The nightmares finally stopped around three in the morning. She would wake up screaming and it got more and more difficult to snap her out of it the more tired her body got. I hoped she had exhausted herself enough to put herself into a dreamless sleep. It had been a rough night for all of us. Even Tank would wake up whining when Nora's nightmares got the best of her.

I brushed her hair out of her face and combed through her long tendrils with my fingers. She sighed contentedly into my touch and I pulled her closer to my side. I'm getting much too attached to you my flower, but I'm in too deep to back out now.

Despite the terrible sleep I'd gotten, last night had to be one of the best I'd ever had. She leaned on me like I was exactly what she needed. I was able to calm her down and get her back to sleep. Being there to support her was the best occupation I could have taken.

When she awoke, she looked around frantically and her hands grasped at my shirt. When her eyes found mine, she settled. "You stayed."

"I promised you I would." I pressed my lips to her hairline.

She loosened her grip on my shirt and brought up her tiny fists to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "No, no baby girl. You're going to hurt your eyes." She just groaned and pressed her face into my chest. My hand automatically came up to cup the back of her head.

"Do you have to go to work today?" I could feel the tension in her body and she was holding on to my shirt like a lifeline. She doesn't want to be alone.

"No sweetheart. I'm staying home today. I think I've earned an easy day at home with my girl." Her body relaxed after I told her this.

"I'm your girl?" She became extremely interested in the stitch work on the hem of my shirt and refused to look at me. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from chucking at her. I didn't want to make her feel more self-conscious when I spend so much time trying to build up her self-esteem.

"You're my everything." I told her simply. She stayed quiet but she was running her hand absentmindedly along the plains of the abdomen, so I knew I hadn't scared her. I figured I would spare her having to think of the correct thing to say and get out of bed. "After breakfast, I have to do some work in my office downstairs, but after that, I think we should have a movie day. What do you think?"

"I think that could be a lot of fun." She smiled as she sat up, but that smile quickly turned into a grimace of pain as she felt the tug of her stitched.

"Let's get some breakfast in you so you can take some acetaminophen." I offered her a hand to help her out of bed.

"Can't I just take some now?" she whined slightly, and I had to keep myself from smiling.

"I'm sorry my darling, but if you take it on an empty stomach, it'll just give you a tummy ache." I explained.

She only pouted in response.

I entered my walk-in and pulled out a comfortable shirt for her to wear today that wouldn't press against her stitches. I'll be damned if she was going to spend the day in another man's shirt, even if it was only Fiero.

"Now, take this and go get washed up and dressed and we'll meet back down in the kitchen." When she stepped out into the hallway, she looked both ways as if she were crossing the street, but I knew she was scanning for intruders. "Come on sweetheart. I'll walk you to your room."

She took my hand without my prompting and we entered her room together with Tank leading the way. I took a look around as I had last night and gave her the okay. I went back to my room and showered quickly, dressing in sweats and a cotton shirt. I went downstairs and started prepping things for omelets, and she was down the stairs shortly after me. She didn't look around this time, trusting that I wouldn't let her walk into danger. She let Tank out into the yard through the back door.

"Make sure you lock that door baby girl." I reminded her.

"Yes Enzo." She called back to me. Her little bare feet pattered across the tile floor and she peeked at what I was doing. I stepped away from the counter to retrieve the eggs and when I turned around, she had the knife in her hands and was chopping away at the bell peppers.

"Woah there." I snatched the knife from her grip and replaced it with an empty bowl.

"But I can help with the chopping." She argued. "I only cut my finger once and I had it wrapped up before you got home."

"Well that means that you got hurt one time too many." I countered.

"I'm never going to get better at chopping if you never let me practice." She grumbled, beating the eggs in the bowl I had handed her.

That sentence left me thinking. She was right. As much as I wanted to put her in my pocket and protect her from the evils of the world, this would leave her defenseless. I had to give her the tools to get stronger and be able to take care of herself. I wasn't naïve or stubborn enough to believe I was bullet proof. An early death was usually in the cards for people in my line of work, and I wouldn't leave her alone and unable to protect herself. She would have to start training soon.

We ate breakfast and she insisted on doing the dishes, so I went to my office and started on my work. I needed to strengthen my security. We had a fucking traitor working in my restaurant, beside my men. The little Russian rat nearly got my girl and myself killed. Things had to change. I started drafting instructions for my men when I heard a small knock on my door.

"Come in baby."

She came in with Tank by her side, his tail in her fist. "I'm sorry I'm being a bother."

"You're never a bother to me." I interrupted.

