The Don's Trust

Chapter 37

After an agonizingly long time, Valentina could once again fall asleep in Vito's arms. The intimate position never failed to make her feel secure. Gone were her restless days and nights.

Compared to Valentina, Vito barely got any rest. Foreboding thoughts whirled around in his head. He glanced at the woman in his arms and left a quick kiss on the top of her head before throwing the covers off him.

The motion made Valentina stir. Her eyelids fluttered open and checked the time on the alarm clock. It was midday. She turned to see Vito sitting with his back facing her. His shoulders heaved up and down, taking deep breaths as if he was trying to calm himself down. Valentina moved closer and reached out to him, but got met with air when he stood up.

''Are you okay?''

Her question was left unanswered.

He scowled, ''When did you wake up?''

''Just now.''

Vito mentally berated himself for not noticing sooner. He was used to being more aware of his surroundings than he was now. His inner turmoil was blocking his ability to do so.

Valentina kept quiet as she watched him get dressed. It was his usual attire; a white shirt and black dress pants.

''You're going?''

''Yes, I need to work. There are some things I need to take care of,'' There was only so much Vito could do while he served time. He had a lot of catching up to do.

Valentina was taken aback by his answer. She assumed he had at least taken one day off before fully taking up the role of Don again. Valentina hoped Vito would stay home.

He does have his duties as the boss, Valentina thought.

''Shouldn't you rest?'' Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, she guessed he couldn't fall asleep, ''Can't Damian take over for a little longer? Or does it have something to do with Coleman?''

He answered her last question with a nod and looked in her direction. Ever since Vito came back, Valentina noticed something was different about him. There was something off about the way he looked at her.

The emotion his green eyes reflected was akin to hurt and loneliness.

''What's wrong, Vito?''

''Nothing,'' He refused to tell her what was bothering him and left the house.

Valentina pushed the covers off her and let her feet touch the floor. She changed into another set of clothes and went to the living room to watch some tv. A distraction was welcome. Her interaction with Vito made her think of how they used to be when they were still strangers to each other. It felt as though he reverted to his past self. Closed off and alone.

A couple of hours later, Valentina busied herself by making dinner. The television was still on and the volume loud enough to reach her ears in the kitchen. Listening to the news was a daily occurrence but today she was on the lookout for any news on detective Coleman. It wouldn't take long before word got out about his sudden death.

They didn't say anything about Coleman. Haven't they found his body already? With Enzo the news about the cop was on the news the very next day. Maybe I'll hear something tomorrow. What did they even do to the detective's body?

Valentina shook her head, not wanting to think about it when she was eating her dinner. When she finished and cleaned up, she left a note for Vito telling him she made a meal for him. She'd rather eat together with Vito but their working schedules prevented that. Valentina had another night shift coming up and Vito was away during the day.

I should get another nap in while I still can, Valentina would rest anytime she could due to her irregular working hours.

By the time Vito came home, it was already late in the evening. He spotted Valentina lying on the sofa and seated himself on an armchair. Slowly but surely, he started tapping his finger on his leg. The longer he watched her, the faster it became. When he realized what he was doing he ran his hand over his face and stood up. On his way to the bedroom, he saw a note on the kitchen island and read it. Vito ate the food Valentina left for him and took a shower before going to bed.

Valentina was on full alert because of the ringing in her ears. Her body relaxed when she realized it was only the alarm of her phone going off. Lately, she had been mistaking the alarms for dispatch calls. Lightly shaking her head, she grabbed her phone to switch off the alarm.

Did he already come home? She peeked over the couch and saw the piece of paper previously lying there went missing. I guess, he did. He must have gone to bed already.

On her tiptoes, she made her way over to the bathroom. There was still damp on the shower glass. Valentina concluded Vito couldn't have been asleep for that long if he was there only moments ago. She knew it took a while for him to drift off into his sleep and even then he never got into a deep slumber like her. Valentina stopped the stream of water coming down, grabbed a soft towel to dry herself and got dressed. After going back and forth with her hair she finally got it to sit right into a neat bun. She smiled in content.

Done.

Valentina turned the lights off and stepped out the bathroom. She planned on leaving without a word, not wanting to disturb Vito from his sleep. Valentina halted in her tracks at the sound of his deep voice.

''You're going?''

''No, I mean yes. I'll be back in the morning. You won't even notice I'm gone.''

Valentina couldn't make out what Vito said under his breath.

''Did you say something?''

''No,'' Even though it was dark, she could see the detached look in his eyes. He averted his gaze from her and said, ''Be careful.''

She nodded slowly feeling confused, ''I will. Goodnight.''

For the third time, Valentina didn't bring up his odd demeanour. His words and actions were in battle with each other. While she wanted to confront him about it, she chose to give him the time he needed instead. Vito had never been forthcoming about his feelings. Never said them out loud. Instead, he used his actions to convey his feelings toward her. Now, she had no way of knowing what was going on inside his head and it made her feel upset.