Family Business

*Chapter 41.*

Chapter 41.

Chapter 30.

~Sophia POV~

I wake up with a jolt as Leonardo screams in his sleep. He has bad nightmares and every emotion that he works so hard to hide during the daytime appears at night. I sigh deeply, forcing myself awake before I shake him hard. "Leonardo, mio amore, wake up!"

His screaming finally cuts off as he sits up, breathing heavily. "I..."

"It's alright. You're safe," I say softly, rubbing his shoulder which just made his shirt stick to his body which was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"Sophia!" He hugs me tightly, burying his head in my nightgown. I run my fingers through his hair gently, speaking softly to him. I looked over at the clock, seeing it was 3:11 am. The nightmares were inconsistent, some early in the night, some as late as 6:40 am. We usually went to bed around 10 pm, so I am surprised that it took so long tonight for him to wake me up. His nightmares, paired with the stress of being the glue of the family, were both strong reasons why I had gotten addicted to sleeping pills when Aria was little. "It was her," He says in Italian, pulling away.

I look at him, "Who?" I ask in English.

"The same girl from last night, and the night before, and the night before, a-"

"What did she do this time?" I ask, part of me not even wanting to know, but I knew that I did not really have a choice.

"She... she said that I would pay for what I did." He murmurs, "She said that I killed her family and that I would pay." He continues to speak in Italian so I switched to Italian which is easier for me too.

"Did you kill her family? You don't recognize her at all?" I ask, turning the light on.

"I really don't know." He sighs, putting his feet over the edge of the bed. He is wearing his matching blue and white striped pajama set. It was too big for him since he had lost some weight and made him look so small as he calmed himself down. "I don't remember."

I watch him, "Do you think that it is a sign or something?"

He runs a hand through his hair before hobbling to get a drink from the table across the room, "I hope not. We need to get my daughter back." He murmurs. "She needs help and I haven't been able to help her."

I settle into the pillows and watch him as he pours whiskey into his glass. "You're killing your liver," I mutter.

"I don't care, I need to sleep." He snaps softly.

"Ryker said that you could talk to someone... a doctor who can help you sleep and work with your issues," I say.

"A therapist?!" He scoffs.

"I don't know, I am just telling you what he told me."

"I am not fucking crazy, Sophia!" He snaps at me. "I don't need some doctor in my head, telling me that I have problems."

I shrug, "Okay, but if you wake me up tomorrow, you are sleeping in another room." I say simply.

He sighs deeply, steadying himself on the bedpost as he rubs his leg. "I'll just go to the other room now."

"You don't have to now, but tomorrow you should," I murmur softly as I braid my hair absentmindedly.

"Okay, Sophia," he sits down at the edge of the bed again.

"I worry about Aria every day," I say softly. "You should never have made her agree to get with Xander in the first place."

"I know," He sighs, looking over at me. He holds up his drink, offering it to me.