Cold to the Touch

Chapter Three

(Barry's POV)

After a quick shower, I headed downstairs to say goodbye to Nora for the day. Iris was already at CCPN so I didn't have to worry about her at the moment. I ran to work after that. I checked in before slipping out the back door at super speed. I had something I needed to take care of. I made a quick stop at Big Belly Burger before I made my way to my destination.

It took seconds to get to Caitlin's apartment. I knocked on the door, figuring that just phasing through the wood wouldn't be very welcomed. Caitlin's surprised face is what greeted me when she opened the door.

"Hey. If you're going to be stubborn, I figured I would just look over all your notes and see if I could give you a hand." I smiled, holding up the bag of Big Belly Burger like a peace offering.

"Barry," She sighed, frowning at me.

"Nope." I shook my head. " I've had a rough couple of days, but being here with Killer Frost last night felt like the only peace I've had in days. So we're going to sit and eat together while we talk this out. At least until I get a call from CCPD saying they need me back. Okay?" I could tell my smile was strained now, but I didn't let it drop.

The sigh she let out was heavy, but she opened the door wider for me.

"Okay." She agreed.

"What have you figured out so far?" I asked as I slipped past her and into the apartment. "Whatever you did last night obviously didn't work." I joked, trying to alleviate some of the tension. I was still worried though. She could have died.

"I-I'm not too sure what I did. I combined a couple of my ideas, thinking they would work, but then my heart rate increased and I started feeling faint. I panicked and that's when Killer Frost took over." She explained, closing and locking the door after me.

I made my way over to the couch, Caitlin following after me. We both took a seat, only a cushion between us. Caitlin reached out and grabbed the bag of food from me.

"Hey!" I huffed out. "What if you accidentally take my food?"

"Barry, I know your order. I know what food in this bag is mine." She shook her head. "I'm not going to mix up our food and accidentally steal yours." Her eyes flashed blue as she looked up at me.

"Caitlin's order is disgusting. It would do you good to learn my order too, Sparky." Killer Frost was gone just as quickly as she had appeared, Caitlin's eyes fading back to her normal honey brown.

"So, you mentioned that things have been tough lately. Is it work related?" Caitlin continued on as if nothing had happened.

"Uh, no." I cleared my throat, deciding not to mention Killer Frost's appearance. "It's Iris, actually. I don't know what's going on anymore. Everything I do upsets her, I just can't seem to win. She's been the same way with Nora."

"That's awful, neither of you deserve that. You can tell Nora that she can stay with me if she'd like. I'd hate for Iris to say something she doesn't mean to Nora just because she's upset." Caitlin said softly, looking concerned as she pulled our food out of the bag.