Rinsing my hair, I hear the shower door open. I try to wash the soap that is now burning my eyes from my hair, only to open my eyes and see Orion, standing next to me. He reaches past me, grabbing the soap, yet his eyes never wander down, in fact, they don’t leave mine. “Chill, Evelyn. I am just showering with you. Not a big deal; we are all adults,” he says as he washes himself.
My eyes trail over the lines of his chest and lower to his ass when he suddenly turns, giving me an eyeful of himself.
“God, you act like you’ve never seen a man before.” He sighs, and my cheeks heat. “What, you’ve never seen a man naked?” he asks, shocked.
“No, I have seen men naked. Just not this close to me, just standing there, and not where I can see them.” Orion’s brows furrow in confusion, and I turn away, looking anywhere but at him.
“So, you aren’t a virgin then?” he questions.
I don’t answer. What do you class as a virgin anyway, does rape count as losing your virginity? I like to think it doesn’t; I think of virginity as something you willingly give, not something one takes. I have come across my fair share of scumbags in my twenty years of life. Saw and witnessed more than any person should have at my age.
Foster care is supposed to be a safe place for children to grow up until they are returned to their families or adopted. Unfortunately, many people see being a foster carer as an opportunity to torture their victims before being shipped off to the next house.
Not all are bad, but I seemed to be a magnet for the horrid ones. Nothing worse than growing up, never catching a full night’s sleep for fear of who may be trying to creep into your room or fear of the monster that sleeps in the room next to yours.
Orion, realizing I won’t answer, changes the topic as he hands me the soap. “The burn on your back, how did that happen?”
Thaddeus asked the same question earlier. However, Orion’s question doesn’t irritate me as much.
“Why? Does it bother you?” I ask.
Orion shakes his head. “No, just curious. It looks like it would have hurt,” he replies.
“Yeah, it did. Doesn’t anymore, I often forget it’s there,” I tell him truthfully.
“So, what happened?”
“Does it matter? It was years ago; not a pleasant memory.”
“How old were you?”
“Sixteen,” I answer.
“So a house fire?” he asks, and I can tell by the look on his face it is eating at him, not knowing.
“Did you do something to Vick?” I ask, changing the subject.
Ever since they first kidnapped me, I had this nagging feeling Orion did something to Vick. It is unusual that he randomly went on vacation when I have never known the man to leave, even for a weekend.
Orion’s eyes darken for a second.
“You killed him, didn’t you?”
“Do you really want to know?”
I shrug, not sure if I do. I hate Vick. He is slimy and sleazy, but that doesn’t mean I necessarily want him dead. But from the look on Orion’s face, I know nothing good came of him.
“Come on, let’s hop out. You must be hungry,” he says, opening the shower, grabbing a towel, and handing it to me.
He then wraps another around his waist and steps out. I wrap the towel around myself and follow him into the room, quickly putting on a shirt and a pair of shorts that Orion gave me.
“Thaddeus is making pancakes,” Orion says when we finish getting dressed. Orion grabs my hand, pulling me from the room, taking me downstairs.
As we walk into the kitchen, Thaddeus is indeed making pancakes. My belly rumbles loudly from the aromatic smell of melted butter and golden syrup.
“I did not picture you being one to cook,” I tell him, sitting at the island next to Orion.
Thaddeus looks back at me, turns around, and places a plate of pancakes on the center of the island. Orion hands me a plate and dumps a heap of pancakes on my plate. I slide a couple off; fully aware I can’t possibly eat that many. Cutting off a piece, I pop it into my mouth and nearly moan at the taste; so fluffy, and it melts in my mouth.
“Good?” Thaddeus asks, a smirk on his face.
“Very,” I tell him.
“So, how long have you guys lived here for?”
“Can’t remember. A while.”
“Where were you before here, then?” I inquire, hoping that one of them will inadvertently reveal our location.
“Everywhere. I traveled before that, and mainly with my parents,” Thaddeus answers.
“You have parents?”
“Everyone has parents, Evelyn,” Thaddeus says.
He is right. Sort of. Yes, biologically, but I have learned that blood doesn’t make a parent. As far as I am concerned, I don’t have any. “You know what I mean.”
Thaddeus nods. “Yes, I know what you mean, Evelyn, and yes, my parents are still alive. I also have a sister,” he says, making me look up at him.
He stares off into space for a second, shakes his head, and snaps himself out of whatever trance he was stuck in. I wonder where his mind took him at that moment.
“What about you?” I ask, looking at Ryland.
“Mine are dead, killed by the council.”
“Council?” I ask.
“Just think of it as supernatural law enforcement,” Ryland says.
As I look at Orion, I don’t even have to ask; he just answers. “No family; they died before I was changed. This here is all the family I have and need,” he answers. I nod.
“What about you? What are your parents like?” Ryland asks.
“Don’t know, never met them,” I answer and quickly pop more pancakes in my mouth to busy it with chewing.