Time is a strange thing. A wild entity built of strands that make the woven tapestry of time. One that showcases a full picture of life. It's made of slow blurry moments filled with pain, fast crystal clear moments of joy, stalled sharp narrowed in moments of fear, and every other color and speed under the sun.
Time will tug at speed, causing certain moments to drag for all eternity, while others are shoved forward like an impatient viewer with a remote, fast forwarding through all the boring parts of a movie. Time is never consistant. It's a strange creature that follows its own desires, a game master of chaos.
Or, like the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who would say, "[Time is] wibbly wobbly timey wimey."
In short, time had slipped from my grasp, and sunk into the morning without my permission. And suddenly, I was awake again after the time skip, now in a groggy tangle of confusion, covers and... cuddles?
My body and mind were heavy with sleep, the cold that had left me wrapping myself in a blanket burrito was now gone, and in its place...
I had to blink several time, fingers moving faster than my eyes, reaching out to clutch the solid warm fabric closer. A strong woodsy scent with a hint of earthy sage and lemon filled my nostrils. The familiarity of it was soothing, body racing faster than my brain as it relaxed but my mind couldn't figure out why.
Wake up faster brain. Help me out here. What am I missing?
I felt completely slack, muscles loose, breathing easy for the first time in... I couldn't remember how long, having slept deeper and easier than I had in weeks. It was such a rarity that for a moment I just let myself sink into the blankets, soaking in the magic of the early morning before the day could ruin it for me.
But the sense of peace was cut short as Andrew came into view, asleep next to me on the bed. HIS bed. Arm protectively wrapped around my waist. My hands splayed out across his chest, fingers greedily tugging at his shirt to keep him close. Our legs tangled together.
OH. MY. GOSH. I'm cuddling with Andrew Walker.
I blinked, trying hard to breathe softly and not squeak out, completely thrown by my own cuddling. I wasn't a cuddler. I wasn't a touchy, feely person at all. I felt betrayed by the asleep version of myself.
Traitor.
Andrew was still asleep, face relaxed, eyes closed, lashes brushing against his cheeks, hair a mess of beautiful morning tangles. He looked so open, raw, unfiltered. The sight of him looking so utterly peaceful, left me smiling for a selfish moment before I could yank myself back to being practical.
My mind scrambled back to the night before, and my face burned red at the foggy memory that was blurry at the edges. He had begun to tell me about his past relationships, and I had just... fallen asleep, like some toddler with a bedtime story. I stifled a groan, closing my eyes for a moment, face burning brighter.
What was I thinking?!? He must have been so annoyed! WAY TO GO DELLE!!!
But was he? The feeling of his fingers, pressed tenderly against my waist, keeping me close, like I was something precious, was a contradiction to my own conclusions.
I looked back up at Andrew, irritated and somehow smiling at the same time. I wanted to watch him as the sun began to bleed into the room, sunrise streaks breathing across his skin.
It made me want to trace the lines of his face, kiss his lips and tug playfully at his hair. All the things I decided that I wouldn't do. I wouldn't kiss him again. I wouldn't selfishly forget that he would be left broken and bleeding when he learned of the secrets I kept. Especially after his gentle words the night before.
I trust you not to make me bleed.
I let out a sigh, forcing my fingers to let go of his shirt. He isn't for me to have. He isn't for me to want.
After slowly pulling myself from Andrew's arm, watching him stir slightly, brow puckered in irritation, hand reaching for the sudden vanishing warmth of me, I made for the door, refusing to look back.
I quietly shut the door behind me and stumbled right into Emily Grace, who took one look at me coming out of Andrew's room, wearing the same clothes I had been wearing the day before, and gave a sharp, judgemental tilt to her head, eyes dancing with mischievous glee.
"WOOOOW," she said in a taunting, sing song voice. "Walk of shame!"
I moved past her, relaxation melting off of me like ice cream on a hot summer sidewalk as she followed after me, eyes scanning me with critical delight. "You made such a big deal about sleeping with someone you barely knew, and the first chance you got, you pulled him into bed with you!"
