Modern AU TOG

14

Chapter 14 Aelin POV

I woke up in the middle of the night freezing. A cold front must have come in at some point. I tried to get warm and fall back asleep but it didn't work. Then Rowan walked in. He was wearing thick flannel pajamas and a long sleeve shirt.

"Hey I texted Fenrys, the heaters broke and with it being a break no one will be able to come out to check it. I brought you an extra blanket I know you get cold easy." He then threw the blanket over me. He turned to leave.

"Rowan, please stay."

He took a step towards my bed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes buzzard. It'll be easier to conserve body heat with the two of us. Plus you're a walking heater." He scoffed at me but climbed into the bed behind me.

"Can I hold you?" I just nodded and his strong arm wrapped around me as my head rested against his other. "Tomorrow if you want we can sleep in my room untill the heater is fixed since there is an electric fireplace."

I just snuggled more into his warmth. With a yawn I said "Sounds good to me." Rowan just chuckled and kissed my head. "Hey Rowan. You know I don't have feelings for Fenrys right? I mean I care for him he's my best friend. But nothing more than that."

"You don't have to explain yourself. I would only judge you if you got with Connell. Or Lorcan." We both laughed.

"Well you don't have to worry about those two." A thought occurred to me. "What were your parents like? I can barely remember mine."

He was quiet for a second. "How did you know about them?"

"I did some research on everyone once I figured out that I couldn't escape my past."

"Ahh that makes sense. They were wonderful. However they were older than most parents. They conceived me pretty late into their years. My mother wouldn't know what to do with you and your mouth. Probably make you wash it out with soap. However my dad would have been enthralled and amused by you." Luckily the dark hid my blush and smile.

"Did they get to meet Lyria?"

"Yes, once. They weren't all that impressed with her." His arms tightened around her.

Rowan started to tell her something else but she was already asleep.

I woke up hours later to the smell of breakfast being cooked. The bed was still warm from where Rowan slept.

I walked into the kitchen and hugged Rowan from behind. He stiffened for only a second. "I'm going to take a bath now. I'll eat after. Thank you for cooking."

"I'll let you know when it's done. Also there's still some of Lyrias old bath stuff, you can use."

I gathered some clothes for the rest of the day then went up the three flights of stairs to Rowans bedroom. I didn't get a chance to look around the other night so while the bath was filling I looked. His bedroom was very minimalistic. The bed sat across from the fireplace, which had a tv mounted above it with a gaming consul. Nothing was out of place. Not even on his desk which was in a corner next to his dresser and closet. Well I look like a complete slob compare to him.

He had some pictures of him and the cadre, his parents, and maybe his cousins? Since he didn't have any siblings.

His bathroom was tidy too. Not to many products or accessories. The claw foot bathtub was to die for. It actually cover my entire body unless i sat up.

I leaned up to get my phone to switch the music when Rowan walked in. "Hey breakfast is—" he stopped mid sentence. He said quietly but not weakly, "What happened to your back. Who did that to you."  He then came around the tub to face me. He face was without of his usual tan coloring.

I looked down to my hand just above the bubbles in the water. "I.. Sam and I messed up one of Arobynns deals. He whipped me, then gave Sam a brutal beating after I passed out."

Rowan gently took my chin between his two fingers. "Did he normally treat you that way?"

"No, we'd never messed up before. We were doing a job that would have gave Arobynn a small fortune. But the guy took one look at me and decided that I would be apart of the bargain. Arobynn argued with the guy but finally gave in. He told me to just sleep with him to get it over with. But at that time I was still a virgin, and didn't care to have sex with someone I didn't love. Sam certainly wasn't going to let that happen so we killed the guy."

Rowan looked horrified. "After Arobynn beat us he calmed down. He realized that I hadn't done anything like that before and apologized by sending Sam and I away for the weekend after we healed."

"I want to kill that bastard. You didn't deserve any of that. I'm so sorry for what he put you through. I won't let anything like that happen to you again." He cupped my cheeks with both of his hands looking into my eyes while he said this.

I gave him a weak smile. "Thank you." He then brought his forehead against mine. We stayed like that for a while. But then he remembered there was food downstairs and left to let me get dressed.

After breakfast, which was a fantastic omelet, Rowan got ready to go to town with me. Well more like the college campus. I drug him to the music hall. Even though he was confused he didn't question me. I sat him down in one of the chairs as I sat at the bench for the piano.

Rowan looked at me quizzically. Then I started playing my favorite piece. I let the music tell the story of a young Princess who survived death, loss and pain. She endured enslavement, tortured, but she found love. She dove into her power to defeat evil forces. Throughout the crescendo the music told of the epic battles. Then she brought the piece home. The ending telling of the kings flame blooming once again.

I looked over at Rowan to my surprise he was crying.  He sat down next to me and requests I play the same piece again. Then he requests me to teach him the basics.

We then left to get lunch. While eating at the pizza joint I discovered Rowan had never seen any of the Harry Potter movies.

"You're serious? You've never seen them?" I still couldn't wrap my head around what he was saying. "Do you know anything about these movies?"

"No I intended to avoid everything related to Harry Potter."

"Well we are watching some of it tonight." I took a quick bite of pizza, "what do you want for dinner tonight? And don't you dare say meat on a stick."

Rowan looked offended at my remark about his favorite food. But he said "We could go out to dinner. It's supposed to snow tomorrow and for the rest of the week. We should probably go grocery shopping as well." I nodded in agreement. We picked up groceries then went back home.