Chasing Cars

"Hey buddy, how was school today?" I asked Ben as he walked over to where Jack and I were standing.

"Boring. Dylan gots the turkey pox." Ben pouted and both Jack and I laughed.

"You mean chicken pox kiddo." Jack chuckled.

"No. Turkey pox cause tomorrow's the turkey day." Ben told us with a grin, reminding me that Oli's coming next week.

"Oh yeah, Thanksgiving." I groaned.

"So we're going to my mom's tomorrow and your mom's on Friday, right?" Jack asked me,

"Right. My parents are going out of the state."

"Daddy, when can we get a puppy?" Ben suddenly asked, tugging at my leg.

"When we move into our house buddy." I told him, lifting him up into my arms as we all made our way to the parking lot.

"And when's that?"

"Before Christmas kiddo." Jack answered.

When we reached the apartment, I was greeted by silence and emptiness. Vic no longer lived here since him and Kellin finally moved in to their own place last week. The first few days were a bit difficult for both Ben and I. The apartment was silent. There was no Kellin and his loud mouth practically shouting when he talks. No Vic and his mood swings and his morning sickness.

"We should order pizza for dinner, I don't feel like cooking." I whined as I sat down on the couch with Jack.

"Pizza!" Ben yelled excitedly and climbed onto Jack's lap with a huge smile on his face.

"Pizza it is." Jack chuckled, kissing Ben's forehead before setting him on my lap to go make the call.

"Daddy." Ben called, shifting a bit on my lap until he was completely facing me.

"Yes, honey?" I questioned while running my hand through his light brown hair.

"We gonna visit Jack's mommy and daddy tomorrow?"

"Yeah and we're gonna see Grandma on Friday."

"Yay!" Ben cheered and I laughed.

The next day we were getting ready to head over to Jack's parents' place when Vic called me. I sighed and quickly answered him while Jack tied Ben's shoes and got his coat on.

"What's up." I answered.

"Do you know if I left my phone charger there by any chance?" Vic asked me.

"Yes. Took you a whole week to notice it was missing? And how'd you charge your phone?" I asked while pulling on my coat.

"I used Kellin's. And well with the whole unpacking shit and buying things we needed, I kind of forgot about it. I'll go pick it up sometime this weekend, if not take it to school on Monday."

"Alright, mother. I gotta go dude, we're running late." I told Vic and hung up. "Alright let's go."

Ben held each of our hands as we walked down to the parking lot and bumped into Trent on our way to the front door. Ben moved closer to Jack who glared at Trent. Trent simply smirked and walked off. I rolled my eyes and we walked out into the cold afternoon air. Ben skipped in between us as we walked towards the car and Jack sat him in the backseat while I sat in the passenger's seat. The drive was short and silent.

"Come on Ben." I told the child as we got out of the car and walked up to the front of the house.

Jack rang the doorbell and Ben jumped happily as he held my hand. Jack chuckled as he looked down at an overly excited Ben. The door opened and Ben attached himself to Joyce's legs. Jack's mom simply laughed and lifted the child into her arms as we walked inside.

"My, someone's excited to be here!" Joyce exclaimed as Ben giggled and kissed her cheek. "Come inside boys, May and Joe should be here soon."

"Where's dad?" Jack asked as we took of our coats.

"He went to the store to get something we were missing. He'll be back soon. Take a seat boys." Joyce smiled at us and we sat on the couch, her setting Ben down on his feet and he walked over to us, climbing on Jack's lap. "So how's life boys."

"It's going great, Joyce." I smiled at her.

"Yeah, we're pretty excited to move into our new house soon and one of Alex's friends is coming down to visit next week." Jack spoke, playing with Ben's hair.

"I'm happy for you boys."

Dinner was fun. Jack's family is very interesting. Their loud, funny and a lot of things my family isn't. Ben had a great time with his new grandparents and aunt and uncle.

"So Alex, what did you honestly see in my brother?" May asked me jokingly and Jack glared at her while I simply laughed.

"Very funny, May." Jack said and shook his head as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"I'm kidding. Jack, don't be stupid and don't you ever let Alex go. This guy's a keeper."

"I won't let him go, cause he's mine forever." Jack spoke as he looked into my eyes and I smiled, leaning in to peck his lips. "I love you." He whispered.

"Love you too." I whispered happily and with no second thoughts.

I know I love him. He's my everything now and I've never felt anything like this.

"Dad, please." I pleaded.

"No Alexander, how can you be so sure you want to spend the rest of your life with that guy? And you're already living together?! What the hell are you thinking? Wait, you're not because you're being stupid." My dad scolded me in his office while my mom, Jack and Ben were in the kitchen.

