Oblivion

Chapter Twenty - We don't talk anymore

Did his big brother really just apologize to him? Riccardo looked at Vito in amazement. He least expected that. His brother otherwise considered every one of his actions to be the right ones! He had never admitted to having made a mistake. Never. He drank from the bottle to hide his irritation. What should he say to that? It was as if some switch had been pressed inside him and some of his anger suddenly disappeared.

Vito saw his brother struggling with himself and wished he had approached Josephine's admission differently. But the past could no longer be changed, so he could only hope to be more careful in the future. "If you still want to move out when you reach adulthood, then I would be happy to support you in your search for an apartment so you can find what you are looking for."

"You know about this? How do you know?" Matteo wouldn't have said a word about it, Riccardo was sure of that. His brother stood behind him at all coasts.

Vito smiled mirthlessly. "I'm your brother. It's my job to know such things. And even though I wish you would stay, I can't stop you if you want to leave. You are my brother Riccardo, not my opponent. It may be difficult for you to believe, but I want the best for you and that includes respecting your decision, whatever it may be. I promised our Father that I would protect and love you and I plan to keep my promise. Which also means that Matteo will stay until he comes of age."

"But-"

"No. I have custody and even if you ask for it, no court in the world will grant it to you. I'm sorry Riccardo, but you can't have responsibility over someone else." Vito felt his head start to hurt again. He hated having this conversation, but it had to be had at some point and this seemed to be the best opportunity.

"You can't just separate us! What's the point of this shit, Vito? You took custody of all of us when you were 18. And you seriously don't trust me to deal with it? Fuck you!" Riccardo snapped. That was him again, his brother high on his thorn, already judging everyone below him!

Vito tiredly rubbed his face, trying to relieve his headache. "Can you please sit back down?"

Riccardo didn't even realize he had gotten up. He sat back, trembling. His pulse raced, sending adrenaline rushing through his body. If it weren't for his brother in front of him, he would definitely beat the shit out of him.

"I trust you. But there is a difference between having to and being allowed to. And I wish for you that you can enjoy your youth carefree without having to take anyone else into account."

And even if he didn't want to, Riccardo could understand him somewhat. "So that's all you care about? What if Matteo wants to move in with me when he's of age?"

"Then I'll help him move like I would with you." The door opened, interrupting the conversation for a brief moment. Domenico looked between his brothers with interest. He finally looked questioningly at Vito, but he ignored him.

"Am I disturbing you?"

"No, I was just about to leave anyway," replied Riccardo, while Vito was about to say 'yes'. He watched his younger brother get up and walk to the door as Domenico sat down in the vacated seat.

With the handle in his hand, Riccardo turned to Vito again and asked something he had never thought of before. "Do you regret taking custody of us?"

"Not for a second," Vito replied without hesitation. His brother nodded slightly before leaving the room with his head hanging.

________________

Valentino waited impatiently as the gate opened in front of him. The clock in the car read 3 a.m. and the short drive in the car wasn't enough to warm up the car. Freezing, he pulled the sleeves of his jacket over his hands. Damn cold, he thought and stepped on the accelerator as soon as the gate was open enough. The headlights illuminated the driveway in front of him and shortly afterwards they also illuminated the facade of the house. Everything was dark, but he had expected that, after all it was the middle of the night.

He quickly parked his car and entered the house even more quickly. Comfortable warmth greeted him as he took off his shoes. His phone vibrated.

[03:16] Sloan Did you drive home safely?

Grinning, he typed a reply and sent it. He briefly considered whether he should eat something else, but he was tired and wanted to go to his own bed.

He quietly crept up the stairs. His phone vibrated again in his pocket, but it wasn't far from his room, so he left it there.

The hallway with the bedrooms lay dark in front of him, but Valentino didn't turn on the lights for the short walk. Maybe he should take a shower before going to bed, he thought, then at least he would be warm again. A good idea, then he could sleep longer in the morning. Content with himself and the world, he could barely resist whistling.

Someone coughed. Valentino stopped abruptly. It wasn't unusual for someone to cough at night, but this cough came from Josephine's room and when he looked closer at the door, he saw a faint glow of light under that same door. Why was she awake? Had she had a bad dream?

Without further ado, he knocked gently and opened the door without waiting for an answer. Maybe she fell asleep and forgot to turn off the light or maybe she could only sleep with the light on.

"Yes?" Her voice sounded uncertain, but Valentino's head was already poking through the door.

It took him a moment to understand what was going on, but then he grinned widely. "Do I see a certain book in your hand Josie?"

Josephine blushed and quickly closed the book. She tried to divert the topic. "Did your date go well?"

"Very well. Can I come in?" asked Valentino and when Josephine nodded, he quickly scurried into her room to close the door. "Why is it so cold here?"

Shivering, Valentino crossed his arms in front of his body. Josephine looked between him and the open window, somewhat confused. "Well, I guess it's the open window."

"I've combined that much too, Sherlock, thank you very much. But why is the window open at this temperature?" He went to Josephine and sat on the floor next to her. A little awkwardly, she offered him part of her blanket, which he quickly pulled over his legs. His eyes fell back on the book. "Can't you go back to sleep?"

Josephine's cheeks grew even redder as she looked away in shame. "I wanted to sleep, I really did, but then I just wanted to read one more page and then the chapter and then suddenly there you are."

Valentino didn't know how to react. Apparently she hadn't slept at all and it was the middle of the night. Then again, the same thing had happened to him quite a few times. "Josie!"

"I know! I'm sorry, I'll put it away too." Instead of answering, he held out his hand expectantly and, sighing, Josephine handed him the book. "Can this maybe stay between the two of us?"

"You'll get it back in the morning and I won't tell anyone." His phone vibrated again. "How about I close the window, turn on the heater and you at least try to get some sleep?"

Josephine, just happy to get off so easily, nodded. "The book is really great."

"Didn't I tell you? Where are you right now?" Valentino asked as he stood up.

"They're with Hagrid, talking about the dragon egg," Josephine hastened to answer.

Valentino nodded knowingly. "It's a shame that you won't find out what happens next until tomorrow, especially considering what will happen next. And you still have the encounter with Voldemort ahead of you!"

"What?" Josephine sat up. "Then what happens? Did Snape hide him? It must have been him! He's so creepy."

"That, my dear Josie, I will not tell you." He grinned triumphantly with the book tucked under his arm. "But I wish you a good night."

Josephine didn't wish him a good night, Valentino was sure of it.