Losing Love

27

Hope's POV:

The sun shines brightly in my eyes through the crack in the curtains, creating a burning sensation. I lift the back of my hand above my eyes and can't help but let out a huge smile when I turn to look at the sight next to me.

A shirtless Dominic is laying on the bed, he's fast asleep as he lets out consistent long breaths. I analyse him for a bit, his face holds a peaceful expression and his body seems relaxed in comparison to his usual tense features and stiff body. Like he's always prepared for an attack.

Looking down under the dark covers, my body is wrapped around by a large black t-shirt, it smells like expensive cologne, the sea, and mint. I turn around and sit up, instantly wincing at the pain that surrounds my lower stomach. I hear a snicker from behind me and turn around to a now, awake, and very proud looking Dominic. A smirk plastered across his perfectly defined face.

I roll my eyes at him and then smile, "Goodmorning" I announce as I begin to lift myself off the bed. Before standing straight I feel a grip around my waist and before I know it, I'm pulled back into bed. Dominic's heavy arms holding me in its rightful place, pressed against his chest. I feel something hard pressed against the small of my back, this guy is PACKING. "Goodmorning baby" he whispers into my ear in his low, rough morning voice. After a moment of silence, his consistent long breaths come back and I shut my eyes once again.

When I wake up again, the bed is empty but the spot where Dominic lay is still warm meaning he must have gotten up not long ago. I stand up weakly, ignoring the striking pain and slide on a pair of shorts while keeping Dominic's black t-shirt on. It reaches my mid thighs and hangs loosely off of my body. I make my way to the bathroom and open the cabinet on the wall of the luxurious, black tiled bathroom. Sure enough, I find spare toothbrushes on one of the shelves.

I waddle my way to the kitchen as the delicious smell of pancakes flows through my nose. Dominic is standing over the stove in light grey sweatpants and no shirt, casually flipping a pancake. I walk up quietly behind him and wrap my arms around his waist. He tenses up but then instantly relaxes as he realises who it is and turns around swiftly. "Goodmorning, for real now" he chuckles after placing a quick kiss on my lips. "Goodmorning" I reply quietly with a huge grin across my face.

We eat our pancakes and converse over random topics. The topic then approaches to our parents, Dominic lifts the framed picture of his parents that I saw him staring at that night, and turns it to me. I can now see the resemblance between Dominic and his parents. He looks more like his dad than his mom. "What were their names." I ask him in a whisper, not wanting to overstep my boundaries. He takes a deep breath in and struggles to release the words, "Luca and Silva Moretti" he announces.
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"Before you were born, my best friend Luca Moretti was the boss of Costa Nostra" he says it as if I'm supposed to know what it means.
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"What's Costa Nostra" I blurt out before thinking over the random memory. He looks taken aback for a second but quickly recovers, he opens his mouth to answer but is interrupted by the ringing of my phone. "You should get that" he says to me and I nod my head, I walk over to another counter in the kitchen and lift up my phone while clicking the answer button.

"Hey" I announce, "Hope, Hi." He releases a breath of relief. "Where did you go last night? Are you okay?" He asks in a panic. "Oh I got too drunk and Dominic took me back to his place, I'm perfect, don't worry" I reply. He stays silent for a moment before continuing, "do you want to meet up for dinner tonight?". I glance back to where Dominic is patiently waiting for me to come back, "sorry but no I don't think I can" I reply. "Okay, well I'll talk to you later then" he answers before hanging up on the call.

I make my way back to Dominic and he turns his head to me. "Everything okay?" He asks me, I nod in reply. "Who was it?" He adds on out of curiosity. "Oh, it was just Matteo asking where I went last night." He pauses for a moment and looks deep in thought at the mention of Matteo's name.

"What's his last name?" He asks in low voice. "Santiago" I reply with a hint of confusion in my tone but overall casual. Dominic's eyes go hard and his face holds anger with a hint of panic and worry, his hands clench into a ball and he gets up abruptly and walks out in a rush.

He comes back with his car keys in hand, "I'm heading over to Kyle's, do you want me to drop you off at your apartment? You can stay here if you want?" He asks in a calm voice. I nod my head and he tosses me a large black hoodie, I put it on and he smiles gently at the sight of me.

The car ride was silent, a peaceful and comfortable silence. He pulls up outside my building, I'm about to open the door before I hear Dominic's voice, "I love you" he says to me, placing a kiss on my lips. "I love you too" I answer with a small smile, I open the door and step out.