Greg. No way. What was he doing here? That question was quickly answered as he smiled and pulled a bouquet from behind his back.

"Hey, Linny. It's been a while," he murmured, holding the flowers out to me. "You look as beautiful as ever."

I recognized that tone in his voice. Sweet, apologetic, and completely fake. I must have heard it at least a dozen times. The more sincere he tried to sound, the more full of shit I knew he was. I was always stupid enough to buy into it before, but not anymore. I crossed my arms and glared at him. He held the flowers out a little longer before giving up and dropping them to his side.

"I'm... guessing you weren't really expecting me tonight," he continued.

I scoffed. "Tonight, tomorrow, or any other day. What the hell are you doing here, Greg?"

"Trying to salvage what I destroyed." He held the flowers out to me again. "Linny, I'm so sorry I hurt you. I brought us here to start a new life together, and I ended up ruining everything.

I made the exact same mistakes I promised you I'd never make again. I drove you away and I have no one but myself to blame for that. They say you don't realize what you have until it's gone, and I learned that the hard way. I miss you, Linny. I need you. I love you."

Such a touching and heartfelt speech. Too bad I'd heard it before. He made a few adjustments here and there, but it was basically a copy of the same apology he gave me the last time I left him. I looked down at my nails casually and let out a sigh.

"So what happened this time to make you sorry?" I asked, uninterested. "Did the other girl dump you or just refuse to be your little servant girl?"

"Linny, it's not like that," he insisted. "It was a fling, that's all. I made-"

"A mistake," I finished, mocking his voice. "Yeah, yeah, it's always a mistake with you. I'm starting to wonder how you got this far in life making this many 'mistakes.' How long were we here? Two months maybe?"

"You're right," he admitted, throwing his hands up in defeat. "You're always right, Linny. You always have been right. I'm selfish, I'm egotistical, I'm a bastard, and I don't deserve you. You're right about all of that."

"So, you're here because..."

"Because I still love you," he said desperately. "I want to be a better man for you, Linny. I will be a better man for you. Please. I know I've said this before, but I mean it this time. Let's start over.

We'll go back to Ohio, and this time, it won't just be for show. We'll get married, we'll buy that house you always had your eye on, and we'll have the life you always dreamed of. Just the two of us. Let's start over. Together."

I wasn't buying into any of it for a second. He'd been promising things like this for how long now? Although, something he said did stand out to me.

"Go back to Ohio..." I repeated slowly.

The lightbulb went off in my head at that moment. I started laughing hysterically. Of course. What else could it be?

He looked confused. "What's so funny?"

"Go back to Ohio!" I cried, still laughing. "You lost your job, didn't you?"

He flinched a little and looked at the ground. His cheeks burned red with shame. I smiled and shook my head slowly.

"Oh my god, I knew it," I said, rolling my eyes. "You hated Ohio. No way in hell you'd go back if you had any other choice.

It must be so humiliating, huh? Having to crawl back to all those midwest hicks you looked down on at your office? Going back to that little do-nothing town you hated? And not only do you have to do it without a job but without your girlfriend too? My, my. What would they think of you then?"

"Okay, Linny. That's enough," he snapped.

I scoffed. "Figures. You made an ass of yourself, cheated on me, and now you expect me to come crawling back to you just because you faked an apology for the umpteenth time. Why? So you can save yourself a little bit of face when you slink back home? Go fuck yourself, Greg."

"Like you have any options!" He shouted, tossing the flower off to the side. He dropped all pretenses of trying to apologize anymore. "What? You're going to stay in this little backwoods town? Yeah, I'm sure you'll make it big here. Stuck in a little rundown shack like this forever, scarfing down moose meat, and popping out your tenth kid from some lumberjack with three teeth!"

"Actually, I have all my teeth."

We both jumped a bit as Teddy's voice came from inside the house. I turned around. He was leaning against the doorway of the kitchen with his arms crossed. He was glaring right at Greg.

