Page 36 of Love At Peace

David didn’t flinch. He didn’t even acknowledge her, taller than her by a whole head. Locking his gaze on me, he narrowed his eyes to achieve an even more hateful snarl. “You think—”

“Hey.” Fergus shoved hm back, forcing him to redirect his attention on him. “We don’t care what you think. Just get the fuck out of here.”

“You’re going to sic these losers on me,” David spat, shoving back at Fergus. “You think you can have these small-town idiots push me around? Huh?”

David took a menacing step toward Fergus, rearing his arm back, and Nance advanced. She elbowed him, hard, and he stepped back with a whoosh of an exhale.

“This is private property.”

She stepped forward again, forcing him back as he held his side.

“You’re trespassing.”

David shook his head, standing to his full height to look over Nance and Fergus to growl at me. “You’ll never be accepted, Heather. You’re a good-for-nothing bitch and you’re never going to be happy without me. You’ll never be worthy of anything unless you’re with me and—”

Nance screamed. She screamed with the force of all her lungs could hold.

I cringed at the piercing decibel, hunching my shoulders as she stood between me and David. Fergus nodded, smirking at him.

David shut up. He glowered at her, but as soon as she had to draw in a breath, he opened his mouth. “You—”

She did it again. Screaming with her mouth wide open, she basically called out an alarm. It worked as an effective distress call. And it shut him up. Porch lights flickered on. Front doors banged open as the neighbors all reacted.

Nance’s door opened too. Her husband, a big, burly, barrel-chested hulk of a trucker stepped out, gun in hand. “What the fuck? What the hell’s going on, Nance?”

David’s footsteps crunched on the gravel as he retreated. As soon as Nance’s husband stepped out fully, walking down the path, my ex turned and ran as fast as he could.

“Nance?” he called out.

She held up her hand, narrowing her eyes on David as he got smaller and smaller in the distance. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“What the hell was that screaming for?”

“Oh, some guy spooked me walking my friends to the car.”

I swallowed, willing my heart to slow down from the interaction. “All” David had done was harass me, but it was still enough to scare me. Any time I had to see him, I was thrust back into the feeling of being trapped.

“You sure?” her husband checked.

Fergus patted my back, looking back at their front porch where Nance’s husband stood with his gun, still frowning at us out here. “Yeah, we’re good. She sure was spooked.”

“Well, where’d this asshole go?” he asked.

“He ran off,” Nance replied. “He’s gone.”

Not really.

Nance didn’t tell her husband all that I was worried about. When we tried to watch the movie, he was upstairs sleeping. It seemed that she was still sticking with the promise not to tell anyone about my concerns with my ex being in town.

“You sure?” he checked again.

“Yes, hun. I’m sure. Go on back in. You don’t have a coat on.”

“You scared me screaming like that, and you worry about me wearing a damn coat,” he muttered as he went back inside.

“Thanks,” I told her once it was just the three of us again. The neighbors all retreated since they heard her telling her husband all was well.

“I told you. I got your back,” she replied.