Lucaya child au because there aren't enough of those
I wake up yet again to the sound of my infant daughter wailing, moonlight still pouring in the window.
I sit up and rub my eyes, my blonde hair in a knotted mess on the back of my head.
I get out of bed and look at my clock as I walk by, seeing that it’s still two am.
Two am, also too early for a 17 year old like myself to be waking up. Too early for a teenager to be waking up during the summer.
I walk into the nursery and pick up the crying Amber, rocking her in my arms.
“Hey, baby. Don’t cry, momma’s here.” I coo quietly to the crying infant, the room’s only light from the moon peeking through the window.
Her crying becomes more calm, slowing to a stop as her squinted eyes become wider.
“There’s my girl.” I whisper, turning so that her face is in the moonlight.
The pale light illuminates her and her beauty, her short blonde locks, her full little lips, and her little button nose. All attributes that make her seem identical to me, but the one thing that is different, are her eyes.
Her piercing green eyes, with long eyelashes and an unexplainable warmth emitting from them.
I’ve done everything I can to forget her father, to forget the boy who doesn’t know Amber exists. The boy who moved to Texas before I knew I was pregnant.
But I can’t forget him, not when I see him every time I look into Amber’s beautiful green eyes.
The beautiful green eyes that belong to Lucas Friar.
“How’s she doing?” I hear my mother’s voice from behind me, standing in the doorway.
“She’s just falling asleep again.” I whisper, my mother standing beside me.
“She’s so beautiful.” My mother whispers, and I can practically hear her beaming.
“I know it seems like a strange time to tell you this, since it’s so early and all, but I just found out before bed last night, and I think you should know.” My mother sighs as I gently set down Amber in her crib.
My heart drops as these words leave her lips.
“He called our house, and I picked up. He said he’s really excited to see you, that he wants to talk about your relationship.” My mother says, and I sit down.
I’ll get to see him again.
But he has no idea that I have a baby, let alone his daughter.
“When’s he gonna be here?”
I get butterflies at the thought of seeing him again, seeing those breathtaking green eyes on the person who gave them to my daughter.
He’s going to hate me if he finds out.
The next day around noon, I look like a mess.
I have a crying Amber on my hip, shaking different toys at her to get her to stop.
My hair is a wind-blown looking mess, and I’m still in my pajamas.
We ran out of diapers with the one that Amber is wearing now, but I have no time to go out to get them, so I ordered them from the market. They better get here soon, because Amber doesn’t seem to have much longer until she spoils the one she has on.
“Come on baby, what do you want? You want your monkey?” I say, picking up and shaking her stuffed monkey.
Amber hits it out of my hands and continues to wail.
“I don’t understand. I fed you, I changed you, I gave you a bottle, you don’t have gas, what do you want?” I whine, feeling like the world’s greatest mom.
She continues to cry, and the doorbell rings.
“This better be the diapers.” I mutter to myself, opening the door while bouncing Amber on my hip.
I see the box of diapers in someone’s hands at the door, and I grab them.
“Yeah thanks.” I say, looking at the box.
“Maya.” Lucas laughs, stopping me from slamming the door.
I look up at him and my heart skips a beat, his green eyes piercing my soul.
“Lucas.” I say breathily, seeing that he’s gotten even more handsome, and even taller.
“Who’s baby is this? She’s adorable.” Lucas smiles.
“Uh.. mine, actually.” I laugh, and Lucas’s face goes straight.
“Oh, wow. Well, she’s beautiful. Looks so much like you.” Lucas chuckles, and I’m glad that he didn’t ask any more questions.
“Could I hold her? I’m pretty good with babies.” Lucas smiles at the crying Amber, and I chuckle.
“Sure.” I shrug, handing her to him.
“What’s her name?” Lucas asks, bouncing her in his arms.
“Hi Amber, how’s it going?” He coos, smiling at her kindly.
She looks at Lucas and suddenly quiets down, grabbing at his face.
“There you are, pretty girl.” He smiles at her, and I feel an intense warmth.
“Ah, that’s my hair.” Lucas laughs as Amber giggles and tugs his dirty blonde hair.
“She loves you.” I laugh, Amber releasing her grip and looking at Lucas.
He smiles down at her warmly, and then our eyes meet.
He looks at me, that sort of twinkle in his eyes, and I feel my stomach fill with butterflies.
“She’s beautiful. Really. If you ever need a babysitter, just call me.” Lucas says, handing her back to me.
I nod at Lucas, and he heads to the door.
“Oh, did you want to talk about something? My mom said you did.” I say as Lucas walks to the door.
“Nah, it can wait. You seem busy.” Lucas smiles.
Two weeks later, Lucas has been visiting a lot. He’s the designated baby sitter, as awkward as it seems.
Amber loves him, and stops crying the second she’s put in his arms.
He’s growing more attached to her as well, and loves visiting her.
Not only has Lucas spent time with Amber, but me too.
We’ve been to the movies a few times when my mom was watching Amber, but it’s bittersweet. I’ve had to back away from Lucas trying to kiss me twice now.
It’s been torture, seeing his face after I back away. I want nothing more than to be with him, but he wouldn’t want to get involved. He has such a bright future, imagine the toll that a daughter would have on him.
I sit in the living room, playing with a calm Amber.
I suddenly hear a knock on the door, so I get up to open it.
“Coming.” I say as I open it to see Lucas.
“Hey, what’s up?” I smile at him, the two of us walking in.
“I have to ask you something.” He says, and I feel my stomach drop.
“This might sound crazy, but I just have to make sure… is Amber, like, my daughter?” Lucas asks, scratching the back of his neck.
“Because I just realized that she’s six months old, and it’s been like a year and a half since we.. you know. And I don’t know, I just feel this connection with her, I can’t explain it. She’s perfect, and it probably sounds crazy, I just have this feeling-”
“She is. She’s yours.” I say, Lucas’s face going blank.
There’s a brief silence where Lucas looks between me and Amber.
He walks to her and picks her up, an adorable giggle coming from her as she looks at him.
“Hey, baby.” He smiles, and I see tears form in his eyes.
“She’s really my daughter?” He looks to me, tears still in his eyes.
I nod, feeling myself start to cry.
He kisses her forehead, running his thumb along her cheek.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asks, turning to me.
“I’m sorry, I know it’s a shitty thing to do, I just thought that a daughter isn’t what you need right now, you know? You’re doing so well in school, I didn’t want to hold you back.. I know it’s wrong, and I’m sorry.” I start to ramble, and Lucas puts down Amber.
“Maya, you were always more important to me than anything else. Moving to Texas killed me, and that’s all I wanted to tell you. But I saw that you had Amber, I thought you had other things to worry about.” Lucas says, walking to me and putting his hands on either side of my face.
“I love you, Maya Hart, and I always have. I want to be with you, and I want to raise Amber with you. It’s all I could ever want.” He smiles, and I stand on my tip toes and kiss him. The warmth I feel when I see him spreads through my entire body, his hands in my blonde hair.
“I love you too.” I smile, hugging him tightly, knowing that I won’t let him go again.