Écarté (Lost Birds Book 4)

Part 5 Disappointed

            A soft knock pulled me from the light sleep I had slipped into. I rolled over and pulled the blanket more snuggly around me as I sat up. The door opened and Theo popped his head in.

"Hey sleepy head." He said with a teasing smile.

"Hi. Sorry." I said.

"Don't be." He shook his head. "The extra sleep will help you heal faster. I just wanted to check on you before I left. Sab said you were sleeping and he had to take care of some academy things with Aydan." Theo said.

"Oh. Ok. Where are you going?" I asked.

"Just to the store. We need some groceries for dinner." Theo shrugged. He pushed the door open a little more and leaned against the door jam.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

"No..." He trailed off as his eyes caught on something on the floor. I leaned forward to peer down at whatever was trapping his attention. My cheeks burned and my stomach knotted when I caught sight of my leggings and light blue panties.

My lips parted and my eyes shot back up to Theo's. He had his head tilted slightly but when he raised his eyes back to mine the disappointment within was unmistakable.

"Did you write the list Aydan asked for?" He said without mentioning my discarded clothes.

I gulped and shook my head.

"Work on that. Cam should be upstairs in his room if you need anything." Theo said shortly and disappeared.

I bit my lip as I stared at the still partially opened door. I felt ashamed because of Theo's disappointment in me. It made my eyes burn and my stomach feel uneasy. What Sab and I had done didn't seem wrong at the time but maybe it had been. Maybe I wasn't supposed to be doing this kind of thing with them, any of them.

Once I managed to reign in some of my humiliation I put my pants back on and made my way upstairs. Several doors were cracked open to reveal empty and slightly dark rooms. Only one door was closed. I chose that one to knock on.

"Come in." Cam answered almost immediately.

I opened the door and stepped in ready to shut it behind me. The image of Cameron standing at his dresser with his back to me in nothing but a towel made me pause. I'd never seen Cam so undressed before. As I'd expected he was toned and sculpted far more than was fair for someone that ate junk food and only worked out when the others made him. Still his body was hot. No tattoos like the others but he had a strange looking pattern of scars that slanted across a good portion of his back.

My mouth dropped slightly. I remembered what Theo had said something about not being the only one with scars from a belting but this was more than I'd ever imagined. There had to be at least a dozen and they weren't thin or faint. The ones I could see from the doorway were raised and thick. Just trying to imagine the force behind a strike like that made me feel queasy.

"Oh." Cam said surprised. "I thought you were Theo." He laughed.

"uhm. No. Sorry... I can..." I felt bad now. I had barged into his room and gaped at him like some creep.

"Don't worry about it crazy girl." He shrugged. "But you might want to look away cuz I gotsta put on some clothes."

I bit my lip and turned away to face the wall. I tried to fight against the temptation to tease him but the teasing side won out.

"So..." I trailed. "You have to put on clothes for me but not Theo?"

Cam snorted but didn't answer.