Craig and Manny were back at the hotel talking. Craig and—"Ellie? Where'd you go just now?" Jay's voice jolted me out of my paranoid haze.

"What? Nowhere? Why?"

"Sean just asked you if you wanted to head back to the hotel and catch up on your sleep and you have been staring at the corkboard on the wall for six minutes now."

"I'm fine. I'm also more than ready to head back to the hotel."

"Thanks, Nora. I love you too."

"I didn't mean…I'm just. Tired."

Emma laughed, "Tired, right. Tired and incredibly nosy. How many times do we have to tell you there's nothing happening between them anymore."

"He's not my personal property. He can, and will, and HAS done, whatever he wants. Craig Manning is not my problem anymore. And thank God for that." I stood up and grabbed my purse off the floor, "Emma, I will call you tonight and see you first thing in the morning. Right now there is a shower with my name on it."

Sean rose from the window ledge is was leaning on, "A shower does sound nice. I think I'll grab one before I come back. I told Mona I'd stay with Tracker tonight so she could go home and get some of their stuff together. They're supposed to be moving in a week and this has really fucked with their timeline."

"Mona's worried about the move? You'd think she'd be happy just to have her husband back," Jay said placing his hand on Emma's forehead, "a house is not a home without the one you love."

Sean smirked, "Mona's fine. Tracker's the one that's freaking. Something about already paying for the movers and not getting their deposit back."

"Sounds like Tracker," Emma said tilting her head so she could catch Jay's hand with a kiss. "Okay, we'll see you all tomorrow. Ellie, play nice with the other kids."

I leaned over to give her a hug, "Who, me? I'm always nice."

"That is a bold-faced lie, Nash."

"Watch it Sean, or I'm leaving you in Philadelphia." I turned to give Jay a hug before continuing my bickering with Sean all the way down the hallway.

We drove the van back to the hotel in record time and Sean followed me up to my room, "Craig and Manny are probably still talking," he justified.

"Don't remind me," I bit rolling my eyes as I flung the door open.

"What's your deal anyway, Ellie…"

"It's not fair. She swoops in and he's back to explaining and sharing. All I ever get from him are the millions of reasons we aren't talking about what happened yet."

"It's got to be hard, La. He's got to be terrified you're going to hear him out, deem him not good enough, and leave him."

"Leave him, Sean? I'm not with him…how could I leave him?"

"You know what I mean."

"Actually, I don't. And I'm sick of doing the extra math on the Manning-situation. I get the first shower." Sean just nodded and let me shut myself into the bathroom. That's what was good about Sean, he never forced the conversation. It's like he could tell when someone needed space and was perfectly content to give it to them. I turned the dial on the water until it was as hot as it would go then hopped in. I let the water wash over me, let it wipe my mind of all the things happening outside those four walls. It felt amazing to be free of the pain, the anger, if even just for a moment. I quickly toweled off and swung the door open, "Thanks for that, Sean. I really needed it," I smiled looking at the bed where Sean was when I left.

"Ellie?" I heard someone ask from the doorway.

I turned my head, "Craig, hey—"

"Did you. Oh God…of course. Fuck you Cameron! You knew she was off limits!"

I took a moment to assess the situation. Craig was standing in the door frame looking past Sean's body. Sean was wearing a pair of sweatpants and—nope, that was it, just the gray sweatpants. "What are you talking about, Craig?" Sean asked crinkling his eyes in confusion.

"You'll just jump at any chance you get to get into her pants again. I mean I know she gives good head but, Christ. Show some restraint."

"Craig—" Sean started.

My eyes narrowed at his comments as I rushed to be heard over Sean, "Get out, Craig. How dare you come in here and start making judgments. How dare you talk about me like I'm some sort of whore. Why don't you go back to your room and enjoy some more of your time with the bitch of girlfriends' past."

"Maybe I'd stop treating you like a whore if you stopped acting like one."

I used my hand to force him further into the hallway, "You stupid, clueless asshole!" And with that I slammed the door behind him.

Sean grabbed my wrist, "Ellie, calm down. You have to go talk to him. You can't have him walking around out there thinking we slept together."

"Let him think whatever he wants, Sean. I'm tired of caring. I'm tired of chasing him and forcing him to see what should be completely obvious by now. If he thinks I could ever love anyone else, ever even look at anyone without feeling they were just falling short, then he deserves to wallow in his pathetic self-pity. Shower's all yours."

Sean followed me over towards the bed, "Ellie…you need to talk to him. He came here looking for you. He said talking to her made him realize how much he needs to be talking to you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Or maybe I'm just tired of wanting the same damn things. I keep expecting him to change. But he doesn't. He won't. He loves me but he doesn't have a clue what to do with it. All he does is hurt me, Sean. And I don't have much strength left. I don't know how much more I can take. That's a lie. I know I'm strong, Sean. I know I can take it. But I shouldn't have to, right? I shouldn't have to spend another 2 years, or five years, or fuck, ten years, putting up with his bullshit. I'm over it. He can put his own life back together."

Sean pulled me into a tight hug, "You're right. You do deserve better. I just…I want you be happy and history has proven that you have to be with him to be happy."

