Page 33 of My Forever Bear

My head snaps up as a car careens up the driveway, gravel crunching under the tires. A cloud of dust fills the air where the back end fishtails.

What the fuck?

Before the car is even in park, the driver's side door swings open, bouncing on the hinges. My heart rate skyrockets when the last person on Earth I expect stumbles out.

“Chris?” I gasp, popping up to stand. “What are you doing here?”

My asshole ex boyfriend walks with purpose as he approaches the porch steps.What in the ever loving fuck is he doing here?

Swinging my head to the cabin door, my eyes latch onto the ax leaning against the wood siding. Kiernan must’ve forgotten to put it away earlier.

I pick up the ax and brandish it so Chris can see. He stops in his tracks a few feet from the porch steps, eyes dropping to the weapon in my hands. His dark chuckle crackles through the quiet air, a smug smirk pulling at his thin lips.

“Really, Wren?” he scoffs, waving a hand in my direction. “What are you gonna do with that? We both know you don’t have it in you to hurt me. You’re too weak, babe.”

“Don’tcall me that,” I grit out between clenched teeth. I always fucking hated when he called me “babe”. He would use that term of endearment as a backhanded compliment, his voice oozing condescension. “I’ll ask again.Whatthe actualfuckare you doing here, Chris?”

I can’t believe I was attracted to this man at one point. His tall, lanky frame doesn’t even fill out his polo shirt and khaki pants. His blonde hair is greasy, like he hasn’t showered in a few days. Stringy strands sticking up in all directions. His face appears more sunken than I remember. Dark circles bruising the skin under his eyes. He looks strung out. Unhinged.

“I’m here to bring you home, Wren.” He shrugs, fucking shrugs, like it’s the most normal thing in the world for him to be here.

“We broke up months ago, Chris.Months.We’re not together—”

“I’ve been fucking calling and texting!” he screams, spit flying from his lips. On instinct, I take a step back, closer to the cabin’s front door.

Raising his hands in surrender, his voice softens. “I’m sorry.”

He takes a step forward, getting a little too close for my comfort.

“I miss you so much, babe.” His voice is filled with a whiny, nasally quality that I never noticed when we were dating. I really had blinders on those first few years.

“I said don’t fucking call me that! I amnotyour fucking babe!” I shout as I hold up one finger. “And I fucking blocked you!” I hold up a second finger. The ax is now held in my other hand and casually balanced against my shoulder, ready if necessary.

“So, what? You’re going to stay here,” he gestures around with his hands, lip pulling up into a sneer, “in the middle of the woods? With a fucking uncivilized mountain man.”

A loud laugh breaks free from my throat. “You want to talk to me about uncivilized? Chris, you’re a fucking awful person. You emotionally abused me for years… and then you cheated on me.”

“Abusive? If you call wanting what’s best for you abusive. And what happened with Mandy was a mistake. I told you that! We’re so good together, Wren.”

“No, we’re not. And it doesn’t matter, Chris. I don’t love you. I don’t forgive you. I don’t want you. You need to leave!” I yell, my voice rising with anger. “How did you even know I was here?” I question, hit by the realization that no one knows where I am besides my sister.

Taking another step closer to the porch stairs, his beady eyes making my skin crawl. “I put a tracking app on your phone when we started dating.”

“Are you fucking psycho?! You’ve been tracking me!” I scream. Black spots bleed into the periphery of my vision as my breathing accelerates. Shit. Shit. Don’t pass out.Breathe, Wren!

I take several large lungfuls of air. The world slowly stops spinning, but Chris is still here.

“Did you vandalize my car, too?” I don’t like how much my voice shakes. I can’t show this bastard my fear, not when I’m all alone.

Unhinged laughter rips from his mouth as his lips curl into a menacing smile. This is not the same man I dated. This man is a lunatic.

“Yeah, babe. It was all me. The car. The fire. The greenhouse. Genius, right? I figured you'd be so scared that you’d come running back to me with your tail tucked between your fat thighs. Imagine my surprise when I found you shacking up with that mountain man. Are you fucking all of them? You're a disgusting whore,” he spits, scrunching up his nose as his lips curl back in a snarl.

His words cut like a dagger through my heart. How can he be so cruel? I know I deserve better than this; Kiernan has shown me that.

Catching me off guard, Chris stalks to the bottom step. Letting out a gasp, I step back toward the cabin, swinging the ax up, ready to strike.

Chris' bitter laughter mingles in the air with my heaving breaths. “Seriously, Wren. You don’t have it in you to fight back. That’s what I always loved about you,” he sneers, like I'm no better than the dirt on his shoe. “Always so easy to control.”

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