Frost & Flames | Soulmate AU 2 |

Twenty

A/N--I hope you are all well in these troubling times :)

One really cool perk that's come with our telepathic link is that when I just really wish Rowan would come over and hold my hand, he does it without me even having to ask. It happened enough times that I eventually had to ask, and he told me that he just gets this feeling that that's what I want.

"I'm just surprised by how often you wish I'd hold your hand but've never said anything," he had said with a goofy grin.

Rowan and I have decided that it would be best to put Bella back into school as early as possible so we can reestablish her normal routine. She's actually a pretty smart kid for her age, and she luckily enjoys school, so she'll probably like getting to go back to daycare. I also decided to accompany her and Rowan to drop her off this morning. I had a bit of trouble sleeping back when Rowan and I first got together, so waking up at six a.m. to bring her to school every morning wasn't really in the cards for me. Rowan and I started alternating who brought her as my sleep got better. My sleep issues have returned with a vengeance, though, so today might be the only day I bring her for a while.

Bella seems excited, if the way she's bouncing on my lap as we ride the train over is anything to go by. She demolished two pancakes before we left the tower, so her energy might be from the sugar in the maple syrup, but I have a feeling the prospect of getting to see her friends is also playing into it.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and it takes a bit of carefully maneuvering to retrieve it without knocking Bella off of my lap. There's a text from Danny, my old college hookup, waiting on my lock screen.

I've been seeing you on the news lately and just wanted to say that I'm happy you're no longer a wanted criminal!

I snort and Rowan looks over. I tilt the screen of my phone so he can see the text. He reads it, laughing a bit and rolling his eyes.

"How's he doing, anyway?" Rowan asks. "You kind of just dropped off of the face of the earth in terms of school." Rowan's right. I'm still in college as a creative writing major, and getting arrested a week or so ago threw a serious wrench into my plans of graduating this spring. Rowan luckily had the foresight to submit a leave of absence form when I got hauled off to The Vault, so I can finally finish my degree this coming fall without much trouble.

"I don't know," I reply. "I wasn't really talking to him when I was still in school to begin with."

"Well, I'm still throwing you a birthday party," Rowan says, nudging me slightly. "He's still invited."

"You know, most guys wouldn't be so calm about me keeping in touch with someone I used to hook up with, let alone for how long the arrangement went on," I say, raising my eyebrows. Bella fidgets on my lap, tapping something on her tablet.

Rowan shrugs.

"You trusted him, and that's not something you give out easily. He took care of you for those three years, whether you realize it or not, and I'm grateful you had someone," Rowan replies, scratching the side of his head. "It's not like you're sneaking around to message him or see him."

"I think maybe I might've loved him at some point, though," I press, some vicious part of me wanting Rowan to be mad. "That doesn't bother you?"

"You don't anymore, right?"

"No, of course not!" I exclaim.

"Well then why should it bother me? You love me, and I love you. You were with people before me, and it's not like that's illegal," he reasons.