Bella stirred softly in her sleep, feeling the gentle rise and fall of someone breathing beside her. For a moment, she stayed still, tucked safely in the warm, solid embrace that had shielded her through the night. Lucas. She doesn't remember being tucked in bed. Maybe Lucas took her here when she was still sleeping.
Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she tilted her head slightly to look at him. He was still sleeping, his face relaxed, a lock of hair falling onto his forehead. She smiled faintly. She had slept through the night without waking from nightmares—because of him.
From the other side Rachel moved closer, trapping Bella between her and Lucas. Carefully, she shifted, trying not to wake him, but the movement made Lucas's arm tighten around her instinctively. His eyes opened, sleepy and warm, as he looked down at her.
"Good morning," he murmured, voice rough from sleep. He don't know when he got used to having somebody sleep on his bed that too hugging him, but he knew one thing that he is liking all of this.
"Good morning," she whispered back, feeling an odd shyness bloom in her chest because of the proximity. Both in her bed and her life.
Lucas smiled lazily after seeing her being squeezed between him and Rachel, and then released her so she could sit up. She missed the warmth immediately but tried not to show it. She got up, stretching her arms above her head as she walked toward the bathroom.
Lucas leaned back against the pillows, watching her with a soft look before dragging himself out of bed too. Despite the night's events, he carried himself casually, almost lazily, hiding every trace of the fight he had gone through after she fell asleep.
Bella, though, noticed the faint shadows under his eyes. "You didn't sleep well?" she asked, brushing her hair out of her face as she looked at him in the mirror. Lucas chuckled lightly. "I'm not as good at sleeping like a rock as you are. You don't even care if the place is comfortable enough, huh. You know how much can a bad posture affect you."
She rolled her eyes but smiled, feeling lighter already. "It's not me, it's the baby." Lucas sighed. She always does this, whenever something like this happens, she put all the blame on the baby. "The baby is innocent. You are the one who is doing all this." He said with finality.
"But we are one....the baby is inside my womb right." She replied flipping her hair. 'Well she is right....but...leave it.' He contemplated and followed her who walked out arrogantly after winning this argument. 'Wait is it our first argument?' She thought.
The three of them gathered in the kitchen. Bella moved around smoothly, preparing breakfast with practiced ease, while Lucas helped where needed. There was a comforting familiarity in it, a sense of home that wrapped around the little family. Rachel sat at the kitchen counter, swinging her legs and chattering about her upcoming class project.
"Miss Allen said we can bring a drawing for the wall! Can I draw a castle?" Rachel beamed.
"Of course," Bella encouraged her warmly, handing her a cup of milk. "You'll have the best castle there," Lucas added, ruffling Rachel's hair.
While Rachel was busy coloring on the corner of her plate with a bit of syrup, Lucas casually picked up his phone under the table. A message from Mark blinked on the screen, 'Still questioning him. No info yet. Will update.'
Lucas's jaw tightened briefly, but he quickly schooled his features back into the lazy, teasing smile Bella had come to expect from him. He won't tell her anything that happened yesterday. He didn't want her to worry. Not today. He slid the phone back into his pocket and turned back to his breakfast as if nothing had happened.
As they finished breakfast and got ready to leave, Lucas grabbed his car keys. He was going to drop Rachel to school before heading to the office.
Standing near the doorway, Bella hesitated. The fear she had buried under smiles came rushing back. She doesn't know if it was a prank or whatever but it instilled a fear in her. Yesterday because of Lucas her day went by smoothly but now when he will also leave for his work. What will happen to her?
Lucas snapped his finger in front of her face, bringing her out of her thoughts. He narrowed his eyes, noting the way her fingers fiddled nervously with the hem of her sweater. He saw it—the fear she was trying so hard to hide. Looks like she wants to say something but can't say it and he knows what it is.
"You don't have to worry…..I'm not going office today. I will do my work from here only," he said simply, pocketing the keys again and walking back to her side. Rachel didn't notice anything strange…. she just waved happily, running ahead to the car. Bella exhaled slowly, the knot in her chest loosening just a little. She waved as the car launches and drives.