They couldn't be fucking dead. They couldn't. I threw my filthy screwdriver on the floor, shaking my head. My fingers clutched at my face, spreading black oil all over my skin, as I trembled, trying to process what I just saw.

The edge of the saw sliced Betinia, but they didn't mean it killed her, right? They just wanted to fuck with her like they always did, right. She wasn't dead — they weren't dead.

I coughed, rocking back and forth, trying to erase the heartburn growing in my throat. I blinked, fighting the tears forming in my eyes. Don't cry. Don't cry, stop it.

They're just people. People entered and left my life all the time. I didn't get attached.

But you did this time. I fucking did. I closed my eyes, body trembling uncontrollably. Betinia was my girl. She fucking saved me twice without even asking for anything in return. Everyone always wanted something in return.

My own damn grammie tried to fucking sell me because she had to take me in when my mother went AWOL.

"You ain't living here for free," Grammie spat out, slapping me in the face with her metal cane. "You pretty, you better fuckin' work that ass that god gave you and bring in some green."

Nothing in life was free. I waited for the day when Betinia would collect or ask for something in return. But that day never came. Instead she hung out with me. Laughed with me. Shopped with me.

I sniffled. And fucking Rucker — fucking idiot. My nails dug into my scalp, wanting the tears to stop coming. He was so fucking annoying. He knew how to get under my skin. I wanted to kick his ass ninety-nine percent of the time.

But during that one percent, he could be a great guy. Funny. Passionate. A smile formed on my lips when I thought of the pool party. He irritated my soul the whole time, but I had the best fucking time I've had in a long time.

He looked so peaceful when he fell asleep that night. Watching him get tortured like that was so wrong. This game was so fucked up and rigged. They didn't want Rucker to survive. Everyone could see that, but how could they take Betinia too?

It had to be a joke. One big fucking joke.

I wiped my face and stomped over to Khan, hoping his brainy ass would have an answer. He always had an answer. "Tell me they're just fucking with us. They can't be dead."

Sitting in his computer chair, Khan lifted his head slowly, exposing his bright red eyes. I flinched. I've never seen that boy show any major emotion, but he looked so lost now. I hurried over to him, wrapping my arms around him.

We were a team — all five of us, and we were nothing without either of them. Sebastian ran off earlier before the game resumed, looking pissy because he saw Betinia and Jookie smooching. He put a damn hole in the wall before leaving.

I held back a sob, thinking of how I was going to tease her about it when she got back. Now I might not ever get the chance, and it fucking sucked. It hurt.

Duke barked, and I turned to him, pulling away from Khan. He jumped onto Betinia's bed, burying his muzzle into her pillow before gripping it with his teeth and bringing it over to us. Duke dropped the soaking pillow near our feet, nudging it with his nose before whining.

It was like he was asking, "Where's mommy?"

"Duke," I whispered, his painful whine making the heaviness in my chest worse. I leaned down to pick him up, but he yelped and plopped down on the pillow, thrusting his nose into the wet fabric.

"Duke, come here," Khan said in a soft tone, eyes shining.

Duke snarled and bolted toward the door, scratching it. That continued for a few minutes until he just laid down, paws over his eyes, letting out sad squeaks.

"Duke," I said, trying to get him to stop, but he just got louder and more desperate.

"They could still be alive," Khan said suddenly. "It's possible that it's all just a ratings tactic to get more people watching and betting."

"Get to looking then." I pushed his lofty leather chair toward his multiple computer monitors.

I clung to the hope that he was right. My girl couldn't be dead. The bitch survived so much. Rucker too. The motherfucker ate mystery cocaine cake and lived.

"I'm going to look at the viewer chat. They should be able to confirm whether they survived or not." Khan typed on his computer and signed into the app. "Wait, I don't have access anymore."

"What?"

"It says I'm temporarily blocked from the chat."

I ran over to my bed and grabbed my IPAD, leaving smudgy oil marks on the glass as I clicked on the app. "I don't have access to that chat either. What does that mean?"

"The creators don't want us to see something, which makes me think maybe they're still alive and they want to mess with us," Khan said. "That creates drama, which means higher ratings. It could also mean that the viewers are pissed and they're trying to do damage control. Or they're dead and they're trying to rub it in." He continued typing away, but then paused. "Yaz, come here."

The urgency in his voice made me rush over. "What's going on?" I leaned over his shoulder, looking at the middle monitor. "Why you on Gmie's fan chat?"

"I always check people's chats to see what they're doing," Khan said with a shrug. "But Gmie usually has hers blocked, but now it's open. She's not online, but she's still trending number one on the app."

