Wednesday

In the morning, Ellie again found herself to be the only one in the cabin. Where Crow was running off to so early, she didn't know, but she didn't want to ask either. She had already dumped all of her problems onto him. Prying, it seemed, would only be stressing him further. This didn't, however, mean she didn't want to find out more about him. Yesterday's encounter with Thomas had only made Crow seem that more mysterious, and she was dying to know who he was and why he was living alone in the middle of nowhere.

Getting dressed in some clean (but old) clothes, she padded down the hallway to the other room. She had never seen Crow go in, but she was guessing this had to be his room. She pressed her ear to the door, and when she was sure he wasn't in there, she slowly turned the knob.

To her surprise, everything was coated in a thick layer of dust. It looked as if no one had been in there in years, much less sleeping there. Sunlight filtered in through yellowed curtains, highlighting the dust hanging in the air. A king-sized four poster bed sat squarely in the middle, two small tables on either side. On one was a picture frame, but it was so dirty that one couldn't tell what picture lay within. A closet was on her far right, but she would save that for later. For now, she wanted to see what the picture was.

She left footprints in the floor as she stepped across to the table. Gingerly, she picked up the frame. She blew fiercely over the surface of it, and when that didn't work she used the hem of her holey white shirt to clean it off. While she had been expecting something like this, the picture caught her off guard nonetheless.

Two people were standing by the edge of a wide lake. The man she instantly recognized as Crow, although he was definitely much younger in it. His hair was short and spikey in contrast to his current long locks, and he was of a slighter build. A woman, who was much smaller than him (maybe even the same height as herself), had her arms wrapped around his waist, head resting on his chest. She had skin the color of caramel and long hair of the most intense black. Her smile was almost blindingly white, lighting her golden brown eyes. Crow was smiling too, one that seemed so much different from the ones he'd given her.

Ellie stood staring at the picture, and she came to the conclusion that this must be Iris. They looked so happy, even though in the picture it looked to be freezing cold. While it warmed her heart to see him like that, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Absently, Ellie wondered what had happened to her, but a loud knocking on the front door pulled her out of it. Carefully setting down the frame, she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Downstairs, she peeked out the window to see who it was. To her surprise, it was Thomas, standing awkwardly in what seemed to be the same fine black suit. She took the polite course of action and greeted him.

"Hey," she said simply, standing in the frame.

"Hello. Is Daniel in?" he asked, straightening his already straight black tie.

"No, he's out in only God knows where. Can I help you?" she asked.

He seemed to contemplate running back to his car, but he nodded. "I suppose. May I come in?"

"Sure, even though I'm not really authorized to let you in," she said, stepping aside.

As he moved past her, he added, "Yet you're authorized to wear his clothes and live in his home. I think you're okay here." He smiled, almost as charmingly as his brother.

They both went into the living room. Thomas took a seat on the couch while Ellie sat opposite him in a chair. For a while, they sat in silence, before both of them were ready to explode from the uneasiness. Thankfully, Thomas broke it.

"Who are you, really?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she said, as innocently as she could muster.

He wasn't fooled. "C'mon. You don't know Daniel from Adam, do you?"

"Oh?" She was trying to down play his assumption.

"You looked like you were ready to claw his face off when he said you were his girlfriend."

He didn't seem ready to let it go, and she wasn't in the mood to keep dodging him. Finally, she lowered her head and nodded. "Because I'm not. He just... helped me out. I've only been here a few days." She waited for some reaction, and continued when he just continued to sit there. "Okay," she started. "Why did he try to kill you when you called me a replacement for someone named Iris?"

He looked at her like she had a third eye. "He hasn't told you?"

"No. What should he have told me?" She watched him as he stood up, walked over to the fireplace.

"It's really not my place." He picked up a picture of Crow, himself, and their grandfather off of the mantle, pretending to be interested in it. Finally, releasing a deep breath, he returned to the couch. "She was..." He shook his head, eyes to the floor. "He'll kill me."

"I won't say anything about it. I swear," she said, determined to hear about this woman. When he didn't speak, she got up and crouched in front of him. "Please. I want to know who it is I'm supposedly replacing." She could be sincere when she wanted to, although it wasn't something she'd had much practice with in her life.

"Iris was his wife," he finally explained.

"Okay, is that it?" she said, wondering what all the hullabaloo was over an ex of his.

"Is that it?" he repeated loudly. He had an angry look on his face, and she knew she'd said something ignorant. "She..." Before he could finish, Crow came in the back door. Ellie jumped up as Crow stepped into the doorway. He was smiling, obviously in much better spirits than the previous day.

