14

Victoria's POV

Today was a good day. I mean, I usually wake up in a good mood, but I still thought it was a great day, probably because of the rainy weather.

I loved rain, it always made me feel calm and I'd usually put my earphones on and take a nap while listening to some music, but that was different this time, as I was in the Caruso's mansion.

Anyway, this time I didn't wake up snuggled to Ross' body, as usual. I thought he might have gone earlier to attend some business or something, which made me wonder, again, what kind of work was he doing. I was almost sure it wasn't something nice. Otherwhise, why would he and his brothers have men everywhere working for them, and, well, 'dealing with assholes' as Jeff said one time?

I didn't really mind to be honest, I had gone through worse than something like that.

Anyway I wasn't happy that I woke up alone, although I wouldn't admit it. I felt cold and the bed was just too big for me without Ross, so I got up and changed into some clothes to go downstairs.

As soon as I got there, I saw Jeff talking on the phone, nothing too serious I guessed. He saw me and quickly finished his call.

"Good morning bubs, why the pout?"

Uh, I didn't even know I was pouting. But I didn't say anything as I wouldn't admit the reason, but Jeff seemed to read my mind and opened his mouth in an 'o' shape.

"Ross woke up about an hour ago, he had to work but he'll be here soon, don't worry".

"It's okay. Can I watch some TV for a while, though?"

Even if we were closer than before and they didn't mind me doing whatever I want, I still felt shy and asked permission for everything, something the brothers found adorable somehow. Jeff smiled and ruffled my hair again, and yes, I huffed at him.

"Of course you can. Wanna have breakfast, too?"

"Uh... I'm not really hungry now, but thanks" I honestly said.

He nodded and I went to the couch, choosing some random kid's show. I still couldn't understand why they didn't like me watching normal shows or movies, but I didn't dare to tell them anything about it. Plus, it was okay, I liked watching these.

I found Brownie next to me, so I also started petting his hair while watching TV. It was really comfy and quiet then, and I loved being like that.

After an hour though, I got tired of that, and decided to explore the house a little. I bet no one would mind if I did, so I just walked around. There were a few rooms I've never entered before, but I wouldn't dare to, and they seemed to be the typical office rooms so it was probably boring anyways.

I found a door though, one I've never seen before. I thought of opening it to see what was behind it, but I immediately decided not to, as I had no right to doing so. Anyway, I still was curious.

But just when I turned back, the door opened, showing Ross cleaning his hands with a cloth. He immediately froze as he probably didn't expect me to be there, and I had the same expression. How could I explain that I was wandering around without sounding weird?

But part of me remembered I hadn't seen him since I woke up, so I didn't really pay attention to that.

"Hi, I thought you've left somewhere" I said, smiling.

"I- uh, well, I was working actually"

"Yeah? Oh, what were you doing?"

I didn't mean to ask that to be honest, not only because it seemed like none of my business, but because I just wanted to have breakfast with him and watch a movie alredy.

Ross seemed to be choosing his words, until he sighed and his face turned stern suddenly, and my smile dropped a little.

"Listen, Vicky. This is the basement... and you're not allowed to go there, yeah? You can explore the house as much as you'd like, but never cross this door. Okay?

I felt bad at his words, as if he was scolding me, something he had never done before. I wasn't going to cross that door anyways, but now that he prohibited it, it made me feel curious and wondered what would be there that was so important for him to tell me that.

I looked down, not really wanting to meet his gaze, and nodded.

"Yes, I won't go"

"Thanks. Now, should we go eat something? I bet you're hungry" he smiled, putting the cloth away.

I kind of smiled, too. I didn't like when he was serious like before. It was scary to be honest, and I just wanted him to be happy. He might have noticed my expression and softly put a few strands of hair behind my ear and picked me up.

"I'm sorry baby, but I really need you to understand"

I didn't say anything and put my head on his shoulder, something I liked doing as I felt comfortable.

We both had breakfast, even though I noticed he wasn't really hungry. I couldn't pay attention to him as I was concentrated thinking about that basement. What else could there be but boring paperwork? But if that was the case, why would he prohibit me going down there?

It was scary. As if something bad was in there, so for the rest of the day, I didn't really speak. I noticed Ross, Marcus, Jeff and Jake all curious about my sudden change. After all, I was used to talking a lot, something they (thankfully) didn't mind.

But Ross knew I was just thinking about that morning, although he tried distracting me and didn't really work.

...

Jake and Marcus had left some hours ago to finish meet some people, so now it was only Ross and Jeff with me. We were now laying on the couch, me just staring off into space.

"Baby" Ross sighed, "why aren't you saying anything? Are you mad?"

"Ah, it's nothing"

He caught me unconsciously looking at the basement door, and looked at Jeff, who gave him a little nod.

I didn't understand what did that mean, until I heard Ross sigh and anxiously spoke.

It was so unusual to see him like that, because he didn't seem like a person who would get nervous, but the person who would cause others to be.

"There's something you need to know" I hummed, completely having my attention now.

"Okay, Victoria. Look, I don't know how to say this..." he started, making me feel both anxious and curious. "We... we are a mafia. We don't really do anything too... illegal, but we are a huge and known family, and that's why, well, we always have men working for us, and why we're always busy"

I stared at them for a while, not understanding at all. I mean, what were they talking about? It was crazy.

"We take care of some business, that kind of business" Jeff continued "We deal with bad people, like, drug dealers or ass- uh, idiots who mess with our work. So that's also why you're not allowed to go to the basement. There's... work stuff you shouldn't see"

I didn't respond immediately. Honestly, I could have expected something like this, but I never imagined an actual mafia. I thought they were just business men, but this... It was nice to hear the truth, though. I wasn't mad or worried, just a little more curious.

I really wanted to believe that they were taking care of just bad people and not anyone for fun or whatever. Maybe I had seen to many movies. But, I didn't feel scared actually. On the opposite, I felt kind of safe there. Anyway, I still couldn't help but have a ton of questions right there, which assumed wasn't the moment to ask.

It was a weird moment. Even Jeff, who was the quietest of the Caruso's, seemed anxious after desperately trying to explain. They both seemed to had said it the slightest way possible.

I finally decided to speak after a minute.

"It's okay, really." they both looked at me, not believing what they had just heard "You've been nice to me and helped me a lot... and I like staying here with you. I just didn't expect this, but I'm fine" I honestly said, giving Ross and Jeff a reassuring smile.

There were a couple seconds of silence.

Ross finally chuckled and let out a sigh of relief, and so did Jeff. It seemed to be something they were trying to hide from me, or trying to find the perfect moment to tell me about.

I know it may sound weird but, was it that important? I mean, it sure is a thing, but I didn't see the point in worrying about my reaction. But it was cute that they seemed to care that much.

"Thanks for understanding baby. What about watching a movie before bedtime? Hm?" Ross said, freely picking me up again and holding me tight.

I hummed and he chuckled, alredy heading to another room. Probably his bedroom.

...

I was happy that everything was solved, at least that's what I thought.

Anyway, after taking a quick shower, I heard thunders outside, something I was really scared of, and I unconsciously clutched Ross' shirt.