ʟᴏꜱᴛ ʟᴏᴠᴇ

1.

He loved to hold my hand, and it really made me want to savour the days. He's growing up so incredibly fast.

We walked down the aisles until arriving in the school section. I meant to go early because they usually have sales if you go early.

"How about that one?" I asked, holding up the blue backpack, dinosaurs laced all over the fabric. He stared long and hard, but I knew that look.

He didn't like it.

He shook his head and walked to a backpack that laid on another rack. Picking it up and walking back over to me.

"This one." He smiled. I sighed at his stubbornness, just like his father.

"Are you sure?" That one's not on sale.

"Yeah, look." He pointed to the different patterns. I sighed loudly trying to remember exactly how much money I still had on my card.

"Pass it." I sighed. He giggled and handed it over, I gripped it and fiddled with the price tag between my fingers. The paper was cold against my skin. The black ink that made my chest constrict.

"Come on, let's go."

I picked up a couple of other things for him and paid. He watched tentatively as the worker scanned each item and placed them inside of a grey plastic bag.

She handed me the bag and I smiled.

He held tightly onto my hand and we left the store.

-

"Goodnight, baby. Love you." I kissed his forehead and leaned back.

"I love you too, mama." He mumbled before dozing off. I switched the lamp off in his small room, closing the creaky door and sitting myself on the small table in the kitchen.

Incoming call from: Zion

I sighed and swiped the white circle, picking the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked softly.

"Ah, Ariya. My beautiful sister, how are you on this fine night?" He asked. I chuckled at his spontaneous behaviour and spoke.

"I shall be good, and you good sir?"

"Pooped, just got home from a double shift."

"Yeah, I just took Rylan shopping for school." I said. Pulling out my book of bills, getting my pencil ready to calculate this months cost.

"I forget, he's starting jk in September right? Did you already enrol him?" He asked. I could hear the shuffling of his clothes in the background.

"Yeah.. anyways why are you calling?" I leaned my elbow on the wood and smiled to myself, tucking my lip between my teeth.

"I was gonna call this morning but I was called in, how was your first night?"

The apartment could be better, scratch that a lot better but he didn't need to know that.

"First nights are always different, good so far. How's things going with you and Lacy?" I asked.