Page 61 of Avaritia

Chapter 21

Ilooked like shit.

The short walk from my bed to the bathroom had my limbs trembling, and my skin had taken on a grayish tinge. My hair had practically knitted itself together after days of wearing it down, constantly pulling it in front of the mating mark. The dark circles under my eyes seemed to grow more pronounced by the minute.

I was leaving today.

There was a bag of clothes next to the bed that Sebastian had dropped off for me yesterday that I needed to put on, and I’d come in here to pee and with the vague inclination that I should do something with my hair, but I was completely drained just from this short walk.

Which meant my half-baked plan to get lost in the crowd at the airport on the way back to Denver wasn’t looking super feasible. I was in no shape to make a run for it and find myself a dark spot to wait for an assist. In my current condition, Sebastian was probably going to have to put me in a wheelchair to get through the airport.

Fuck.

I shuffled back to my bed, sweat beading on my brow from the effort. My favorite nurse, Leticia, came in while I dropped myself heavily onto the edge of the bed, trying to get my labored breathing under control.

She took in the state of me with pursed lips. “Are you in pain, Verity?”

I took stock of my body before shaking my head, grimacing. “Just tired.”

Tired and weak. The bedrest, the injuries, and the meds had all made me feel like I’d aged thirty years in the few days I’d been here. Had this been what Theon had felt like before he’d fed? I wished sex could magically cure me.

Leticia nodded sympathetically. “I’m glad to see you up and moving around, but be aware of your limits.”

“I’m very aware of them,” I mumbled, reaching for my cup of water next to the bed and having a sip. My limit was a pee break. That was it.

Leticia hummed, making for the bag next to the bed. “Well, shall I help you get dressed? Your fiancé will be here soon to collect you.”

I watched dispassionately as she pulled out a black business-casual dress with short sleeves, suddenly filled with flashbacks of how dull my wardrobe had been prior to the breakup. She also pulled out a pair of black pleather flats that had my nose wrinkling, both in anticipation of brutal blisters and the uniquely gross foot smell that flats produced.

Leticia barely suppressed an amused smile as she pulled out a black lace set of bra and panties, tucking her chin to hide the look on her face as she laid them on the bed next to me.

I snorted derisively, picking up the absurd scraps of fabric for closer examination. I mean, at least he’d left the tags on. They were clearly new, and not hand-me-downs from a previous lover. In fact, the bra was even in my size—though it was my size from ten years ago, so it’d be uncomfortably tight now.

Nothing creepy about that.

I pushed myself back up to standing, letting Leticia do most of the work of dressing me since my limbs were being rudely uncooperative. She made a muffled sound of discontent as she loosened the bra straps as much as possible, not that it made a difference when my cupeths overfloweth.

“It’s fine,” I assured her, resigned to being uncomfortable. The dress was a soft fabric at least, though it was kind of clingy, and really didn’t do anything to hide the weird quadruple-boob situation the bar was giving me. The tight arm hole was also a bitch to get the splint through. Clearly, Sebastian hadn’t been thinking of comfort or practicality when he’d picked these things out.

“There we go,” Leticia said, straightening after helping me slip my feet into the shoes. At least they seemed to fit.

“What’s this from?” Leticia murmured, tilting her head to the side to examine the bite mark that the dress’s neckline wasn’t quite high enough to hide.

Shit.

“You don’t have to answer, I’m just being nosy,” she said with a reassuring smile.

“I’m just very self-conscious about it,” I replied, hoping that sounded like a believable excuse.

“I’ve got some foundation in my bag, if you’d like?” Leticia suggested kindly. “We’re probably a pretty similar shade.”

I nearly burst into tears as I nodded, giving her hand a quick squeeze of gratitude. God, nurses were so underappreciated. If I ever found my way back to the shadow realm, I was totally going to suggest some kind of elaborate headhunting scheme to the king to get Hunter medical professionals to defect to our side.

Leticia left, returning with a small makeup bag and helping me cover up the scar on my neck. It wasn’t perfect, but between the foundation and my hair, I could almost get away with it.

It wasn’t a long-term fix. Maybe I could convince Sebastian to stop at a drugstore? Ugh, I didn’t have any money, though.

Darkness. That’s what I needed. The solution was just to get the fuck out of here as soon as possible.