Mark had paced and cursed for hours that morning. Then realized it was doing him no good. Tyger was gone and there was nothing he could do about it right now. He had started a fire and went to the kitchen to start a pot of chili. He got in a fuzzy station on the TV and watched talk shows for a while. He went out that afternoon and chopped some wood. Anything to keep busy. He went back into the house and checked the chili; it was done and set it off the burner. He looked at the clock it was 5:00 PM. He went into the living room to build up the fire. Just then the door burst open. It was Tyger. She was covered in snow. Mark lost it. He grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. "Where the hell have you been, Thought you would try to get away from me, guess the fucking weather was too bad." Mark said angrily. Tyger couldn't believe him he was such a jerk. "Get your fucking hands off of me. For your information asshole. I walked to your damn car to get your damn bag so you would have some clothes. The weather was worse than I thought so it took me a while." She yelled at him. Mark backed off her and looked down at the bag she had dropped. "You know you are the biggest dickhead I ever met." She said. She ran into the bedroom slamming the door. Mark felt like a heel. The poor kid had been out in that weather for 8 hours and he jumped her as soon as she walked in. Mark went to the kitchen to make some coffee.
Tyger was so mad she could choke him. She ran her a bath and climbed in. It felt wonderful. She felt some of her anger melt away. She was trying so hard to show him she wasn't the horrible person her aunt made her out to be. But it was no use he thought the worse of her at every turn. Why did she even bother? That was a good question. Since when did she give a damn what anyone thought of her especially that big jerk. There was something about him that touched a part of her that no one had before and it scared her. She wanted him to like her. Dumb Tyger really dumb she told herself. She sighed and got out of the tub. She dried off and put on a t-shirt and boxers. She went to the bedroom and climbed under the covers and tried to get warm.
Mark poured a cup of the coffee and headed to the bedroom. He opened the door and seen that Tyger was burrowed under the covers. He went and sat on the bed. She peeked out from under the covers at him. "I brought you a cup of coffee, set up here and drink it. You need to get something warm in you." He said. She sat up and took the coffee. "Thank you." She said. She sipped on the coffee. The warmth of it felt wonderful. "Are you hungry?" he asked. She nodded. He got up and left. Tyger sat there nervous. Why was he all of a sudden being nice to her? He came back in with a tray. He set it down across her lap. Chili she thought. She tasted it. It was great. "Its good." She said to him. "We need to talk." He said to her. She looked up at him with those big brown eyes. Mark could feel him self melting. Not good Mark she's a wanted murderer he told himself. "Listen your right I've been a jerk. You saved my life and been nothing but good to me and I've treated you like crap. We are going to be stuck here for a couple of months we may as well make the best of it. I'm sorry about the way I've been acting." He said. Tyger just looked at him and then looked down. "When the roads are clear, I will go with you. I'm tired of running. I just want this whole thing to be over. I give you my word I will go with you and turn myself in." she said. Mark nodded. Poor kid had been on the run since she was 17 she was probably tired of looking over her shoulder. "I give you my word I won't hurt you again. Lets just try to make the best of this while were here." He said. "Deal?" he said and held out his hand. She looked at him for a long moment. "Deal." She said and placed her small hand in his. She flinched when his hand touched hers and Mark noticed this and frowned. Her hand still felt cold. She pulled her hand back from his. At first the reaction to his touch had been fear same as always. But then she felt the most peculiar flush from his hand holding hers. "Your still cold Darlin, Lets get you settled in front of the fireplace in the living room." Mark said. "Okay." She said. It sounded good to her as she was still feeling cold. She got up and Mark grabbed her pillow and a blanket and followed her into the living room. Mark spread a blanket over the carpet near the fire and put her pillow down. She lay down and Mark handed her another blanket to cover up with. She spread the blanket over her and faced the fire. It felt wonderful. She thought about what Mark said. She hoped they could co-exist for the next few months. Mark sat on the couch fiddling with the remote trying to find a station that would come in. He sat and watched the news for a while. He looked over and seen that Tyger was fast asleep. He figured he would leave her where she was at. He didn't want to disturb her she was totally exhausted. She looked like an angel lying there in the fire light. Yea well Mark don't forget she's a cold blooded killer he told himself. He knew he couldn't forget that it would be a fatal mistake if he did. He got up and switched off the lamp and headed off to bed.