Seven

Chapter 14- The Distraction

Mario stood in front of Carmen's door ready to knock, but something was holding him back. Was it what Richard and Jefferey had told him? They made it sound as if Mario was the only one here who hadn't murdered someone. They called the players evil. Carmen didn't seem evil, but she was here, which was everything Mario needed to know about her.

Still, could he judge? He may not have been evil, but he was certainly not virtuous either.

And with that thought in mind, he raised his hand and knocked on Carmen's door.

He was startled to see her maid answer. She gave him an angry look. "I told you to get out of here!"

Mario tried to look past her into Carmen's room, but it was dark and he couldn't see anything. He finally sighed and rolled his eyes at the crazy old woman, who was still going off on him.

He turned and walked away, heading for his own bedroom. It was probably for the best that he didn't get any closer to Carmen. From what Richard and Jeffery said, only one of them will be leaving alive. He didn't want to feel bad for wanting to live, so leading Carmen to believe he cared about her was a terrible thing to do. And while the other players might have been evil, he wasn't and never would be.

Mario opened the door to his bedroom and froze when he saw Carmen sitting on his bed.

"It's about time," she smirked.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, closing the door behind hm.

"I gave you a look!" she said standing from the bed and closing the space between them. "You know...the look you give someone when you're into them?"

Mario thought long and hard about how he should respond. But as he looked down at Carmen's cleavage, and her legs...those long, smooth legs...

He gulped, knowing turning her down wouldn't be easy. Because he didn't want to. Not at all.

"You're not scared of little ole me, are you?" she asked, wrapping an arm around Mario's neck.

He quickly pushed her arm away and took a step back, before he lost his resolve. "We can't do this."

"Why not?" she pouted.

He walked past her and took a seat on the bed, trying to find the right words.

"You were flirting with me just an hour ago. What changed since then?" Carmen asked with a bit of an attitude.

"I may have to kill you in two days. Does that not bother you?" Mario asked, holding his arms out in disbelief.

"Of course it bothers me! But like you said, what's that got to do with right now? I may be dead in two days. Do I want to spend that time locked in my room, crying and falling apart? Like I want to?"

That surprised Mario. Carmen was freaking out, as she should've been. She was just trying to deal with all this, the same as Mario. And in that moment, Mario realized he had already gotten too close to Carmen. He cared about her. He cared about how she felt. He cared about what would happen to her. And he started to wonder if he'd be able to end her life if the situation called for it.

He knew the answer to that. There was no need to wonder.

"You're right, I'm sorry. This is just so fucked up, you know," he scoffed, shaking his head. "The reason we're here, what we've been through, what we've seen...it's just so fucked up."

Carmen hesitantly crossed the room and sat next to Mario on the bed. "You're right. It is. And I want to say it's unfair, but...it's not. At least, not for me. I deserve to be here. You don't."