Devil's Gambit

Chapter 25

Lucas' eyes flew open, startling awake as his body jolted and he drew in a sharp breath of air. His head whipped behind him as he tightened his hold on Harley, where his boyfriend still slept soundly by his side. His eyes met Jackie's widened blue ones, where she too looked surprised despite being the voice he kept hearing call his name in his dream.

"Fuck. . ." He grumbled as his heart continued to hammer in his chest, rubbing at his eyes as he sat up slightly. "Jackie?" He asked in confusion, wincing against the bright sun filtering in through the window.

"You've gotta get up, Lucas. Axel is going to wake up soon and he'll probably be checking in on Harley," she explained with a hint of urgency within her tone.

Lucas stared at her for a moment, processing what she had said with his sleep-ridden brain, before turning to look at Harley. His expression was relaxed now, a stark contrast to his waking moments that were filled with him scrunching his face in pain, but the nasty bruise forming over his eye twisted Lucas' heart. He was glad Harley could catch a break from his injury while asleep, where the hurt didn't haunt him. He reached out to gently brush some of Harley's brown fringe away from his forehead, tucking it gently behind his ear as Jackie watched with a somber look.

"Right. . . I'll go," Lucas whispered, sliding out from under the covers carefully before turning and tucking them back around Harley. A part of him was hoping that by spending the night in Harley's room, Axel would walk in on them together and they would no longer have to sneak around like a bunch of teenagers. A different part of him was glad that Jackie had given them another opportunity to continue the ruse and push off that mess for another time. Perhaps a time when Harley was healthy again and Lucas wasn't already so agitated.

"You two looked sweet together," Jackie commented as they left the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click. Lucas merely stared at the floor, chewing on the inside of his lip. He still wasn't completely comfortable with how close he had allowed Jackie to come, the fact that she knew about Lucas' mother before Harley even did was far enough. Lucas has always been a guarded person, and that certainly hasn't changed now.

"Why are you up so early?" He questioned instead, changing the subject. Jackie sighed heavily, whether she was frustrated with Lucas or for being awake when she didn't want to be, Lucas wasn't sure.

"Morning sickness," she replied simply. Lucas cringed slightly.

"Shit."

"Yeah. Usually Axel wakes up when I go running to the bathroom, but he didn't this time. I think he tired himself out stressing about Harley," she smiled sadly.

Lucas hummed, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. "I was gonna make Harley some breakfast, do you want some?"

Jackie's face lit up, as she mimed clapping her hands. "Will you? I'm starving now, are you making food for the house?"

Lucas settled a deadpan look on her as he turned towards the stairs. "The offer is only extended to my boyfriend and pregnant people. I have no obligation to keep the rest of this house alive, for I simply do not care about anyone else."

As she watched Lucas descend the stairs, a smile stretched across Jackie's face, knowing that was only a half truth. Lucas cared a lot more than he put on, but she'd allow him to keep up his edgy exterior.

In the quiet hours of early morning, Lucas and Jackie shared each other's company downstairs as the rest of the occupants slept. It was silent for most of the time, but the sizzling of food in the pan was nice to hear in the background as Jackie sipped her ginger tea and flipped through a magazine. When she first met Lucas, she had the same first impression of him everyone else did. Cold, heartless, arrogant, and an incredibly short fuse that led to frequent friction with everyone around him. She never imagined they would become the unlikely duo that they were. Well, as much as Lucas allowed for them to be, but Jackie was grateful of the small amount Lucas had confided in her. He was a lot more complex and emotionally intelligent than anyone gave him credit for, and she was glad to have been able to recognize that.