Imagine you're friends with Mort Rainey and you stay with him after escaping from your ex-boyfriend.

*Requested by GrindelwaldSparrow*

'Keep going. Keep driving. Whatever you do, keep on driving until you have reached the destination your heart is telling you where to go.' You heard your inner conscience speaking to you in your mind as you were completely focused on driving down the darkened road that leads to your hometown that you haven't seen in years during the evening, with a couple of packed suitcases in the backseat and fear in your eyes. Just a few minutes ago, you ran away from your New York City apartment to escape from your ex-boyfriend, Avery, and his abusive behavior. After two years of suffering, you decided to end your relationship with him by leaving a break-up note at the apartment while he was covering a shift at his work and go back to your hometown, Tashmore Lake.

When you arrived at Tashmore Lake, you drove through the small town, slowly, while you observed it for a bit. It felt weird being back in your hometown since you haven't seen it in ten years after you left for college to pursue your writing career. The town still looked the same as it ever looked, with the same folks who lived there a long time you could possibly recognize.

You parked your car in front of the local market to grab something to eat before you could go back on the road to look for a nearby motel to stay in until you could find a suitable home to live in. As you were grabbing a box of cereal, you heard a voice from behind you say, "(y/n) (y/l/n)?" At first, your eyes widened, thinking it was your ex-boyfriend, but, then, you came to your senses when you realized that it was someone else who you knew very well that you haven't seen in years. You turned around and was face-to-face with your close friend from high school, Mort Rainey, who now happens to be a famous mystery writer.

"Mort Rainey?" You said, happily. "Long time no see." Mort said, as the two of you embraced each other in a heartwarming hug, with Mort chuckling. "It's good to see you again, Mort. I haven't seen you since high school graduation." You said. "I know. It's been so long. I've missed you so much, (y/n)." Mort said. "I've missed you too, Mort." You said back. Then, you both pulled away from the hug and looked at each other. "So, how's everything going with you? I've been reading your books." "Oh, it's been good. Okay, I guess you can say. I'm currently working on a new book. I'm hoping to make a very good twisted ending for it." Mort stated. "That's nice." You commented. "Yeah, and, well, I'm also going through a divorce with my wife, Amy." Mort added, looking down, slightly.

It bummed you out to hear that he was married since he was not only your very close friend in high school, but he was also your crush. His creative writing skills, his personality, and his handsome facial features, especially when he wore glasses, had a sparked a deep liking for him. You've been wanting to tell him how you felt, but your nerves got the better of you and you didn't even tell him on the day of graduation before you left for summer orientation at college the next day. It felt miserable for the past ten years for not seeing or speaking to Mort and going out with guys, including Avery, that you didn't actually love since your feelings for Mort never went away. But now that you're hearing that Mort's divorcing his wife, it honestly made you feel happy inside, even though you felt bad for him.

"Oh. I'm so sorry to hear about that, Mort." You said, with sympathy in your voice. "It's alright, (y/n). It's for the best anyway since she cheated on me." Mort explained. 'That witch. How could she do that to him?' You thought to yourself. "Aw. That's horrible, Mort. It probably is for the best." "Yeah. But enough about that. How are you doing, (y/n)? How's everything going on with you?" Mort asked. You hesitated to answer his questions until you said, sorrowly, "Um, it's been okay, I guess." Mort could sense that something wasn't right as he stared into your (e/c) eyes. "Are you sure you're okay, (y/n)?" He questioned, sounding concerned.

You hesitated to answer him again, but you thought it was best for you to tell him why you're all of a sudden back in Tashmore Lake after all these years since he's someone that you could trust. "Honestly, no. I'm not okay." You said, as you lowered your head down. Mort looked around to see if there was anyone nearby to hear their conversation, which there wasn't, and, then, he looked back at you. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" He whispered. You took a deep breath and said, "I left New York City earlier to get away from my abusive ex-boyfriend. That's why I'm back here in Tashmore Lake."

