All The Small Things

111

[Jacob POV]
It was. It took the rest of my day off. Continuously reassuring him that Jupiter wouldn't mind. Finally, after 4 days of promising, he agreed to get a new friend.
"I-I still love you..." Luca mumbled to Jupiter, held close to his chest.
"Oh baby, getting another friend doesn't mean you don't love him. It just means you want another friend," I told him, leaning down and kissing his head. He's been sitting on the bed the entire time while I've been getting ready, just clinging to his toy. I slid my black jeans on since they were the only clean pair and zipped them, reaching for Luca's hand.
"Come here, you gotta get dressed," I said as I pulled him off the bed. He pouted but didn't complain as I dug through his drawers.
"You don't have clean pants. You're down to shorts," I warned him, pulling the ones off the top to give to him. Jesus, I need to do some fucking laundry.
"Boxers too," I added, quickly taking one from his other drawer.
"Mtay," He mumbled like he was sleepy.

"My legs look short," He complained as he walked into the living room, where I had migrated to get my shoes on.
"I don't know what you mean. I think you look good," I reassured him.
"Especially here," I added, grabbing his ass for a second and then pecking his lips.
"If you say so," He finally agreed, grinning a little as he slipped on his sneakers. Lately, I've been picking up a lotta shifts at work to try and find a new car. Preferably another truck, but I'm not in a position to really be picky. However, one of my extended family members is trying to get rid of their old truck because they got a newer one, and they live in an apartment where they can really only park one car. It was a white, 2005 Dodge, and they only wanted 4 grand for it. Over the past 2 months, I have somehow managed to make $3,455. By 'somehow managed,' I mean almost constantly working doubles and saving up half all my earnings (unless it's needed for rent or bills). But, I'm willing to invest in a new stuffie for Luca.

"Papa!" Luca exclaimed, hanging onto my arm in the middle of the aisle.
"Hm?" I asked, turning to look at his face.
"Is a lamb," He informed me, stimming by rocking on his toes.
"You want him?" I softly asked. He nodded a little, so I gave him permission to grab him. He was like $5.39 and tax. So, 6 dollars. Which isn't bad. I bought the new plushy for Luca and walked him back out to the car.
"What's his name?" I asked as I slid into the divers seat.
"Hmmmmm," He hummed, getting in the passenger side. "Oliver," He decided, trying to buckle himself. I instinctually reached over and did it for him, apparently making him upset.
"Dady!" He whined. "I do it!"
"Okay, you do it then, Bubba," I mumbled, un-clicking the seatbelt. He did it himself the second time, which I thought wasn't that big of a deal. But, I kept it to myself and let him have it.

As I pulled into the apartment parking lot, I saw Karmin and his girlfriend walking up to the apartment buildings. Obviously, Luca jumped out of the car and was about to run over when he saw Karmin's girlfriend. I hadn't seen her before, so I assumed she didn't live here. I didn't mind, though. I waved and shouted 'hello' when he looked back at me.
"Oh, hey! Rachel, this is Jacob. He lives right on top of my apartment," Karmin explained, introducing me and her.
"Hi," I said to her. She smiled a little at me and looked over at Luca, who was still next to the car door. He glanced over at me and shifted on his feet, car door still wide open.
"Hey, hey," She said, just being friendly. I guess Luca didn't know how to answer because he just whispered a little 'hi'.
"He's just shy, I swear," I said, smiling as he shut the door and sped walked over to me.

"Oh, by the way, I'm doing my birthday party Saturday night with a few friends. If you wanna go, it's just in the apartment," Karmin offered.
"I would, but I'm working almost the whole day. Do you wanna go?" I asked, looking over at my boyfriend on my right. He nodded a little, biting at his fingernails.
"Kay, well, it's at 7 pm, so just knock on the door when you come by. I'll talk to you both later," He said before walking in and heading down the first set of stairs to his apartment.
"Aren't you hungry by now?" I asked, walking in a few seconds after Karmin and Rachel so it didn't look like I was following them.
"Oliver hungry. An I gotta feed him," He answered, following me upstairs. I unlocked the front door and kicked off my shoes.
"Are you his Daddy?" I asked, walking into the kitchen. I gotta look through the cabinets now.
"Mhm. So I've got to feed him and love him and bathe him. All that stuffs," He agreed, sitting up on the kitchen counter.

The next time I turned my head to check on him, his stuffie was under his shirt where its head was sticking out of Luca's shirt collar. Almost like those baby carriers that wrap around the parent's torso, but DIY.
"Did you call your mom back yet?" I asked. When we died his hair, his mom called and said she found something in his room for him. She didn't tell me over the phone, and I told her Luca wasn't there. But that was the last I heard from her.
"No... I guess I should," He mumbled, suddenly pulled out of his happy, giggly headspace. I let him call her while I cooked dinner, and he just put her on speaker phone.
"Hi, Momma," He softly greeted her as she picked up. "You're on speaker,"
"Lukey, I was going through your boxes of stuff that was still packed but just laying around in your room. And I found something I really need to talk to you about in person. Not over the phone," She specified. I looked at my boyfriend and could see how much he didn't want to go deal with it.

"I can see if I Jacob will drive me there," He meekly said, leaning his head against the top cabinet where we keep the cups and plates.
"I will," I said without needing to be directly asked.
"Okay, just come talk to me in a little bit. Text me when you're leaving the apartment to head over," She instructed before hanging up the phone.
"What's wrong?" I asked. His mood had done a complete 180. He went from little and bubbly to serious and upset.
"I just don't like when she does this. It freaks me out when she doesn't tell me what she wants to tell me," He explained as I turned off the stove. I had just put on the stovetop pre-cooked, frozen stir-fry that I just heated up. So it really didn't take that long.
"It's not gonna be that bad. And I'm gonna be there," I tried to calm him.
"Momma doesn't like people she doesn't know in the house. So I don't think she'd want you to come in," He said, not meeting my eyes.

"I can wait in the car outside. I don't mind, but I just don't want you to feel isolated when you go see her," I suggested.
"Yeah, okay," He agreed, reaching for me. I smiled a little and picked him up, holding him under his butt and his arms thrown over my shoulders.
"You, sir, need to eat dinner," I commented, setting him down in a chair at the dining table. I just want him to eat something, and I hope the phone call doesn't affect his appetite.