Flora looked down at her lap. She was going to have to be a bit more open, or Mack would think she was a complete freak. She tapped her knee with her finger in a rhythm of threes. Always in threes.

She knew from all the failed therapy she had tried over the years that this and her other OCD behaviour were called stims. Stimming was a way of trying to calm the fear or anxiety you had, but sometimes it made things worse because it could be embarrassing if noticed.

As if Dexter understood that she needed some comfort, he jumped up onto her lap. She started to stroke him, and her anxiety started to lessen.

“Yes, I know. I have social anxiety, and I struggle with any kind of social interaction, but I do feel more comfortable with you. I wouldn’t have come if it had been anyone else.”

“Thank you.” Mack smiled. “You can trust me.”

This was so strange. Why was Mack trying so hard with her, trying to be her friend? A plain woman, and a social phobic. She wanted to ask why but didn’t have the courage. She didn’t have the courage to hear that her crush actually felt sorry for her.

“Do you mind me asking how long you’ve had social anxiety? Was it a recent thing?”

Flora felt her throat constrict at that question. Mack probably thought it was connected to the night they met, but it wasn’t. She’d never had to explain it before. Sandra knew just by the fact that Flora grew up around her, but having to explain it to someone else was a different thing.

Flora cleared her throat nervously. “I—since I was about ten.”

Mack turned around and slipped her arm along the back of the bench behind her. “Really? You were that young?”

Mack was obviously waiting on her to elaborate, but Flora couldn’t speak. She struggled to even talk to therapists about that time in her life. She didn’t want to remember. She didn’t have a voice to speak the words.

After Mack must have realized Flora wasn’t going to say any more, she said, “My little cousin has social anxiety.”

Flora wasn’t expecting that. “Really?”

“Aye, well, I say little cousin. Isla’s mum and I are cousins, but we’re more like sisters.”

“What age is she?”

“Eleven, but a really young eleven. My family hasn’t had experience of any kind with mental health issues before, so we’ve had to learn as we go. I’ve been away for a while, and when I came back she had gotten worse, if anything.”

There it was again. Mack had mentioned being away from Dexter for a while too. Flora wondered where she could have been.

“Does she have a therapist?” Flora said.

“Lots, she hasn’t been able to talk to any of them so far.”