A/N: i read some upcoming gh spoilers/rumors, and i was thinking about how i wanted things to play out, and out cam this! (by the way, i absolutely HATE what they are doing with jake, he had so many potential storylines)
Maxie stood inside of Jake's, waiting.
She wasn't sure how to approach him. She hadn't really spoken to him in over two months, and the accident was almost a month ago. Still, she didn't know how to act in a situation like this.
He must have sensed someone watching him because he glared in her direction. Maxie gasped, briefly shocked by his appearance. He was completely disheveled and his blue eyes were bloodshot and had a new hardness to them.
Of course, she shouldn't have been surprised. She couldn't have expected a man who recently lost his son to be full of life.
She slowly walked over to Lucky, who sat slouched on his stool, hunched over his drink. "Hey," she said, barely over a whisper. He turned back to his whiskey in response. She placed her hand on his shoulder before he could take another shot. He lifted his heavy eyes once again to her pitiful ones. He scoffed. "Go away" he said hoarsely, picking up his drink and finishing the last of it. It wasn't hard for Maxie to surmise that he had been doing this all night.
"Lucky, let me take you home, or at least call you a cab."
Where does she get off, Lucky thought. She has no idea what I'm going through.
"I can get myself home," he spat. He started going through his pockets, looking for his keys. "Where the hell..."
"Looking for these, man?"
"Lucky looked behind the bar to see Coleman jangling his keys.
"Give me that," he demanded.
"No can do," the scruffy man answered. "Besides, you gave me specific orders not to let you drive tonight."
Lucky stared daggers at Coleman. All he wanted was to go home and blackout, and forget about all the things on his mind.
"I can drive you and your ca home."
His gaze turned to the blond at his side, her blue eyes piercing with concern into his. The way she looked at him, like he was the saddest sight in the world, made him want to just let go of everything and cry.
Seeing Lucky deflate a bit, Maxie went on. "I'll just drop you off at your apartment and take a cab back to get my car. Come on. She took the keys from
Coleman and extended her hand to Lucky. He sighed in defeat. Instead of taking her hand, he got up on his own and stumbled toward the door.
It's going to be a long night, she thought.
…
Once they were inside his apartment, Lucky made his way to the sofa and plopped down. "Wouldn't you feel more comfortable in your bed?"
Lucky simply grunted and threw his arm over his eyes.
Maxie walked over to the couch and sat on the edge. Lucky peeked from under his arm. "Why are you still here?" he asked harshly.
"I just...I want to help, but I don't know how."
"I didn't ask for your help."
"You're still going to get it. I've been able to turn to you in hard times. I want to return the favor."
"'Bad times,'" he echoed. "My son is dead. This is about as hard as it gets."
Maxie looked sorrowfully at Lucky's now tear-brimmed eyes. "I know. There's no way I can fully imagine how you must be feeling right now, but I want you to know that you can turn to me, and I'll help however I can."
Lucky kept his eyes fixated on hers, the tears now falling freely. "What am I supposed to do now?" he whispered.
"I guess you try to pull yourself together the best way you can and remember that you have two boys at home who need you."
Lucky sighed. "I guess you heard about Aiden, then."
"Yeah. I guess that explains the connection you always felt with him. So think about him, and Cameron. You can't give up on them."
Lucky thought about this, and he knew that she right. Even though it seemed like the world had ended when Jake left it, he knew he had to move on. He needed to be there with his sons. Besides, he had already missed out on so much time with Aiden. He would never replace Jake—and Lucky wouldn't want him to—but there was solace in having him. And right now, he was letting him down.
"Where do I even start?" he asked, mostly to himself.
"Why don't you start with a good night's sleep? Get up and go to bed."
Lucky let out a long breath to brace himself and started to lift off of the sofa.
"Whoa!" Maxie exclaimed as Lucky tumbled and practically fell into her lap. She stood up and steadied him by the shoulders.
Lucky stared at her intently. Why was she helping him? It's not like they were very close anymore. Maybe she was just a better person than he had given her credit for. Right now, her usually overwhelming demeanor was replaced with nothing but love and caring...for Lucky.
It was probably the liquor, but he had the sudden urge to be close to her. Without warning, he crashed his mouth with Maxie's.
Taken aback, she tried to resist, but his hands were already on the small of her back and the back of her head, pulling her closer.
She knew it was wrong, but no matter how many years had passed, he still broke her down and made her forget the rest of the world. While deeply enjoying the kiss, a part of her brain registered what was wrong with this. She briefly thought of Matt and Siobhan. She remembered that he was still grieving. She knew that he was just looking for a way to escape from the pain. But still, she didn't stop.
A few seconds later, she broke away from him, brought back to reality by the taste of whiskey, still thick on his breath.
"Lucky..."
"What?" he panted, a bit annoyed at the interruption.
"We can't—"
"Why not? You said you wanted to help me and right now, this is what will help me feel better."
He tried to kiss her again, but this time Maxie pushed away.
"You're not thinking straight, Lucky. You're drunk and your grieving...we just can't."
Lucky looked at her in disbelief and let out a bitter chuckle.
"Fine," he said, the edge that had worn off earlier back in his voice. He walked to his bedroom, alone.
Maxie looked after him. She had done the right thing, even if she felt like the biggest fool. But she couldn't take advantage of him again. He probably would have regretted it in the morning anyway. If he even remembered it.
Maxie blinked back the unexpected tears and turned to walk out of the apartment.