All The Small Things

124

Guys, I'm so sorry! I kept accidentally publishing it before I was done with the chapter, so I tried to make this one longer to make up for it.

[Jacob POV]

I came home to Luca still crying, holding his hands over his ears. Spade looked up at me as if he didn't know what was wrong either.
"He really didn't want me to hold him," He said as I set down my keys.
"You can go home if you need. I know you had that brunch thing tomorrow," I offered. He agreed and put his shoes on before telling me bye and heading downstairs. He shut the door behind him.
"Hi, Baby," I whispered, holding my hands on top of his. He opened his eyes and didn't answer, but he didn't push me away either. "Do you want Dady to hold you?" He nodded and pulled his hands away; reaching for me instead. I sat down and pulled him into my lap, softly kissing his temple.
"Hurt..." He whispered, holding his ribs.
"I know, baby... Let Dady check how they see," I mumbled as I lifted his shirt. They were practically the same as last night, but I told myself it hadn't been that long, and it was normal to still be the same dark shades of blue and purple.

"Just lay down. Relax. I'll get your pacifier," I mumbled as he laid on his back. So, I went and got one of his from under the bed along with a clasp to attach onto his shirt.
"My family's having dinner on Halloween, so his Friday if you wanna go," I offered, probably 2 and a half episodes into the cartoon I put on. He nodded a little bit, rubbing his face. I ended up giving him Tylenol cause he was hurting before he went to bed. He didn't even bother to go to our bedroom; he just passed out on the couch.

Since Friday was only two days away, Luca's bruising didn't look much better. It was starting to lighten up, though. I got him dressed in a grey tank top and black sweatpants that had white bats across them. Only a few minutes before we had to leave, I found him staring in the mirror on the back of the bathroom door. Solely focused on his stomach.
"Are we gonna eat there...?" He quietly asked, looking up at me.
"Ya, I don't know all of what she made, though," I said. He frowned a little but went to go get his shoes on, and I noticed his phone on the bathroom counter. It was still open on his messages, so I caught the message at the bottom without looking for it. It was his mom.

'You need to come home. Jacob isn't good for you,'

'Momma, I'm not coming home. I'm an adult, and Jacob is a good person,'

'Just like your last boyfriend? He's not gonna last with you. You've let yourself go lately. At least tell me where you are in case something happens,'

'With his family,'

He left her on read for any message after that. Of course, his mom is making him insecure. I expect nothing else from that woman.

I pulled into my mom's driveway, and she was already greeting Luca as soon as I parked the car.
"Hi!" He said, smiling at her.
"I've missed you," She exclaimed, pulling him into a tight hug, noticing and pulling away when he whined.
"What is it?" My mom questioned as I got out and stood next to Luca.
"He got banged up," I said before Luca had to.
"Oh, okay, Hun. You ever had apple cider?" She asked as she led him inside. I followed closely behind, shutting the front door after me. My mom poured him some into a festive plastic cup and set it in front of him as he sat at the table.
"You want dealed in?" My uncle asked me as he shuffled a deck of cards.
"What game?" I asked, probably going to say yes regardless.
"Rummy," He told me as he started dealing cards around to everyone else playing.
"Sure," I agreed, shifting in my chair.

I got dealt my 7 cards and sorted them by largest to smallest like I always do when Luca leaned over to watch.
"Come here, you can help me," I mumbled, pulling his chair closer.
"How-how do you play?" He softly asked.
"You draw from the deck or from where people discard, and then you try to make groups of the same number like three 7's. Or what's called a run where it's like 8,9,10 of the same suit. Does that make sense?" I explained while watching what my cousins got rid of.
"Then you get rid of a card you don't care about and put it in the discard pile," I told him. He nodded a little and laid his head on my shoulder.