, we need a cleaning crew, someone cleared to handle biomatter,” I said with a wince.

I had no doubt there would be footage online tonight of me carrying a bleeding man out of the house.

The speculation on the forums would be insane.

“I’ll handle it,” Marc said, and I knew he would. There was a reason why I trusted him as both a colleague and friend.

Meanwhile, I spent the rest of the morning sitting in the ER with Garfield, waiting for our turn to see a doctor.

Unfortunately, it was a busy day at the hospital, with several emergencies and a man in active labor taking priority.

Being this far from the house, with no clue about what was going on, was driving me nuts.

My knee was bouncing, and I kept my hands clenched in my lap, trying to keep my breathing slow and even.

I hated not being in control of a situation like this.

I felt so… helpless, and it was driving my blood pressure through the roof.

I was getting a headache, and the shoulder I’d used to break down the door was starting to throb.

“I’m sorry,” Garfield muttered after we’d been sitting in silence for an hour.

I frowned, glancing at him. His color was much better, and the nurse at the desk had given him some painkillers for while we waited, but he was still looking pretty glum. “Why are you sorry? It was an accident.”

“Yeah, but… I was jealous. Ziggy’s so talented, and Devon was fawning all over him, and so I just jumped in there, trying to show off.

The truth is, though, I work a desk job.

I’m better with numbers than I am with sharp objects.

I’m kinda clumsy, and I was paying more attention to Devon than I was the knife.

It was my fault, and I feel really stupid. ”

At least I wasn’t the only one feeling jealous over the budding relationship between Ziggy and Devon. I huffed. “You’re not stupid, Garfield. Don’t worry, the doctor will sew you up and you’ll be good to go.”

His chin dipped down to his chest, and he shook his head, the tips of his ears turning red with a creeping flush.

“No, I don’t think I’m coming back. I… I didn’t like who I was in that house.

I wasn’t acting like myself. I was rude to some of the other guys, pushy and mean, and even if I won, it wouldn’t be because he fell for me , ya know?

Devon’s just some guy. I don’t even know if I even like him all that much.

He’s certainly not worth changing who I am. ”

I sighed. “I understand. We all do crazy things in the search for love. Why don’t you think about it, and then let me know your decision once we get you all cleaned up.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

By the time he’d had five stitches, he hadn’t changed his mind. Garfield went home, but the housemates hadn’t been spared from another eviction. After another challenge, Devon selected Abraham to get sent home. Week two ended with two evictions I hadn’t seen coming. What else was I wrong about?

Dash Patterson Ross Walters Alex Clement Costas Layton Stuart Lee Garfield Basso Abraham McNeal Rune Cochrane Cy Adler Darnell Sawyer Prairie Donoghue Ziggy Goff