THE CRYSTAL HOUSE

¶Actions and Consequences¶

"You know what I loved the most? How you gave him a piece of your mind." Priya offered, and high-fived Chiara who burst out laughing.

"That was so good, girl. I wish I had taken a video." Chiara added.

Mareike smiled, trying to hide the hurt she still felt at his betrayal. Her mind was still raw with anger, but it was flooded with pain and regret. Marcello had been her first requited crush (or so she thought), and now she felt foolish for not seeing the signs and for allowing herself to be swept by sweet words.

In her mind, there was also a bit of guilt. She basically made him lose the game, and get eliminated. What if he needed the money for something urgent? Life-changing or threatening? Now his chances were cut short. All because of her.

She felt something poke her arm, and she glanced at Chiara.

"Sea to, Mareike. If you're feeling guilty, squash that feeling like the bug it is. Like I said before, he was a shallow narrow minded jerk to you and he got what he deserved." Chiara said, and looked at Priya who gave a nod. Clearly, they were on the same page.

"Instead, you could be thinking about your big-girl move this evening. I've never seen you that mad or passionate about something, and it's certainly a pretty sight."

She laughed and thought back to the main event of a few hours ago, an event still fresh in her memory.

Mareike waited till the games were over, and Mr. Han announced the results with Marcello being eliminated. They watched the projector screen as a large red X appeared across his face, making it official.

She couldn't help her smile at that announcement, it felt nice to take a small bit of revenge. Her mother would be proud of this small feat, this was the sort of thing that didn't go unnoticed. Punishment.

Immediately they filed out of he room, Mareike left her friends and went in search of the guy that caused her blood to boil beneath her sweaty body.

She found him at the door of his room, staring angrily into the faces of the oblivious housemates. She stalked towards him, her mind still replaying his cruel words.

"Hey Marcello. So you are leaving?" She asked, stopping directly in front of him.

"Mi amor! It seems so, how will I see you?" He asked, his face now a perfect mask of sadness and longing.

As Mareike stared at his facial features, she felt a burden lifting off her shoulders. It was easy to see how he deceived her, he played his features so well and used it to his advantage.

"Well, you will not see me again. It is all over." She replied.

He frowned, "What do you mean, love? We still have so many plans. Come on, I want to give you a goodbye kiss." He said, taking hold of her arm as he started to walk into his room.

She stood still, and drew her hand out of his grasp wiping it on the pleated bottom of her gown. The thought of kissing him once made her ecstatic, but now it felt disgusting.

She came out straight. "I heard what you told Femi, Marcello. I sat behind you the whole time you were uttering nonsense, and now I know what you really think of me."

Mareike watched as his face turned white. His eyes widened, and he saw his hands through his hair.

"Y-You heard that? It's not what it seems like. It was just a joke, a harmless one, just to scare Femi away. He was expressing interest and I-I had to scare him off somehow." He begged, moving forward to take her arm again but she drew back.

Lies, all lies. This time, she saw it in his face. He still wanted to save face, and make her want him but she was past that.

"Marcello, chill. You do not need to explain so much, it is not like you cheated on me. You just said how you really felt, and you deserve an applaud." She said, and started to clap into his face.