I am ridiculously excited to get home. So imagine my confusion when the taxi slows down and pulls up in front of… My work? I blink at the familiar building, my exhaustion momentarily overridden by sheer bafflement.
“Uh… Lukas.” I say slowly, turning to face him.
“Why the hell are we at work in the middle of the night?” I demand. I am not impressed. The last time I came here after hours, I somehow ended up accidentally adopting a mind reader. And okay, sure, it hasn’t been all bad. But before that night, my life had nothing to do with demons, necromancers, or anything even remotely dangerous. And now? Now I can’t even go to a casino without getting dragged into a weird territorial ego battle and running into a literal demon crime lord. I don’t really blame Lukas for everything that’s happened. Not anymore, at least. So instead, I’ve decided to blame the fact that I ever went to work after hours. That’s the real villain here. Honestly, working outside of scheduled shifts should be illegal anyway. Lukas, meanwhile, looks entirely unbothered by my frustration.
“You wanted to pick up my car.” He reminds me.
“And you were right, we’re probably never going to get around to it at this rate. So I figured, since we’re already out, and already tired, we might as well just get it over with.” He explains calmly. I squint at him, reluctant to admit he has a point.
“…Oh.” I mutter. Damn it. That actually does make sense.
“…I suppose that makes some kind of sense.” I grumble, crossing my arms. I don’t want to completely agree, because I want to be at home, preferably wrapped in a blanket with no immediate obligations. But he IS right. I’ll probably feel way better in the morning knowing that we have a car available. My insurance company SHOULD cover the cost of replacing my car, thanks to Eli’s help with the police reports, but it’s still going to take weeks for them to actually send the money. And then I’ll have to deal with the nightmare of actually finding a new car.
So for now, using Lukas’s car is probably the best plan. At least while we’re still stuck together. A thought suddenly occurs to me.
“Wait.” I narrow my eyes at Lukas.
“Do you even have your keys with you? This wasn’t exactly a planned trip.” I remind him. If he had the taxi bring us here only for us to end up stranded because he has no keys, I might scream… Or cry. Not necessarily in that order. Without missing a beat, Lukas shrugs and pulls his keys out of his pocket.
“I’ve been bringing them everywhere.” He says casually. I frown.
“Seriously? Why?” I ask, baffled. Lukas pauses, considering. Then shrugs again.
“I don’t know… Habit?” He seems just as unsure as I am. I stare at him for a long moment, then burst out laughing. Of course he has. I can’t believe he’s been randomly carrying his car keys around for weeks with no actual reason. But at the same time? It’s such a Lukas thing to do that it makes perfect sense. I highly doubt it was because he expected to need them. He’s just so fixed in his routines, I bet he picked them up every time he left the house purely out of muscle memory. Or maybe because it just felt wrong not to. I guess… I can kind of relate to that. One time, I forgot to bring a lip balm with me, and I spent the entire day regretting it. Even though I didn’t actually need it. It just felt wrong not to have it… Although, now that I think about it, I probably had, like, ten more buried somewhere in my bag. Oh well. The point is, I get it.
I glance around the inside of Lukas’s car. It’s… Unnervingly clean. Where’s all his stuff? Where’s the stray receipts, the half empty water bottles, the random crumbs that inevitably end up in every car? Where’s any sign that a human being actually drives this thing? It even looks like he vacuums it regularly. I frown.
“Okay, but why is your car so clean?” I ask. Lukas, mid motion as he turns the key in the ignition, gives me a sideways look.
“Uh… Because I clean it?” He says, slightly baffled. Suspicious. Before I can press him further, the car sputters and fails to start. Lukas swears under his breath.
“It hasn’t been started in a while… Hopefully it’s okay.” He mutters. He tries again. This time, the engine rumbles to life, and I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“Well.” I say, settling back into my seat.
“Now that we know the car works, and we finally have some privacy, are you ready for me to yell at you for being an idiot earlier?” I ask. I keep my tone light, but I’m not joking. I AM angry, and Lukas knows it. Still, he barely reacts.
