ARELLA (A Mafia Story)

Twenty-Three

Freya

Arella laughs from Damon's hospital bed as my husband tickles her. She turns onto her belly, crawling away to try and escape his fingers. There's a large smile spread across her face as Damon grabs her leg, pulling her back towards him.

These two have been like this for days now. As soon as Damon could move his arms, he was roughhousing with Arella. I had to tell him to stop several times, reminding him that he was also shot and had to have his chest cut open.

All I got for my efforts was a sigh and an eye roll. Is it that much to not want my husband to pop the staples that are literally keeping him held together? He acts like I'm asking him to go out and get shot again.

Men. They always ignore the women who want the best for them.

"If you doing stop roughhousing with Arella and lay your ass back in that bed, when you're finally healed I won't sleep with you. I mean it, Damon. You're supposed to be healing." I put my hands on my hips to let him know I'm being serious.

His eyes snap to mine, a sneer posted on his lips. There we go. He hates the thought of possibly loosing sex with me. It's the only threat that really works with him. Well, that and the one where I threaten not to cook dinner.

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. That's the exact same case for Damon. He loves everything I cook and it's leverage I can use against him. Without me, he would be stuck eating eggs and toast for every meal, along with whatever he can put in the microwave.

"Mama's being a party pooper again, baby girl. Come cuddle up with me. No more playing." Damon looks me right on the eye as he's saying this, letting me see the displeasure showing on his features.

Arella pouts as she's adjusted so she's laying in the crook of his left arm. She turns her head towards me, sticking out her tongue.

"You better put that tongue back in your mouth, mi amor. Somebody's going to come by and take it." I joke.

I used to have to tell the boys the same thing when they were little. It always worked too. Damon even went as far as to tell them that every time they lied, their nose would turn bright red like Rudolph the red nosed reindeer.

Each time they lied, they would cover their noses. It was the cutest thing. I miss when they were they little and sweet. Now when they lie I can't see through their bullshit anymore.

Arella's eyes widen and she sucks her tongue back into her mouth, turning on her belly and tapping Damon's cheek. He looks down at her in question as she points to me.

"Mhm. Mama's telling the truth. There's tongue stealers out there who go around and steal tongues from bad girls." Another lie.

I watch on as the baby has a whole conversation with Damon without actually saying anything. Those two just understand each other. The way they communicate is adorable.

Arella will point or touch what she wants to talk about and Damon instantly knows what she means. It was the same way with Alessandro. He was a little bit harder to read than Arella is, though.

The sound of the door opening makes me turn away from the pair, watching as three of the four boys enter the room. They're carrying bags of food and a change of clothes for Damon.