The Struggles Of Waiting ✔

SIXTEEN

He would have to test this one out too, just to make sure it worked properly. He couldn't give Jaden his parents AgeFinder if it didn't even work. With a sigh, he stood up, making his way from the room with the device in his hands. Isaac was in the kitchen, cooking up bacon and eggs for brunch.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked when he saw Alex come into the room.

"Yeah, I just need to test this thing out on you," Alexander replied, waving the AgeFinder at him. "I'll compare it with the newer ones."

"Is that what you've been working on all week?" Isaac questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. "That thing is ancient."

Alex shrugged. "Jaden wanted it fixed and-"

"And you're trying to get back into his good books."

Alex let out a huff of laughter. "Yeah," he said. "So would you be willing to test this thing for me?"

"Yeah, man, just tell me what to do."

Alex walked him through it, smiling it relief at the twenty-two years and eight months that flashed up on the screen. A quick comparison told him that it was as accurate as the old thing could get. He sighed, grateful that even after so long he could still fix the original device.

"You should test it out on yourself too," Isaac said.

"Yeah, and you should ask out that girl," Alexander replied, not really paying attention.

Isaac rolled his eyes. "I'm serious,'" he said. "Test it out on yourself, that way you know it works when people still aren't aging."

Alexander stopped, staring at the device. He was sick of seeing those words. The twenty-two years that seemed to haunt him. He hadn't used an AgeFinder in years and he didn't want to start now. But Isaac made a good point. He didn't know anyone else that wasn't aging except Jaden and he couldn't exactly get him to do it.

"Fine," he said, pressing his finger against the device. He felt the prick of his finger, felt the nervousness pool in his stomach, ready for the words.

Twenty-two years and six months.

He gasped, staring at the words in shock. Surely it was wrong, surely he'd screwed up repairing the device at some point. He grabbed the newer version of the AgeFinder, trying to keep his face calm as it was being read.

Twenty-two years, six months and three days.

He brought a hand up to his mouth, muffling a noise the meaning of which he couldn't even begin to decipher. He caught Isaac's eye, showing him the device with a shaking hand.

"Oh, my god. Holy crap," he exclaimed. "Are you sure?" All Alexander could do was nod, eyes widening as his brain finally caught up with what he was seeing.

He'd met his soulmate. He had a soulmate. As of six months ago, he started aging. After more than one hundred years he was finally aging. He had a soulmate. He was going to age and bleed and get sick for the first time since he'd turned twenty-two. He was going to be happy and loved.

"Who did you meet six months ago?" Isaac asked, pulling him from his thoughts. For a moment, he was stumped, brain empty of anything but the words 'I have a soulmate'. He wracked his mind, knowing the answer was obvious but not being able to catch among his wild and raging thoughts.

"Jaden," he eventually said. "I met Jaden."

"Are you completely sure?" Isaac asked. "There was no one else?"

Alexander shook his head. "I'd met everyone else before Jaden came back," he replied. "I can get him to check just in case though when I see him."

"What time are you meeting him?"