I blinked rapidly as the tears started again…Sean was right. I knew, everyone knew it. Craig and I were supposed to be together. But how would we get there? How would we ever going to start living our happily-ever-after if we never sorted out our brutally painful past. "I'm going to get dressed and go find him."

"Okay. I'm going to catch a shower and head back to the hospital. But if you need anything, I'm just a phone call away."

"Thank you Sean. It means the world to me that you're here for me."

"Anytime, Ellie. Always. Now go get your man."

I laughed and shoved him away from me lightly. He grabbed his t-shirt off the floor and headed into the shower, "I'm using your girly-ass shampoo! And probably your razor!"

"You're disgusting! But you do need to shave so knock yourself out." I shuffled through my bag and threw on the first outfit I found that came even close to matching then shoved my feet into a pair of flip flops and headed out the door.

The first person I saw in the hallway was, of course, Manny. Because every moment of my life somehow now included her. "You're in trouble now."

"Fuck off, Santos"

"I'm just saying…they're not exactly interchangeable."

"Which is why I only want the one. Do you know where he went?"

Manny rolled her eyes and looked at her perfectly manicured nails, "He's still Craig Manning, Ellie. Where do you think he went?"

I scoffed, "The bar?"

"Ding, ding, ding. Give the girl her prize. If anyone would still consider Manning a prize, that is."

"Well, hey," I muttered sarcastically, "thanks for all the help." I moved swiftly to the elevator and practiced what I would say the whole way down. I would remain calm regardless of what he said. I would not hit, shove, or kick. I would explain that nothing happened between Sean and I and he would have no choice but to listen to reason. When the elevator landed on the bottom floor I stepped out, scanning the floor for Craig.

I noticed him at the bar inside the hotel lounge talking to the pretty blonde girl behind the bar. Of course it would only take Craig five minutes to replace me. I hesitated between walking over to him like I'd planned and retreating into my room for the rest of our stay in Philadelphia. I settled for staying where I was. Gauging the situation…seeing if he was flirting or just drinking. Not that either answer would make me happy. The girl threw her head back in laughter and Craig's eyes lowered to rest on her chest. He winked at her then patted the barstool next his own with his hand.

Six minutes was apparently enough time for Craig to succeed in seducing a bartender. I didn't want to see what could happen in seven. Or ten. I was still standing there when the elevator opened behind me again. Manny and Sean both stepped out, "Hey lovebird, how'd it go?" Sean asked.

"What? Oh, hey you guys. I uh…"

"Got stalled by a little competition? Come on, Ellie. He can try to convince himself he can tolerate another woman but in the end his body still bends to fit yours his lips still whisper your name. Trust me…I know. I gave up on hating you for it a long time ago." Manny put her hand on my shoulder and whispered, "You have to make him work for it. He's going to want to take the easy way out every chance he gets. You can't give up though."

"I don't want to be with him like this. It feels like a threat. Like if I'm not with him I can't be near him. I'm not ready. I'm not ready to let him back in," I told them shaking my head. Well, I told Sean. Manny was stalking towards the bar as I spoke. I looked up at Craig and braced myself for fireworks.

Manny stepped right up to Craig and put her arms around him. The girl recoiled and started explaining with large hand movements and vigorous head shaking. Manny just nodded then, with a look only she could make work, she flicked her wrist at the girl and told her to get lost. Just as Craig turned back to his ex-wife to start shouting Manny held up her hand to stop him and waved us over.

Craig scowled at the sight of Sean and I and stood up to walk away. I rushed over to him with Sean right on my heels. "Craig, shut up for once in your life. Sean and Ellie didn't sleep with eachother. Your precious flower is still all yours—"

"Okay, enough helping. Have a good night, Manny." I said looking at Craig's face, "She's right, though, Craig. I just took a shower. Sean was napping when you came in. Things have been over between us for a long time."

He scoffed "Right, so what were you thanking him for?"

"Friendship," Sean said stepping into the conversation. "Keeping her mind off the fact that you were a few floors away with Manny and a king-sized bed."

Manny laughed, "Ellie…Craig and I are so over there's no analogy to compare it to. I'm marrying his old manager. We're having a baby. That's what I was talking to him about. Jon and I want a normal life…we don't want everything to remind us of our past anymore. I just needed closure."

I looked down at my hands before turning back to Craig, "I'm sorry I get so jealous of Manny even being near you. But you have to believe that nothing happened."

Craig sighed, "I do. I just. Seeing you both so close and so close to undressed. It sparked something inside of me. Worse than jealousy…like…a violent wave of rage that I couldn't control. You're mine, Ellie. Whether you want to be or not. Whether I want to feel this way or not, I do. I can't help it."

I hugged him to my body, "We'll figure it out, Craig. But you have to stop letting the anger win, okay?"

Sean laughed at the site of the two of us, "So all these weeks and that's all it took to get you together?"

"We're not together," I said quickly. "We're just not fighting. We still need to talk. We have a lot of amends to make before we can move forward."

Craig groaned, "Are you kidding me. Christ, Elle, how many hoops do I have to jump through?"

"No hoops, Craig. Just quit picking up bartenders every time you don't get your way," I said moving back towards the elevator.

"Oh, come on! Ellie…" he argued following me.

Sean laughed and looked at Manny, "Well I guess the fun part is finally beginning."