“You could always skip the lecture and just let me apologize.” He suggests. I narrow my eyes.
“No. I think I need it. Lecturing you will make me feel better.” I decide. He shrugs, completely unbothered.
“Alright then. Go for it.” He says easily. I scowl. Hmph. Yelling just doesn’t hit the same when he agrees to it. Damn him. Can’t he at least pretend he didn’t do anything wrong? Maybe argue with me a little? Fight back just enough to make it satisfying? Okay, okay, I know that’s ridiculous. I’m just tired and cranky and looking for a fight that he refuses to give me. And the worst part? He already knows he screwed up. He’s been listening to my mental complaints for the past twenty minutes, so there’s really nothing I could say to him now that he hasn’t already heard. I sigh, my frustration fading into exhaustion. Lukas glances over at me.
“Clare?” He prompts.
“Hmm?” I murmur, barely looking up.
“Is everything okay? I thought you were gonna yell at me for being an idiot, but you’re just staring into space.” He comments. I sigh again, heavier this time.
“I’m just tired.” I answer. He nods, his fingers tightening slightly on the steering wheel.
“Me too.” He agrees. There’s a beat of silence.
“I am sorry, Clare.” He says softly. I blink, turning toward him as he keeps his eyes on the road. His voice is calm. Genuine.
“I shouldn’t have tried to rush off like that.” He continues.
“It was dangerous, for both of us. And more than once tonight, I just… Dragged you into a situation and expected you to find a way out. That’s not fair to you. It’s not fair of me to rely on you like that.” He sighs heavily. Then his jaw tightens slightly, like he’s forcing himself to keep talking.
“I don’t mean to make excuses, it’s just… You’re good at that kind of thing. At thinking fast. At getting us out of messes. And sometimes I forget that just because someone CAN do something, and just because they might be good at it, that doesn’t mean they should have to. I know how that feels. And I don’t want to be like that.” He says, sounding more than a little guilty. He hesitates for half a second before finishing.
“I’ll try to do better. I’ll consult you before dragging you into things from now on.” He promises sincerely. My jaw drops. That was… That was a really good apology. Suspiciously good. I narrow my eyes slightly.
“That was way too perfectly phrased. You definitely rehearsed that.” I accuse. Lukas doesn’t deny it. I bet he was working on it the entire taxi ride. And damn it, it worked. I feel better. More than that, I believe him. I know how much he hates feeling like someone is forcing him to use his abilities. And he realised that’s what he was doing to me. He knows how it feels, and he genuinely doesn’t want to be that person. My irritation fully melts away.
“Well… I guess I forgive you, then.” I say with a sigh. Lukas lifts an eyebrow.
“You guess?” He repeats doubtfully.
“Yeah. On one condition.” I announce. His lips twitch slightly.
“Oh?” He glances at me then back to the road. I cross my arms.
“Reading my mind and knowing that I would probably be willing to help you is not the same thing as asking me. So you need to remember that.” I say, not quite sure what my condition is, just that I want him to be more careful. Lukas shifts slightly in his seat, considering that.
“I can’t read your mind.” I continue.
“So I never know what you’re planning. Like, ninety nine percent of the time, I have no idea what’s going on in your head. And I definitely can’t figure it out if you don’t tell me. So… I don’t know, try to communicate more I guess.” I explain. We reach a red light, and Lukas slows the car to a stop. Then, he turns his head toward me, eyes locking onto mine. His expression shifts, just slightly. I see something uncertain in his gaze. He hesitates.
“Do you really have no idea what I’m thinking about right now?” He says, his voice quiet. His tone is different. Not teasing. Not sarcastic. It holds something heavier, something meaningful. I blink, suddenly caught off guard by the weird tension in the car.
“…Should I?” I ask hesitantly. The light turns green. Lukas exhales quietly, turning back to the road as he presses the gas pedal.
“If you have to ask me that, then I guess I have my answer.” He murmurs, his voice unreadable. I don’t know what I was expecting him to say. But whatever this is, he seems… Upset. And I definitely didn’t give him the answer he was hoping for. If only I knew what that was.