1920's:Rise of the Mafia

Chapter Sixteen: Recovery

-Vincent's POV- A few days have passed since the flu slammed into me. "I never realized how rainy it would be in New Jersey." I comment, looking out the small open window and breathing in the fresh air.

"Oh, you get used to it." Giovanni sighs, taking off his fedora and fluffing up his silver hair. "How are you feeling?" The teen asks gently.
"Better." I sigh, rubbing my eyes. "At least I'm getting rest and my fever is almost gone."

The teen nods, and casts a sideways glance at me. His emerald eyes shine with slight pity. But why?
Does he feel bad for me? Or is he just anxious about the murder of his family being solved?

I decide to not confront him about this and instead bite into the tuna sandwich a nurse gave me for lunch. "Where is Detective Cooper?" I ask instead, trying to distract Giovanni from his anxieties.

"He said he'd go down to Maple Street to find any clues." Gio explains, staring out the window and onto the busy streets below us. "He left while you were still asleep."
"I see."

A few moments pass as I finish eating.
Giovanni looks at me, frowning.
"How long did it take you to learn English?" He asks.
My eyebrow goes up in concern. "What?"
His cheeks flush red. "I-I just wanted to know how long it took you to learn another language...."

I lean back in bed, fiddling with the plastic medical bracelet on my wrist. "About a year or two. School helped me quite a bit, considering the situation with my parents." I laugh in a tense way. "I struggled first.  Everyone does. But it's been many years and I still sometimes have difficulty finding the right words."

Giovanni takes all of this information in.
"Could we practice and have me learn a sentence?"
"Why?" I ask slowly.
"I figured it would be important. You know," he shrugs. "since not many people in the U.S understand Italian. It could be a code incase one of us needs help."

I tilt my head at this. "Hm. Interesting. I like the way you think." I purr and sit up straight.
"Okay. Repeat after me: Galassia."
"Gal—Wait, wha..?"
I laugh. "Ga-la-ssi-a."
"Galassia." He repeats perfectly.

"What does it mean?"
"Galaxy. I think that's how you say it.. yes. It means galaxy. So if you are in danger and I'm close, scream that and I'll come running. And vice versa."

Giovanni nods with a small smile, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. "Thank you, dad..." his eyes widen. "Oh, God. Vincent. I'm s-sorry!"
"What?" I grin. "About calling me dad? It could be worse. You could've called me daddy by accident."

Giovanni groans, burying his face in his hands. "Don't make it worse!"
"Hey," I laugh lightheartedly. "Don't get your tie in a twist. It's okay. You asked if you could call me dad, remember? And I'm perfectly fine with it either way."

"You are?" He ask, lifting his head up. I snort. "Yeah. Trust me, amore. I'm not gonna hurt you or anything." I recall seeing the cigarette burns and scratches on Giovanni's arms and wince.

The teen probably senses my worry and tugs at his sleeves. "Did you tell Dan about, you know," he motions towards his arms. "No," I shake my head. "Not yet. But I will eventually, Gio. You can't keep the past abuse a secret forever."

Detective Cooper walks in, his blonde hair and clothing soaked from the rain. He looks at both of us with troubled brown eyes. "What?" Giovanni asks hurriedly. "What happened? What did you see?"

"Giovanni, please sit down. I...need to explain this fully." The detective walks over to the door, closes it, and slides the lock into place.
"What's the problem?" Giovanni asks, his voice cracking with fear.

Dan sighs heavily, ruffling his hair and leaning against one of the walls. "I found the house you described. It's still there. The house has since been empty. I didn't go inside. But, we can go tonight." Dan looks at me as he says this. "However," Dan pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to me.

"You've been lying to me, Mr. De Rose."
I unfold the note and nearly faint right there.
I scan the paper, feeling tears sting my eyes.
Missing: Amber Smith.
Last seen entering a taxi with her mother, famous movie star Victoria Smith.
Taxi was later found down an alley with bullet holes. Victoria and the driver died but Amber is missing. Amber may be somewhere in New Jersey or Chicago or taken by mafia men to a pedophile ring.

"You said she was your daughter." Dan snaps.
"You—both of you—lied."
"What did you expect me to do?!" I shout suddenly, ripping the paper in anger. "Leave her there to die?"

"Instead of having the police find her?" Dan shot back. "The police can't have her!" I snap. "She is mine. She—she trusts me."
"Where is she now?" Dan demands.

I grip the paper shreds tightly. "Like I'd tell you."
"RUHIG!" Giovanni screams in German, hands covering his ears with tears flowing from his eyes.
"Aufhören zu kämpfen!" He weeps, crumpling to the floor.

This outburst makes both Dan and I flinch.
"Hey," Dan walks over to Giovanni, who is rocking back and forth. "It's okay. Just calm down. We're okay, right, Vincent?"
"Of course!" I blurt out, hating to see Giovanni cry.

"My parents..." Giovanni sniffs, refusing to look up. "They abused me. My dad burned me with cigarettes...all because I thought differently than them."
"What do you mean?" Both Dan and I ask in unison.
"You didn't know?" Giovanni laughs and looks up.
"I have Asperger Syndrome."

"That means you're slightly autistic...." Dan realizes.
Everything suddenly goes black as I faint.
"Dad? Dad!" Giovanni's voice is muffled as I slip into unconsciousness.