'baby, can I come in?'
Troye's POV
Turns out Jacob is not too bad at playing nurse, well, he was actually more like a fretting mother. If I were not in love with the guy I think I would have found his persistence annoying and uncomfortable but truthfully (though I would never admit it to his face) I sort of revelled the never ending attention I received.
First week back in classes has earned me a massive amount to do already and it’s only Friday. A test on Shakespeare on Wednesday to prepare for, two papers to write for Tuesday and some other tasks my professors were so kind in granting upon my classmates and myself, hoe great.
I trudge through my apartment’s door, exhausted yet ecstatic that it is a Friday. Bruno, as always, greets me as if I have been away for months. I ruffle the fur atop his head and hug him tightly, running my fingers gently up and down his back. I then go to the kitchen to get a glass of water, feeling a bit of a headache coming on. It always happens after I recover from being ill so I know it is nothing to really worry about. I rest my hands upon the counter as I lean on it, the coldness of the granite oddly soothing.
Jacob won’t be back until his late afternoon lecture is over. He is coming over for dinner so that gives me about an hour, I realise, when I ask Siri what time it is. I plan on a simple meal of pasta.
I first place Bruno’s food before him, petting him and ruffling the top of his head again while I speak to him in a way that would make me look like a complete loon.
I go to fill a pot with water and begin to boil it, while it does so; I go upstairs to change into some comfier clothing.
As I am pouring the cooked pasta from the pot into a dish to add sauce and the rest of the flavouring, I hear the door creak open. I smile when I hear him come in but I pretend not notice, even when I hear Bruno rush over to Jacob and make a fuss of him.
And as I had hoped, he comes up behind me and wraps his arms tightly around my waist.
“How domesticated,” he teases, I shake my head as I laugh lightly.
“I would say,” I add. “Especially this move you are doing here,” I say, gesturing to the way he is holding me.
“You love it.”
“I love you,” I say cheerily back. He nuzzles into my neck a bit and nips right under my earlobe, causing a shiver to run straight down my spine.
“Love you too,” he whispers into my ear, then trying to steal a piece of pasta from the dish.
“Leave,” I say as I reach behind to whack him on the shoulder so I can get the food done. He laughs but steps back. I can feel and hear him remaining behind me though, leaning on the counter behind me perhaps as he watches what I am doing.
He is rather distracting, in fact, I lose my concentration. I feel around the counter for the packet of the pasta sauce but I can’t seem to find it.
“Your left,” he says softly, I frown a bit.
“Thank you,” I mutter back, from there I finish the food and reach down to the cabinet above me to get two bowls.
I plate up for the both of us and pass one to Jacob. Neither of us seems to bother to move from the kitchen so I seat myself on the counter to eat as Jacob remains where he is to do the same.
“Amazing,” he says with an overdramatic moan, “I have barely eaten all day.”
“Barely meaning what? That the horse you had wasn’t enough,” I say with a chuckle at my own lame joke, the man never seems to stop eating.
“Haha,” he says dryly, probably rolling his eyes. “My boyfriend is hilarious.”
“He is,” I say with a shrug. “He is also an amazing cook, wouldn’t you say?”
“Now there I can’t disagree.”
…....
We are lounging on the sofa (Bruno lying on top of me) while Jacob flips though the channels and runs his fingers through my hair. My eyes are closed but I am nowhere near falling asleep. I rather listen to Jacob’s heart beat right against my ear and focus on the soft fur behind Bruno's ears. My eyes, however, flutter open when I hear Jacob’s phone going off.
“Sorry, babe,” he says as he lifts up his hips to reach his phone in his back pocket, only disrupting my comfort momentarily. “Hey, mama bear,” he says as he answers, I smile at the childlike tone that he uses whenever he talks to his mom, I hear her voice from the other end, something sounds off.
“Jacob, baby,” she says, his fingers stop their movement. I furrow my eyebrows. “I need to tell you something, my boy, it’s not good,” I frown and my heart even sinks as I can imagine Jacob’s does but ten feet deeper into his stomach.
“Mom?” he says as his voice trembles in a way I have never heard before. He sits up as do I, Bruno scooting off the sofa to the floor. I take Jacob’s hand in mine but he does not squeeze back. “Wait a second,” he says to her. He looks to me, his expression grave, “Troye I just-"
“Talk to her somewhere else, Jake, it’s alright,” I say as I press a kiss to his knuckles.
I get a whisper of a smile and he is up and walking across to the room where my small storage room is, he shuts the door behind him. I wonder momentarily why he is being so secretive about whatever it is but I realise that he just hates looking upset or weak, especially in front of me. His mother is his weakness, he loves her oh so dearly.
I can’t help but hear out a bit, Bruno hops back up onto my lap. I welcome him and replace my hands into his fur.
First I hear muffled talking.
Then silence, a long silence.
He then speaks a bit more; it seems to go on forever.
More silence.
I straighten up a bit as I hear a whimper, a whimper out of my boy, my strong Jacob.
My heart races faster as I hear another.
I hear him say goodbye.
He does not leave the room.
I hear a muffled sob.
My heart shatters and I get up, walking over to the small room.
“Jakey,” I say quietly as I knock lightly on the door. I can hear him more clearly now, he is sniffling, he is trying to hold it in so badly. “Baby, can I come in?”
No answer but I do get another whimper. I open the door anyway and from what I can hear, he is on the floor.
“Troye,” he croaks out, “I’m fine, just-”
“Shh,” I hush as I collapse to my knees and crawl over to where he is until I find him. I wrap my arms around him, I realise he is hugging his knees. “Everything will be okay, just breathe, you’re okay,” I reassure as I hold him as tightly as possible.
Eventually he whimpers and wraps his arms around me, he lays his head on my shoulder.
“Cry Jacob, for God’s sake just cry. Its fine,” I coax him.
That is all it takes and then he is sobbing so hard onto my shoulder, shaking harshly in my pathetic grip.
“That’s it,” I whisper, even though I know he most likely cannot hear me. “Just cry,” I say as I rub his back up and down.
It feels like we are sat in the cold storage room for hours. The tile beneath us is cold, going right through my sweats. My back aches from the awkward position I am in to support his large stature yet I cannot seem to care.
My boy is hurting. I may not know why right now but I do know that I would go through any amount of pain to let him know that I will always be there.
a:n// i wrote this and the next chapter instead of studying for a math exam last week and edited them all now while i should be studying for an afrikaans and geography exam, you’re welcome
hope you're all doing well angels!!
