Chapter 8: Ex Trouble

Anna slept soundly the night of the date, although she had expected to lay awake daydreaming with excitement. Maybe it was the alcohol. Or maybe it was contentment, that feeling she always hoped for that would tell her she no longer had to daydream about the perfect life.

A few days passed, and Anna and Kelly paused for a few minutes in the parking lot after work to have a chat.

"I'm almost as excited about next weekend as you are," laughed Kelly.

"I'm thrilled, but I'm also a little uncertain," Anna told her friend.

"Uncertain? Girl, you need to stop letting those demons of your past mess with your future. Please, try to forget about that stupid Alan," Kelly begged.

"I'm trying. Believe me, I'm trying," Anna answered. "I'm headed for the grocery store. Need anything for dinner?"

"Okay fine, change the subject," Kelly teased. "I do, but I need to run home first to grab my shopping list, so I'll be right behind you."

"Okay, I'll see you there," said Anna.

Both women drove off for their respective errands, and soon Anna pulled into the grocery store parking lot. She rummaged through her purse before going in to find her own shopping list. Finally, she located it and got out of her car.

A familiar voice made her stop in her tracks.

"What do you think you're doing, fooling around with that guy?" Alan Shangle approached her hollering and quickly moved right up into her face.

Shocked, Anna took a second to compose herself, but thankfully she was able to respond. When she and Alan first broke up, Kelly had helped her practice being more assertive so Alan would stop being so possessive of her and hopefully stop bothering her.

"It's not any concern of yours what I do," said Anna. Her voice sounded confident from all the practice, but she felt every part of her body shaking. That old, familiar fear reappeared quickly.

"Oh, it isn't, is it? Well, I guess Little Miss Anna thinks she knows how the world works, doesn't she? You always were an idiot. No guy like that is gonna want you for anything but s-e-x," he said, spelling out the word for emphasis.

"That's not true," was all Anna could think of to say.

"Whatever. You're a liar, and everyone knows it. That guy'll figure it out soon enough. You promised to be my wife, and we saw how that went. You're still gonna marry me one day. You just don't know it yet," Alan said with a sour look on his face.

"I'm not a liar. I have a right to change my mind about important things like who I'm going to marry," Anna answered. Her nerves were rattled, but she pictured Kelly supporting her in every word she said.

"You'll see. You'll be seeing a lot more of me real soon, and a lot less of Mr. Muscles," said Alan.

"Alan Shangle, if you don't get your grimy paws away from her, you'll answer to me!" Kelly had arrived and saw Alan harassing Anna. She'd barely shut down her car before she bounded out to confront the man.

"Oh, your bodyguard is here, I see," teased Alan with malice in his voice, looking over Kelly, his eyes lingering on her chest long enough to be sure she noticed.

"Leave, you disgusting pig," Kelly commanded, and Alan started to back away. He had always been afraid of her boyfriend, John, who was stronger and smarter than Alan.

"Remember me in your dreams, dear," he called out to Anna as he left.

"Ugh, that man is repulsive," Kelly said as she turned to Anna. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, thanks, I think so," said Anna, "I think I did okay with him. He said I'd see a lot more of him. I hope he's not planning something."

"He's too chicken and stupid to plan anything, Anna," Kelly reassured her. "Try not to worry about him."

"I'll try," Anna said, adjusting her dress. "Let's just go shopping."

"You've got it!" Kelly answered.

The women did their shopping, and Anna was thankful that Alan was still gone after she was done.

"Keep your phone out handy," Kelly told her. "If he comes around your house, text or call me pronto!"

"I will. Thanks, hun," Anna said, giving her friend a goodbye hug.

Anna arrived home and was happy again that there was no sign of Alan in her neighborhood. He lived across town, so most of the time he was normally easy to avoid. She hadn't seen much of him at all until her dates with Ethan.

"He must be watching me," she said to herself as she plopped down her things on her kitchen table and picked up Sammy for a hug. "He's going to stay away from us, Sammy. Don't you worry about Alan Shangle." But it wasn't her cat who was worried.

It was hard for Anna to eat dinner that night. Something bothered her in the pit of her stomach. Her relationship with Alan had gone badly, but it wasn't always like that. She recalled some of their first dates like they were yesterday. At first, Alan had been so kind and polite, seemingly listening to her every word and agreeing with almost every decision she made.

"When did that change?" she asked aloud to herself, "And why?" The memories flooded into her mind, and there seemed to be as many good times as bad times. 'Maybe it was all my fault after all,' she thought.

Then her thoughts turned to Ethan and the wonderful conversations they shared. 'Is it all just the same?' she wondered. 'Maybe he's not being genuine, either, and he's just impressing me and really doesn't care about me or animals or anything he claims we have in common at all. Kelly likes him, but she's never even met him, so she really doesn't know him. I just don't think I can go through that kind of mess again.'

She reached down to pet Sammy, who was now nestled in a ball, purring in her lap. "I can't do it again, Sammy. I don't have the strength."

She sat for a moment. 'I need to tell Ethan that I'm just not ready,' she thought. 'This will be hard. But going through all that again would be harder.' She pulled out her phone and pulled up Ethan's number in her contacts.

She stared at the phone for several minutes, then clicked on the button to call him.