Tears burn my eyes—not fear this time, not sadness.
Fury.
“I’m DONE being scared of you!” My voice cracks on the last word.“You want me angry? Congratulations!”
I swipe the tears off my cheeks aggressively.
“You think you can walk into my house,” I snarl, “and I’ll just curl up and tremble like I used to? You think I’m still that girl?”
My breath steams in the cold.
“I’m not.”
I take one more step toward the deeper woods.
“You hear me?”
A whisper sharpened into a blade.
“I’m not fucking yours to haunt.”
A twig snaps somewhere to my left.
I spin instantly.
Heart hammering.
Breath caught.
Body locked.
But the space between the trees is empty.
No shadow.
No movement.
No figure.
Just quiet.
Mocking quiet.
My chest heaves—the adrenaline spike mixing with fury until I feel poisoned by it.
“Oh, that’s how you want to play it.” I laugh—short, sharp, unhinged. “You’re here. I fucking know you’re here.” My voice drops to a whisper that shakes. “But you won’t face me.”
Another snap.
Behind me.
I whirl around?—
Nothing.
Cold air.
Branches.
