Page 9 of Mountain Grump
And I don’t reply.
I can’t.
Chapter 4
Tilda
Ridiculous.Foolish. Stupid.
A silly girl with silly ideas.
The thick, heavy weight of disappointment fills my bones.
My family has always called me those things. Called me names. Made me feelless than.
Fat. Dumb. Frivolous.
But to hear it from a stranger.
A man who doesn’t even know me.
You’re ridiculous.
Another tear breaks free, and I curse it in my mind.
Never show weakness.
Never show pain.
My knee throbs.
My heart hurts.
Never let them see your loneliness.
I glance around at my suncatchers. The pieces of tinted glass snag the sunlight and throw it back across the branches as a rainbow.
I thought doing this would make me feel better.
But… not today.
Not anymore.
I drop my scissors into the box on the ground.
Thinking I could defend myself against a man with a gun with a pair of craft scissors…that’sridiculous.
Stupid.
Silly.
I take a step back, focusing on the man’s chin, not meeting his eyes. “Have a good day, Park Ranger Ethan.”
He takes a step toward me.
And my eyes move back to the gun on his hip.
He stops.
