a

t on the pl

e one place I swore I would never visit again. I told myself I needed closure. I told my

the one hauntin

ing, casting long, hemorrhaging shadows across the water. This

old willow tree. The air was thick with t

I saw

a sketchbook balanced on his knee. Chloe was leaning agai

drawi

t draw, that his hands were only good for holding mine. Yet now, his charcoal moved a

cooed. Her voice carried over t

t easy," Et

rushed against the rough bark. I looked for our initials. E & A. We had carved them there five years ago.

nd th

ath hi

ere was a new carving. Fresh. Raw. The sap was

&

replacement. It

was a violation. He had brought her to our sanctuary. He had ove

ocket. I opened the small penk

think. I

& C. I slashed an X through it. I gouged it deep, wa

ey

fr

walking toward me. Th

anded. His face was a mask of annoyance, the

e shaking with a manic sort of

hed bark, then at me. She laughed, a high, ti

so sad. You are literally carvin

t," I said. "Thi

I had just defaced. "Now it is ours. Everything that was yours is mi

space. I could smell her expensive perf

appear?" she whispered.

y hand, trying to

e snapped. "Before

ouch me,

ck. It was a reflex

even roots. She stumbled. Her arm

A

w tree with a sickening crack-a sound too loud for som

hl

n. He flew. He dropped to his knees b

by? Can yo

e. His eyes were

you do?"

red, my blood running cold.

aw you shove her! You are insan

ng her cheek with trembling han

small trickle of blood appeared at her

rward. "Is she o

he chest. I stumbled back, catching m

is voice was lethal. "Don't you ever come n

was an ac

low. "We are completely, thoroughly done. Yo

e to tend to the woman

ed tree, watching the man I had loved f

last thread holding me t