All The Small Things

146

[Luca POV]

We got home at 4 p.m. and I was already so sleepy. I had to take a nap. And when I woke up from it, I got started off of the wrong foot. I went to sit up, but I forgot to put my hair up before going to sleep so it got caught under my hand, meaning when I pushed myself up it pulled it. And it hurt worse than you’d think.
“Owie!” I cried, reaching up and holding where it pulled at. Daddy was sitting right next to me on the bed, so he softly cooed at me and pulled me into his lap.
“What did you do, Bubba?” He asked.
“I pull my hair an’ it hurted me,” I whined, messing up half of my words.
“Oh, my poor baby,” Daddy whispered, kissing the part of my head where I had been holding my hand. I shivered and pulled the blanket over me, feeling the effects of the season’s weather.
“Thanksgiving is coming up. Do you wanna go and spend it with my family?” Daddy asked, making me nod.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

So on November 23rd, at 12:30 , I got dressed in jeans and a nicer shirt than I normally wear. It was a dark gray long sleeve with a skull on the side and partially on my stomach. I was putting Jacob’s hoodie over it for most of the time anyway.
“Jakey, will you do my hair?” I asked, biting on my fingers and peeking my head into the bathroom.
“How do you want it done?” he asked back, glancing over at me while brushing his teeth.
“The two French braids you do,” I quietly said.
“Come here, bub,” He said, spitting out toothpaste and rinsing off his toothbrush. I handed him my hairbrush and let him split it down the middle before starting to braid it. I really was trying to be patient, but it was hard to stay still for so long. Especially when Jacob was right against me and kept pulling my hair considering it was making my head hurt.
“Your hair’s really fading. It still looks pretty, though,” he commented before starting the second one.
“Yeah. It’s been like the start of July since we dyed it,” I agreed, rubbing my eyes.

“Do I need boots?” I asked, crouching next to my two pairs of shoes.
“Mmmm… No, there really isn’t any ice right now,” Jacob said, so I picked up my sneakers by the backs and slid them on.
“Let me tie them for you,” Jacob told me. I let him. I just sat down on the couch and let him loop my shoelaces together and pull them tight.
“What food is gonna be there?” I asked, suddenly hungry for almost anything that was cooked by Tara.

“Turkey, ham, potatoes, rolls, a crazy amount of pies, chili, beer, um…” he listed off as he zipped his jacket and grabbed his keys. “Probably other stuff, but I never care enough about it to remember,” I picked up my phone and slid it in my back pocket before standing up with Jacob.
“You can go run out to the car if you want,” Jacob reminded me as I waited for him to lock the front door, “It’s running, so it’ll be warm by now,” He didn’t need to tell me a second time. I walked down to the front door, and ran the short distance from there to the parked truck.

I leaned on Jacob after he pulled into his mom’s driveway.
“There’s so many people,” I mumbled, lifting my head back up to recount how many cars were here.
“You’ll be okay. They don’t care you’re here, baby. They’re not gonna put all their focus on you. They’ll probably be too busy bitching about who dealt their cards to even notice either of us walked in,” he tried to reassure me as I twisted my ring over and over.
“Mkay,” I quietly agreed, getting out on my own side and following him inside.
“Luca!” Tara instantly exclaimed after Jacob opened the door and I stepped in.
“Hi,” I said, smiling and trying to force myself to be louder than normal.
“You both oughta go ahead and eat,” she suggested before hugging Jacob and kissing his cheek.

Jacob made my plate. It was relatively similar to his, and I didn’t mind what he got me. I honestly fucking devoured my plate. I don’t know why Thanksgiving is an occasion where I don't care how much I eat. I definitely will tomorrow, but I don’t now. Jacob had a beer, but I can’t stand the taste of them, so I passed when his dad offered me one. To me, they smell and taste like piss. So, I’m good without. But, I guess Jacob doesn’t mind.
“Fuck yes!” He exclaimed, slamming a card down on the table. It caught me off guard, so I instantly looked to see where he hit the table. There was a collection of $20 bills that apparently everyone chipped in, meaning they were betting. I assumed Jacob won, and my assumption was confirmed when he took the money out from the middle of the table.
“You gonna play again?” one of his relatives asked.
“Oh, you are out of your goddamn mind! Not a chance in hell I’m playing again. Not with y’all,” he said back, the midwestern accent showing through more and more as he kept talking and making me laugh.
“Your boyfriend gonna play?” the same person asked, causing Jacob to look over at me.
“I don’t know how to play. And I don’t have any cash on me anyway,” I tried to politely decline.
“Y’know what, that’s just better odds of me winning,” they decided, picking up the deck of cards again and shuffling.
“A hundred and fourty fucking dollars. Not countin’ mine,” Jacob said, turning to me and showing me the stack of bills.
“Holy shit,” I mumbled, taking another drink of my sprite.
“I’m gonna have to teach you how to play some of these card games,” he mumbled before getting up to throw both of our plates away.