SUMMARY: Ellie Fitzpatrick was fed up with the bad hand life had dealt her. So fed up that she went to place where nobody would find her, where she would end all of her pain. And she would have if not for a mysterious Native American man saving her sad hide at the last minute. Now she's told she has to spend one week with him at his house in the middle of nowhere. Even with his shady and unclear intentions, she agrees. Why not? Even if he hacked her up into little pieces it still wouldn't be the worst thing to happen in her life. END SUMMARY.

--

Sunday

She stood on the very edge of the cliff, toes just peeking over the ledge. Almost fifty feet below, a river rumbled between two gargantuan rock walls. Above her, birds sang peaceful melodies in the greenest of trees as a bright blue sky drifted over them. So much natural beauty surrounded her, but she barely even registered it. Her swollen eyes were absentmindedly watching the river, her mind stuck on her sob story of a life. Distantly, she wondered if it would be the drop or the river that would kill her.

Faces of her drunken mother and violent boyfriend haunted her. They jeered, screamed, begged her to jump. Their eyes were glinting with malevolence, smirks almost wider than their faces. You stupid slut. There's no one here to get attention from. Get it the fuck over with already. Just make sure they never find you. I'm not splurging on no damn funeral, her mother grumbled.

Come on, Ellie. You know no one loves you. No one would give a flying fuck if you died tomorrow. Too bad I can't do it myself, her boyfriend said.

Then she saw her father, smiling with all the kindness and warmth of heaven. His arms were outstretched, beckoning her. My poor darling. I promise it won't hurt a bit. Just lean forward a little and the wind will do the rest...

"Yeah," she agreed. "That sounds nice." Leaning forward just a bit, she heard the gust coming that would take her. Eyes closed, arms out wide, a tearful smile on her face, she welcomed her death.

Only what she thought was the sound of wind was actually a pair of arms, winding around her waist and jerking her back, away from the drop, the water, and her father. She screamed and kicked at whoever it was, soon discovering it was fruitless effort. They were much bigger than her and she just let them pull her, uncaring of who they were or what they wanted.

Dragged a good distance away, they gently lowered her onto a soft plot of grass. Defeated, she put her head in her hands.

"Hey..."

She looked up to meet the darkest, most intense eyes she had ever seen. They were so black you almost couldn't tell where the pupil ended and the iris began. They were mounted in a handsomely chiseled face, framed by straight, long hair the color of obsidian, loosely tied back. His skin was the color of freshly dug earth, taut over lean muscle that was obvious even through his loose shirt and worn jeans.

He spoke again, and his voice was deep and low, like wind echoing from the mountains. "Are you all right?" It calmed her frazzled nerves greatly, but she dropped her gaze.

"No... I mean yes. I was just..." she trailed off.

"About to jump, maybe?" he said, guessing the obvious.

"No! ...Maybe. What's it to you?" she snapped.

He laughed. "Right. Well, you wouldn't die anyway."

"Are you mocking me?" She was dumbfounded. Was he really poking fun at a suicide attemptee?

"No. I do respect your troubles, whatever they maybe. It's just you picked a really bad place to kill yourself," he said, not really losing the teasing hint in his voice.

"Oh yeah?" she tested. "Why?"

"There's too much positive energy around here for anyone to die so violently," he stated simply. "I can't see anything horrible ever occurring here. The land simply wouldn't allow it."

"Really?" She rolled her eyes, sniffling.

He watched her face. "Why would someone as young and pretty as yourself want to die anyway?"

She looked up, sheepishly keeping her eyes at his chest. "Excuse me?"

"Could you wait right here a second?" He stood up from his crouching position. "I promise I'll be right back. Just stay right there."

She nodded and he slowly walked off into the trees. Hugging her knees to her chest, she listened to the birds while wiping her wet face. She watched the clouds pass overhead, bright white against the cobalt blue.

Now's your chance. There's no way he'd catch you if you jumped right now, she thought.

Slowly, she stood up, testing the strength of her shaking legs. Then, without another thought, she bounded for the cliff's edge.

"Hey!" The man was startled but just as quickly running after her. "Dammit! Stop!"

His hand could only been a few centimeters short of grabbing her arm, but it didn't matter. She slipped down over the ledge, and before he'd even thought about it, he jumped over after her.

When Ellie woke, it was not the bright light of heaven that greeted her but the dim glow of a fire burning in a nearby hearth. She was in a small room, the walls apparently made of stacked logs, the fire just across from where she lay. Her body was tucked under a thick quilt, snug and warm in the soothing heat. Sitting up, she quickly noticed two things: (One) she was completely naked and (Two) there was a man seated in the corner by the fire. She jerked the blanket up, shielding her breasts from his gaze. He stood, walking only a few steps so that he was standing in front of her. Crouching slightly, he was brought to eye level and she immediately recognized him.

"The Indian from before," she breathed. "Then that means that I..." She lost the ability to speak as her actions choked her. She had went diving off of a cliff only to live. The thought disturbed her greatly, and made her stomach flip nauseatingly.

"Yeah. Nice stunt you pulled. You could have killed us both," he said, eyes aflame with anger.

"You jumped after me?" she said incredulously."

He shook his head. "I'll be damned if I ever know why."

Stricken, she wrapped the blanket around her body and stood up, stomping past him."

"Where do you think you're going?" he called.

"Like I'm going to tell you!" she yelled furiously.

He went after her, and soon caught her by the arm. "Like hell! You're staying here until I say you can go."

She spun around, jerking her arm from his grasp. "You don't own me, Chief Stick-Up-Ass. I'm leaving now."

He only grabbed both of her shoulders, firmly holding her where she stood despite her best efforts. "Oh? Where are you going? Back to the cliff again?"

In the face of his intense glare, she could only hold her own for so long. Defeated, she looked to the floor, tears forming in her eyes.

"Goddamn! Why didn't you just let me die?" Slamming her fists against the rock hard wall of his chest, she slumped against him, overcome with hysterical sobs.

Releasing his vice-like grip, he dropped his arm around her shoulders and lead her back to the small room. After placing her back in bed, he decided it would be best to just leave her be. With the door closed, he went into the kitchen, taking a seat at the old oak table. Looking out the window, he watched a large green moth flutter around in the glass, trying to get to the light that was over the sink. Absently, he compared it with the young woman.

Her eyes were the same pale green as the wings. She had the face of of a porcelain doll, delicate and yet fascinatingly pretty, with full pink lips and naturally rouged cheeks. Her skin was creamy and soft like cotton, sadly marred by alternatively long and short scars. She had a beautifully curved body that seemed to beckon for his touch. Everything was then enhanced by her long dark blond hair that lay in gentle waves around her. She had to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, and he again began to wonder why she would want to die.

Releasing a sigh, he rose from his seat. He took one last look at the moth before shutting off the light.