stopped chewing on the rope toy in her mouth, and her ears and nose perked up.
And then a little howl, mimicking the song, escaped. It was the cutest fucking thing
I’d ever seen. She howled for a good minute, and I quickly grabbed my tablet to try
to record it, but that function had been locked somehow.
On the fifth day, I was permitted to take Camaro outside, but only for a half hour
and only after all of my lunch was gone. She played in the snow and explored the
grounds before we were ultimately shunned back inside. I was actually kind of okay
with it. My eyes couldn’t stop scanning the trees for more wolves, terrified I’d find
those dark yellow eyes staring back at me. It made it really hard to enjoy the fresh
air, but at least, Camaro was enjoying herself.
After growing tired of my hacky sack and card building, I focused on some
advanced yoga, balancing on my one good hand while my legs hovered in the air
above me. For some reason, this enticed Camaro to want to play, so I tried to
incorporate her into the workout. I tried balancing her on my folded legs as I lifted
myself up with both hands, and she managed to stay still on my back while I
planked on the floor. When I turned over, she was smart enough to follow the route
of my body, so she was sitting on my rib cage while I bridged with her on top of me.
She was a good thirty-five pounds, so she made quite a difference in my workout.
My arm ached the entire time, but for some reason, I welcomed the pain this time. I
wanted to push through the pain just so I could prove to myself that I could handle
it.
After dinner, I retreated to the couch, staring at the fire and alternating between
playing games on my tablet and reading up on the pack traits of wolves from a book
I downloaded. Camaro was asleep at my feet, curled up and keeping my toes warm
while she snoozed. It wasn’t much later that I found myself unable to hold my eyes
open.
–∞–
I woke to the feeling of soft kisses trailing down on the side of my face. I groaned at
the touch, wanting to curl away into myself to avoid waking up, but it seemed
someone else had a different plan.
“This is the fourth night in a row I’ve come home to find you sleeping on the
couch. Why aren’t you sleeping in our bed?”
Darren’s voice was soft, yet the tone was still stern as ever. I kept my eyes
closed, too tired to open them, but made an attempt to answer him. He knew I was
awake enough.
“Because I’m mad at you,” I mumbled. I heard a ghost of a laugh escape him.
“When aren’t you mad at me?”
“I’m usually less mad when I’m not confined to one single room for three days.”
“Is someone not enjoying their punishment?”
“I was almost eaten by a pack of wolves and have the scars to prove it. Isn’t that
experience punishment enough?”
“Not even close,” he said darkly.
I released a sigh through my nose as I curled into myself more.
“I’m sorry I ruined everything. Again.”
Darren exhaled heavily before picking me up in his arms and carrying me over to
the bed. I didn’t fight him. I just wanted to go back to sleep.
He tucked me in under the sheets, took off his own clothes, and slipped in
behind me, pulling me close and resting my head on his shoulder. He was so warm
and solid; I couldn’t stop myself from curling into his side. His lips brushed against
my forehead as I settled, his big hand rubbing along my bare arm and lulling me
back to sleep.
“No more sleeping on the couch,” I heard him say.
“Mmmhmm,” I mumbled before slipping back into unconsciousness.
42
FORGIVENESS
I n the morning, I woke up alone and went through my usual morning routine of
breakfast and bullshit. I got to take Camaro out again for her walk while it lightly
snowed outside. Doing my best to forget my fear of wild animals, I looked around to
appreciate the view of the mountains surrounding us. It was beyond beautiful, and I
wondered what everything looked like in the spring or summer, or even the fall. I
wondered how often we could come back here, but what use was that if I was
confined to one room all the time and didn’t even get to explore the town. I doubted
Darren would take me out now. I was such a fuck-up.
After lunch, I put my hair up in a clip and gave Camaro her first bath since she
had decided to dig through the snow and got herself covered in muddy snow.
Worse. Idea. Ever. I had never given a dog a bath, and I had no clue that it would
involve me basically taking a bath with her. I was glad I was at least smart enough
to cover my arm with plastic wrap to keep the soapy puppy water from touching it.
At first, she was afraid of the water, but once she got used to it, she