"Hey, little brother! Ellie, you're up early! What's going on?" There was a little bit of laughter in his voice. His hair was wet, long black locks sticking to his back and shoulders. He was naked from the waist up, clad in nothing but a pair of flannel pajama pants.

"Hello, Daniel." Thomas stood from his seat. "I was just getting to know Ellie a little better," he explained, pasting a pleasant smile on his face.

Crow came up beside Ellie and placed an arm around her waist, pressing her against him. She could feel the dampness of his skin, smell the cool, fresh scent of the forest on his body. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply.

"Isn't she just wonderful?" he breathed. Ellie felt the heat rising in her cheeks, butterflies in her stomach becoming restless. She had never wanted a man as much as she did Crow at that moment.

"I suppose," Thomas yawned. "Actually, I came to talk to you."

Crow nodded. "Fine. Ellie, do you mind waiting for me upstairs?" He bent his head down and pressed a light kiss to her lips. By this point she wasn't sure if she wanted to hit him or screw him.

Deciding to hold off for the moment, she gave a small nod, and parted from his hold to leave them alone. She walked slowly up to her bedroom, and when the door was shut behind her, she slipped off her jeans. Her shirt was long enough to reach her mid-thigh, hiding her lack of underwear. She flipped her hair to make it seem more wispy and wild. Biting her lips and pinching her cheeks to redden them, she sat on the bed a little too suggestively and waited.

A few minutes later, her door opened and in came Crow. "Sorry about that! I know it seems like I'm working to make you uncomfortable but I assure you... that's... not..." He trailed off as his eyes trailed over her form, from her creamy legs to her flushed, pretty face.

"I assure you, I'm not uncomfortable," she purred, her hand trailing over her chest and down her abdomen. He was practically devouring her with his gaze, and she thought he would just stand there forever. Then, he slowly began to move over to the bed. When he was standing over her, she took his hand in hers, rolling her thumb over his rough knuckles. He was breathing roughly, and she couldn't help but notice the little point that had formed in his pants. Again moving very slowly, he leaned over her small form.

"Ellie..."

"Please, Crow..."

Without another moment's hesitation, he fell on her. His lips crushed hers, his hands gripping painfully to her hips. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, holding him close, afraid to let him go. She felt his callused hands move up her shirt. Hoisting her into his lap, he slipped the thin material over her head. He took a moment to look over her naked form, taking in a sharp breath.

"What's wrong?" she asked, afraid he'd changed his mind at the sight of her scarred body.

He took his time answering. "Everything." He kissed her again, his tongue exploring every corner of her mouth. The desire was building in him like lava in an active volcano, and she could feel it poking her through the fabric of his bottoms. She gave a little whimper, and he pulled away. Throwing her down on the bed, he quickly discarded his pants and jerked her to the edge of the bed. Standing, he had her ankles in his hands, and he kissed the inside of each one.

"Crow..." she mumbled, eyes fluttering closed. It was torture to feel him rubbing against her core, and she wished he would just end it.

But he didn't. He froze, eyes glazed over with some old memory. To her extreme disappointment he dropped her legs and pulled his pants back on.

She was so stunned it took her a minute to gather her thoughts. When she finally did, she wrapped a blanket around herself and stomped down the hall toward him. He hadn't even reached the stairs when she drew back her fist and punched him as hard as she could in the shoulder. He stopped, unmoving. She knew she hadn't hurt him, but she wanted him to know how furious she was.

"Where the fuck do you get off?" she said, voice low and laced with poison.

"Get dressed Ellie," he instructed quietly.

"No! God damn it, Crow. What do you want from me?" she demanded, one hand clenched in a fist at her side while the other was holding up her cover. "You save my life, you say all these things, you kiss me. What do you want?" She'd had it with his wise words and spiritual bullshit.

He was silent for a few more moments. Then, he said, "I don't know. I guess I just wanted some company."

"What?" He had to be kidding.

"What did you want me to do, Ellie?!" Now it was his turn to be angry. "Do you want me to just fuck you and throw you aside? Like everyone else you've ever known?"

"Excuse me?" she said, flabbergasted at his word choice.

He grabbed her shoulders and pinned her against the nearest wall. The only thing separating their bodies was the thin bed sheet. "I... care about you, Ellie. I want to make you see what I see, behind the sarcasm. I've seen peeks of the real you, without the sarcasm and the hard shell." He kissed her forehead. "You're so beautiful, in more ways than you know. I don't want to disturb that any further than it already has been. I'd like to try to repair it, if you'll let me."

Her resolve had melted while he was speaking. No one had ever called her beautiful, except maybe her father. Putting her hands on his chest, she let them linger there a moment before gently pushing him a safe distance away. He let her do so, allowing her space.

"I think I need to lie down." Without further comment, she stepped into her room, and shut the door.