Hey guys! Sorry for the late chapter. My week's been very stressful, and yesterday I had to attend my sister-in-law's funeral 😞Everything's been sort of sucky lately, so I apologize in advance if next week's chapter is a bit late.

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Cursed. From my tainted genetics to being kidnapped and forced to participate in a killer reality show to having a dead girl wind up in my room, I was seriously starting to think that I was jinxed or something.

At this moment, I was the definition of bad luck.

Gmie coughed and stared at me. "You really killed her."

"I didn't," I said, knowing that the scene resembled the total opposite.

"Stop with the bullshit," Gmie said, glaring. "You're covered in dirt, and she's dead in your room. Doesn't take a genius to put everything together."

"We don't know anything," Sebastian said, coming to my defense. "She might not even be dead." He walked over to the limp body and poked it with his foot.

She never moved.

Yaz shifted over and kicked Layla, sending her onto her back. Face facing the ceiling now, one of Layla's eyes fixated on the ceiling while the other was punctured with a pen. Thick foam and slushy vomit caked her lips.

"Yup, she's dead," Yaz said, moving back. "Probably from the pen in her eye."

"Yes!" Jookie lurched through the door, shocking the hell out of everyone.

My heart leaped into my mouth, pattering to its own beat. "Shit," I murmured.

Jookie grinned, hands smoothing down the collar of his midnight and neon green lined suit. "That crazy shit-covered bitch is dead!" He rubbed his hands together. "And now the fun begins. We have to figure out which one of you did it."

"That's easy," Gmie said, pointing at me. "It was Betinia."

"It was not!" I said.

"How about we count the proof, huh?" Gmie stuck out her fingers. "First off, the body was in your room. How did she get in without you letting her, huh? Second, you're a crazy bitch. Third, you had a motive. Four, you're filthy as shit. Everyone else showered and yet you're still dirty. Five, she's in your room. Six, she's in your goddamn room and you're a mess. Meaning it was a struggle. Case closed. Jookie, where are my points?"

Wait, how did she get in my room, I thought. I locked it. Right?

I cleared my throat. "I don't know how she got into my room," I said, speaking my truth. "But I didn't kill her. And frankly, everyone had a motive, Gmie. She kidnapped everyone here."

Demo swung her head at me. "I still say it's you. Why you so dirty? You don't smell like shit, so it's not from earlier."

Mentioning the new room I found was out of the question. Something in me said not to tell anyone yet. "I tripped over one of the plants in the pool room and got dirty cleaning it up. If it were a struggle, wouldn't we have the same type of dirt on us? Mine is dirt when hers is clearly shit."

"It's Betinia," Gmie pressed before coughing.

Jookie tapped his chin. "You want to lock in that answer? Because if you're wrong, we're cutting off one of your fingers."

Gmie paled. "Huh?"

Jookie chuckled, a whimsical noise leaving his throat. "Let's get down to business, shall we? Since this is your first body — about fucking time people. You guys are boring as fuck. Kill people. We encourage it, but anyway, since one of the Bloody Doe Three is dead, voting is now canceled." His eyes locked with mine, a smug look materializing on his smooth face.

That's what he meant when he said there was a way to get out of voting. Killing someone in the bottom three must give the other two people a pass. But those two people would probably be the prime suspects in the murdered one's death. Hence, Aries and I would have the biggest motive for wanting Layla dead.

"Canceled?" Gmie glared at him and then at me. "What do you mean?"

"We need three people for voting and since one is dead, it's canceled," Jookie said, giving her a dumb look.

Gmie spun to face me. "You're fucking him, aren't you? Jookie told you that killing her would stop the voting, didn't he?"

"I am not fucking him," I said, glaring at her. "And I didn't kill Layla either."

Jookie giggled. "I don't kiss and tell, but that's none of your business, Gmie."

This motherfucker didn't even deny it. "We're not fucking," I snapped at him.

Jookie gave me that I-love-fucking-with-you look and laughed. "We're not, but you're so angry, my little peach. Almost like you're... sexually frustrated?"

My fist clenched, wanting to punch him right between the eyes. "Shut up."

Jookie let out a laugh and went back to the instructions. "Instead of voting, you guys have twenty-four hours to solve Layla's murder and discover her secret or you'll lose a finger."

Chi gulped, clenching her fist. "A finger?"

"And if we guess wrong, we'll also lose our finger?" Khan asked, clutching Duke to his chest.

