Clare turned around, a small smile spread a crossed her face. Her stomach twisted and churned, butterflies fluttered within her. Not only had Eli shared the story of his darkest day with Clare, he finally trusted her enough to let her stay in his house. All Clare wanted to do at that moment was wrap her arms around Eli's waist and pull him into the most passionate hug ever. But seen as there was no possible way she could grasp Eli's transparent body, she couldn't do that.

"Thank you." Clare said.

Eli smiled back and nodded his head. His black bangs moved back and forth a cross his forehead. Clare had always been so focused on the history of Eli that she'd never taken the time to really look at him. Clare's blue eyes met Eli's eyes for a split second. His dark clothes made his emerald green eyes stand out. Clare's eyes moved down to his red lips that were still sporting a smile. She couldn't help but want to kiss them. But she knew that wasn't going to be possible. Her eyes wandered down to his lean body. He was skinny but Clare could see some small muscle definitions in his arms and stomach.

Clare let out a shaky breath. Eli Goldsworthy was truly beautiful.

Clare's eye shot back up to Eli's when she heard his voice.

"You're welcome." He said. "You should probably go downstairs now, don't want to keep your mom waiting." Eli motioned to the door that stood behind Clare.

"Yeah I guess you're uh…right." Clare tucked a red curl behind her ear as she wrapped her hand around the metal door knob behind her. "Are you going to go to um Felicity's house or are you going to…"

Eli shrugged "I think I'll just hang out here, if that's alright with you."

"That's fine with me!" Clare said a little more excitedly then she intended. Eli chuckled and thanked her. Clare took one last glance at the boy before she opened the door and walked out.

She walked down the stairs and called out to her mother.

"Mom? Where are you?" She asked.

"In the kitchen sweetie." Helen answered.

Clare made her way to the kitchen, maneuvering her way around all the furniture. When she walked past the back porch door a tiny whimper fell from Clare's lips. That door would forever be connected to the after math of Eli's death. She wouldn't be able to look at the door with out thinking of Eli's dead body or Felicity's cries of disbelief.

Clare shook off the thought and continued walking to the kitchen. No madder how many time she walked around Goldsworthy Manor, she could never get over how large it was.

She made a mental note to ask Eli to take her on a tour of the whole house one time.

Clare pushed open the heavy door that led to the kitchen. She walked in and saw her mother flipping through the mail, separating the mail into two piles on the counter. When Helen heard the door open she looked up from the papers in her hands to see her daughter.

Clare smiled "Hey mom." She said as she walked further into the kitchen.

"Hi honey. So I called the adoption agency today and they agreed to meet me tomorrow. They only have time to meet me during the hours your in school so I'm afraid you can't come with me this time Clare." Helen said.

Clare nodded her head. "That's okay mom."

Helen furrowed her eye brows. There was something about Clare's eyes that worried her. They seemed empty and distance. Helen placed a hand on Clare's and squeezed her hand.

"Is there something you want to talk to me about?" Helen asked.

Without warning Clare quickly wrapped her arms around her mother; she pulled her close to her and rested her head on her mother's shoulder. Helen was caught off guard but wrapped her arms around her daughter. She rubbed Clare's back in a comforting manor.

When Clare pulled away from her mother she rubbed her eye, trying to get rid of the tears that had begun to form. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Clare, talk to me. What's the problem?" Helen took Clare's hand once again.

"It's just…" Clare though for a moment. She couldn't tell her mother directly about Eli, so she quickly made up an explanation. "I was reading this book. And the boy in the story, his father was horrible to him. It made me realize how blessed I am to have you and how blessed I was to have dad. I can't imagine going through what kids with abusive parents go through." Clare said.

Helen brought her hands up to Clare's face and ran her thumb over her cheek, pushing away a tear that had slipped out of her eye. "Clare, I love you honey. I will always love you." Clare let out a quite sob, but Helen continued to speak. "There are so many children out there who don't have sable home lives. I wish I could help them all, but I can't. But when I adopt, Clare, I'm going to be keeping one more child safe…remember that. Okay?" Helen smiled at her daughter.