When you said that, Mort was shocked. He had his look on his face as if he would say, 'How could someone do this to (y/n)? She doesn't deserve to be treated like that.' Knowing that you didn't have any place to stay, Mort thought up an idea. "Why don't we go over to my cabin and we can talk more about this?" He whispered. You nodded in agreement since you both were still in the same aisle at the market and the two of you haven't left yet. Once you and Mort checked out everything, you got in your car and followed Mort to where his cabin was located.

***

You got to Mort's secluded cabin and talked with him for almost an hour about your relationship with Avery. It was heartbreaking to talk about the situation, it was like talking about nightmares you've been having for so long that we're actually reality. But at the same time, it was therapeutic for you to talk about it to someone, like your close friend, Mort. The whole time, Mort sat with you on the couch, listening to every word you were saying, with sympathy in his dark brown eyes.

"He's like this monster whenever I looked deep into his eyes. He was never like this when I first met him. I don't know what caused him to act like this. But it now makes me wish that I never knew him. He's never supported my writing career and he would always walk around acting like he was better than me. He would find any excuse to slap me across the face if I talked so-called nonsense towards him and he'd say horrible things to me that weren't true. I finally had enough and I took the opportunity to escape from him while he was covering a shift at his work. I packed all my things, left a 'break-up' note at the apartment, left New York City, and drove to the one place I thought it would be safe for me." You explained.

"I'm sorry he did that to you, (y/n). He sounds like a horrible guy and you don't deserve to be treated like that. I know how you feel after I discovered that Amy was cheating on me. It makes me wish that I didn't know her." Mort said, while he, lightly, brushed his fingers against your cheeks. You sighed as you relaxed from Mort's touch. "Maybe Avery and Amy should get together sometime." You said, sarcastically, and it made Mort chuckle a bit.

You didn't say a word for a few seconds as you were enjoying the feeling of Mort's fingers brushing against your cheek. "I'm so glad you're back in Tashmore Lake, sweetheart." Mort spoke, softly. "Me too, Mort. But I don't know where I'm gonna live now that I don't live in an apartment anymore. I might as well have to stay in a motel room until I can find a decent place to live in." You said, looking down. Then, you felt two fingers under your chin, lifting your head up so that you were looking directly at Mort. "You can stay here with me, (y/n). I've got plenty of space here and you can sleep in my bed." He said.

It was surprising to you when Mort was offering you to stay at his cabin. You thought it was very kind of him to do that for you. "But, Mort, are you sure? I don't wanna feel like I'm being a burden to you." "Of course I'm sure. You're not a burden at all. You can stay here as long as you want to. I would hate for you to stay in a cheap motel room for God knows how long and this cabin is pretty much secluded, nobody in town really knows where it is. Plus, it would be very nice to have company around since...I do get pretty lonely here a lot since I don't live with Amy anymore." Mort said. You smiled and scooted closer towards him and wrapped your arms around his neck. "I'll accept your offer. Thank you for doing that for me and for being such a wonderful friend to me, Mort." You said, while you embraced him in a hug.

Mort wrapped his arms around you and held you close to him, as if he didn't want to let you go. He seemed as if he was desperate to say something to you that he's been waiting a long time to tell you, but he couldn't get the words out of his mouth. All he could do was hold you close in his arms, breathe in your natural scent that was mesmerizing to him, and mentally made a vow to protect you at all costs.

***

The sound of thunder had woken you up out of nowhere as you sat up on the couch and rubbed your eyes. You looked around, frightened, and noticed that all the lights in Mort's cabin were completely off since it was the middle of the night. Lightning had flashed from outside that could be seen from the windows and you heard another thunderclap.

"Mort?" You called out, while you were getting up from the couch, with the blanket wrapped around you. But he didn't answer. "Mort?" You called out again and there was still no answer, which seemed odd to you. You, then, started walking towards the front door to go outside to get some fresh air, even though there was a thunderstorm happening.

