Page 21 of Room 710 (The Scarlet Hotel #15)

Ziggy

Week Five

We were halfway there. I’d been in this house for over a month.

Away from my mom, Levi, my job, and without any contact from the outside world.

It was very isolating, but at the same time, it was also a bit of a relief.

I’d always been independent, and I had to say I was pretty good at it, but it felt nice to be able to take a breath for a minute.

To have someone else tell me what to do, where to go and when.

And wasn’t that part of the reason why I’d wanted a daddy of my very own?

So often, I’d thought about how lucky Levi was to have Grayson.

It wasn’t just the appeal of an older man, although that was for sure hot.

It was about how safe and secure Eli made me feel.

How wanted and appreciated. It meant there was no stress, no second-guessing or wondering if I was good enough because he simply told me I was.

But then I remembered that Grayson hadn’t always been the devoted husband and father he was now.

My bestie had been left pregnant and alone, rejected by his alpha, shunned by his parents.

Levi had been so strong, ready to stand on his own if he had to.

If our roles had been reversed, there was no way I could’ve done it.

The thought of Eli rejecting me was a terrifying thought, and we’d only just met. Maybe I was already in too deep…

Nah, I had nothing to worry about, right?

Eli had called me his omega. That was more serious than making it Facebook official…

right? Too bad I didn’t have my phone or I would totally be checking his profile right now to see if he’d changed his status to “it’s complicated.

” Because if this wasn’t complicated, I didn’t know what was.

I wondered how much longer I would have to wait before we could be together. Surely, just one more week…

Devon had sent Ross home at the end of last week, which hadn’t been a surprise.

What was a surprise was Alex. After winning a video call with his family, he’d been super hyped up.

I hadn’t seen him so animated all week. After the call, however…

he’d come back into our room looking dejected.

His shoulders sagged under an invisible weight, and his eyes were rimmed with red.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked, climbing down from my bunk, and just like that, he fell apart.

Alex collapsed into my arms with a wracking sob, and Darnell and Prairie quickly joined us in a group hug.

With a hitching breath, he explained that things were bad at home.

His grandmother was in the hospital with pneumonia, and his dad had just lost his job, right when they needed the income the most. “They told me they’re fine, but I know that’s not true.

I have to go home,” he mumbled into my shoulder, clinging to me. “They need me.”

While I was wracking my brain, trying to figure out a solution that didn’t end with him going home, he leaned away, wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand. “It’s okay, it wasn’t like I was ever going to win, but I will say one thing… I’m going to miss the hell out of you guys.”

“Us too, but don’t worry. We’ll stay in touch,” I said, hugging him tight.

That was something I could easily promise.

“You’re going to get so much of me that you’ll be begging me to lose your number.

” At first glance, I might not have had much in common with the other men in this house, but my three roomies had become like brothers to me in the past month.

Maybe it was just because we were thrust into a closed environment, friends of convenience and nothing more.

But something told me that wasn’t the case.

Something told me this was life-long friendship.

As we helped Alex pack, we tried to keep the mood light, joking to distract him, but then Devon came in to say goodbye. He gave Alex a long hug and told him he understood. “Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help,” he said.

Maybe I should go home too , I wondered, feeling a growing hollowness in my chest as I thought about my mom.

Except even though I missed her, I couldn’t imagine giving up now.

Everyone would wonder if I was too scared or too weak to stick it out.

And while I didn’t want to win, there was this looming uncertainty about what came next, overwhelming and inevitable.

Would Eli still want me when there was no other alpha making him jealous?

When real life cut through all the fiction?

Maybe he grew feelings for a contestant every season. Maybe I was just one of many.

Well, there was no point in stressing about it now. No matter what I did, the show would come to an end, but that didn’t mean I had to rush into it.

So instead of going home, over the next week, I used quiet moments alone to whisper confessions to the cameras, knowing Eli would be able to hear me.

I knew there was a chance someone else would catch the footage, and hell, maybe they would even post it for their viewers, but this was the closest we could get to dating right now, and I loved imagining his reaction to hearing them.

“My favorite color is blue,” I whispered to the camera in the living room. “But like tropical-ocean blue, not navy. Maybe my next lace manties should be that color…”

As I was making French toast, I threw casually over my shoulder, “The only pet I’ve ever had was a hamster when I was four, and I let him out of the cage and told him to live free.

Except after he got into the kitchen cupboards and pooped everywhere, I was put on a pet ban.

My mom told me I could have whatever pets I wanted once I moved out, but that might never happen.

I would like to think I’m responsible enough to be trusted now at 22, right?

I would really love a hedgehog or maybe one of those creepy naked mole rats. ”

And when I was feeling a little sassy, while I was sprawled shirtless on the lounger outside, “I once offered to pop my best friend’s cherry for him, but he turned me down.

” I could’ve offered him the full story behind that one, but it was more fun to make him wonder.

It would give us lots to talk about later.

The whole week passed like that, with no word from Eli.

