Chapter 7 - Flora
Despite Camden’s insistence that she stop cleaning so thoroughly, Flora continued as she had been.
Each day, she waited until he had left the house and was out of sight, then she dragged the cleaning supplies out from under the sink and got to work.
She was nearly done with the bathroom when Sofia appeared in the doorway.
“Mom?” Sofia asked. “Can we play outside?”
“In a little bit, baby,” Flora replied.
Sofia crossed her arms in front of her, clearly upset, and Flora felt a pang of regret.
Her daughter was easygoing, innocent, and kind, despite the hardships of her few short years on earth.
Flora wished she could relax and go play with her daughter, but the fear of what would happen if she didn’t keep up with the housework and errands was paralyzing.
She remembered when she had taken too many breaks from chores at her adopted parents’ house and the fury she was met with.
She couldn’t risk Camden changing his mind and Sofia suffering the consequences of her choice to take it easy.
“I’m almost done in here,” she assured her daughter. “Then I just have a few more chores in the rest of the house, and we can go play. I promise.”
Sofia sighed and left the room. Flora could hear her talking to her dolls and breathed a sigh of relief that she had dropped the issue. It would probably be dinnertime when Flora finally finished cleaning, but they would still be able to spend time together that evening.
She placed the bathroom cleaners back under the sink and washed her hands, preparing to head to the laundry room, when the sound of the front door startled her.
“Hello?” she called.
“It’s just me.”
Camden came around the corner, carrying a large cardboard box. He set it on the kitchen counter and then sat down to take off his shoes.
“What’s in the box?” Flora asked.
“Something I hope you can help me with,” Camden said. “I forgot I needed to take these envelopes to the post office. There are a few items that need to be returned, and some mail that needs to go out. Would you take it for me? The post office is open for another hour.”
Flora’s stomach dropped as she realized that her suspicions had been right.
Camden didn’t want her to relax at all. He simply wanted to be the one who told her what to do and when to do it.
Instead of being expected to read his mind and handle everything without being told, as Stella and Ben had done, he wanted her to wait for his permission.
“Yes,” she said quietly. She knew she couldn’t say no to his request. Not when he had taken them in and saved her daughter from captivity. “I’ll go get Sofia, and we’ll go right now.”
“Aw, do I have to go?” Sofia whined.
Flora hadn’t realized she had come downstairs. Her heart rate immediately skyrocketed when she heard the attitude in her daughter’s voice. Speaking that way in front of Camden surely would end with consequences for both of them.
“Sofia,” she said sternly. “That is no way to behave. Apologize.”
“It’s okay, Flora,” Camden said. “I don’t mind Sofia staying here with me. I’m sure she just wants to stay home and play.”
Sofia nodded her head enthusiastically, and Flora sighed. She was uncertain about whether to allow her daughter to stay back—what if something bad happened? But at the same time, she trusted Camden to keep her daughter safe. The errand shouldn’t take too long, anyway.
“Alright,” she agreed. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
It took her nearly an hour and a half to get to the post office, mail the packages and envelopes, and return to Camden’s house. She came inside and was greeted by the smell of onions and garlic, mixed with the scent of toasted bread.
“Hello?” she called out.
“We’re in here,” Camden said.
She walked through the spotless living room and dining room and found Camden and Sofia working together in the kitchen.
“Mommy, look! We made dinner!”
It wasn’t an extravagant feast by any means, but in the time she had been gone, Camden had made pasta, garlic bread, and a Caesar salad. She could also see that the laundry room was now empty of dirty clothes, all the dishes had been done, and the vacuuming was finished.
“Did you…did you clean?” she asked, stunned.
“Of course,” Camden said. “I told you I didn’t want you working yourself too hard anymore. I’m sorry about sending you on the errand, but I thought it was the only way to get you out of the house long enough for me to finish the chores.”
“You didn’t have to do any of that, though,” she said, still in shock.
Camden shrugged. “I’m used to doing chores. In the military, all tasks are shared equally. I don’t see any reason not to use that same mindset in our household.”
Sofia was practically beaming. “I told you to take a break, Mom!” she said. “Camden, let me help with cleaning, too. And I mixed up the salad all by myself.”
Camden grasped the little girl’s shoulder in a side hug and beamed down at her with pride. “You did a great job, Sof,” he said. “Now, who’s hungry?”
Flora watched warily as Sofia and Camden set the table.
He pulled out a chair for Flora to sit in, and she reluctantly sat down at the table.
There was something odd about Camden’s treatment of her.
She didn’t know whether it was sinister or whether she was just so unused to kindness that any hint of it made her skin crawl.
Regardless of what it was, she wanted to be prepared for anything.
She couldn’t help but notice that Camden and Sofia’s bond was growing closer each day.
Sofia had always been a talker, but usually only had Flora for company.
Flora had done her best to encourage her daughter’s imagination and personality to develop, but the struggle for survival had always taken up most of her mind.
Camden didn’t have that problem and was able to devote undivided attention to her.