"Okay." Clare whispered.

"I didn't know books got to you this bad." Helen said.

Clare let out a small laugh. "I guess this one did."

.

.

.

When Clare left the room, reality finally hit Eli. He had actually told someone about his death. Now there were three people who knew exactly what happened. Clare, Tyler and him. Eli wasn't sure how Clare was going to help him. He had spent so many years trying to help himself, and he was still a ghost. What was a 15 year old girl going to do?

Eli knew Clare was smart, but what did she know about the paranormal. She didn't look like the type of person who knew that much about ghosts. Hell, he didn't even that much about ghost. Apart, the two of them were completely lost. But together, maybe they could figure it out.

He looked around the room that he was sitting in. His old room, now Clare's room. He couldn't help but smirk. Out of all the room in his house, Clare picked his old room. The room was still set up the way it was when he was 16. The bed was still standing in the middle. Dressers were still lined up against the wall. And the book shelf was still lined with books. Eli walked over and read the titles. There were romance books, mystery books, autobiographies, biographies, history books. Eli chuckled. Clare's book shelf was like a mini library.

Eli's mind wondered to Clare. He thought about her smile, her laugh, her eyes, her hands. She was so beautiful it made him sick. He knew he would never be able to be with her that way he wanted to. He would never be able to hug her and feel her warm skin against his. He would never be able to run his fingers through her curly red hair. He would never be able to kiss her and steal her breath away.

Eli let out a groan of frustration. His feelings were mixed. Ever since Eli realized what he was, all her ever wanted was to find a way out. But now that he has Clare, there is a part of him that doesn't want her to help him move on. There is a part of him that wants to stay the way he is so that he can spend time with Clare. There is a part of him that wants to watch Clare grow up and live her life.

Eli walked back over to Clare's bed and sat down. He heard the light sound of feet coming up the stairs. A few seconds passed before the bedroom door opened.

Clare walked in, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her sweater. Eli noticed that her eyes looked red. "Clare, are you okay?" Eli questioned.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah I'm fine. Just an- uh…emotional conversation with my mom. That's all." Clare pushed the door closed and walked over to her bed. She sat down a cross from Eli.

Eli sighed. These were one of the moments he wished he could hold Clare in his arms and whisper words of encouragement into her ear.

"How about you go get into something comfortable, and then we can talk about something?" Eli suggested.

Clare forced a smile. "That sounds like a good idea." She got up and walked over to her dresser. She pulled out an old t-shirt and some sweatpants. Clare excited the room and walked down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Eli leaned back against the head board and swung his legs up onto the bed. He placed his hands behind his head and waited for Clare to come back.

When Clare re-entered the room, Eli smiled. Clare's bouncy hair was pulled back into a messy bun and her face was clear of makeup. Her shirt of baggy and her sweatpants looked as though they were three sizes to big. But she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen.

"What?" Clare questioned. She had noticed that he was staring at her.

Eli shrugged. "Nothing. It's just…you look pretty without makeup. I don't think you need it."

Clare felt her cheeks heat up. She had been called pretty before, but somehow Eli calling her pretty made her blush four different shades of red. She walked over to the other side of her bead and pulled down the covers. She climbed into the bed and pulled the covers over her. She propped her pillow up against the head board and leaned against it.

"So… What do you want to talk about?" Clare asked.

"How about you?" Eli asked.

"What do you mean?" Clare furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well you know a lot about me Clare Edwards. But I don't know all that much about you." Eli said.

"I don't know. My life is kind of really boring." Clare said chucking.

"I kind of really want to know." Eli smiled

Sorry that it's been a while since I updated. Blame writer's block and a mental break down. Seriously…I went all Eli's locker scene on my mom the other day. I couldn't find my grandfather's wedding band.

But anyways I hope you enjoyed!