On The Devil, We Ride

11

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I noticed was that Jace's arm was slung over my waist. The second was that Jace still looked hot first thing in the morning. His mass of blonde hair was messy and sticking up in all directions, pulling off the bed head look just right. His face was relaxed, and his lips were parted slightly as the sound of his soft breathing escaped them. I lost track how long I just stared at him, taking in his features before his eyelids rolled up and a pair of blue eyes met mine. He frowned for a second blinking a couple of times before he remembered what I was doing in his bed.

"Morning." I breathed, giving him a small smile. He suddenly became aware of his arm around me and hastily removed it.

"Sorry." He mumbled before turning around and sitting up on the edge of his side of the bed. The spot where his arm had been grew cold, and a large part of me didn't want his arm to move.

"Do you need me to drop you off anywhere?" He asked as he got up and pushed his hair out of his eyes. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the way the muscles in his back moved with him.

"Brooke?" He snapped my attention back to the conversation.

"Oh, well I need to go back and have a shower and get changed. I was planning on going to see my mom today." I answered him, tossing my legs over the side and pulling my jeans on.

"Alright, let me grab a quick shower and I'll take you." He replied, grabbing a towel off of the back of his door and heading towards the bathroom.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be any trouble." I peered up at him to find he'd stopped at the bathroom door and turned back to look at me.

"You're nothing but trouble." He winked before disappearing into the bathroom. I sat back against his headboard with a grin plastered on my face before digging my book out from my bag and settling down to read.

Jace emerged from the bathroom about 10 minutes later fully clothed, much to my hidden disappointment. I shook my head, determined to get those thoughts out of my head. Jace and I were trying the friend thing again, and my complicated feelings and still blatant attraction to him wasn't helping.

"Ready to go?" He asked as he towel dried his hair. I bookmarked my page and slid my book back into my bag before climbing off the bed and to my feet. I followed him out of the room and through the club, getting good mornings and a few knowing smirks from the guys. We took one of the trucks to Jace's parents' house as he had some stuff he had to move out of Debbie's garage, so we actually had time to talk on the way from the club to the Murphy's.

"So how's your mom doing?" Jace asked, turning down the radio so we could hear eachother better.

"She's barely conscious for more than a couple of hours a day. The doctors don't think she's got much time left." I sighed, picking at my nail polish to distract the wave of nausea I felt each time I thought about my mom dying.

"Have you decided what you're going to do after... y'know." He said awkwardly, purposely avoiding the whole 'when she's dead' question.

"Err, no. Not yet." I replied hesitantly. The rest of the drive was silent, only the sound of the radio hanging in the air. Jace waited for me in the kitchen with Debbie while I got showered and changed, then drove me to the hospital.

"I'll be around this afternoon if you need a ride to work." He stated as he pulled up in the carpark. I turned and unbuckled my seatbelt before grabbing my bag. "It's my day off today, but thanks for the offer." I smiled at him before swinging the truck door open and climbing out.

"Give your mom my best." He called out as I was about to shut the door.

"Will do." I smiled, then pushed the door shut. I made my way to the ward, the familiar feeling of dread washing over me the closer I got. I walked past the nurses station towards her room, but the nurse looked up and stopped me.