Her voice carried down the hall, and I could hear shuffling behind the contestants' doors, could see shadows under the door cracks, feel their eyes staring at my retreating form through their door peepholes.
I rolled my eyes, trying to burry my panic. I scanned the halls, searching for cameras, the reality of this strange life crashing back into view. I keep messing up. I keep coming up with things I need to erase and I can't do anything to fix it.
No lights were on, and the hall was completely empty, helping me relax a little. Apparently the show still couldn't record us yet. That was something.
Just Emily Grace being her unhinged self. It's fine. Keep walking.
"Got nothing to say?" Emily Grace asked, her voice oozing smugness.
"Not really," I replied dryly. "You seem pretty happy to fill up the airways all by yourself."
She scoffed. "Not much of a defense."
I shrugged, schooling my features as the image of me waking up in Andrew's arms filled my mind like a warm, cozy blanket of a memory. A private moment that wouldn't remain private.
I hate this show.
I glanced at her. "Give a girl a fighting chance and at least wait til I've had my first cup of coffee, before you hit me with your mind numbing chatter."
I arrived at me door and opened it as Emily Grace continued. "Cute. Just don't expect the news of you sleeping with Ace to stay quiet. Just because the camera's aren't on right now doesn't mean everyone won't know by the end of breakfast."
I walked inside my room. "I would be shocked if you managed to keep it to yourself for more than five seconds," I replied. "Although I wish you would find a hobby that gave you the illusion of more substance." Then I slammed the door in her face, satisfied when she tried to talk back but was cut off by the door.
"OH MY GOSH!!!"
I spun at the sound of Prism's voice. She was sitting on my made bed, eyes wide, hands over her mouth. Michale sat on my window seat, jaw dropped. The lights suddenly flickered to life, illustrating the end of our world of privacy.
Crap.
Prism now wore a pair of bright pink sweatpants and a black tank top, her long platinum blond hair pulled back in a slick ponytail, long nails back in place.
"DID YOU SLEEP WITH HIM FOR INFORMATION!?!" Prism hissed, alarmed.
I shook my head wildly, slapping my hand over her mouth. "NO! And stop talking. The lights are on!!!"
My hand was suddenly wet and I yanked it away with a squeak. "Did you just... lick my hand?!?"
Prism adjusted her long pony tail over her shoulder. "You were ruining my lipstick," she said, suddenly back in character, no longer looking terrified or friendly.
"So you licked my hand?!?" I nearly shouted.
She blinked at me, looking mock confused. "Like you said, the lights are on, Delle. Gotta look good."
I groaned and ran my hand down my face. "I miss non camera Prism."
She tugged on a strand of my hair as she walked past me towards the door. "Awww. Growth. Glad you miss me too."
Then she shot me a sharp smile, batting her eyelashes. "Best of luck with Emily Grace. She'll have everyone against you before you take your first sip of coffee. Not the best way to start the day."
Then she walked out, shutting the door behind her, leaving me wondering why she had been in my room. Would she have told me if the lights hadn't come back on?
Michale looked from the door, back to me, a conflicted look on his face. I could see his desire to dive into the drama of my life and he was doing everything in his power to keep himself restrained. But apparently his self control only lasted for ten seconds. "Do you want to talk about last—"
"No," I grumbled walking into the bathroom and shutting the door.
I turned on the shower, and nearly jumped in surprise when I put my earpiece back in. "Finally! How long were you going to shut us out for?" Decker growled.
"Don't make me regret putting this stupid thing back in," I replied icily. "I don't want a lecture. I'm sorry I fell asleep. I know it was unprofessional. And I'm sorry I didn't get answer's about Kacey. I'll figure this out."
He ignored my response and continued. "Prism got your message to Em. That's why she was here." There was a loaded pause before he continued. "I would prefer Em not be involved in this."
"She's good, Decker. She has talent."
"That doesn't make her trustworthy."
I watched the steam crawl across the mirror, cutting off my ability to see my own reflection. "I know. But I want more eyes on this. Em has a habit of showing up either way and I'd rather just give her things to look into. At least that way I can keep some of this dumpster fire narrative under control."
