The Marriage Deal.

Take Twelve.

"Sick of all these people talking, sick of all this noise. Tired of all these cameras flashing, sick of being poised." // Halsey.

12 ||

"Wow. That's pretty cold of him." Lydia said, referring to what I'd told her Derick said to me last night before storming away.

"And then you guys wonder why I can't stand him." I muttered, stabbing the piece of cake I'd taken out of the refrigerator earlier to calm my nerves. I thought sleep would've done the trick, but it obviously hasn't.

"Maybe.. maybe he likes you and he just has a shitty way of showing it." Lydia's words drove a snort out of me and I stabbed the cake harder.

I shifted the phone from one ear to the other. "Or, maybe.. he just wants to get his dick wet." I offered, disagreeing with her greatly. Lydia burst out laughing.

"Or, that." She agreed, which didn't make me feel any better. "But, what if what I'd said is a possibility?"

"Then, pigs are flying. Better yet, hell froze over." I replied.

She groaned. "Stop being such a smartass for once."

"I apologize. It's in my blood, I can't help myself." I said sweetly. It really was though. My mother had a smart mouth and so did my father. I guess it was hereditary. I'm not the one at fault here.

"So, how in the world are you two going to survive for the rest of the time in there without ripping each other apart?"

I was pretty curious about that too. "Maybe we won't survive," I shrugged. "Or, maybe we'll decide to stay out of each other's way. Unfortunately, we're both public figures. Which means, we're going to have a crap load of events to attend and places to be. You guys made that crappy rule which states we must accompany our partner if need be. Doesn't sound like steering clear of each other will be easy to me."

"I totally forgot about that." She admitted. "Well, all we can do is hope and pray that both of you make it out in one piece at the end of this game."

Leaning forward, I placed the plate of untouched but repeatedly stabbed cake on the coffee table in front of me. "You're right. Anyway, I'm going to work out for a few hours. I'll catch you on the flip side, darling. If anything comes up with the company, let me know! Love you." I quickly hung up so that she wouldn't give me some bull excuse as to why she shouldn't mention anything work related to me.

Jumping up, I made my way to the bedroom and changed into the proper attire to work out. I wore a grey Nike sports bra, tye-dyed grey and black Nike athletic tights and my all black Nike tennis. Like Nike said, just do it. And I was going to.

Just as I was about to head to the indoor gym, the doorbell rang. My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. I wondered who was at the door. It couldn't have been Derick. He had a key to this place, didn't need to wait for anyone to unlock the door for him. It couldn't have been anyone threatening. Security were everywhere on this property. Hastily, I went downstairs and headed toward the door. Before deciding I'd open it, I peeped through the peephole. Imagine my shock when I saw Jacob.

Pulling the door open, I didn't bother hiding the fact that I was surprised. "Hey, Jacob, how are you?"

Jacob was a stunning man, if I had to admit. Yes, it would be horrible of me to check out my "husband's" best friend, if we actually were married. But, this was a game and Derick and I couldn't stand each other's guts. So, this was okay. In fact, he was checking me out too. Not blatantly, but it wasn't exactly subtle either.