Chapter 5 FIVE

LUCIAN

"Mr. Delacroix, you really don't have to do this," George said from where he was standing by the doorway in his ever-crisp suit, tablet in hand. "You already have a packed schedule today. I can handle the session with their homeroom teacher and report back to you."

I stood behind Lucas and tried smoothing his dark hair with the tip of my fingers. "Do you want it this way?" I asked, brushing it to the right. "Or this way?"

He blinked up at me with a giggle and shoved all of it backward with his own small hands. "This way."

My bad for asking.

"Alright," I chuckled, fixing it into the messy-slicked style he liked. I bent and pressed an exaggerated kiss to his forehead. He laughed and wriggled out of my reach.

Eli was already settled, legs tucked under him, quietly working through his coloring book with his eyes narrowed in focus. Every so often, he'd switch crayons without looking up, tapping one against his lip before picking a new color.

Lucas tugged at my hand. "Are you really taking us to school?"

Eli paused mid-stroke, lifting his head curiously.

"Yes, buddy." I responded. "Go get your bags, let's go."

Lucas bolted down the hallway, feet slapping against the hardwood as he went while Eli stood up more slowly. He closed his coloring book and stacked his crayons neatly on top, lining everything up before he followed after his brother.

Only when they were out of sight did I finally turn back to George with a glare, the calm I'd kept on my face for the boys dropped away.

It was Monday... and I was still very much irritated.

Friday night had thrown my entire weekend off balance, to the point where I barely got any work done. I knew that would come back to bite me in the office today and I could already hear my inbox screaming for attention.

My mother's voice still echoed in my head from yesterday's endless nagging. Her well-meaning advice about grief and moving on never came quietly, it always made my skull ache.

The only thing keeping me remotely sane right now were those two boys.

Normally, George would have handled school drop‑off while I headed to the office. But this morning, he informed me that the kids' homeroom teacher had emailed about meeting their guardian.

"I already told you there's no need for that," I said, referring to his earlier comment. "I'll drop them off and meet her. It shouldn't take that long."

His expression was patient. "You know it's not about that."

I did.

I just didn't care.

The boys reappeared, backpacks on.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Yup!" Lucas chirped.

Eli nodded.

I smiled softly. "Good. Let's go."

By the time we stepped outside, the car was already waiting in the driveway. One of the security staff opened the rear door and waited for us to load in.

"Can I sit by the window today?" Lucas asked, halfway in already.

"Fine," I said, buckling him in. "Just don't kick the seat."

"I don't kick! That was Eli last time."

Eli slowly shook his head.

"Don't throw your brother under the bus," I said, giving Lucas a look.

He grinned. "It was worth a shot."

I slid in after them and through the tinted glass, I could see George still standing at the edge of the driveway with his arms crossed, watching us leave like he thought he could stop me just by staring hard enough.

Lucas twisted around in his seat a little. "Are you staying with us the whole day?"

"No," I said, brushing a hand over his hair. "Just meeting your teacher."

"Can she give you homework too?" he asked with a grin.

"Don't push your luck, buddy."

He pouted while Eli let out the faintest giggle.

The car ride to school was almost half an hour and by the time the school was visible, the parking lot was already full of parents and teachers; kids were getting out of the cars, backpacks bouncing, some kids crying, some laughing. A usual Monday mess.

Lucas had already unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out before I could stop him while Eli was still waiting for me to unfasten his seatbelt and help him out. I grabbed Lucas by the shoulder before he could run away again, then took both their hands, one on each side and began walking with them towards the school ‍‌building.

The whispers started almost instantly. Eyes turned, voices dropped and I felt the usual wave of unwanted attention settle over us like a heavy coat. This right here was exactly why Elena and I had agreed on homeschooling in the first place. People couldn't just look without staring. Couldn't mind their goddamn business if their lives depended on it.

Eli's small hand gripped mine a little tighter, his steps slowing just slightly. I gave his hand a light squeeze in return, casting a sharp glare at a few of the adults who clearly didn't have enough to occupy their lives.

We reached the entrance, where a small group of staff members stood talking quietly. They stopped talking the second we stepped onto the walkway. One woman nudged another with her elbow. Another's eyes widened slightly, then darted between me and the boys.

"Go...good morning, sir," one of them stammered out.

"Morning," I said curtly. "I'm looking for Ms. Sterling. Would you happen to know where I can find her?"

The woman blinked, then pointed behind her with a jerky motion. "She just went inside. Her office is down the hall. First left after the display boards."

I gave a nod of thanks and walked past, ignoring the hushed squeals behind me.

We'd just rounded the first turn, and I was scanning the nameplates on the office doors trying to find the right one, when Eli suddenly pulled his hand out of mine and bolted forward.

"Eli, wait up."

Lucas took off right after him.

"Guys, that's not-" I trailed off when I saw what had caught their attention-or rather, who.

A lady stood at the end of the hall, back turned to me, dressed in a loose, oatmeal-colored sweater and a long, pleated skirt that swayed slightly as she shifted her weight. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun, wisps falling at her nape. She hadn't noticed us.

Eli ran full force into her legs like a homing missile, she turned sharply at the contact, startled at first, then she let out a soft laugh and crouched immediately to pull him and Lucas into her arms.

"Well, don't you two look so dashing today?" She said warmly, her voice carrying down the hallway to where I stood frozen. "Who did your hair, Lucas?"

"Daddy!" Lucas replied proudly.

"Oh really?" she chuckled. "And where's George this morning?"

"Home," Eli mumbled, already curling one hand into her sweater and using the other to twist a strand of her hair gently between his fingers.

That small, familiar gesture punched something soft in my chest. Eli didn't just touch anyone unprovoked. Only when he felt safe.

"Who dropped you off, then?" she asked gently, still completely unaware I was approaching.

"I did," I said from behind them.

Still crouched between them, she faltered like my voice scrambled something in her brain. Her hand sweater trying to adjust them while also rising to her feet too quickly.

"So sorry," she swayed slightly, then tried to pull herself together, smoothing her sweater with jittery fingers.

"I didn't know you were..."

She trailed off.

At the same exact moment, my stomach dropped.

My entire body froze as her face came into full view.

No fucking way...

The hallway faded.

The sounds.

The school.

Even my sons standing between us.

There were no masks now.

No lights.

No music.

But those eyes... those goddamn eyes.

It couldn't be.

And yet, there they were. Those were the same hazel eyes that held me still under the club's strobe lights. Just three nights back, they had walked me through a room full of unfamiliar faces and then had me completely exposed. The same ones I'd spent the entire weekend trying and failing to erase.

Even out of the leather, even with the glasses and the oversized sweater, those eyes were the same.

Unmistakable.

Lux...

But not just that.

Staring back at me was the lady I'd kissed in the alley of a bar in Chicago, three years ago.