Twigs and rocks cut into Amelia’s feet as she ran. Tree branches scratched her face and tore at her clothes. She didn’t dare look back. She ducked under a low hanging branch and felt the earth give way beneath her. She fell, tumbling in the dark, unsure of which way was up. The ground came up to greet her she landed with a thud that resound through her skull. She gasped for breath. Her ears rang with the pain and her vision wavered as she tried to get her feet under her. She pulled herself up and looked around, hands trembling as she pushed her red curls away from her vision.

Moonlight beamed down, giving everything in the clearing a silvery glow. Which direction had she come from? All the trees looked the same. Afraid to stop, she bolted toward the tree-line but as she neared it, she heard a deep growl. She turned and ran in the opposite direction in time to see another figure emerging from the opposite side of the clearing. He was a large, shadowy figure and something in her gut told her he might be more dangerous than the wolf at her back.

She turned to run in a new direction, but the wolf was there—eyes glowing red, white teeth flashing in the moonlight. Everything in her screamed to run as far and as fast as she could, but she froze. She was rooted where she stood. The figure laughed and the wolf growled and she screamed.

Amelia jolted up in bed, heart pounding. The same dream again. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and looked over at the clock. She didn’t need to be up for another two hours, but there was no way she’d get back to sleep now.

“A nice, hot bath, that’s what I need,” she decided. A soft meow was the reply. She looked over to see her kitten, Jack, stretching sleepily. “You’re right, I don’t have a tub anymore. I guess a shower will have to suffice.”

Over the last five months, she’d found that she quite enjoyed living alone, though she did miss the large garden tub she’d had in the suburbs. It had been a bit daunting at first, looking for a place of her own. After high school, she’d moved into a dorm, which hardly counted as living alone. After college, she’d married David.

The bathroom light flickered when she flipped the switch but eventually it glowed steadily. She made a mental note to buy a new bulb as she turned the water on to heat up. It was an old building and the pipes groaned, but she didn’t mind that so much. At least the pressure was good and the water stayed hot, once it heated up. Her reflection caught her eye. There were dark circles under her eyes.

“These nightmares can stop any time, thanks,” she muttered to herself.

She reached up and tousled her copper curls, again contemplating if she should cut them all off—not because she didn’t like them, but because every Rom Com in existence told her it was an appropriate post-breakup reaction. Then she remembered how long it’d taken her to grow her hair out after the last whack job and decided to leave it be.

The rising steam told her the shower was ready so she stepped into the hot stream of water. In an attempt to force away the images of the dream, she began to mentally run through her tasks for the day—several small errands, chores around the apartment, and then there was the simple matter of the divorce. That certainly distracted her from the nightmare, but it wasn’t exactly a welcomed thought either.

As she was toweling off from her shower, her phone rang. She looked at the time again and checked the caller before answering.

“Joanie, is everything ok?” she asked.

“Hey, I know you’ve got…the thing with David today, and I hate to ask, but could you cover the last few hours of my shift? Mary just went in to labor and—“

“Say no more, you got it,” Amelia smiled on her end. “And congrats. You better keep me updated on all things baby.”

“You got it,” Joanie laughed. “I’m a little bit terrified.”

“Relax, you’re going to be a great mom. Both of you. I can be there in thirty.”

“Thanks, you’re the best!”

Amelia was thankful for the distraction and quickly pulled on scrubs and wrangled her hair into a messy bun. She stopped just long enough to refill food and water bowls for her kitten who was still happily sleeping. She threw her purse over one shoulder and went out the door.

Amelia rushed frantically into the law office, apologizing as she joined the lawyers and mediator. And David. What should have been three hours had turned into six and she was certain she looked as frazzled as she felt.

“Sorry, sorry, we had a minor crisis with a patient,” she said with a forced smile as she took her seat.

“Everything okay?” David asked with genuine concern.

“Megan is having a rough time with this round of chemo and her deadbeat dad was a no-show again. She’ll be okay,” Amelia told him, referring to a long-term patient in the children’s ward of the hospital where she worked. He muttered something defaming the deadbeat dad and shook his head. Just another reminder that he was an incredibly kind, compassionate person. And I’m breaking his heart. She felt the familiar pang of guilt.

“Let’s begin, shall we?” The mediator looked Amelia over disapprovingly. She was an older woman and wore her greying hair pulled back in a tight bun. That combined with the severe features and drab brown skirt suit made her seem to Amelia like the mean spinster head-mistress seen tormenting students in period pieces. Amelia resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at the woman.

