Chapter Text
“If everyone could assemble in the front courtyard, we’re moving onto today’s challenge!” Amelia from production yells from down the stairs.
Phaedra looks in the mirror of her vanity and takes a deep breath. She reapplies her lipstick and checks her bangs before standing up and walking to the door. She opens it and gasps as she sees CT standing with his hand reaching for where the doorknob was.
“Oh, hi,” he stutters. He shakes his hands out.
“What’s going on?” Phaedra asks. He looks nervous.
“I just wanted to walk you out to the courtyard. I was thinking about you last night. I thought we could….strategize more.”
“Strategize?” Phaedra laughs. “Sure, I’d love to.”
As the two walk together, discussing how Dan’s silence seems suspicious and Janelle’s confidence is even more so, Phaedra lets herself believe this is real. She could be a faithful and CT could truly love her. She shakes her head subtly.
“What’s up?” CT says. Of course he notices.
“Nothing,” Phaedra replies. “Just thinking about what will happen after this.”
CT smiles. “You mean when I come out to Atlanta every weekend, and we spend our winnings lavishly?”
“Of course,” Phaedra laughs. She wishes this was real.
—
“Houseguests, we are about to embark on a treacherous journey,” Alan declares.
CT’s hand twitches against Phaedra’s. She reaches out and grabs hold of his, interlacing their fingers. She smiles at him, and his heart pounds as he smiles back. In the background, he hears Alan say something about a house and a special guest. He can’t hear it over Phaedra’s radiant glow.
The group trudges onward through the forest, arriving at a dusty old cottage. There’s a man sitting on the front stoop who looks like he’s had far too much plastic surgery. CT recognizes him as Big Brother star Dr. Will.
Alan explains that this is Creepy Will’s cottage, and the group will be locked inside as they split apart to escape through underground tunnels and collect money as they go.
Phaedra and CT lock eyes once they’re inside. He’s not letting her out of his sight, but they’ll enter the tunnels together with Trishelle, Parvati, and Sandra, while the rest of the Bravo women and Kevin stay behind.
He can see Phaedra shaking at the prospect of the underground tunnels, but he knows she wants to stay by his side. He shoots her a comforting glance, squeezing her hand quickly before they begin the descent underground.
Immediately, his brain goes into Challenge mode. He needs to get through, get the money, and get out. Any prospects of romance cannot be at the forefront of his mind.
The tunnel is pitch black, and CT can feel the walls brushing his sides as the group shuffles ahead. They decide to break into groups to explore, but due to the group’s odd number, CT and Phaedra are separated. He’s hesitant to let her out of his sight, but he trusts her with Trishelle, his longtime friend and confidant.
Shuffling along alone, CT lets himself get fully immersed in the challenge at hand. He moves past rats for bags of gold and fights through piles of maggots as he crawls, but he pauses as his headlamp catches a golden glimpse in the corner of his eye. A shield.
As CT wrangles the wire fence barring the shield, all he can think of is Phaedra. He needs this shield to protect her. So they can live another day together. He knows he’s not a big target right now, but he has to protect her.
He grabs the shield and vows to keep it a secret from anyone but Phaedra, and as he continues crawling, he sees light ahead.
“I’m out guys,” he whispers over his walkie talkie as he emerges from the exit.
CT is the first one out. Alan congratulates him, and he waits with bated breath as Parvati escapes, then Sandra.
Five minutes later, Trishelle crawls out of the tunnel, and CT exhales. Phaedra is safe. Except, Trishelle is alone. She’s crying.
“I lost Phaedra! We’re going to lose all the money!” Trishelle sobs. CT’s brain goes quiet.
“Are you serious, Trishelle? Where is she?” CT yells. Trishelle turns her head.
“I don’t know! I turned around and she was gone! That bitch is probably a traitor. I bet she’s wishing we lost this money,” Trishelle says.
“It was YOUR job to protect her!” CT screams. “It’s YOUR fault she’s not out here. If anything happens to her, Trishelle, I swear I will kill you.” CT forces his fist down at the urge to hit Trishelle and her recklessness, but instead he starts moving.
“Where are you going?” He hears from behind.
“To rescue her.”
—
Phaedra doesn’t know what happened. She was following Trishelle’s obnoxious chatter, but before she knows it, she’s stuck in a corner of the dark tunnels on a loose wire, and all she hears is silence. She doesn’t know how much time passes. Trishelle has their walkie talkie, and she can’t contact anyone.
Phaedra is scared. She hears rats running through the tunnel, and she’s not 100% sure she doesn’t feel bugs crawling up her legs. This is certainly hell, and she’s panicking. The panic overwhelms her — she’s going to die in these dark tunnels.
Through the haze of her panic, she hears a comforting voice.
“PHAEDRA!” Someone yells. CT.
“I’m here!” She cries.
CT grabs her, ripping her shirt from the loose wire it was caught on.
“I’ve got you, baby,” he says. Phaedra lets herself relax in the comfort of CT’s voice. As the two escape the tunnel with fourteen seconds left on the timer, Phaedra begins to cry.
CT notices immediately, drawing her into a tight embrace.
“It’s okay,” he whispers in her ear. “We’re okay. We’re going to be okay. We’re going to win this whole thing.”
He kisses her swiftly before any of the other contestants can see, and Phaedra relaxes before she remembers.
She’s not a faithful. The two of them can never win. And when CT finds out, whoever he thinks she is will be gone. She’ll lose him instantly.
Phaedra shakes the thoughts off and smiles.
“It’s you and me, CT,” she whispers. “Till the end.”
She’ll deal with the rest later.
