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“Don’t worry about that,” Samuel murmured, stroking her hair and cradling her face, bringing her out of her daze so she would look up at him. “Brianna doesn’t get close to people easily, and she doesn’t leave the house a lot because she’s really… shy. But it won’t be a problem bringing her out to some places we go. If you could actually draw her out, it could be good for her.”
“Does she never leave the house?”
Samuel hesitated slightly, his hand on her hair pausing. “Never is a bit much, but it’s pretty rare she wants to go anywhere. If you could entice her out of the house, it would be good. I feel kind of ashamed, actually. I’m her brother, but there isn’t much I can do to help her condition. But she feels just as happy away from my brother as I do, so I don’t think her saying no would be a problem.”
“You’re sure?” Camila asked, already feeling relieved.
“Definitely,” Samuel said, urging her into the car. “If you’d like, we can take her out tomorrow.”
“I’d like that.” She climbed into the passenger seat.
Samuel closed the door then rounded to get in the driver’s side. “I’ll take you home, and I’ll talk to Brianna after work and then text you.” He smiled. “And—” he turned to look at her, his expression suddenly serious, “I don’t want you to ever feel like being in my home is dangerous to you. I wouldn’t ever have you over if Adrien were there. You know that, right?”
Camila’s heart swelled. “I do, thank you.”
With a firm nod and a smile, he started the car and drove her home. It was a weekday so he hadn’t been able to linger, but he’d wanted to be by her side as she’d filed the order. When they reached her place, he got out and walked her in.
"I'll text you later with the plans, okay?" He cupped her chin and smiled.
“Okay,” Camila agreed. She gave him a wave as she started to go inside to get some of her own work done and then turned back. “Do you want me to come to your house to meet you and Brianna?” she asked as a thought occurred to her. She didn’t want Brianna to be uncomfortable.
Samuel turned back, taking her in his arms in the doorway. “No, no matter what we end up doing, we’ll pick you up.”
“She’ll be alright with that?” Camila fretted. Truthfully, Camila would have rather met the younger girl at their home. There were places Brianna didn’t move around in, or Camila would have met her back while she was there with Adrien. Brianna always looked the most comfortable in her own suite, where they usually hung out when Camila went to visit.
“I promise she’ll be alright,” he said gently. He kissed her temple and smiled. “Now, I’ve got to go, I’ve got meetings all day today, but I’ll text you.”
Nodding, she left it all to Samuel’s discretion. If he thought his sister could handle it, then she wouldn’t worry about it anymore. She smiled and waved as he moved down the stairs.
In the end, Camila was joyfully surprised because Brianna was all too happy to come out of her comfort zone and go outside. When Samuel had texted her that Brianna had agreed and he was bringing her, she couldn’t believe it. But they were both waiting for her when the car came to a stop, meeting her at the curb because she had been too excited to wait inside. Brianna was the first to jump out of the car and rush over to Camila, jumping her in a hug. Camila could only laugh and hug her back, and Samuel came to a stop a foot from them with an indulgent smile.
Just like that, Brianna was included in most of their dates, coming with her and Samuel to most of the restaurants and museums they visited as well as all the other activities they planned. Brianna even helped out in planning outings between dates.
Camila hated not being around their mansion anymore, but with the protection order in place, even if he wasn’t around, she knew it was a place she should avoid, just in case. She couldn’t however, stop him from still sending her messages. Well, she could. She could block him, but she didn’t, for the same reason she kept reading the messages—so if he was planning something, she would know. The texts had paused for about a week after she’d told Samuel about the threatening messages, and the new ones were a bit less creepy, but still just as much a bother, because a text couldn’t really tell her what he was thinking. She realized, looking at the latest messages that he was starting to grow suspicious.
Camila chewed on her lip thinking about that. Did he know that she was seeing his brother now? Probably. Did he know that they were taking Brianna out with them, too? He might have known that as well, because it wouldn’t be hard to ask around when he was at the family home and found neither of his siblings were there. Camila didn’t have a good feeling about that realization.
“Camila?”
She looked up to see Samuel and Brianna already waiting for her.
“I didn’t notice you pull up,” she said, glancing to where he’d parked his car. There was some room, so he’d parked even closer to her building.
“Are you ready to go, beautiful?” he asked, a smile curving his lips.
Camila nodded and followed them, then got inside the car. Samuel drove them to the zoo. Brianna was seated in the back, humming as she bounced. When they stopped outside the zoo’s gate, Camila heard her give a small sound of excitement as she practically jumped out of the car. She waited for the two of them, at least, and they all went inside.
It being a weekday, the zoo wasn’t all that crowded, so it was easier for them to move around.
From the moment they entered, Camila had an uneasy feeling, as if she was being watched. As they moved, she kept looking around, until she got distracted by the two siblings. If she didn’t think it was too paranoid of her, she would think Adrien was actually tailing them. Still, they had a relatively nice time, with Brianna in particular appreciating the animals.
Toward the end of the day, Camila could have sworn she’d seen Adrien lurking in a crowd of tourists outside the gift shop as they were inside making a final purchase for Brianna. But when they returned to the path outside, he was nowhere to be seen. She looked around every corner, and stayed close to Samuel, slipping under his arm as they walked. By the time they got back in the car, she was feeling less paranoid, but still worried.
