The Don And His Flower

55

Imani let her tear fall. 

Her husband stood underneath the willow tree. His hands in his hair as his shoulders bounced slightly. The sobs he let out were pained, full of emotion as he occasionally hit the top of his head. 

Nikolai Kholodov was dead. 

He had been found with his throat slit, only left alone for two hours. Imani carefully walked from the window, not daring to see the sight of her torn husband anymore. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she looked at Xander who joined her side. "Where's daddy?" He asked carefully, inspecting the large stomach his mother had. 

Imani hoped that Xander had the innocence in his eyes forever. She hoped that the ruins of this world wouldn't ever touch his spirit. Not as it did to Valis or Imani. "He's outside baby, go get undressed. We might not go out for tonight. Go on." She sniffed softly; voice quiet as she watched the three-year-old reluctantly leave his mother's side. 

Almost forever had passed, it actually being another two hours, before Valis had went back into the home where his son and wife remained. Imani left him alone, letting the hot steam creep from under the closed bathroom door where Valis burned his skin with the scalding hot water. Imani could not locate the guilt in her heart for what she's done.

She couldn't bring it upon herself to feel bad for taking Nikolai's life. The only thing she hated was her husband being so hurt by this. But just as Valis was once pushed into a corner with no way out except one.

"You ruined everything." Nikolai sobbed. Head thrashing as he freed his hair from the grip that Travis almost had.

The woman shook her head, defiance clear as she gripped the knife. "No, Nikolai. Your father did. You won't even try to consider the position that Valis is in."

The man gave an exaggerated laugh. Eyes dropping the tears as he sneered at Imani. "What about me? I lost my husband!"

"And I lost my child!"

Nikolai scoffed again, adding a roll of his eyes. "As if Valis was even the father. And what you- you think that killing me would solve all of your fucking issues?"

"No Nikolai.. but it'll settle some of them. Mostly for Valis-"

"I'll kill you, bitch. The moment Valis comes back, I'll agree with his alliance. And I'll kill you, him, and I'll make sure your kid watches..at least, the one who you managed to keep alive so fucking far."

Imani was given no choice. 

Nikolai was going to kill Valis. Kill their son and even kill her. One thing that Imani had learned about the Kholodov men, was their need of direct vengeance. The men, dead or alive, only get their revenge in nothing but bloodshed. Although he might've convinced himself that he wanted nothing to do with the lifestyle, Nikolai was in fact no different of his brother. His words were nothing but deceiving, Valis must've known it. Imani couldn't fault her husband in a choice that would've been poor decision on his half. 

Beating his brother into submission wasn't going to do any good.

Valis never saw his brother's eyes. He never saw those dark, sinister eyes that Valis occasionally mirrored. But she did. Imani saw the awful hatred that Nikolai had in his eyes. There was no 'making amends' with someone who was so long gone. It was why she had such hope to give her husband a good life as much as she could. To give him a family to depend on when he feels as if he was losing himself into the underworld too much. 

Imani almost flinched, the touch of her husband's hands on her body as he kneeled in front of her. He kept his head bowed; eyes closed at the soft sensation of her hand on his hair. Imani looked at the man, his face towards her swollen belly as a sudden kick hit the side of his head. "I'm tired Imani."

Such pain.

Tired, exhausting pain. 

Valis. 

She palmed the back of his neck, letting him rest on her knee. "I don't want to feel this way anymore Imani. I don't want to." He confessed his pains to her, reminding her of the few times she had done the same to him. 

The corner of her bottom lip was stuck between her teeth, eyes blinking away such few tears as she looked down at him once again. "Valis."

"Travis Morcan is dead." 

Imani stopped.

All movements from rubbing the nape of his damp hair frozen as she listened to her husband. "What?"

"Volodos..Volodos has suspicions that the soldier had snuck his way into the basement. They can't find him. But I know it was him. This was his doing." He let such venom fall from his voice. She shook her head, fingers underneath his chin before making him look up at her. "You don't know for sure, Valis. Why would Travis Morcan kill your brother?"

He scoffed, shaking his head softly as his tear was wiped free. "Because he can't get to me. Because he is probably obsessed with you. I should've killed him. When I find him, I swear-"

"Daddy?"

The two parents stopped, unsure of what to do at the surprise visitor. Xander hugged his stuffed toy in his arms. The small dark-skinned boy looked just like his father, but the curiosity in his eyes mirrored his mother. The boy had stepped on the side of the bed, crawling himself up and shuffling into the warmth of the sheets. "What's wrong?"

Valis gave his son a soft smile, head shaking in slight denial. "Nothing baby." He joined Xander and Imani, the child sandwiched between his parents as he snuggled into his father's side. "This is new. Are you not enjoying sleeping by yourself anymore?" Valis questioned softly. 

Imani smiled, accepting the soft kiss from her husband. The large t.v. played a movie that was promising of boring the child to sleep. Imani rested on her side, ignoring the sharp kicks of her twins that lay inside of her.

By morning, she assumed that she'd be birthing them into the world. Valis looked at his sleeping son, turning his attention to his wife who kept her back to his eyes. If he didn't know any better, Valis wouldn't have caught the mimic of her shoulders trying to fool him of her sleeping. 

Imani couldn't sleep.

Valis couldn't sleep.

Valis let his few tears fall, mourning in such anger and despair of the life that was once his brother, Nikolai Kholodov. He wanted his brother to live. Valis wanted to make amends, let the brother try and start fresh if he only swore to leave this life behind him permanently. Granted, he probably wasn't going to go without taking an innocent life with him. But why..who could honestly take such a choice away from Valis? Away from Nikolai?

Valis let his eyes go back to the side, looking at his wife who remained on her side. The rise and fall of her shoulders still following that same pattern as she struggled to convince her husband and herself that she needed sleep. 

They were both tired.