"I-I thought maybe I could come in and choose a book." She was fiddling with her fingers nervously again. She must have gotten frightened out in the living room alone.

"Of course you can. Why don't you read on the sofa in here and keep me company?" I knew she wanted to stay with me but would never ask out of fear of bothering me.

"We'll stay really quiet, right Tank?" her mood lifted immediately as she chose her book and settle on the couch happily, tucking her feet beneath her. The simplest things made her happy and being near me was one of those things. That thought made me smile.

I finished my work within the hour, and she looked up at me when I closed my laptop.

"Are you all done with your work now?" She dog eared the page she was on, and I cringed inwardly, but I didn't say anything about it. We all had our bad habits.

"Yeah baby. I'm all done now. Let's go pick out a movie to watch and maybe we can have some snacks."

"Snacks?" she took my hand excitedly and dragged me into the kitchen. I didn't often let her indulge in unhealthy food. She was already malnourished from her time in that hell house, and I wanted her body to receive all the nutrients it needed, and that didn't include sweet and chips. However, I figured a day of vegging out would do her some good.

She stacked snacks in my arms and ordered me to the living room and she sprinted upstairs, but she was back down in a minute with several comforters and pillows which she tossed down on the carpet.

"Baby you know I don't like you running on the stairs." I scolded.

"I'm sorry Enzo. I'm just excited!" she plopped down on the blankets she laid out and patted the spot next to her. I sat down next to her as she took the remote off of the couch and chose her movie.

She opened the jar of jellybeans and dug in; her eyes fixated on the animated clown fish on the screen. He was ranting about finding his son or something. I was too busy watching her to pay attention to the movie.

"I wonder what it's like to have a family who would risk everything for you." She muttered around a mouth full of candy. I'm not sure if she intended for me to hear her.

"You'll make yourself sick if you eat too much candy sweetheart. Slow it down okay?"

"Yes Enzo." She said while stuffing another handful of jellybeans in her mouth. I shook my head but didn't comment. I would tell her 'I told you so' later.

The mention of her family reminded me I had yet to tell her about Stuart's murder. I didn't want to cause her anymore distress but I knew she would be more upset if I hid things from her.

When the credits started rolling, she scooted over and curled herself up into my side.

"Thank you for spending time with me today Enzo. I think it was what my heart needed today." She was making it hard for me to tell her. I didn't want to spoil her good mood. Sack up man. She needs to know.

"Baby, do you remember how I had to go tie up some loose ends yesterday after I dropped you off at Rosalinda's?" she nodded in response.

"I had to go and talk to the bad guy and he told me about Varlam." When I mentioned the Russian bastard's name, she paled. This wasn't going to be easy.

My blood ran cold at the thought of Varlam. How much did the bad guys tell Enzo? What did he know? He won't want you anymore, you filthy piece of garbage. You're dirty and tainted and he's much too good for the likes of you.

"What did he tell you?" my voice was barely above a whisper, but I knew he heard me.

"He told me Varlam used to visit you at your uncle's home." My hands were shaking, and I reached out to hold onto Tank's tail. Tank lifted his head to look at me in concern. I stared down at my lap.

Enzo knows how dirty I am.

"He also told me Varlam killed your uncle. I'm so sorry sweetheart. I just thought it was better that you know." He reached over and brushed my hair from where it had fallen into my eyes.

My heart sped up, but not in grief or mourning. It almost felt like relief. I must be the worst person in the world to not feel sad at the news of a family member's death. Something in my brain must be broken. I wasn't normal.

"Talk to me baby. Tell me what you're thinking." He was still combing his fingers through my hair.

"I think there's something wrong with me Enzo."

"What do you mean baby?" He had his brows furrowed in confusion.

"I should feel sad, but I don't think I am. I'm not sure what I feel but I don't think I'm supposed to feel like this when someone dies. What's wrong with me?" I looked up into his eyes searching for answers.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with you." His voice was firm.

"But-" He shook his head before I could finish my sentence.

"But nothing. Your uncle has hurt you and caused you pain, and those scars, physical and emotional, are going to take a while to heal. Your subconscious just knows he's not going to be able to hurt you anymore. You're not a bad person, so you get that out of your head right now." He left no room for argument.

I was still struggling with my thoughts but deep down I knew he was right. I just struggled perceiving anything I did with positivity. If Enzo said it was normal, then I would believe him. He's never lied to me or mislead me. I had no reason not to trust him.

I reached out for his hand and pulled his arm around my shoulder, wrapping my own arms around his middle. "Could we maybe watch another movie?" He gave me a gentle squeeze.

"Which one shall we watch my sweet girl?"