Omertà, Aufiero's Return

Chapter 2

I awaken to an empty bed. No Noni, no Aufiero. Sighing, I rolled from under the covers. I took off work for the week which is good. More time with Aufiero. I did my morning routine hoping to find Noni and Aufiero in the kitchen. The aroma of pancakes and bacin filled the halls. "Goodmorning mommy, Daddy and me are cooking breakfast. Want some?"

"Yeah"

Aufiero was standing at the stove but this time he was fully dressed. I missed his cooking. "Buongiorno"

"Um" Aufiero turned the stove off and laughed. "It means goodmorning"

"Oh, I thought it was Bonjour"

"That's french"He said kissing my cheek. "Right" Aufiero fixed the plates and we sat down at the table. "Mommy, can I go to school today?"

"Dont you wanna spend time with your dad?" He made a pouty face. "I do but we're watching a movie in class today" Aufiero laughed. "You can drive me to school dad"He says. Aufiero nods. "What school does he even go to?"

"Suless Academy" He smiled. "I went there"

"I know. When I was looking for schools your mom told me to send him there. I wouldn't have thought you went a private school"

"I only went there until grade 9. I switched into a regular school then" Noni took his plate in the kitchen and ran into his room. "He's pretty excited about school huh?" I nodded. "He has a lot of friends. And there's this one girl that he talks about all the time" Aufiero smirked. "Oh really? He's gonna be a ladies man" I laugehd. "Yup. I picked him up one day and they hugged. It was so cute"

"What's the girls' name?"

"Victoria. He talks about her all the time. I'm suprised he hasn't told you about her. He wrote her name all over his sheets last week. I almost killed him"

"My son is in love"

"No."

"Yes"

Noni came sprinting to the table fully dressed. "Are you guys talking about Victoria"He says with a smile. We both nod. Noni grabs his bookbag and runs to the door. "I'm waiting on you two so hurry up"

It was pretty weird letting Aufiero drive. I think he forgot some things. He barely knew where to go. As we neared the school, Noni started saying goodbye. "Why are you in a rush. I just got back and you're trying to leave me already"Aufiero says. "No no dad. I'm not leaving you. I'm coming back at 3. I promise" Aufiero parked the car. "Okay. I love you"

"Love you too dad"Noni says. He kisses Aufiero on the cheek and gets out the car. "Well then"I whispered. "NONI"Aufiero yells, rolling down the window. Noni turns around and laughs. "Sorry mommy. I love you too"He says. He blows me a kiss and enters the school.

A car that looks like Karson's is parked on the side of our house. My heart beat speeds up hoping that Aufiero doesn't notice the car. "Check the mail"I said before exiting the car. I went inside the house keeping an eye on Karson's car. I know it's him. It has to be him. There's no one else in this neighborhood that drives that kind of car. "What are you looking at"Aufiero asks. I didn't even hear him come inside. "Oh, nothing." He dropped the mail on the side table. "What?" I questioned. "Is Patricia gone?"

"No. Not yet. Maybe by the end of the night" He sighs. "Why do you have to bleed anyways. It's so stupid"

"It's life"

He pulled me into a hug. "Tell me about your therapist stuff" I laughed dragging him to the couch. "Well, I work with the mental patients in St. Vincents. Most of my patients have mental problems but not all. Like half of the mental ones are teens. The ones that aren't mental are just like younger kids who act out y'know. It's basic stuff. There's not really much to it"