Chapter Text
The hallway was barely visible and, to make sure she didn't run into a vase again, she trailed her hand against the wall. Not only would the loud crash wake everybody up, but it would also give Luke another thing to tease her about. She could practically hear it now, the 'are you sure you don't need glasses, Lou?' and the 'watch out, vase! Lucy's coming!".
A cool breeze brought Lucy out of her thoughts and she couldn't help but shiver, bringing Mr. Berry closer to her chest. Out of fear or for warmth, she wasn't sure, but she did know that it was a particularly hot summer night and there hadn't been a single breeze until now. Lucy gnawed on her lip as she passed the first door, and took a deep breath. Her room was only three down from Nellie and Luke's, she had two more to go and then she would be safe.
A sharp gasp left her lips as she heard a creak from behind her and she whipped around, her hazel eyes wide as she examed the hallway. She couldn't see anybody, but that didn't mean that something wasn't there. Lucy had quickly learned in this house that you couldn't see everything you feared.
Swallowing, she turned back around and continued to walk down the hall, the second door not even a foot away. The creaking behind her had started again, and Lucy picked up her pace. She needed to get to their room. That was the only place she was safe.
"Lucy Locket lost her pocket, Kitty Fisher found it;" Lucy whispered to herself, the sound of her voice was comforting in the uneasy silence that rested in this house, "Not a penny was there in it, only ribbon round it."
Her little feet paddled quickly past the second and third door and she was only a mere matter of inches away from Luke and Nellie's when she felt the familiar tingle on the back of her neck. Stopping in her tracks, she twisted her neck slightly, enough to see out of the corner of her eye before booking it to the room.
As quickly and as quietly as she could, she twisted the doorknob and entered the room, freezing at the long, eery creak the door made as she pushed it. Her eyes skipped between the two beds and she sighed when she realized that she hadn't woken either of them up. Lucy turned and closed the door, pressing her ear against it and waiting for the creaks to stop.
"Lucy?" She heard Luke and her heart dropped at the fact that she had woken them up. She didn't mean to, she just wanted to be safe. She turned around and watched as Luke rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses, Nellie following as she sat up in her own bed, "What's wrong?"
She couldn't hide it now.
"She came again," Lucy said, her voice was barely above a whisper as her eyes filled with tears, and she squeezed Mr. Berry tighter, "She came again and said she wanted to take me away."
A flash of light flooded Lucy's vision as she let out a gasp and lurched forward in her bed, glancing around the room to see if anyone else was in there with her. There seemed to remnants of a cry echoing throughout the room, but she couldn't tell if it was coming from her mind or from the apartment. Letting out short breaths of air, Lucy pressed her left hand against her chest, the feeling of the cool metal against her warm skin, soothing her and allowing her to catch her breath.
It all felt so real.
The tall, pale figure standing at the end of her bed with a chillingly broken smile, the feeling of the oddly soft-but rough-wallpaper underneath her fingertips, Luke's childish voice asking if she was okay. Lucy pressed the tips of her fingers to her temple as collected herself and reassured herself that it was just a dream and that everything was okay.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she let out a sigh, knowing that she wasn't going to be falling asleep anytime soon. Lucy glanced at the clock and she couldn't help but let out a low laugh.
3:03
Of course it was. What a coincidence that she had woken up at the exact time of the witching hour. Must be part of the Crain charm, she thought.
Stumbling out of bed and bumping into the wall by her door, Lucy clumsily made her way out to her daughter's room. There was no reason for Matilda to be up at this hour, she had been sleeping full nights since she hit five months, but she still liked to check on her. Quietly making her way to the crib, she silently thanked Nell for the baby nightlight in the corner of the room. Peering down, a frown crossed Lucy's face as her daughter's wide, curious eyes stared up at her.
"Hey," Lucy cooed as she lifted Matilda into her arms and began to bounce her up and down, "Why are you up, love?"
Matilda kicked out her legs and cooed at her mother, grasping at Lucy's pajamas-which happened to be one of Luke's old t-shirts. Smiling, Lucy pressed a kiss to the crown of her head before resting her cheek there and cradling her daughter close to her.
"Did you have a bad dream?" Lucy asked, making her way to sit in the rocking chair that was next to the crib-the one that Shirley had given her- and shifting Matilda so that she was staring down at those beautiful blue eyes. The beautiful eyes she got from her father, "I have bad dreams too. Sometimes I wake up and still think that I'm in the dream."
Matilda only looked up at her with curious, doe eyes and reached for a strand of her dark red hair that had escaped the bun Lucy had placed it in earlier.
"Your dad has bad dreams too," Lucy smiled lovingly as she ran a finger down her daughter's rosy cheek, "When we were teenagers, he used to call me every time he had a one and we'd talk on the phone for hours."
The smile slowly fell into a frown as she thought of how the phone calls about dreams turned into phone calls from the police, asking her to come pick him up or to bail him out.
"But I guess talking on the phone wasn't enough to help him."
She didn't need a genius to tell her that someone had broken into her apartment. The crack in the door was enough to tell her that she should probably call someone. Pulling out her phone, Lucy stayed far enough from her door to be able to get away if needed but close enough to see the face of whoever was leaving.
It only took two rings before he picked up.
"Steve," Lucy whispered, her free hand coming up to cradle the bump that was hidden beneath Luke's old sweatshirt, "Someone's in my house and I don't want to call the police because if it's Luke...I don't want him to be away for the birth..."
