Chapter Nineteen
It took a few days before she could stay awake for several hours a day in a row. Her body was gaining strength from all the eating and sleeping, and once she felt she could, she got up to walk around on her own.
She woke up on the sixth morning at the safe house to find herself alone in the bed. Samuel had been going to sleep with her, and if she woke up with him gone, she usually just had to call him to have him come to her. Just knowing he was there, so close was comforting. She sighed as she thought about the last few days and wondered if she should call him to her.
I don’t need to though… I think I need to try getting up on my own. I need to be stronger.
As she thought about it, she realized she hadn't been out of the bedroom since Samuel had brought them to the safe house. He cooked for her, brought food to her, there was a TV and a radio with a nice sound system in the bedroom, and the remote that controlled both was always on the nightstand. She had everything she could possibly need right at her fingertips. Even the room had an ensuite bathroom, but, she remembered, Samuel had been helping her with that and returning her back to bed, even when she felt fine.
They had both pretty much been treating her as if she were an invalid, which she wasn’t.
That needs to stop,she decided. I need to prove that I can do this on my own. I need to take control of my life.
Rolling over, she went to slip out of the bed, pausing with her feet on the floor. Then, she pushed herself up, and took a few steps. Her legs felt shaky, but not really weak, though she wondered if it didn’t come from her being in bed over the last several days. She made it to the door just fine, and pulled it open.
After using the bathroom, she went to the bedroom door and down the short hallway that led to the living room and kitchen. She could hear sounds coming from where she thought the kitchen must be, so she followed it. Then, she caught the scent. It sounded, and smelled, like cooking, and her stomach rumbled appreciatively.
“Samuel,” she said with a smile taking in the sight of him singing along to the radio that sat on the counter.
He was at the stove frying eggs, and he whirled around in surprise and delight at seeing her. “You’re awake. And…”
“Walking around?” she said, arching an eyebrow, and grinning at him. “I told you before that my legs are just fine. I think I just needed the sleep, my body was exhausted.”
He watched her for a moment, his eyes sparkling, then nodded, a grin lighting his face. “All right, then. Are you hungry?”
“Famished.” Camila nodded. “Need any help?”
“Nope. Just plant yourself right there, and I’ll have this plated up in a jiffy.” He winked at her and turned back to the frying pan.
“It smells good.” She hummed and moved to sit down. It was kind of funny to her how weak she was when she got here, and yet she had lasted so long at the farmhouse with barely enough food most days. She wondered if it was because she was getting used to normal portions now.
Thoughts of the farmhouse made her thoughts want to take a dark path, but she pulled them back, and shoved them in a box in the back of her mind, ignoring them. She didn’t want to remember her time there, and once Adrien was caught, she could fully put it all behind her.
“In all the time I’ve known you, I didn’t think you could cook,” she teased, watching him. “You seem to enjoy it.”
Samuel glanced at her and grinned. “… huh. Come to think of it, I guess I never cooked for you before this, have I?”
She shook her head. “Nope. You’ve got people to do that for you,” she teased some more. “I didn’t think you knew how.” She laughed, merriment lighting her face.
He tossed her a grin and shrugged. “Guess I am a man of many hidden talents,” he said with a wink and then looked back at what he was doing. “Honestly, though, I never got a chance to do it at home, before I was in the Army. I rarely ever went home while I was in. I moved around a lot, Japan, Germany, tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Italy. As I advanced in rank, I got to do a lot of stuff I never even considered doing during those years. Cooking is one of the things I learned along the way.”
“Can you cook dishes from each of those places?” she asked, curiously.
Samuel tossed a grin over his shoulder. “Maybe.”
Camila laughed softly, she was still feeling lethargic, so she folded her arms on the table, and lay her head down on them. She watched him, eyes half-lidded, and just enjoyed having him there, where she could see and touch him. Even though he and Adrien shared the same face, she would never mistake Samuel for Adrien, and not just because she knew Adrien’s had changed a lot in appearance in the time they’d been together. No, Samuel’s face was more rugged than Adrien’s, but his eyes were kinder, softer. When she looked into Samuel’s eyes, she saw hope, love, and gentleness. Adrien’s held nothing but disdain and darkness.
Samuel finished cooking and plated the food, and then brought it to the table, where he joined her to eat.
Afterwards, Camila helped clean up the dishes and then said, “So, will you give me a tour?”
“Sure,” Samuel replied, taking her hand. “It’s not too big, I think because my parents were looking to use it as a last resort kind of place. A place to disappear to that would be away from everything.” He showed her through the living room, where the front door was, and then to the den which led to a back patio and a small fenced yard. “The fence only covers the back, but it’s electrified. The front as you saw has a concrete barrier with gate. The house itself is passcode protected and only my lawyer and myself have the passcode, so don’t leave the house without me, okay?”
“I don’t plan on going anywhere,” Camila murmured with a smile.
Samuel squeezed her fingers and smiled. “Through here is the kitchen, which you’ve already seen, over here is the door to the indoor pool and workout room and spa and back down the hallway leads to our room as well as three others all with ensuite bathrooms.”
“And this is small?” Camila glanced at him and laughed.