Greg's mouth was agape seeing Teddy standing there. Teddy came over and put his arm around my waist. I was surprised but he squeezed me gently as if telling me to go along with it.

"I wondered what you were doing letting that poor old lady stay out in the cold for so long, but I guess it makes sense now." Teddy's face darkened as he looked at Greg. "Who the hell are you and what do you want?"

Greg was flabbergasted. I think this might have had to do as much with Teddy's appearance as it did his arm around me. Maybe it was because I didn't have somebody to compare him to before, but I never realized how tall Teddy really was until that moment. He must have been at least half a foot taller than Greg, and Greg wasn't exactly short.

"I-w-we-I-umm," Greg babbled, trying to find words.

"This is my ex-boyfriend. Greg," I explained to him. "You know, the one I told you about."

"Oh! The cheating asshole!" Teddy cried as if suddenly remembering. A cheesy smile filled his face. "So this is him. Thanks a lot, man. You threw away one hell of a gem here."

Teddy pulled me closer. A subtle way of claiming me. Teddy's size might have been intimidating, but Greg was still Greg. The last thing he was going to do was be talked down to by some country hick.

"Who the hell are you exactly?" He spat, regaining his confidence.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Teddy said, extending his free hand. "I'm Teddy, Linny's boyfriend."

I had to try really hard not to show the shock on my face as I heard him say that. It finally clicked for me what he was trying to do though. He was trying to help me out.

Teddy had been able to figure out Greg's type right away. Greg was the kind of guy who wouldn't give up until he got his way. He'd keep coming around and bothering me until I gave in to whatever he wanted. Unless, of course, there was an obstacle in the way. Say, a giant psycho lumberjack boyfriend?

"B-boyfriend?!" Greg cried incredulously. "Him?!"

I decided to play along. If nothing else, it would really piss Greg off. I smiled and hugged Teddy close. I reached up and patted his chest gently, trying to play the part of the affectionate girlfriend.

"Of course," I said sweetly. "He's my big, strong lumberjack. He takes really good care of me. Chops my firewood, shovels the driveway-"

"I cook a mean moose too," he teased. "It's not half bad. You should try it sometime."

Greg completely ignored anything to do with Teddy. He turned to me instead. He kept opening and closing his mouth like he didn't know what to say. Finally, some words managed to find their way out.

"Linny, come on." He smiled, but his eyes were wide with panic. His voice sounded desperate. "This isn't the kind of life you want. I know it isn't. Struggling to make ends meet in the middle of nowhere? I mean, really?"

"I want a man who will love and respect me," I said sharply. "You've made it perfectly clear you're not capable of either of those."

"So you're just going to whore yourself out to-"

"Okay, that's enough!" Teddy roared.

The anger in his voice surprised me just as much as it did Greg. It was like somebody had flipped a switch in Teddy. His personality did a complete one-eighty. Any trace of his normally cheerful personality had completely vanished.

He stepped in front of me, blocking me from view. Normally, this kind of thing would annoy me. After all, I was perfectly capable of fighting my own battles. Especially with Greg. What stopped me from saying anything was the way he stood. It wasn't aggressive like he was trying to take over the fight. Instead, the way he stood was defensive. Like he was trying to protect me.

Greg went pale as Teddy took another step towards him. Perhaps it was because he was usually so smiley and upbeat, but I'd never realized how scary Teddy could be before. His face was cold and unmoving, like staring into stone. His eyes seemed devoid of any feeling. He towered over Greg with a dark aura that chilled everything in its path. Even I felt frozen to my core seeing him that way.

"You will not talk that way about Linny." His voice was low. I could hear hatred dripping off of every word. "The only 'whore' here is you. You thought you could treat her however you wanted and she'd always stand there and take it. You thought she'd stay with you because she didn't have any other option. You threw her away because you thought you could get her back whenever you felt like it. You were wrong. Someone as pathetic as you doesn't deserve her."