"Dad-" I choked out, hurt that he couldn't trust me or Jack. "It's my life and I know I fucking love him. A lot. And if you can't accept that fact, then please stop meddling in my life."

I stormed out of his office as tears poured down my face and quickly ran into the bathroom, passing a worried Jack on the way and locked myself in. Ever since the whole Trent thing, dad's been different with me. Very different.

"Baby, can I come in?" Jack asked softly and I unlocked the door to let him in.

Jack walked in and closed the door, giving me a sad smile in the process. I wiped away my tears and took in a few deep breaths. Jack wrapped his arms around me and held me tight while I buried my face into the crook of his neck. His hand rubbed my back up and down comfortingly.

"What happened?" Jack asked me.

"He doesn't trust me." I told Jack and sniffled, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Or love me."

"Of course he loves you, Lex. He's just looking out for you." Jack assured me but I shook his head.

"He doesn't. Ever since I told my parents that I was pregnant with Ben, he's been different with me. He-He just doesn't understand that I've grown up now and can make my own decisions." I hiccuped.

"He's different because he wants to protect you more."

We walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later and Ben ran over to us with sad eyes. I picked him up worriedly and he wrapped his arms around my neck. I rubbed Ben's back and looked over at Jack who sighed.

"He heard you and your dad arguing." Jack told me.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" I asked Ben.

"Gwanpa mean to you." Ben whimpered.

Just then my father walked out of his office and I glared at him while holding Ben tighter in my arms. Jack's hand was placed on my back to keep me calm.

"I hope you're happy that you're ruining our relationship and that Ben's scared of you now." I spat out before handing Ben off to Jack and marching into the kitchen where my mom was cleaning the counter. "Mom, we're heading out now. I don't want to be here anymore."

"I'm sorry this happened, sweetie." My mom told me and I sighed tiredly.

"It's fine mom. I'll call when I can and you can come visit too, but otherwise I don't think I'll be coming back. Unless he's out on a business trip." I told my mom.

"Don't worry, Alex. Stay safe on the road." She kissed my cheek and I nodded.

Jack walked in with Ben and they both said their goodbyes to my mom. We hit the road shortly after and Ben was sitting in the back singing a random song while I just smiled. Jack and I talked about random things. Ben's singing became quieter and quieter until little mumbles left his lips as his eyes slipped shut.

It was Saturday and I was heading to the airport with Ben while Jack was out with his brother helping him with something. The airport was pretty busy, but I found a parking spot, picked up my child and headed inside to wait for Oli and his mystery person. Soon I spotted a tall thin man covered in tattoos and bundled up in warm clothes. I smiled and waved at him as I walked closer and he pulled me into a hug, careful not to squish Ben who held onto me tightly.

"Long time no see." I told Oli as we pulled away.

"Yeah, mate. Is this Ben?" Oli asked in shock as he smiled down at said boy who smiled up at Oli.

"Hi!" Ben waved at him and Oli chuckled before ruffling his hair.

"You've grown a lot, bud. Last I saw you you were still a baby."

"Well I a big boy now." Ben stated.

Oli laughed and walked back to his old spot to wait for the luggage and soon I saw a guy walk over to Oli and kiss his cheek. So mystery person is Oli's new guy? Oli and the guy walked over to us with their things and I smiled.

"Alex, this is Josh, my boyfriend." Oli told me as he pointed to the guy standing next to him. "Love, this is Alex, my best friend."

"It's nice to meet you." I told Josh and he pulled me into a hug.

"Same here. And who's this little guy?" Josh questioned as he pinched Ben's left cheek.

"I'm Ben!" Ben giggled.

"Well aren't you a cutie." Josh told Ben who blushed and hid his face in my neck.

"Are you guys ready to go?" I asked them and they nodded as we started walking towards the exit.

"So where's your man?" Oli asked me.

"He had to go do some job with his brother. He'll be back by dinner." I answered and got Ben in the backseat along with Josh who started telling Ben a story while Oli and I climbed into the front after pilling the bags in the trunk.

"How was your flight guys?" I asked them as I made my way through traffic.

"It was long. We landed in New York first two days ago." Josh spoke up and I could hear the tiredness in his voice.

"Well if you guys want to sleep when we get home, Vic and Kellin are taking Ben out." I told them.

"They gon' buy me lots of candy!" Ben cheered from the back.

"Oh really kiddo? And does your dad let you eat a lot of candy?" Oli asked as he twisted around in his seat to look at Ben.

"No, but Jack does."

My eyes widened and Oli laughed as he looked at me and said, "Someone has their favorite dad already."

"Tell me about it." I mumbled and kept driving.