"I know," She heard Steve sigh, "I'll be there in fifteen."
The moment Lucy had found out she was pregnant, Steve and Leigh had offered for her to come and live with them. While she didn't want to and felt like she intruding on the couples life, Lucy ended up staying there for the first three months of her pregnancy before moving into an apartment in the city—only fifteen minutes away from where Steve lived. Close enough for him to be there for her in case of an emergency and close enough for her to feel safe.
Lucy quickly thanked him before saying goodbye and hanging up. Nervously shuffling on her feet, she reached into her bag and grabbed the can of pepper spray that Theo had given her when she heard that she was moving to the city by herself.
It was only a mere matter of minutes, five to be exact, before whoever was in her house exited. Lucy felt her heart drop when she saw a familiar hoodie and towering frame quietly try to close the door behind him.
"Luke," Lucy called, causing him to jump and drop the bundle underneath his right arm. Lucy sadly watched as the baby carrier that Steve bought her crashed to the ground along with a pair of baby coats and shoes.
Sighing, she looked at Luke's other hand, the one that was still tightly clenched in a fist, and gave him a soft look, "What else do I need to replace."
Luke didn't try and meet her eyes as he slowly opened his fist to reveal a pair of diamond earrings and a silver locket.
"Well," Lucy pursed her lips, "You can take the earrings, but I was planning on giving them the locket if they were a girl."
It was the locket that her grandmother gave her mom, and her mom gave her. She wasn't sure how far back the tradition went, but she did know that every first born girl got the locket and, if she were honest, she was secreting hoping for a little girl.
She watched as Luke's eyes drifted from the ground to her stomach. It was the first time she had mentioned their child to him in a long time. The last time they had been brought up was the day Lucy found out and surprised Luke by telling him that he was going to be a dad. He had been clean for twenty days at that point, and she really thought he was going to make it. Well, that was until she got a phone call from Steve saying that Luke had overdosed on heroin three weeks after the announcement.
She knew he didn't want her to see his eyes, but it wasn't like she was going to be any more disappointed than she already was. Watching carefully as Luke took a couple steps forward, she made sure to keep her face passive when his eyes met hers as he towered over her frame. They were as red and as crazed as the time she saw him.
The two didn't break eye contact, and if someone saw them out of content, it looked like a rather touching moment between a young couple. It was only when Luke reached his hand forward that the mirage was ruined. Lucy took a step back and placed her hand protectively over her stomach.
She saw the hurt in Luke's eyes, but she didn't want him touching her... not like this.
"You're, uh, bigger," Luke said, retracing his hand as he sniffled and rubbed his nose. Lucy couldn't stop the small, sad smile that crossed her face.
"The last time you saw me was two months ago," Lucy said with a shrug, her hand running across her stomach before dropping to the side, aware of Luke's eyes following her hand.
"So, that makes you, uh, four month-"
"Six," Lucy corrected, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, "You saw me at four two months ago. I'm at six months now."
Luke nodded at the news and Lucy didn't know why she was trying to talk to him. He was on a high right now and whatever was being said, he was barely going to remember it when he came down. It broke Lucy's heart because hen Luke was there, really there, he knew how far along she was and would gush about how excited he was to become a dad. She didn't see much of that Luke lately.
"Liste-" Luke began before the sound of rushing footsteps caught the young adults attention. Turning, Lucy felt her shoulders subconsciously relax as Steve came into view and slowed his pace, calmly walking towards them. Lucy knew that he was worried and, while his form did show any sign of unease or panic, she could see the worry in his eyes.
"Luke," Steve let out sharply, his eyes skimming over Lucy's form to make sure that she was okay. They both knew that Luke would never hurt her, but there had been moments when Luke had so desperately craved the high, that their fights had Steve holding a screaming Luke back and Nell hugging a sobbing Lucy. "Come on, Luke. Leave the stuff. I have some cash you can have."
"No," Lucy said, the phone resting between her head and her shoulder as she screwed the lid off the baby food, "I haven't seen Luke since, I think, two months ago? I don't know, he wanted to give Matilda a gift but he didn't get a chance to. Yeah, he came when I was at work. Weird you saw him, though.
"Look, Lou, the reason I called," She heard Steve's voice crack and she suddenly noticed how raw his voice was and how weak it sounded, almost like he had been crying, "Nell died last night. She committed suicide at the house."
The sound of glass shattering echoed through the apartment and Lucy could barely hear Steve's frantic, questions asking if she was okay and if he needed to come over.
"You're kidding, right?" Lucy asked, her voice shaking as she knelt down and slowly picked up the broken glass surrounded in mashed yams, trying not to cut her shaking hands, "What do you mean, Nell died last night."
"She...she went to the house and the Dudley's found her... she committed suicide. Luke, Dad, and I are flying down tomorrow for the open casket. I understand that traveling with an infant isn't-"
"I'm coming," Lucy cut him off, dumping the shards of glass in the trash and running her hand under the tap water. She watched as her dark red blood mixed with the translucent water, turning into a light pink, "Send me the details. Oh God, Steve, I'm so sorry."
"Me too, Lou, me too." Steve murmured into the phone, his mind thinking back to the missed phone call from her the night that she... she left.
After saying goodbye and hanging up, Lucy tossed her phone on the counter and stared blankly out the window that was above her sink. Nell... Nellie was gone. The one person that she could always turn to when she needed somebody. The only person who understood why she never gave up on Luke and believed that he could get clean as much as she did.
And now... now she had been taken away.