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Enjoy

-Jasmine

Chapter 12:

Camila woke up the next morning and forgot where she was. She expected to be in her room at Taine's house but opened her eyes and saw her own. The thought was bittersweet. Happy because of where she was and the love she had for her old bedroom, but sad because she knew she had changed since she had last laid here. She felt herself slowly letting go. Accepting that it would actually be time to leave soon. Shaking her head and the negativity with it, she rolled out of bed and got ready for the day. A hard day.

An hour later Camila found herself knocking on Taine's bedroom door, ready to try and build a bridge with him. She felt like they were making progress. She had shared a slice of her world with him. They were better and she was willing to share more if it meant their good inning could continue. It made her less hateful and it meant she could finally talk to someone, someone who could help her find her place in her new and crazy life.

Taine opened the door and looked like he had been awake for hours.

"Goodmorning!" She chirped.

Tanie looked more grumpy than usual, but Camila didn't think much of this. There was always something 'up.' With this PMS-ey Alpha.

"I was wondering if you wanted to join Sammy and I for breakfast? I know you're an early riser and I thought it would be nice for you to get to know him."

Taine's heart softened at the gesture, but his face gave nothing away. He had so many questions and wanted to be angry, but her open, smiling expectant face melted his resolve.

"I'll come."

-----

Breakfast was full of giggles and mess. Sammy and Mila were giggling and making a mess and Taine remained collected, with a cup of coffee in hand. Compared to mountains of waffles and ice cream and sauce and bacon, Camila and Sammy had the works.

Sam and Camila had such a special bond. Anyone could see that the little boy was the apple of her eye. Every time he would do or say something mildly funny or intelligent Camila would laugh ridiculously loud or sing his praises. She would look over at Taine every so often and express her love for Sam through her eyes, needing to share her overwhelming emotion with someone. Being the nearest to her, he was the chosen subject. He would smile back and stare at the light in her eyes for as long as she would let him. Which was until she turned to look back at Sammy.

Sammy didn't pay Taine much attention. His childlike charms were working their magic on Camila...but not so much Taine. It was not that he wasn't 'cute' or entertaining, it was more that Taine hadn't been with anyone under the age of 10, probably ever. He watched the spectacle that was Sam, with amusement, but this amusement was clouded by thoughts of the late-night interaction he had witnessed not long before.

Mind elsewhere, he was brought back to reality by hearing a plop in his coffee cup and the abrupt silence of Sam and Camila. From across the table, Sam had been playing with his food to the point where it had flown into unsuspecting coffee cups.

Sammy, unsure how Taine (who had been a silent stony breakfast guest thus far) was going to react, kept glancing back and forth between Camila and him, nervously.

Camila looked at Taine with a soft smile on her face. He knew that this was an invitation from her, a test for him to do something...to prove something...

He had no idea what to say.

He looked at Camila one more time. He tentatively lifted the cup of coffee to his mouth and took a 'sip.' He pretended to think, mull over the taste, before he said to Sammy with a small smile, "tastes much better, thanks, Sam."

Camila laughed and it was the most beautiful sound."

Sammy began throwing more food into the coffee cup, while Taine and Camila made small talk.

"We will leave at 9:00?"

Camila took a sip out of her tea. "That's fine, it gives me 40 minutes to get everything else together, by the time we get back."

"I'm sorry we have to leave so soon."

Camila looked surprised, but then concealed it with a joke, a mechanism Taine noticed she often employed to reveal her true feelings or to change the subject.

"Well, you can leave, I'll stay."

Sammy, saving Taine from responding to the question decided to squeal. "Aunty Mila, I need to go to the bathroom."

"No problem, little man. I'll take you."

Sam surprised everyone at the table by saying indignantly, "No, I want him to take me!"

Taine flashed panicked eyes at Camila. He didn't have a single clue on how to take a four-year-old to the bathroom.

"Sammy, Aunty Mimi will take you." She said again.

"No!"

Now it was Camila's turn to look at Taine with pleading eyes. He enjoyed this silent communication, it was like they were a team, finally on the same side of a situation.

"It's fine, I'll take them."

Camila looked at him doubtfully. "You sure?"

"Yes, we'll be okay, right Sam?"

Sammy smiled so wide that he was showing everyone his last morsel. After some shuffling Camila watched as Taine and Sammy headed to the bathroom. Sam had his whole hand wrapped around Taine's index finger. It was very cute.

Camila finished the last few sips of her tea, enjoying the precious moments of quiet. She thought about how she was leaving soon and yes she was incredibly sad, but she also felt a sense of acceptance that she had not felt before. A small semblance of peace and closure that she had craved so desperately.

Her heart panged violently when she thought of her parents... Mason, her pack members. They were her family. Her heart would always be here but she knew that she needed to give herself a chance to be happy elsewhere.

Libby's words echoed at the back of her mind, "forgive him. It's not his fault Mila, he doesn't know." That was the problem. Taine didn't know, and she couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth.

She couldn't be miserable forever. Just as Taine and Sammy returned from the bathroom she made a silent promise. That she wouldn't torture herself. She would try to welcome happiness into her heart.