Run! The Black Wolf's prey.

Chapter 5 - The break-up

“So this is it?” David stood in front of Isabel in the hallway, his arms crossed over hist chest. His eyes were red and swollen - they had been fighting on and off throughout the day and were both exhausted by now. She had continued packing her bags, though, despite the effort of having David constantly in her way, wanting for them to talk.

“Yes, this is it,” Isabel sighed as she put the last bag by the door. She felt totally drained! The last days had been like torture, as David had done everything he could to convince her not to go through with their break-up. Like that one evening, when she had come home late, when he had put lit candles, and a home-cooked dinner, and a huge bouquet of red roses on their dining table... It had been one of the most awkward moments in her life.

Right before, she had been having drinks with Emma, and the two of them had been constantly courted by several good-looking young men, who were showing obvious interest and kept buying them drinks. Isabel hadn’t had that much attention for years, and it felt surprisingly good! To her own surprise she had been very tempted to just go with the flow and embrace the situation, though waves of guilt flooded her as she flirted with a very attractive and seld-confident lawyer who, quite obviously, wanted to get her into bed.

Right or wrong, but the evening out had strengthened her in her decision, and she had been more confident than ever that she needed to break up with David - but then she had come home to their apartment, and he had been waiting for her, sitting by their kitchen table. It was way too late to eat, but he had immediately jumped up to serve her dinner, pouring fine wine into her glass, giving her compliments - trying to be ‘the romantic boyfriend’. He had been overly attentive to her - and she had felt like she was being suffocated! It all made her feel like a horrible and cold-hearted person, and now she was ashamed that she didn’t try harder to fix their relationship instead of leaving.

To break up with David now was the hardest thing she had ever done. Not that she was feeling any regrets. On the contrary, she was relieved that she was finally going through with it! She did not really have feelings for him anymore. She wished for him to be happy… Just not with her.

But it was not easy, neither emotionally, nor practically. For instance, when they had decided to live together, Isabel had moved into David’s apartment, and now she was, of course, the one who had to leave... And all the while she was trying to pack her belongings, David was either yelling at her that she was an ‘unfaithful bit.ch’, insinuating that she had been sleeping with someone else, or he was crying, telling her she was the love of his life and begging her to stay.

"Please, Isabel, don't leave me," he whimpered, finally realizing that she was leaving him, for real.

She was finishing up, packing her last bags and put them out in the hallway, while he sat on the couch, looking at her pleadingly. "Please don't leave. I can't live without you".

“I'm really sorry, Dave,” Isabel was distressed, finding this process almost too hard to handle. “I really am! But we’ve talked about this. I can’t do this anymore... We haven’t been happy together for a long time now.”

He stood up and walked over to her with his arms stretched towards her.

"Please, just let me hold you one last time," he wrapped her into his and kissed her cheek.

Isabel was exhausted and gave in, reluctantly leaning into his arms... It was a familiar embrace, and she still felt like home in his arms somehow.

"Just one last time" he murmured in her ear, his hands sliding down her back.

She could feel her body respond, relaxing... Heating. She remembered they always used to have great make-up s*x, back in the days! Maybe just one last time...

She pushed him away.

“No David. Sorry, but this is not right,” she turned away from him and walked over to her bags.

"Well, f**k you, Isabel!"

She gasped and turned back around.

“Excuse me, what?”

David was staring at her menacingly, and she felt like was going to explodewith anger! What was this psychotic nonsense?

"I said: screw you,” he sneered. “Yeah, just leave. You will come back. It’s not like you have anywhere to go anyway,” he scorned.

“Well actually I do,” she replied coldly and opened the door, lifting out her bags. “I will stay with my new boyfriend.”

She shut the door in his face, his eyes wide with shock.

***

She couldn't help to smile viciously as she threw her bags into the trunk of her petrol-coloured Mini Cooper. Her ‘joke’ earlier had clearly been a hit below the belt... But it had been an ugly break-up and David wasn’t the only one who could behave like a jerk!

“Right back at him!” she murmured as she sat down behind the steering wheel, but was immediately flooded by guilt. She was the one who was breaking up with him, it was understandable he behaved like an id.iot, but she had no excuses for being nasty… Well, now it was done, and maybe David thinking she was seeing someone else wasn’t so bad after all? Maybe he would leave her alone now.

As she steered her her little car out of the busy city this Friday evening, she pushed the call-button on her phone.

“Hi mom,” Isabel said, balancing the phone between her shoulder and ear. “Just wanted to say I’m on my way to the Lake house now.”