Once you were outside on the porch, you stopped in your tracks, in fright, when you heard, "Hi, (y/n)." Your (e/c) eyes had widened when you recognized that voice anywhere; the one that you thought you'd never hear ever again. You turned around and saw who it was standing all the way at the end of the porch. Your breath began to shake when you saw none other than your dark haired ex-boyfriend, Avery, with his arms crossed. "Wh-What are you doing here, Avery?" You asked. "I've been looking all over for you, (y/n), and I finally found you. Why did you leave me? Do you not understand how much you hurt me?" Avery said, manipulatively. "I didn't hurt you, Avery. You're the one who doesn't understand the fact that you're the one who's been hurting me." You said, with a shaky breath escape your mouth, mentally preparing yourself for what he was gonna say.

Avery laughed, insanely, and shook his head before he said, "I hurt you? No. You're wrong, like you always are. You broken my heart, baby. I treated you like a man should always treat his lady." You shook your head, slowly, and said back, "No. You didn't, Avery. You never treated me like that. You treated me like I was nothing to you."

After you said that, a lightning flash shined on Avery's face as his facial expression was, slowly, forming into an evil scowl; the similar inner monster look he'd always had given you during your two-year relationship with him. "You never should have left me, (y/n). Now I'm gonna show you how much you hurt me." He said, threateningly. Then, all of a sudden, in one quick as move, he lunged towards you like a predator hunting it's prey. "No!!" You screamed, as you turned away while everything around you was fading into darkness once he reached you.

***

You whimpered with your eyes still closed before you let you out a scream, while you gripped onto what felt like the bedsheets that were underneath you. Then, you felt a hand stroking the top of your (h/c) hair before you heard a someone shushing, calmly. Then, you immediately opened your eyes and let out a gasp before you breathed heavily as you were looking around your surroundings, without realizing that a tear was falling down on the side of your head.

"You're okay, (y/n). You're okay." You heard a voice speaking in a soft tone that calmed you down. You looked up and saw Mort sitting next to you on his bed, with a concerned expression on his face. Feeling relieved that it's reality and not feeling stuck in the same nightmare you just had, you sat up and immediately wrapped your arms around Mort, while holding onto him for dear life. Mort, then, wrapped an arm around your back, while he placed his other hand on the back of your head, and held you close him as he heard you breathing heavily. "Shh. It's okay, sweetheart. It was just a nightmare. It's over." He whispered by your ear, while he rubbed your back.

"It was horrible, Mort. It seemed realistic. I thought Avery had found me and he was gonna hurt me again." You said, before you whimpered at the last part. Mort hushed you, softly, before he said, "You will never have to deal with him anymore, (y/n). I promise you, he'll never hurt you ever again. You're very special to me and I don't want to see you upset or hurt because of him. If he ever shows up, I'll protect you from him no matter what and I will deal him myself."

When he said all that to you, you pulled away from the hug and looked directly at him. "You promise, Mort?" You said. He caressed your cheek and stroked it, gently, with his thumb and said, "I promise, sweetheart." Then, to your surprise, Mort leaned towards you and he kissed you on the lips. You didn't except him to do that, but you instantly kissed him back because it actually felt great to finally kiss him after all these years since high school. Then, he pulled away from the kiss and he stared down at your (e/c) eyes, with admiration. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." Mort said. "How long?" You asked, curiously. "Since high school." He answered, which shocked you, mentally, because you weren't expecting him to feel the same way as you did back in high school. "Same here." You said.

After you said that, Mort smiled and helped you lay back down on the bed before he crawled into bed with you and covered the two of you with the covers. Once that was done, Mort wrapped his arms around you and he held you close to him once again as he whispered in your ear. "I'll protect you, (y/n). I'll make sure nothing will ever happen to you. I promise you." He whispered, while he, without you noticing, glanced up at a black object that was hanging off of his dresser that he will use when he will confront Avery in the future. A black hat.