"Correct!" Jookie smiled. "And if you guess right, you get points and a prize, and the murderer gets a punishment. They won't die or anything. It'll just be unpleasant, something they deserve anyway for getting caught."

"What if the murderer gets away with it?" Khan asked.

"If the murderer gets away with it, meaning everyone guessed wrong, they keep their finger and get a shit-ton of points and they get a secret prize that I won't reveal, but it'll be totally worth it," Jookie said before grinning. "It's life-savingly good."

Life-savingly good? Did that mean the murderer would get to go home if he or she got away with it? Or automatically get put in the top four?

"You can work in teams if you wish," Jookie said, shrugging. "Everyone who guesses right gets the same amount of points and prizes. Layla's room and body will be on display and in the same position for the next twenty-four hours so that you can have access to all the clues and such."

"So where am I supposed to sleep for the next twenty-four hours?" I asked Jookie.

Jookie gave me a look of pure annoyance, almost like I was a pitiful stranger and not someone he kissed a few days ago. "You don't have one for the time being."

"What? How is that fair?"

"It's not. So what?" Jookie rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you have many options among your contestants. Or are you really just so pathetic that you can't fend for yourself? Are you that weak?"

Uh what? I squinted my eyes and marched up to him without thinking. "What's your problem?" He spent this whole time being extra dickish to me.

Innocence filled his face. "My problem?"

"Yeah."

Jookie licked his lips and stood up tall, eyes blazing. "I'm tired of you acting like some innocent righteous pink cupcake who judges everyone and acts like her own shit don't stank."

I jerked back. Where the fuck did that come from? I knew I made him mad earlier, but his eyes were cold like nothing I've seen before. But what do you expect from a psychopath?

I glowered, slowly trying to control the anger that was cracking throughout my interior. "I don't think I'm some good girl saint, okay? I just—"

"Just what?" Jookie put his hand against his ear. "Gonna pretend to be the victim again? Boo Hoo."

"Fuck you," I said, feeling the words slip out before I could stop them. "You're just some weird sicko who can't get a real day job."

Jookie let out a bitter laugh. "Well. Since I can't get a real day job, I might as well do this job well." He clapped his hands. "I'm adding in a new special challenge." Eyes locking with mine, he said, "Since the voting session got canceled, I feel like we still need to do something with Betinia and Aries. Usually, when one of the Bloody Doe Three dies before voting, it resets, but I want to keep you two in it."

Every muscle in my face deflated. "What?" My voice squeaked.

Aries cringed. "W-what?"

Jookie pointed to me and Aries. "You two have to figure out who the murderer is or you'll stay in the Bloody Doe Three for the next round, which also means if you don't find the murderer, the next challenge will only have one loser, which is an amazing bonus for the other contestants."

Before I could utter another word, he continued. "And, if someone kills either Betinia or Aries in the next twenty-four hours, you'll get points and a special perk in the next round and get a Doe wavier, which can be used in any of the next challenges."

"What is a Doe waiver?" Gmie asked.

"It's a waiver that gets you out of the Bloody Doe Three," he said before smiling. "So, if you're placed, you can swap yourself out and put someone else in your place."

Every fiber in my heart felt like it was melting and sticking to my insides. I couldn't believe he just did that. He literally just put ten killers on my ass.

"Y-you can't do that," I said, stuttering.

Aries stood mute, shock warping his face.

Jookie laughed. "It's my job to do things like this. And I do my job well, so." He stared at me hard like he was angry with me or maybe he was just dead inside.

"All of this doesn't make sense," Sebastian said, glaring. "It should be against the rules. You can't just add things in like this."

Both of them stared each other down. This uncomfortable moment felt similarly like a battle stance.

Jookie shrugged. "I can do what the fuck I want. I'm the host."

"No, you're just a sadistic sick fuck," I said, eyes narrowing. How the hell did Tini kiss this jerk?

He grinned and leaned in close, blocking everyone's view of us and whispered, "That's right, my sweet peach. I am a sadistic fucker. Please don't forget that." The tip of his tongue lashed out against my neck before he nibbled on my earlobe, causing a delightful quiver to surge up my body. "Mmm, you still taste so good, my delicious peach."

Then he walked away, waving like Ms. America. "See you guys in twenty-four hours. Break a leg or two."

My eyes glanced at the other contestants who were all currently looking at me.

Jookie literally just signed my death warrant, and the funny thing was I could still feel his tongue against me, even though he was gone.

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Who do you think killed Layla?

Next update: Feb 25th