"Seriously. Why the hell is that cunt nozzle trending?" I leaned over his shoulder, reading the comments.

Gmie = Queen

Ur plan worked. All those bitches better bow down or die. U run this house now.

Flawless plan as always 💅

BULLSHIT

Rucker and that crazy bitch were so stupid!!! How could they fall for such a dumb plan? Everyone's an idiot. I'm done.

Plan? "What are they talking about?" I turned to Khan, watching his eyes darken.

"I don't know..." Khan said, still scrolling through the endless comments.

You only planned on taking Rucker out, and you took out both! True Queen #bowdownbitches

Khan slapped his fingers on his keyboard, making the keys fly everywhere. "Damn it."

I jerked back. "What?"

"Gmie played them," Khan said, shaking his head. "All of this was a set up." He smashed his hand onto the desk again, denting the metal. "How did I not see it?"

"Calm down," I said, touching his shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

"All of this was a set up," Khan said, looking at the screen.

"Still not getting it."

"Betinia couldn't harm Gmie and Demo because they have immunity for some reason, right?"

"Yeah..." I said.

"Why would they offer a deal like that to Gmie?"

"I don't know," I said, thinking. "Money?"

"And ratings." He gripped his hair, pulling at it. "We heard the producer on the loudspeaker say that the whole truth-lie game was a high-ratings event," Khan said, shaking his head. "Which mean they probably made millions in bets."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with Gmie?"

"It all revolved around her, Yaz," Khan said, looking at me. "The reason Betinia even had to play that game was because she harmed Demo and Gmie. I don't know if they planned the actual truth-lie game, but Gmie and Demo helped give the creators a reason to punish Betinia. Gmie planned for Betinia to attack her, so the creators could force her to play the game for Rucker's life. Jookie even admitted that they were never going to let Gmie die. They just needed a reason for Betinia to play."

"But why did they let Betinia almost torture her to death then?"

"For ratings. They let Betinia almost kill Jookie for ratings. They let things escalate until the absolute last moment." Khan sighed. "How did I not see this? It was right in front of us. Why would Gmie and Demo go to the pool room at two a.m. almost every night, knowing everyone in the house wanted them dead? She's not that stupid. Gmie wanted to be attacked."

"She was bait..."

"Yes. The creators are watching us twenty-four seven. They had to have known about Betinia and Rucker's plan, and they just made Gmie play dumb. In return, she'd get immunity and she'd get Rucker killed off, which would devastate Betinia, and make it easier for Gmie to kill her later. Everyone knows they weren't touching Betinia with Rucker around."

I slumped to the ground next to Duke. "Shit..."

"It all makes senses," he said, scratching his head. "How Gmie kept saying, 'they'll come for me' and 'this wasn't part of the plan' and stuff like that."

"So, this bitch just has immunity? Forever? How the fuck is that fair?"

Khan shrugged. "I don't know. Jookie kept saying that her and Demo were part of a larger plan. That larger plan probably involves them controlling us. Whenever the game gets boring, they'll have us attack Gmie or Demo for some reason, which will give them a reason to 'punish us' or force us to play 'games' outside of the normal challenges. The game will never get boring, and they'll always be making money, and they'll always be able to control us to some extent."

"So, does that technically make Gmie the spy?"

"I don't know. Maybe," he said, shaking his head. "I don't know if she had this arrangement from the beginning or if she made it when she went off with Jookie after Layla's death."

My fingers rubbed at my eyes. "So Gmie won? That bitch really got what she wanted? They're dead?"

Khan turned to the computer, slumping his shoulders. "I don't know. The camera cut out once the saw hit her. So, there's two possibilities." He sighed. "One, Betinia survived. The saw was going at a slow pace, only hitting her butt, so she might only have a gash. It's possible they just nicked her to trick the viewers and us for dramatic effect, and they'll end up sending guards in there to split them and then kill Rucker."

"What's the second possibility?"

"They're both dead. Which would cause a shit show, but the ratings would be through the roof."

That statement made my stomach hurt. "In both those scenarios, Rucker's dead."

"I know..." Khan said, putting on that blank face. "There's no way he could live. She lost the game. Viewers would be pissed if they gave her a pass. It's messing with their money."

Duke howled, long and sad when those words left Khan's lips, echoing the sadness that was coursing through my soul.

Please let there be a third possibility. Please.

"I'll tell you this much," Khan said, face like stone. "If either one of them is dead, Gmie will die. I'll see to it myself. Immunity or not. I'll find a way around it."

♟♙♟