“I was watching a show about the ocean. Did you know an octopus can make itself really small and fit through tiny cracks? Isn’t that so cool?”
Sofia was monologuing now, but Camden didn’t seem to mind. He was smiling encouragingly at her, letting her talk his ear off about whatever popped into her mind.
Flora was jealous of how freely they both seemed to enjoy each other’s company. There was no fear, no tiptoeing carefully through conversations, no censoring of thoughts or words to suit the moment. They just…existed together. Seamlessly.
An ache built inside her heart as they ate their dinner.
The sight of them together was beautiful.
A father and daughter enjoying an evening together, but not knowing about their connection.
It made her realize how much differently their lives could have been if things had been different.
If she had been different. If she had been born a wolf instead of a human, she wouldn’t have been shunned and cast aside.
Camden could have been free to be with her years ago.
But ultimately, it had been Camden’s choice.
He had been the one who had cast her aside.
Even if he wanted to pretend that things were different now, he hadn’t stood up for her back then.
He had been just as bad as the rest of them, forcing her into the sidelines of pack life and making her life a living hell.
She had done everything that was expected of her, and it still hadn’t been enough to overcome his prejudice.
He had been the reason she had felt so alone for so many years.
To have someone care about you in secret, but still have happiness be so far away, was an isolation that she didn’t wish upon her worst enemies.
“This was delicious, Sof,” Camden said appreciatively. “You’re an amazing cook, especially for being so young!”
“I didn’t cook it, silly,” Sofia giggled.
“What?” Camden joked. “I could have sworn that was you. No?”
She giggled again. “No! You did!”
He cleared the plates from the table, and Sofia ran off to play with her toys again. Flora was finally able to break free from the trance her thoughts had brought on her.
“I’ll wash the dishes,” she insisted, carrying her plate to the sink. Her emotions were so tangled up inside her that she didn’t know how to process them all. The monotony of cleaning was exactly what she needed to be able to sort through everything in peace.
“Don’t be silly,” Camden said. “I told you, I want you to relax. Why don’t you go play with Sof? Or read a book?”
“No,” she snapped.
“Flora, stop,” he said harshly, trying to grab the plate from her.
“Let go,” she hissed.
“No,” he snapped back. “I’m cleaning up.”
“No…you…aren’t.”
With each word, she tried unsuccessfully to tug the plate out of his grasp.
“Flora!” he chided. “You’re being ridiculous. Just give me the plate and go rest.”
“Stop telling me what to do!”
The plate slipped from their hands and crashed to the floor, shattering against the linoleum. Flora immediately knelt down and began cleaning it up.
“Let me get the dustpan,” Camden insisted, hurrying toward the pantry where the broom was kept.
But Flora didn’t stop picking up the pieces. She was so tired of being ordered around that even Camden’s sensible request to use caution rubbed her the wrong way. She threw the pieces one by one into the trash can angrily. Her tangle of emotions had only gotten worse.
“Dammit,” she cursed. Her finger had gotten nicked on one of the shards, and blood was pouring from the wound.
“Flora, what happened?” Camden asked in alarm as he came back into the room holding the broom and dustpan.
“Cut myself,” she said shortly.
“Let me see it,” he said. He knelt down beside her and tenderly grabbed her forearm to draw it closer to him.
“It’s fine,” Flora insisted.
She tried to pull away, but Camden didn’t let go. He grabbed a clean towel from the drawer beside them and wrapped it around the wound. His touch was gentle as he dabbed the blood away so he could inspect the gash.
“It isn’t too deep, but we should wash it so it doesn’t get infected,” he said. “Come here.”
Gently, he helped her to her feet and turned on the water. Testing the temperature first, he placed their hands under the running faucet together and gently massaged her hands with soap. The water ran red, then pink as the blood was washed away.
“I can take care of it,” she mumbled, knowing it was no use.
“I know you aren’t used to being taken care of,” he murmured as he dried off her hands.
“If it takes some time for you to get used to me doting on you, that’s fine with me.
But I want you to know that I’m not going to stop.
You aren’t going to push me away by being harsh with me.
No matter what you say, I’m going to be right here to take care of you. ”
Flora inhaled sharply, both from the pressure of the towel against her cut and her surprise at Camden’s words.
He led her into the bathroom and got out a first-aid kit.
As he dressed her wound, Flora realized how different this man was from the one she used to know.
The old Camden never would have put up with her talking to him in such a rude way, and he definitely wouldn’t have helped her when she was hurt.
She wondered what had caused that change in him, and whether it would last.
“Thank you,” she said quietly as he finished bandaging her.
She inspected the white cotton gauze wrapped around her finger tidily as Camden went back to the kitchen to clean up the mess of a broken plate and blood on the floor.
Her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror, and she looked at herself intently.
Camden had changed, but in many ways, she hadn’t.
She was still human, still the lowest member of the pack, and still deeply afraid of having what small semblance of freedom she had left taken away from her.
She couldn’t risk giving her heart to Camden again.