“Goodbye.”
She ended the call feeling like she accomplished something great. Ellis’s smile was contagious, and her lips spread into a wide grin, making her cheeks hurt.
“Oh my, I think I’ve smiled more today than I ever have in my life. I can’t believe you all are being so nice.”
Ellis pulled her into a quick hug. “I like helping. And you’re very nice. I’m going to take off. Call or text if you need anything.”
“I will. And thank you.”
Alone, she stared at the phone, wondering what else she could do. Even with plates they’d used for the snack and the coffee mug Ellis had used, there wasn’t much to do. Maybe she should read.
She must have drifted off because she woke to the sound of keys in the door. She sat up, fear filling her. Napping wasn’t allowed, and she would surely get in trouble.
Q stepped in, looking happy until he caught her gaze, and then his smile fell. She was in trouble for napping. She shouldn’t have fallen asleep.
Q had heard back from Wolf and found out the contact information for The Refuge. He wasn’t sure Flora would need it, but he had the information now. Then he stepped in and saw the worry and fear in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head almost violently and stepped back. “Nothing. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I was just?—”
He moved to her and held her shoulders. “Hey, there is nothing wrong with falling asleep. It’s okay.” Her panic didn’t quell. Instead, it looked like she was more upset.
“I was reading and drifted off. I didn’t?—”
He pulled her into a hug and kissed the side of her head. “I’m not them. The rules you grew up with don’t apply here. It’s okay if you drift off.”
A shudder ripped through her, and he thought about stepping away, but then her head was against his neck, and her fingers twisted in the material of his shirt, pulling him closer.
Did she know anything about relationships? How twisted was the cult she’d grown up in? He wanted to help her, but his own emotions were on the edge and his body was responding to how close she was. He needed to stop this, or he would risk taking advantage of her.
He stepped back, fighting the urge to pull her closer and kiss her until they were both crazy with lust. She lowered her gaze, and he lifted her chin, not wanting to force her to look at him but wanting to make sure she was okay.
“Hey, you don’t live with them anymore. You’re free to do as you want.”
She shrugged and then bit her lower lip. “I don’t know what I want. I don’t know anything.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. I felt better when Ellis was here, which is weird.”
“Weird how?”
She blew out a breath and turned away. Then, she took a few steps before turning back to him. “We didn’t have friends. Well, we weren’t allowed to have friends. Women were made to work. You know, the ‘idle hands make the devil’s work’ thing. Since women are more sinful, we weren’t allowed to be idle. I find it hard to just sit around. I need something.”
“Okay.” He could see her point to some extent, but the rest of what she said was pure cult talk. She needed to have a way to clear all those rules from her mind. But he understood that not having anything to do all day would be weird.
When he got the odd day off, something he hadn’t planned, he usually worked out, did any cleaning or shopping that needed to be done, and only on rare occasions would he spend his free time watching TV. She hadn’t grown up binge-watching TV shows. She wouldn’t last if she didn’t have something to do.
He moved to the couch and sat, hoping she would join him. “We have a problem.”
“What?”
“I’m guessing that you have no documents.”
“Documents?”
“Birth certificate, government-issued identification, or a social security card. Do you have any of those?”
