Ready or Not

Chapter Six: I Know You Wanna Go to Heaven, But You're Human Tonight

I think we're on to something. We can't run from fate, but we can let it take us down, down this road where all our colors run together. Let's take the worst and make it better. Let's take this mess and make a home. I know it gets hard for you to stay, but do you really wanna throw it all away? Maybe we could make forever after all; finding the gold in our darkest moments, watching roads turn into white roses, and we don't ever have to leave these walls.- All Time Low, Cinderblock Garden

Over the next week and a half, Lea discovered that having the soulmate she did was actually pretty freakin' cool.

He was sweet and kind and funny and intelligent, and he always listened to what she had to say. He always had such interesting things to say in return, too.

Plus, he seemed genuinely excited at the prospect of being with her. And to top it all off, she'd had more orgasms since she'd encountered him again than she'd ever had in her life.

She didn't even need her mom to send her money anymore. She'd tentatively suggested she get another job, but Tim had just shrugged and told her she could if she wanted, but it was by no means necessary, and that she should focus on school anyway.

Which... why would she want to work if she didn't have to?

Their sex-a-thon wasn't quite finished, she didn't think, but regardless, with each passing day, she felt her fear fading.

She was... she was happy. Despite this, Lea found herself standing in his shower one day, wondering if she should be happy, if she should want her soulmark removed still.

It was special— something she shared with Tim. She felt like she should be scareder than she was—which was no small amount, mind you—, should want her mark gone, but all she wanted was to spend the rest of her life next to him, in his arms.

She finished rinsing her hair and body. Tim usually showered with her (oh, alright. It was very rarely just showering and nothing else), but on this particular occasion, he'd chosen not to.

When she was done, she strolled back into the bedroom and pulled on a pink lace nightie and matching robe he'd given her after she'd mentioned how much it sucked that she couldn't wear pink in public with her red hair. He'd told her that that was stupid and she could wear whatever she wanted. He'd also said that she'd look sexy in pink, and while she didn't agree that she looked sexy in anything, she wasn't about to argue with him.

It was somewhat weird to wear something so completely transparent, and Tim vastly preferred it when she didn't wear panties around the apartment, and, well... she liked pleasing him. Plus, being wanted as badly as he wanted her was quite the ego booster, particularly when the individual doing the wanting was so exceptionally beautiful. And anyway, the nightie combined with the robe covered more than either one would individually.

Lea was half expecting him to attack her when she walked into the living room. Well, the upstairs living room, anyway. She'd never get over how big his apartment was. Well, it was their apartment now, wasn't it?

Tim was sitting on the couch staring at his phone. No, wait— that was her phone, not his. How odd.

"You got a call," he said, staring at the black screen. His voice sounded... strange. She'd never heard him sound like that before.

"From Sam?" Lea wondered. Her friend had been checking up on her periodically.

Tim shook his head, his hair falling over his eyes. "From a doctor," he said bitterly. "In Canada."

Oh.

There was only one reason a doctor in Canada might call her.

Tim finally looked up at her. He looked genuinely upset, a cross between angry and heartbroken. "Why would you want to get your mark removed?" he demanded. "I thought— I thought things were good between us. I thought we were happy." He looked down again. "I was happy."