Rowan

Chapter 4 | Rowan

Sometimes we have things in our lives that completely consume us. They swallow every thought; every emotion; every action. So we try to drown out the noise by distracting ourselves with work or any of the other events that occupy our time.

But sometimes these things are people, and no matter how much you try to forget; to forgive, you just can't. And it's not because you don't want to; it's because you don't know how. Something in you-perhaps the part of you that was fractured-refuses to let go.

Rowan had come to understand this better than anyone over the past months. She'd learned to doubt her feelings and instincts, and ultimately herself.

How do you heal from such a loss?

At one time, maybe she would have known how to deal with a man like the one sitting in front of her; his eyes steel grey in the dim light of the cafe, but nonetheless penetrating.

She nearly laughed at the direction her thoughts had taken. She knew very well that even before Caden, she would have dealt with this man with silence and shy glances, just as she was doing now. At least that much hadn't changed.

He cocked his head. "What are you thinking about?"

An embarrassed laugh escaped her. "Just thinking," she said quietly.

He nodded, his expression serious, like her answer was perfectly acceptable. Like he understood. "Can I buy you a new coffee?" he asked, motioning towards the long forgotten mug in front of her.

"Oh, that's alright," she said. "I should've even be drinking it. But thank you." Coffee made her jittery and set her on edge, and at one point her inability to handle caffeine had been frustrating. Now it was freeing. She just didn't know why she bothered ever buying it anymore. Out of habit, perhaps?

"Alright," he said, looking around the cafe. "I'll let you get back to your drawing. I just wanted to introduce myself."

Why?! she internally screamed. There was just something so strange about him, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. "It was nice to meet you."

He gave her a crooked smile. "It was nice meeting you, Rowan."

She twirled her pencil as she pondered the mysterious man.

•>•>•>

"Hey, this seat is taken."

She barely heard the comment, being so engrossed in her lunch. Very rarely did she ever take advantage of the university's cafeteria, but she'd been short on time.

But his words suddenly registered, and she jerked her head up with a scowl. What the hell was this? Middle school?

The boy was tall and lanky with tossled black hair and hazel eyes. And he was grinning at her. "Sorry. That was lame," he said as the girl next to him punched him in the arm with a scowl.

She turned to Rowan. "I'm sorry on behalf of all the assholes out there, including this one." She motioned towards the boy. "He doesn't know how to talk to normal people."

Rowan felt a grin tugging at her lips as she watched the boy frown at the blonde girl. "Hey!" he cried.

The girl smiled at her. "I'm Emma. We saw you sitting over here and we were wondering if we could join you."