Breaking

My ex-husband showed up yelling at my door and refused to leave.

I've spent six years with him, and he'd never been this violent until tonight.

He said he made mistakes and asked if we could sit down, and I told him no.

I pushed the door shut and his hand caught the frame.

His foot slid into the gap below the chain and I threw my shoulder into the wood.

My dog was barking behind me, over and over, and my hands were shaking so hard I could barely hold the door.

"You're nothing without me."

Suddenly, his hand dropped off the frame, and I heard a grunt and shoes scraping across the porch boards.

I pulled the door open and my breath caught.

My firefighter neighbor stood there with one hand gripping the back of my ex-husband's neck.

And he growled,

"She's not yours anymore. She's mine."