Decker sighed, sounding tired. "Is this about what Nat said?" he asked, voice unreadable. "What did she say?"
Bad things. Too many things. Things that will poison me if I don't share them.
"I want to debrief in person. So as soon as I can get out—"
"I can come there," he offered.
I stayed quiet. Unsure. What if Nat gets Decker and me on camera together? What if things get worse?
"I'll find a way inside, Delle. Something is off with you and we can't afford things to get more complicated."
A tired laugh bubbled up inside. "More complicated? Decker, that isn't my fault."
"I know—"
"Do you? I'm not sure you do, Decker. I'll find a way out to see you. I don't want to run the risk of cameras, recordings, or any other complications."
It was his turn to sit in silence. It stretched long, a palpable thing that wormed its way inside, a match to the steam in the air that had begun to cling to my day old clothes.
"Have you found out who told Nat about my father?" I asked, rubbing my temples. "No one knew. We have no other family."
He paused for a beat too long. "No."
I nodded, too tired to question why he paused. There were a dozen reasons for a pause. He could have narrowed it down but didn't have enough proof to tell me yet, he could have had an outlandish theory that he needed to sit with for a bit, or it could be the simple fact that he was probably very sleep deprived. I tucked the pause away, deciding to continue to trust. I could do that.
I wiped my fingers across the mirror, unsurprised by the pained filled face that stared back at me. "Please find out Decker, that's the best you can do for me right now."
"Okay," he replied, voice distant.
Then we fell into an awkward silence, something that had become more normal than not over the last several days.
...
Prism was right. Something that was irritating because Prism was... well Prism. Emily Grace had told everyone about me coming out of Andrew's room, and now I had another thing being added to the 'reckless drama queen' list.
First I had made out with Andrew to get him to send Bianca home. And now everyone thought I had slept with him and were waiting to see what kind of enchantment that night would result in. Would they all be sent home? Would he declare me his future queen and ditch them all?
The reality of it left me isolated as the week dragged on, and each girl took Andrew home to meet their family. Even Shay, who was considered the nicest of them all, wouldn't make eye contact with me. It made gathering information nearly impossible. Although Prism's gossip continued, and in her strange twisted way, she found a way to make sure I was always within earshot when she shared her discoveries.
"GIRL," she would say to Emily Grace/ me. "Shay had a long lost half brother show up at her family meet up!" Or "Did you hear that Sage's mom, who divorced her dad years ago, brought her new family to their house during their meet up? It was nuts." Or "Yeah, apparently Mary Grey is just... boring. No one but her dad was at her home meet and greet. But honestly I'd pick boring over what happened to me. My ex boyfriend showed up! It's not a ex meet up! It's a family meet up!"
I learned that most girls had family come out of the woodwork that they had either never heard about before, or hadn't seen in decades. The pain on each girl's faces as they came back, confused and unraveled left me within an inch of my sanity, and I was forced to keep a wide birth from Nat, who I had begun to dream about destroying with fire.
It was almost strange for a normal family dinner to happen. Mary Grey was the only one unscathed. But that was understandable. I had pegged her as a rule follower, from a calm, collected family, and apparently the image she put forth matched her actual reality. So the rest of us were left staring at her with a bit of envy.
After the final meet up, Emily Grace came back in tears but wouldn't share what happened. And for once, I didn't want to know.
Prism becoming a gossip spy for me was something I would have never expected to happen and the turn of events would have been hilarious if the news gathered wasn't so heart breaking, or the fact that all of our lives were in danger wasn't our current reality.
I could feel the danger in my bones. Something coming. A change in the game. And I wasn't ready for it. I felt like I was swimming blind. And the stress of it all finally came to a sharp point when the night finally arrived. We were going to meet the Walker family.
Jade gathered all of us together, his practiced smile glistening like it's own reflective service in the moonlight as he had each had each of us stand in front of him in the courtyard in a straight line.
We each wore an evening gown, long glistening things that submerged us in so many layers of material that it was a wonder any of us didn't fall over from the sheer weight of them.
