Tainted Freedom {Formerly Stalker} (Book 2) (Completed)

Chapter 11

"Do you have any idea what he's planning to do, Rosa?" Melanie asked as she watched me get ready for the date with Cory.

"I honestly have no idea." I said, putting one some eye shadow.

"I have a pretty good hunch, but I could be wrong."

"If he asks me to marry him, I have no idea what I'll do. I just hope he doesn't pop the question in the middle of a slow dance like my asshat ex-husband did."

"You're going out to dinner. I doubt there will be any slow dancing at all."

"I hope you're right. I also hope that Dave decides to stay home and not cause a scene by stalking me and interfering with everything like he's been good at lately."

"Just try not to think about that asshole. If he has any sense at all, he'll leave you alone tonight. Maybe some of the guardians should come and keep watch."

"Did you just swear again?" I said, shocked because Melanie never swears.

"You're starting to get to me, okay?"

"I am good at that. It's probably why my dumb-ass ex is still hooked on me."

"Who knows. He's just a lunatic. I wish I knew what went though his head some days."

"Me too, me too."

"Kait, are you ready? We need to get going soon." Cory said, poking his head into the bathroom.

"Yeah, just give me a minute." I said with a small smile.

"Good luck, Rosa. I'll be watching the whole thing." Melanie said with a wink.

"I'd take you to your favorite restaurant, but I don't want to repeat anything your ex may have done. Instead, we are going to IHOP." Cory said.

"Do you want to drive?" I asked.

"Sure, we'll take my Dart. It's a nice night." He said, putting an arm around my shoulder as we walked out the door.

"Good luck, Rosa!" Melanie called.

After a nice supper of pancakes, we went for a walk in the state park near my house. We stopped at a bench to sit for a while and right before we got up to leave, Cory stopped down to do what I though was tie his shoe.

"What are you doing?" I said with a small laugh when he started fiddling with his pocket.

He pulled out a small box and took my hand.

"Kait, I know you probably have no intention of getting married again, but I hope you'll think of reconsidering. I loved you from the first moment I set eyes on you a few years ago when you decided to come to the Mopar Nationals again. I have a very important question to ask you." He said.

"Wh-what's that?" I said.

"Will you marry me?"

"Don't even answer that question! You're my girl, Kait! Not his! He doesn't deserve you, I do!" Dave yelled, jumping out of the forest and attacking us.

"Don't you know how to leave people alone?!" Cory yelled, slugging him in the jaw.

"Ow, ow, ow! Put me down! Put me down! What are you doing?!" Dave yelled as I hung him on a tree branch by the back of his T-shirt.

"Do you have any idea of the effect you've had on this family? Of the effect you've had on me? You had your chance to keep me. That time you had has now greatly expired. I don't know how many other ways I can put it. You need to move on. There's two places for people like you: prison and Hell. If you're lucky, I might decide to put you down, but only if you promise to leave me and my family alone. If you say that now, and break your promise later, I'll have only one option. You'll find out what that is if your break your promise. If you don't promise to leave me alone, I'll leave you here to rot until someone finds you. Your choice. Make it now." I said, kinda pissed off.

"I promise! I promise! I'll leave you alone! Now please, get me down!" he yelled.

"I don't know if I should, actually. I said I would, but then again, you deserve a taste of your own medicine. How many things have you said you were going to do but failed to? Remember that time you said you'd love me forever? What happened to that, huh? Huh?! I loved you and you betrayed me! You cheated on me and thought I'd never find out about it! What's worse is that you trusted Melanie not to tell me! Melanie, for Christ's sake! We're bonded! Even if I hadn't been watching her that day, I would have felt something wrong with her and dug deep enough into her to find it out anyway! You thought you were invincible. Hell, you still do!"

"I didn't break that promise. I still love you. I made a mistake. I cheated, you found out, I ran. I was scared of what you'd think of me. Then you didn't come home from the Mopar's for over two weeks and I thought you'd cheated, too." He said, falling slightly limp from hanging in the tree.

"That is such bullshit." I said.

"Well, do we leave him here?" Cory asked.

"I think it's a good idea. And to answer your previous question, yes. I will marry you." I said, giving him a hug as we walked away leaving Dave suspended from the tree.

"Wait! Wait! You said you'd put me down!" Dave yelled.

"I lied, just like you did throughout most of our marriage." I yelled back.

"Fuck you!" He screamed at me.

"Must I remind you? You have." I said.

"Let's go. This scum bag doesn't deserve any more of our time." Cory said.

It took us a whole five minutes to get home. Melanie was waiting on the couch when we got back.

"Well, how'd it go?" she said.

"Really well. Until you know who attacked Cory yelling 'that's my girl you don't deserve her'" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Oh god. He really doesn't know how to leave people alone, does he?" she said.

"That's exactly what I said." Cory mentioned.

"Did he, follow you home?" she said, a little creeped.

"Not unless he found a way to get off of the tree." I said.

"A way to get off of the tree?" she said, confused.

"I hung him in a tree by the back of T-shirt."

"How long until you take him down?"

"He has to find his own way down. I refuse to do it. I gave him a taste of his own medicine. I said I would, but I didn't."

"He kinda deserves it." She admitted.

"I thought the same thing." I said.

"I say we go to bed." Cory said.

"It's eight o'clock."

"Who mentioned sleeping?" he said, winking at me.

"Oh, I think I get you." I said.

"Don't have too much fun, you two." Melanie said.