33: There was nothing

"You're our soulmate."

The words had slipped from Kal's lips so easily that at first, Camille thought she had imagined him speaking. Yet the heavy silence that fell after those three words were spoken and the way all three males were looking at Camille told her that she hadn't imagined it at all. Each of them held a different expression but Camille could only discern two of them.

Unsurprisingly, Jag's face gave nothing away about how he was feeling or thinking and yet something told the blonde that emotions bubbled just below the surface. They were carefully concealed as always.

That left Sid and Kal. Their expressions differed. Kal, forever the romantic, looked optimistic. His smile was soft but fond as his golden eyes watched Camille with adoration. It was virtually impossible not to fall into those soulful eyes and get lost.

But it was Sid's guilty look that made Camille realise just how serious the trio were being. Just the sheepish glance the warrior gave Camille had her throat constricting as realisation hit her. The thoughts and feelings all came too quickly. She couldn't tell if she was relieved or angry or embarrassed. Perhaps she was all of them. She had been prepared that a Draygonian had chosen her as his female through the power of biology and evolution but three?

"All three of you?" Camille asked slowly.

"Yes." Sid gave a small nod.

"I-I-I don't understand." She stammered, looking between the three males. "How can all three of you claim me as your soulmate?"

"It's actually common for females from our planet to have more than one soulmate." Kal spoke up this time. "It makes sense it would happen with humans as well. All three of us suspected that we would be connected to the same female. When we met you, our theory was confirmed."

When they had met?

"Wait. So you have known this whole time?" Camille's eyes widened, anger beginning to bubble up within her. "Here was me thinking I was a terrible person for being attracted to all three of you and you knew that you had done this to me?"

"We thought it best to take things slowly." Sid explained, reaching for Camille's hand. "It's a lot to process and we didn't want to overwhelm you."

"You didn't want to overwhelm me?" Camille snapped, pulling her hand away, giving Sid an incredulous look. "Well sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you all failed there! Do you have any idea how guilty I felt? I was practically losing my mind and you all just acted like nothing was going on!"

"Emma, please don't be upset." Kal begged. "We didn't mean for you to be hurt by this. We honestly thought that we were making it easier for you to adjust to what was happening."

Camille shook her head. Her heart raced because of the hurt and anger she felt. Her pained blue eyes landed on Jag who remained at the foot of the bed, towering over them but still like a statue. Even now he looked passive, there was no hint of any emotion. No guilt, no shame, nothing. At least Sid and Kal had the decency to look sorry for their transgression but Jag continued to stare back at Camille as if he hadn't just taken part in deceiving her.

"Are you going to say something?" Camille finally bit out at the male, daring him with her eyes to try and apologise or male an excuse.

But nothing. Jag merely looked at her, his eyes giving nothing away. She knew he was assessing her, determining how to react or respond. Always the soldier.

"Get out." Camille let out in a low voice, her eyes hardening.

"Emma…" Kal murmured.

Camille ignored him, her eyes trained on Jag, daring him to protest or say something. He had let Sid and Kal do all the explaining. They had willingly confessed as well with remorse and emotions. They cared but Jag…

There was nothing.

"Sid. Kal." Jag finally spoke, his serious eyes turning to the other men. "Let's go."

Camille's icy gaze remained on Jag and yet inside she felt her heart aching. Every muscle was tense as she caged the anguish and humiliation in. She wanted to scream so badly her jaw ached from how hard she clenched in to prevent a sound leaving her. Camille was certain that if she even opened her mouth, the storm within her would burst free and she refused to give Jag the satisfaction of seeing how his indifference wounded her.

"We'll come check on you tomorrow maybe." Kal murmured to Camille. "Get some rest."

It felt wrong letting the males go but at the same time Camille was torn. They had kept something important from her. While she had struggled to understand what she was feeling, they had played on her emotions without a thought towards her. Yes, it all made sense and Camille couldn't deny that despite the initial shock, something about what the men had said felt right but that didn't do away with the feeling of betrayal.

It was Jag that left last despite being closest to the door and the one Camille let her gaze burn into. Still, Jag was unmoved. There was virtually no acknowledgement from him as if her feelings didn't matter.

As if she didn't matter.

The small hospital room suddenly felt a lot bigger and a lot lonelier when the guys left. Their presence lingered within the room, hanging in the very air Camille felt herself breathing in as her heart cracked and her lungs burned. It was easy to say that it was because the people she thought she could trust had deceived her but Camille knew that while Jag's lack of reaction didn't help her confused state, it was her own guilt that was pushing down on her.

After all, was she deceiving them as much as they had deceived her?

Camille knew deep down Kal and Sid had done what they had done because they thought it was the best option. Jag's excuse was still a mystery but either way, they had done it because they cared. Camille was living a lie to protect herself. She could tell them the truth but by doing so she was putting them all in danger. They could never know about her past or who she really was, meaning she would be lying to them constantly. There was just no way she could do that to them. They deserved honesty and that was sadly more than she could give them.

At some point her body had succumbed to sleep even if it was nothing more than a feverish slumber and her mind was far from settled. Her dreams were just as feverish and messy as her thoughts and provided little relief from her present situation. She wasn’t sure how long she was lost in her unsettled slumber but eventually something told her to wake up. For a moment, Camille couldn’t work out why she woke up until her eyes settled on a mess of bright blonde hair and worried silver eyes.

“Char?” She croaked.

“Hey, Mills.” Charlotte smiled looking only slightly relieved that Camille was awake.

The red-haired woman scooted her seat closer immediately and clasped Camille’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. In all the mayhem of the explosion and then Kal, Sid and Jag dropping their bombshell on her, Camille hadn’t had a chance to ask after Charlotte. She was relieved that Charlotte hadn’t been at the apartment when things happened. She had been safely far away. Yet despite her being injury-free, Charlotte looked a mess. She looked like she hadn’t slept in a week and her hair was barely in the bun she had put it in. Even her clothes looked tired with their wrinkles and worn out appearance.

“How are you feeling?” Charlotte asked.

“I’ve been better.” Camille admitted quietly. “I wish I could get out here though. Not that we have anywhere to go.”

“It’s all a bit crazy.” Charlotte agreed. “Luckily the Ark has enough space for us to stay until something can be figured out.”

“The Ark?” Camille felt a spark of panic inside of her chest. “I thought it was only for military personnel.”

“Apparently there are a couple of floors that are unoccupied.” Charlotte shrugged and sighed. “Honestly, compared to the old place it’s like the fucking Ritz.”

“Yeah but it had all of our stuff.” Camille argued, her lips tilting downwards. “It was small but it was home.”

Camille didn’t want to be emotional about all of this but it was hard not to be. The apartment hadn’t been much but it held their memories and tokens of their time together as best friends. Now all of it was gone. It had been reduced to rubble and destroyed beyond salvaging.

“We’ll make new memories.” Charlotte smiled. “Besides, it’s just stuff. I can’t live without it. What I can’t live without is you.”

“I can’t live without you either.” Camille murmured, smiling back at her friend. “With the 24 hours I’ve had, I feel like a vacation. I think a gas explosion is too much excitement.”

Charlotte’s face dropped at those words, her eyes widening slightly when. “Mills, that wasn’t a gas explosion.”

“What?”

“All three apartment blocks were destroyed.” Charlotte continued to explain as icy dread began to fill Camille. “The police have cordoned everything off because the fire crews found evidence of explosives. Someone tried to blow the place up with everyone in it.”