“Hi honey,” Miriam’s soothing voice felt safe and comforting. “How are you holding up?”

“Umm… It’s OK. I guess. Dave is really upset, but… there’s not much to do.”

“Of course.” Miriam paused. “I’ve filled up the fridge for you. Or would you rather want me to come join you?”

“I’d rather be alone,” Isabel rearranged the phone on her shoulder, it was beginning to slide off. “But thanks, mom. I’ll call you tomorrow, OK?”

“Sure,” she could hear the worry in Miriam’s voice.

Miriam had always been a very attentive mother, and even though she had worked a lot when Isabel grew up, they were very close - much thanks to their mother-and-daughter getaways in the lake house, the only place Miriam seemed to be really at ease... Still, she always said she preferred living in the city? An equation that never really summed up in Isabel’s mind, but she guessed her mother had her reasons. As long as Isabel could remember, her mother was not the sociable type. She did have some friends at work, but if she wasn’t working, she preferred to stay at home all cuddled-up in a sofa reading. Sometimes, she went to the Lake house by herself, but most of the time they went together. Isabel could hardly recall the last time they had done, though, they had both been very busy lately.

“Don’t worry, mom,” Isabel reassured, “I’ll be fine. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“OK. But call me if you need anything. I love you, honey.”

“Bye mom, love you.”

“Oh Isabel?” Isabel was just about to hang up when Miriam nearly shouted her name.

“Yes?”

“Remember not to go into the woods when it’s dark.”

“How could I forget?” Isabel chuckled. “You’ve been reminding me since I was a little child.”

“Just fulfilling my mother-duties,” Isabel could hear Miriam was smiling.

“Bye mom”, Isabel hung up and released her neck from her phone, a little whine escaping her lips as she did. She was so extremely stiff! She would definitely go for a run or a swim as soon as she had unpacked.

Roughly two hours later, Isabel steered the car onto a small unpaved road leading up to a neat wooden house with a big lake as a backdrop. The sun was beginning to set behind the distant forest trees on the other side of the lake, and both the sky and the water were gleaming with bright pink and orange.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, and Isabel let her bags remain in the trunk as she jumped out of the car and hurriedly walked towards the water, pulling off one piece of clothing for each step she took and dropping them on the ground. She ran the last few steps before she reached their little private jetty, and at the end of it she dived into the water headfirst. What a thrill! The water was cool and reviving, and she swam a few meters under the surface before she eventually came up and gasped for air.

She swam back and forth a few times along the shore before she finally got up on the jetty, shivering slightly from the cold. It was getting darker, the sky now coloured in different shades of deep purple. She was totally nude as she tip-toed on the gravel back to the car, squeezing the water out of her long wet hair... when suddenly, something sent her the chills down her spine. Was someone watching her?

It felt like eyes were burning at her back! She swiftly turned and looked around, goosebumps all over her arms. Was there someone over there, behind the trees... by the shore? She squinted her eyes, frowning, but couldn’t see anyone. But wait, wasn’t that.. what was it? A bear? She saw something dark and big, like a shadow… but with a pair of gleaming eyes in the shade of the trees. Or was it all in her imagination?

She blinked and it was gone. With vigilant steps, she started walking again, nervously throwing glances over her shoulder. She snapped her clothes from the ground and hurriedly pulled them on as she went back to the car, quickly opening the trunk and grabbing her bags, her eyes scanning the surroundings as she almost ran over to the house. The burning sensation at her back was gone, and she shook her head.

“Silly girl!” she told herself. There had never been any intruders at their house! She doubted anyone even knew it existed. For sure, there were some other houses by the lake, but they were far away and probably as secluded as theirs.

She unlocked and opened the door and immediately relaxed - everything was just as it was supposed to be. Her mother had left a few lamps lit and the little house felt cosy and safe... There were even some logs in the fireplace, so she could light a fire later if she wanted to. Even though it had been a warm day, the house was quite cool, thanks to the air-condition that was purring in the main living room. Thanks mom, Isabel thought with a smile.

She turned on the kettle to make some tea and looked out through the kitchen window. The lake was now dark blue and the stars were glittering in the sky. The moon was rising above the treetops and Isabel felt her eyes tearing up.

She had broken up with David. She didn't have to struggle anymore... No more fights, no more long discussions. No more giving in to s*x even if she wasn't up for it. Never again!

She had a completely new feeling in her chest. She felt…. Free.