“You’re a fucking fast learner, Flora. You damn near broke my elbows for real.”
“I thought it was real. I thought — Dylan, you planned this?” Hurt flashed across her face and landed heavy in his chest.
“You needed to know you could take care of your panther and yourself. Training and pretending to do the moves wasn't enough to prove that to yourself, so I took it further. I didn’t mean to scare or hurt you, kitty cat. I promise.”
“Told you she’d snap your neck bro,” Leo chuckled.
“Look at you, baby. Almost whopped Leo’s ass, nearly broke his damn arms. You are so much more than a panther; you're everything.”
“I wouldn’t say she nearly whooped my ass since I couldn’t hurt her,” Leo mumbled.
“I’m kind of hurt, Dylan,” she finally said, looking at him. The fear that he constantly saw in her was back but heightened.
“I thought you’d be less scared…but I — it wasn’t my intention to hurt you; I’m sorry.” He wrapped her in a tight hug. “I’m so sorry. I fucked up.”
“I get practicing but…but do it when it doesn't feel so real, maybe. No, it’ll never feel less real.”
And he knew she was right. Even if they were dead, Cassandra and Romeo would forever haunt her. He didn’t take into account her emotions and applied his training on her without thinking.
“I should’ve thought this through. I’m sorry, Flora.”
“How’d I do?” she asked, peering up between the two Pack members. The tense air was replaced with a playful wonder.
“Perfect, once you remembered the move.”
“Yeah, you really had me scared for a moment there. I couldn’t get away fast enough,” Leo laughed, walking with them back to the cabin.
“Yeah, well, I am that bitch, so be careful. Tell your friends.”
“I won’t be doing that, sweet pea,” Leo said.
Even though Dylan hurt her, he could see the chipped piece of her mountain of fear being left behind on the forest floor. So, in the end, a little pain would ease the waves of hurt and terror racking her soul.
28
FLORA
After dinner, Flora found herself pleasantly stuck in Dylan’s room. He said he’d be right back, and so she waited. She played around with the TV remote, flipping between different reality shows, each entertaining only the subconscious part of her mind. The terrifying but seemingly harmless events of the day trampled around in her mind. She was truly scared and more so when she realized Dylan had planned it all. She now knew she needed the test; she just hated that sheneededthe test. Before this whole mess, she didn’t have to worry about whether she could fight or not. If push came to shove, she could shift into her panther and kill whoever was the problem.
She prided herself on being a confident Black woman. She shoved the words down her own throat every day. She could do anything — be anything — if she worked for it, right? The truth was that confidence in oneself was a never-ending battle. Something she had to maintain, like a plant. She would always have to fight for that confidence and…and that was okay. The hold she had on her confidence would slip and slide in her grip but never fall. Her confidence in Dylan would never fall, so her own confidence damn sure shouldn’t fall either.
It shouldn’t have come to the faux attack in the woods for her to believe she could protect herself. The work and practice she put in should’ve spoken for her.
“Flora?” Dylan’s voice sounded, breaking her train of thought.
“Hey, what's going on?”
“I got something for you,” Dylan said, inching closer and closer with his hands behind his back. She crawled to the edge of the bed and kneeled up to meet his lips. He pressed closer, careful not to smush her, and she trailed her hands up into his soft, clean hair, gripping the waves and holding on tight.
“Wait, you're going to make me forget,” he murmured, leaning back slightly. “You ready? I got you a gift.”
“Yes.”
“Now, I know this won't match all your outfits, you may not even like it —”
“Dylan, I’m sure I’m going to love it, now show me,” Flora said, a big smile taking over her face. He took a deep breath before showing her the little box.
“You even wrapped it!” Even the quality of the polka-dotted wrapping paper was high, and she felt a moment of guilt for ripping it up. The velvet box within grabbed her full attention. She slowly opened the soft box.