One by one they went through the list of shared assets. Amelia had moved out of their house back when she finally decided to call it quits. David had preferred to call the separation a break, still hoping they might work it out. Amelia had already decided to move back home to the house she’d inherited from her parents, so she told David to keep the house for himself. He was more than capable of making the mortgage payments without her help thanks to the success of his medical practice.

“I don’t want it,” he said, catching her off guard. He’d been in love with that house from the first moment they viewed it.

“I’m moving back to Tennessee,” she told him. “So you should keep the house.”

“If neither party wants the house, I recommend selling the house and splitting the money,” Spinster said.

“Fine with me,” David said and Amelia nodded.

The entire process took just a couple of hours. They both signed and that was it. Amelia took the wedding band and engagement ring out of her purse and handed them to David. The set had belonged to his grandmother. It was the first time during the entire meeting that she really looked at him.

He was an average sort of man—not too tall or too short, not overweight, but not thin—with light brown skin and short black hair. His suit was neat and wrinkle-free and his face was freshly shaved. He bore almost no outward sign of the heartache within, but Amelia knew him well enough to see the pain. They stared at each other for a moment, contemplating everything that had been left unsaid. Dark circles under his eyes told her she wasn’t the only one struggling to sleep. There were no tears left between them, but the hurt was still there.

Amelia wished she could take it all back and spare him the pain because she knew that everything broken between them was her fault. The truth they had both always been afraid to speak was that Amelia had never loved him the way he loved her. She had tried and she did genuinely care for him, but she was never in love with him. Even knowing that, he would have been true to the last.

“Be careful in Tennessee,” he said as she turned to go. “Don’t get lost in all that again.”

“I’ll do my best. Thanks.” She nodded and walked out.

Outside, Amelia took a deep breath of fresh air. Or at least as fresh as you could get in the city. She turned from the building and headed toward the park even though it was out of her way. Something about trees soothed her like nothing else could and she desperately needed to feel a little peace.

She wandered listlessly, occasionally reaching out to touch a tree as she passed. Around her the park was alive with activity. The summer sun shone down on the outdoor revelers, mottled here and there by the shade of the leafy canopy above. Parents chased after children who were making the most of their new-found freedom—screaming and whooping as they darted through the playground. Couples whispered and giggled in the shade, stretched out on picnic blankets with hands entwined. Joggers zoomed past in various states of exhaustion. Every now and again a dog would bark and sprint after some item in need of fetching. But Amelia was as disinterested in all of them as they were in her.

For a moment she stopped, her hand on the trunk of a tree, and closed her eyes. Sun danced around leaves and landed warmly on her face. Taking a deep breath she felt the peace she’d been looking for, if only for a moment.

Then the moment was gone. The hair at the back of her neck prickled and she could feel in her gut that something was wrong. She couldn’t explain how or why, but she could feel someone watching her. She looked around slowly, slipping a hand into her purse to grip her homemade mace: pepper spray infused with garlic and silver. Not lethal, but distracting enough to make a quick escape if necessary. As much as she loved the openness of the park, she suddenly felt exposed. She headed for the subway, hoping to lose whoever or whatever was following her.

Amelia’s fears hadn’t been unfounded. She was, in fact, being watched. Ethan didn’t watch her constantly, but he’d checked in on her over the years. It had been nearly a decade since they’d actually spoken, but he wanted to know that she was safe and happy. When he’d discovered that she’d married, he almost convinced himself to stop, but here he was again. She was living alone now and had met up with the husband at a lawyer’s office.

Ethan felt a twinge of hope when he realized she was no longer married. He followed her away from the building and towards the park. Some things never change, I suppose, he thought with a smile as he watched her. She had always found comfort in nature. When she stopped and rested her hand against a tree, it was as if she drew power and calm from the connection.

The wind changed and Ethan caught a familiar scent. Hunters. His body tensed as he looked around the park. When his gaze returned to Amelia, he saw a man approaching her. She had her eyes closed, unaware.

Don’t be reckless, he told himself. Then he rushed ahead anyways.

Ethan clapped a hand over the other man’s mouth and pulled him behind a tree, pinning him against its trunk. A quick glance up at Amelia showed that she’d sensed something was wrong and was quickly walking away.

“You’re going to tell me what the hell you’re doing following her,” Ethan told the man, pressing his arm into the man’s throat.

“I don’t think you’re really in a position to give orders.” A voice behind Ethan spoke as something jammed against his ribs. He looked down to see the barrel of a gun.

Ethan released the man he’d been pinning as a hand clamped down on his shoulder and pulled him back. Before he could react, there was a sharp prick at his neck and the world around him spun into darkness.