Prism embodied Lady Gaga in her lavish and outlandish dress that looked more circus tent than dress. The white with red stripped colors of the full body ballgown did little to remove the illusion. She wore a carousel looking crown that was striking against her platinum hair. Prism looked breathtaking. The look would have looked utterly ridiculous on anyone else. But she knew how to rock the utterly ridiculous, her dramatic nature leaning into the fantastical.
She caught my wide eyed expression and did a little shimmy, letting her real self shine through for a moment as she raised her eyebrows playfully, while a member of the camera crew adjusted Shay's stance on Prism's other side.
Shay wore a deep blue dress, twinkle lights imbedded into the material, making her look like a queen of constellations. Her hair been woven with small diamonds, making every slight move she made spark in the light.
Sage and Emily Grace each wore a mermaid gown, and stared each other down with irritated expressions. But other than the cut, their dresses couldn't have been more different. Emily Grace wore black, her eyes smokey, a headband of black feathers woven into her hair. Sage wore a beaded golden gown that clinked with every step, almost disco ball in it's effect.
Mary Grey looked self conscious in her baby pink backless halter top gown that matched the nervous pink of her cheeks. She wore several pink butterfly clips in her hair that hung loose around her shoulders, and kept itching to grab a table cloth and throw it over herself. A feeling I was well accustomed to.
I stared down at my own dress and smiled. Michale and Allie had outdone themselves. I was surprised when Michale had first held up the dress because it was one I had recognized. A dress that Allie herself had wore several months before to a masquerade fashion show. A show that had ended with someone trying to kill her.
"It has pockets," Michale had explained, wearing a mischievous smirk. "Think of all the useful things you can put inside." Then his smile turned dark. "Plus, this will make it very clear where you stand. Delle Falls, sister to Allie Winters, unhinged Fashionista. Anyone who tries to hurt you will be repaid several Falls over."
So now I stood wearing a red dress covered in black lace, creating the illusion of bright embers sparkling brightly in a dying fire. The top was cut to look like flower petals weaving across the bodice. There were no straps, giving the top clean lines. My bright red hair looked like wisps of flames, finishing off the illusion of fire licking across my body.
The waist pulled in before flaring out below the hips, creating a beautiful hourglass shape hiding my choice of flats. A blessing that Michale had finally agreed to after I pointed out that Allie had also worn flats when she had worn the dress. The look was finished off with a set of black lace gloves that pulled up past my elbows. It was a look that was inspired by Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire. An considering I had been viewed as a chaotic creature, it felt only fair to lean into the flames as a glorified dragon lady tonight.
"Hello Ladies!" Jade said once the camera men took their places. "Are you each ready to meet the Walker Family?"
We gave a halfhearted yes, something that surprised Jade. But could he really blame us? We had spent the week having past trauma shoved into our faces. Who would be excited under those circumstances. He asked the question three more times before he was satisfied by our faked excitement.
"Before we head over to their glorious mansion...." Jade said in his classic dramatic pause. "Three of you will be leaving us tonight."
The gasp that flew out of our mouths was very much not faked. "What?" I asked, earning a look of annoyance from Jade. But I continued. "You had us all get dressed up only to send three of us packing? What is wrong with all of you?"
Prism hid a snort behind her hand and Mary Grey offered a nod of agreement. Sure we were all fighting each other for a chance with Andrew, but apparently we had reached the limits of our own camera rivalry. Well... except for Emily Grace, who offered me a mock wave of concern, making it clear that she thought my time was up.
"Can we cut that?" Jade asked. "It's not really a good look—"
Nat ignored his question, gesturing for him to continue. Jade pinched his nose, and then forced his smile back in place. "Ace has enjoyed getting to know all six of you. But doesn't want to keep you here if there is no potential for a future connection."
He took another pause, ignoring my glare. Ignoring all of our faces actually. Apparently he had lost his loving audience and continued on warily.
Good. You should be nervous you weasel.
"After looking through the heart monitor footage to test your chemistry and how often you've lied..."
Oh crap. What did they find?
"Ace has determined that these three people aren't ready to share their hearts, or their truths..."