Greg tried to stand firm, but I could see him shaking. If he was trying to seem tough, it only made him look more frightened.

"Now, listen," Greg said weakly. His voice was trembling. "I-"

"No, you listen because I'm only going to warn you once," Teddy threatened. "Stay away from Linny. Don't call her, don't talk to her, don't drop by her place, or her work, or anywhere else. Remove yourself from her life. Because if you don't, then I will."

Teddy reached out and shoved him with one hand. Greg stumbled and fell onto the ground. He looked terrified. Despite this, he seemed to have his pride on the line at this point and he wasn't going to give it up without a fight.

"A-and if I don't?"

Next thing I knew, Teddy had his knife out. He pointed it at Greg and smiled. There was no warmth in this smile though. It was empty and only helped to emphasize the coldness in his voice.

"If you come near her again, I'll skin you alive and turn you into a rug for my fireplace."

At this point, I wasn't sure how much of that was a joke. Honestly, I wasn't sure if any of it was a joke anymore. Neither was Greg, but it seemed like he wasn't taking any chances. He scurried to his feet in a second and ran off, slipping and tripping over himself the entire way.

As soon as Greg disappeared from sight, Teddy switched right back to his old self. His face immediately returned to its normal, upbeat appearance. He tucked the knife back in its sheath. He clapped his hands together as if dusting them off and turned towards me with a smile.

Until he saw what my face looked like. Although, I wasn't sure exactly what expression I was wearing at that moment. So many emotions were running through my body. Disbelief, fear, confusion, and those were just the ones I could identify. Teddy's face immediately turned into one of panic.

"Shit! Linny, I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I was trying to scare him, not you. Are you okay?"

"Huh?" I was still in shock.

"I'm so so sorry, Linny," he repeated. "I just couldn't stand hearing him talk about you that way. Especially considering everything he did to you. I wanted to give him a good scare so he'd leave you alone. That was all. I didn't want you to take me seriously though. You know I wouldn't hurt you. Right?"

Right. I knew that. Didn't I? So why did I feel so uncertain about it now?

Helpful Teddy. Happy Teddy. Funny, upbeat, smiling Teddy. Every trace of him had disappeared when he spoke to Greg. That cold, empty expression on his face, the venom in his voice. Teddy's words from earlier came to mind. You think you know somebody, then one day they do something that you never would have expected in a million years. Suddenly, you don't know who they are anymore, what they're capable of, or where to go from there. He was right.

That man in my doorway a moment ago was somebody I'd never seen before. A man I never knew existed. Who was that stranger who stood there and threatened to skin a man alive? What was he capable of exactly? What should I do now?

"Linny!"

Teddy's terrified voice broke through these thoughts. I looked up at him. He looked almost as scared as Greg had been a moment ago. Whoever that stranger in the doorway was, he wasn't here anymore. Now, there was only Teddy. I could talk to Teddy.

"What the hell was that?" I finally managed to mumble.

"It was supposed to be a way to scare off your pushy ex," he sighed, "but it looks like it ended up scaring you instead."

"I mean, you scared him too. I've never seen Greg run like that before."

"Now you have jokes," he mumbled, rolling his eyes.

His entire body seemed to relax as I said this though. He must have been really worried about what I was thinking. Not that he was wrong to.

Again, the icy stare of that stranger filled my mind and made me shudder. And he wasn't even looking my way at the time. I could only imagine the fear Greg must have felt having those eyes directed at him.

"Don't... do that again, Teddy," I said slowly. "That was really scary."

"I'm sorry, Linny. I really am."

His face looked beyond apologetic. My fear slowly started to melt away. Alright, maybe I was overthinking things. After all, this was Teddy I was talking about. He told me himself, a teddy bear inside the body of a psycho lumberjack. I guess it wouldn't be too hard for him to play up that psycho image if he really wanted to. He just took it a little too far today. I gave him a weak smile.

