The Mafia King's Nicotine

Chapter 67

The master bedroom was beautiful. Not too big, but plenty of room for the two of them to live comfortably. Vivian took hold of the strap of her duffel bag and pulled her suitcase behind her into the bathroom. There on the right side was a door to a large walk-in closet with a set of high racks on the left and double racks on the right. A floor to ceiling shelf covered the back wall, the perfect place to store all the thousands of shoes she planned to have. Vivian liked shoes for some odd reason and until then it would be extra storage.

She dropped her luggage to the ground with a heavy sigh and just stared at the empty spaces around her. Of course, half the closet was full of some of Erik's stuff already considering he had lived here before, but the whole left side was cleared out for her to fill, hangers poised and ready. She dropped to her knees with a heavy thud. She screwed her eyes closed and shook her head, causing her auburn hair to fall into her eyes.

"You're mad cause he wanted to protect ya?"

"You're not real." She whispered, not even looking behind her to see the man she had been mourning for the last five months.

"I'm as real as ya want me to be, pretty lady." That southern accent, which she had been trying so desperately to replay in her mind, to remember him in any way she could, was here. The weight of his hand on her shoulder almost had her in tears.

He felt so real.

He couldn't be.

Lynol was gone and she was only hurting herself by imagining him here with her.

"I'm not mad at him for protecting me." She answered his original question, "I'm mad at him for keeping me in the dark about it."

"He didn't want to hurt you."

Vivian turned her head slightly to the right, but not entirely looking over her shoulder, as if one glance at him and he would disappear, "He can't think anything good will come from Rick being back, right?"

Lynol was silent and deliberated on his thoughts for a moment, "Erik knows what he's doing."

Vivian snorted and shook her head, not knowing how to respond, "I just want things to be normal." She whispered.

"I know pretty lady and if I could I would make the world safe for you."

Vivian furrowed her brow, "Why can't you? Why did you have to leave me?" It was a dumb question and one she knew the answer to. It wasn't his fault Ollie killed him. It wasn't anyone's fault, even though Vivian still tried to blame herself. This was all on Ollie.

Lynol's hand left her shoulder and she yearned once more for his touch, but she was grateful to have felt it at all for even just a minute, "I never left ya."

"What do you mean?" She turned around, her ankles beginning to hurt from the pressure of her leaning on them. But Lynol wasn't behind her. He disappeared, just as she knew he would. She held back the tears that burned behind her eyes and slid off her haunches onto her hip.

"Talking to yourself little birdie?"

Vivian swallowed harshly, "You're not supposed to talk to me." She practically growled, her sadness turning into rage.

Rick entered the bathroom and looked down at where she was sitting on the floor. He had two suitcases in his hand and he set them down next to the closet door. He frowned and nodded harshly before turning away.

"Wait." Vivian called out to him immediately regretting it, "Can I ask you something."

Rick paused and looked back at her, watching her get to her feet, "I'm not supposed to talk to you."