Jade took another long pause that nearly had me strangling him.
GET ON WITH IT MAN!
"Sage... Shay... and...." he looked around at the other girls, eyes unreadable "... Emily Grace. Your time here is up. Please leav—"
"WHAT?!?!" Emily Grace shouted, face red, angry. "THAT'S BULL!" She walked up to Jade and grabbed him by his suit collar. "CHANGE YOUR ANSWER!"
Jade stared at her wide eyed before yanking his suit collar free, running his fingers down the fabric to keep it wrinkle free. "It isn't my answer. It's Ace's."
"ACE!" Emily Grace shouted. "GET OUT HERE YOU COWARD!" she screeched.
"He isn't here," Jade responded as several men pulled Emily off of Jade as she attempted to pummel him with her high heel.
"Wait!" I called as they began to drag her off.
Everyone froze, turning to me at my next set of words. "You're lying."
Jade froze, body tense. I walked towards him, staring into his face, reading him like an open book. "Ace didn't make this decision," I realized, glancing at Nat who raised a brow, impressed.
"Delle," Decker said in my ear. "Careful. They can still change their answer and send you off instead."
But his words did little to calm me. In fact, a new reality settled over me and gave me a confidence I hadn't felt since my arrival. If Nat wanted more content from me, she couldn't get rid of me. For the moment, I was untouchable.
I turned to Emily Grace, allowing the confident detective to take over. "I bet Ace didn't even know about their decision... if he did. He would be here."
"Cut!" Jade shouted.
I whirled on Jade, poking him in the chest as he leaned away from me, face paling. "The network did this."
"CUT!" Jade shouted again.
I grinned manically, unhinged, chaotic, realistic, honest. They had brought out the whirlwind and had to suffer the consequences of the real me. "Just like they dragged people from our past! Paying them to show up at our houses when Ace was there!"
Emily Grace's face fell, grief filling her expression, anger evaporating as quickly as it came. Everyone else wore matching expressions, painful memories flashing across their eyes. It left me feeling protective of them. Wanting to keep them safe from this terrible place that was trying to make them bleed in front of the world, all because they believed in finding their forever person.
I glared back at Jade and he looked down, chastised. "This psycho show offers to help people find love, so long as they are willing to have their heart ripped to shreds in the process." I yanked off my gloves, needing something to do to keep me from attacking Jade, Nat or the crew. "Love isn't supposed to be toxic like this," I said to every girl standing in their beautiful gowns, showcasing vulnerability, having been blind sided by cruelty. "Emily Grace is right... this is bull."
I tossed my gloves in Jade's face, and he screeched, jumping backward's startled, like I had just attacked him with a snake.
I shot Nat a dark look. "Call me when we take this freak show on the road to the Walker Mansion." I glanced at Prism. "No offense to the actual circus tent."
She raised a warning brow back at me, her eyes flashing with amusement. "None taken, walking dumpster fire."
I turned back to Nat. "Until then, I'll be inside, eating my weight in ice cream."
And to my complete surprise, Prism and Mary Grey, the two contestants left on the show, followed, ignoring Jade's attempt at a final announcement. "Erm... Congratulations to the final three contestants!"
"Yippee..." I muttered, waving a hand nonchalantly as we disappeared into the house, leaving Jade standing alone in the courtyard, drawing a line in the reality tv sand. Prism, Mary Grey and I had all found a new enemy, making us all tentative allies... for now.
----
Thank you for reading chapter forty-two! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to your reading list to know when the next chapter drops!
UPDATE DAYS- A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!
Looks like Delle has gotten her confidence back and may have a few more allies than she realized! 0.0
Will Prism and Mary Grey continue to side with Delle or will this be a short lived thing?
Did Andrew really not know that three of the contestants were just kicked off? And if so, how will he react when three of them are missing at his families event?
How will meeting Andrew's parents go?
Who will be next to get kicked off?
Any theories on what will happen next?
CHAPTER QUESTION - Not gonna lie, I love Prism rocking her crazy outfits. If you were to wear something out of the box to a party, what would it be?