Eunoia 2 [{V.H}]

32

Kitty

I cant sleep, but it doesnt have anything to do with my nightmares or internalized fears.

I just want to know what Alex was talking about. What he meant, and where the other boys went. I dont understand why Vinnie didnt mention it to me either.

I turn over in bed, because of the squeeze in my chest. I take a slow breath to not alert Vinnie that im still awake, but Finch sees right through me. I feel our dog move at my feet, his tail hitting the bed a couple of times before he yawns a whine. I close my eyes when Vinnie moves beside me, and relax my body, pretending im asleep for only second. But when Vinnie leans over me and tucks my hair behind my ear, I open my eyes and look up at him.

He tiredly stares down at me, the light from the hallway creating a shadow on a part of his face, making him look even more exhausted then usual. I turn onto my back to face him, and reach up to touch his face. I run my hand up his cheek, to his hair and brush my fingers along his hair line, swiping a loose curl to the side.

"I'm right here. " He whispers to me, his face leaning into my touch. "Can I get you anything?"

The truth.

"No." But my answer doesnt come out authentic, so I press my lips into a line and then shake my head. "Yes."

He waits for me to continue so I start to lower my hand from him but he gently takes his own to press against his face.

I rifle through my thoughts before asking, "What do you need to tell me?"

He pauses for a moment, his eyes flickering between mine, "You saw Alex's text?"

I nod slowly, watching his face carefully.

Please be honest with me.

Vinnies face slowly becomes stressed as he pulls from my hand and lays it back down onto the bed. His eyes shifting away from me in a way that makes me sit up a bit, with my elbows tucked underneath me.

"Theres two things...." He scoots away from me a bit, creating a distance, "The first is my own bullshit... and the second..." He looks at me again, his eyes carefully scanning me, and then he continues. "The boys went to California."

Now I fully sit up, my heart skipping a beat a tad because what business do the boys have there that hes being so serious about?

"We got a lead." He continues, his anxiety becoming more evident when he starts twirling the rings around his fingers, "On who is trying to kill you."

Oh my god, my boys.

The air from my lungs gets knocked out of me, and I kick back the covers to sit on my knees, "No."

Startled, Vinnie mimics the way that im sitting. His hands grab my face and hold me while I shake my head wildly.

"The boys shouldnt have gone."  I explain my anxiety, "Thats not their business to-"

"It is their business." Vinnie cuts me off with a serious tone, "Youre..." He stops for a second before laughing without real humor. "Their mafia mom" Isnt that what they call you? They love you. Theyre going to get it figured out."

Now im really panicking, my heart hammering against my ribcage. I put my hands on my mouth to muffle the strangled sound that comes out.

"Kitty." Vinnie pleads with me, "They couldnt have said no anyways. It wasnt me who sent them."

Who wouldve-

Greg.

I take in his words, and slowly lift my hands away from my face to look at him seriously. "Who sent them?"

Vinnie shakes his head, and takes my hands into his. "It doesnt matter. What matters is, everything will be over soon. You and I can finally not live like zombies anymore. Hiding in the dark-"

"At the risk of our friends!" I cut him off and Vinnie looks at me helplessly.

We sit for a moment, in silence as we stare at each other until I look away from him.

It cant be helped at this point. Theyre already there. They couldnt say no, and I doubt that they wouldve if they were given a choice. So now...

I sit back a bit, my hands slipping from his so that I can run my fingers through my hair. I close my eyes and breathe out unevenly. "Do I know who theyre going after?"

Vinnie doesn't answer right away so i look at him expectantly. 

He clenches his jaw and answers reluctantly, "A mob boss. That has a vendetta against your father... and you."

I throw out my hands and ask in an exasperated voice, "Why?"

"After the other night when Chase and I got into it... Alex did some digging and questioned Greg. Most of those girls that your dad was killing, werent just random, and it wasnt just women. We believe that he started pulling random girls off the street a year or two in after he started going crazy with what he was hired to do. But he was hired to get rid of the bodies of important people, and one of those people was the wife of a major crime lord."

I reel at what hes telling me, and immediately catch on to what hes saying.

I look up at him with wide eyes and my voice breaks, "That night-"

"You were just a kid." Vinnie stresses to me, finally scooting to me so that our knees are touching. "So the boys and Greg are going to try and to explain that to him."

"Why wasnt I told?" I question, "I couldve gone and pled my case-"

"Or you wouldve been shot point blank as soon as you stepped off the plane." Vinnie states flatly, and then he grabs me by my chin. "Itll be okay. They already set up a appointment and everything. Hes willing to hear our case. Thats why im not so completely worried about the boys, plus they can hold their own pretty well." He sounds genuine when he says it, and I watch him for a moment to see any waver but there is none, so I slowly nod.

Vinnie looks relieved that im dropping it, but that only moves me to the next topic of conversation.

"What else did you need to talk to me about?"

With this question, Vinnie looks completely gagged and thrown off. I can tell he was hoping id drop that part, forget about it but he forgets who I am.

He opens and closes his mouth, but no sound comes out until he clears his throat and shakes his head at me.

"We can talk about it tomorrow."

I roll my lips into my mouth and give him a flat look, before glancing at the clock.

12:56 am.

When I look back at him with my eyebrows raised, he rolls his eyes at me.

It is tomorrow.

"Ive just been..." He stops himself short and then huffs at himself.

I tilt my head at him when he makes a pained expression, like this physically hurts him to try and talk about so I nod my head and reach for him.

"Okay okay." I put my hand on his cheek and run my thumb along his cheek bone. "We can talk more later."

He sighs in relief and nods at me with his eyes closed, so I crawl over to him and straddle his lap. I put my arms around his neck and hug him tightly. He doesn't hug me back right away but once he does, he holds me tight.