"That almost scared me as much as when you said you were my boyfriend," I teased.

He seemed to perk up as I said this. He chuckled softly. His normal, warm smile returned.

"What? Is that really such a scary idea?" He asked.

"Terrifying. I ate bear tacos today. If you can do that, who knows what other ungodly acts you're capable of?"

He gave a dry laugh and scratched at his head nervously. I was happy to see Teddy acting like himself again. The more he did, the more I could convince myself that the terrifying stranger in my doorway never really existed. An act. That was all. An act he took too far.

He cleared his throat. "Umm, Linny?"

"Yeah?"

He paused a moment. He seemed nervous. Like he wasn't sure if he should tell me or not. He looked at the ground and shrugged vaguely.

"What if... I told you there's another reason I got so upset by him?"

I wasn't surprised there might have been another reason. After all, I knew better than anyone how irritating Greg could be. What surprised me was the fact that Teddy was even bothering to bring it up. It must have been important if he felt like he needed to explain it to me.

"Oh, what is it?" I asked.

He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet awkwardly. "What if I told you... I was jealous?"

"Jealous?!"

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. He had to be making some kind of joke, right? Jealous of Greg? Why? A sweet, considerate guy who got a little scary when he was angry, versus a stuck-up jerk who couldn't keep it in his pants. Was there even any competition? Teddy was ten times the man Greg would ever be. Why in the world would he be jealous?

He answered that question for me. He reached out suddenly and grabbed my hand. He kept his eyes on the ground. Silence filled the air. It was like he couldn't put what he wanted to say into words. Still, he gave it his best shot.

"What if... I had another reason for saying I was your boyfriend?" He asked, squeezing my hand softly. "What if I think you're the most amazing woman I've ever met? What if you're the reason I get out of bed every morning and the reason I walk home smiling every night? What if being with you fills a void in me I never even knew existed? What if I want us to be more than just friends?"

I could barely believe what I was hearing. Ignoring the fact that I was terrified of him just moments ago, since when did he feel this way? More than that, how did I feel about it?

I mean, I already knew I liked Teddy. I'd known that for a while now. But a relationship? Was I sure I wanted another one right now? Especially considering the fact that the last one just showed up at my door to harass me.

Then again, Teddy was nothing like Greg. I already knew that. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that if I dated Teddy, he would treat me ten times better than Greg ever had. Hell, he already had in some ways. But was I really ready to put myself out there again?

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "What if... I'm not saying yes, but I'm not saying no? What if we take things slow? What if we have a couple of dates and see where things go from there?"

He looked up and smiled at me. "What if I think that sounds like a good idea? What if I ask you out this Saturday?"

I laughed at this. "Are we really doing this game, Teddy?"

"Yes, and you didn't say 'what if,' so I win," he teased. "As my prize, how about I pick you up here Saturday afternoon and we go on a real date."

"Anywhere specific?" I asked.

"It's a surprise, but dress warm," he warned me.

"Alright. It's a date."

I said the words casually enough, but my heart was racing. Based on the dopey smile that filled his face, I'm guessing Teddy probably felt the same. He cleared his throat and let go of my hand. He walked over to the entrance and started getting dressed.

"Well, I should get going," he muttered. "I have a date this weekend and I really want to impress the girl, so I'd better start prepping now. I'm afraid I might have to skip our dinner plans for the next few days."

"I'll live," I said, rolling my eyes. "See you Saturday, Teddy."

"See you then, Linny."

As always, I waved him off and watched as he trekked his way into the forest. My heart was still pounding in my chest. A date. A date this Saturday. With Teddy. I had no idea what he had planned, but I was looking forward to it.

At least, I hoped I was. The terrifying stranger from before crept into my thoughts again. My whole body shuddered. I wrapped my arms around myself as if to keep out the chill from his stare. I still wasn't sure who that man was exactly. I just hoped I'd never see him again.