I thought maybe he would call me into the vault for an interview—and by “interview,” I meant a quickie, not on camera, though.

He could’ve at least sent me a note. But no, it was total radio silence.

By the time Sunday rolled around, I was starting to feel a little queasy about the whole thing.

Maybe he hadn’t heard any of my confessions.

Or maybe he just didn’t care.

“Howdy, boys,” Marty drawled, wiggling his fingers at us through the TV. “Did you miss us?”

We all said a variation of yes, except for Rune, who snarked, “Not even a little,” eyebrow raised in challenge.

Clark narrowed his eyes and said, “Well, we hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your chances of being evicted just doubled.”

There were a few gasps, and Devon frowned. There was always at least one double-eviction day, especially as we got closer to the finale. He had to know it was coming.

“Which is why you will especially want to find the safety token hidden somewhere in this house,” Marty said. “You can either choose to keep the token or give it to someone else, in order to avoid eviction.”

The tension in the living room was cranked up to an 11 as Clark started the countdown. “Three…” he said.

“Two…” Marty said next.

Back to Clark for “One…” and everyone’s muscles bunched up, ready to bolt.

Then the hosts shared a smirk before both shouting, “Go!”

In a flurry of movement and excited squeals, everyone was up and out of their chairs at lightning speed, while I had to force myself to move.

Devon and I shared a look, and he had to know what I was thinking.

We hadn’t talked much since our solo date back at the hotel, but he’d already suspected that I had a crush on the show’s director.

So, while the other omegas tore the house to shreds looking for the token, I wandered along behind them, half-heartedly lifting books from the shelves and pillows from the beds.

“Nope, not under there,” I said quietly under my breath, trying to tamp down the sarcasm.

I didn’t need the token—didn’t want it. Unless of course it meant looking somewhere more enticing for it, like in Eli’s pants.

Then I would find the hell out of it, with my mouth.

I was crouching down to look under my bed when I heard a crash of pots and pans from the kitchen, accompanied by raised voices. “Get the fuck out of my way, Darnell. I was looking here first.”

“You’re such a lying shit! You were looking behind the TV when I came in.”

I groaned, pushing up to standing and trudging down the hall.

Rune was such a drama queen, and I wouldn’t put it past him to start slapping, and we all knew Darnell would absolutely slap him back.

They were chest to chest, screaming in each other’s faces when I stepped into the room.

“Hey, cool off! What are you guys doing? You’re going to wreck my kitchen!

” I scolded tightly, half joking, as I wedged myself between them. “Do I need to send you to your rooms?”

“Oh, fuck you too, Goff.” Rune sneered down his nose at me. “You don’t even give a shit about the token. It’s not like you’re at risk of being evicted. We all know Devon is going to keep his dick warmer around until the end.”

“Hey!” I snapped, rounding on him, my blood pressure spiking.

Heaving a deep cleansing breath, I put a hand on Darnell’s chest and backed us up.

“Gods, Rune, you’re so awful. Look, you’re both wasting time arguing when you should be looking for your token.

There’s nothing saying it’s in the kitchen.

It could be anywhere! Like… over here under this lamp,” I said, swatting the lampshade.

Clink!

A gold plastic coin dropped from the shade onto the floor at my feet. We all stared at it, an unsettling silence descending.

“Well, shit,” I muttered, bending to pick it up with dread.

When I looked up, I came face to face with Rune, his skin deep red, his balled fists shaking with fury. “I fucking hate you!” he screamed, and for a second, I thought he was going to leap at me and try to pry the token from my fingers.

But then Prairie ran in and got a hold around Rune’s waist just in case. “Whoa! What’s going on here?” he asked.

“Nothing, we’re all fine,” I said, looking straight at the camera as I said it. The last thing we needed was our overprotective director breaking down the door when we were live on TV—although the viewers would no doubt love it. “Here, Prairie, you take the token. I don’t want it.”

He drew back, confused. “What? But you found it, it’s yours.”

“You deserve to be here,” I told him, pressing it into his hand.

“So do you,” he said firmly, trying to give it back.

“If neither of you want it, I’ll take it,” Rune interrupted, but the rest of us cringed. Nobody deserved to go home as much as he did.

“Fine, I’ll take it,” Prairie said when it became obvious that I wasn’t going to back down. As soon as Rune huffed back to the living room, though, I saw Prairie offer it to Darnell, but our friend just shook his head, seemingly chastised about his behavior.

“Sorry,” Darnell whispered to me on the way by. “I didn’t mean to drag you into the drama.”

“It’s okay. That’s what reality TV is all about, right?” I hooked my arm around his shoulder and dragged him in for a hug.

In the end, neither of us needed the token.

Cy and Costas were sent home, bringing our total down to four.

I told myself I was lucky, that plenty of boys would love to be where I was, to have this opportunity.

I should’ve felt relieved, excited to be one step closer to my happy ever after, but instead, all I felt was grief.

As soon as we went off the air, I approached the living room camera and whispered one more confession. “I wish I was yours…”