37

I shoved my phone into my purse as I walked into the small cafe. I easily found Damon sitting at a table with a teenage girl and another man.

He snapped his eyes up as I walked over, a smile immediately made itself known on his face.

"Vienna." He greeted softly, placing his hand on the small of my back.

I quickly took my seat beside him, smiling at the other two. The girl's eyes widened with excitement while the man looked at me with interest.

"Vienna, I want you to meet Hank and his daughter, Payton." Damon sounded.

I grinned and shook both of their hands, "It's a pleasure to meet you two."

Hank smirked, "Pleasure is all mine, Vienna."

"So, Payton, you want to become a designer?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yes, it's my biggest dream."

"Well, I absolutely love your designs." I grinned.

"May I take your orders?"

We all looked over to see a young woman smiling at us. She glanced at Hank before looking at Damon. I internally groaned. This is completely cliche, can't we have one waitress that doesn't give the men a flirtatious look?

Damon nodded, "I would love a water and a grilled cheese."

I raised an eyebrow when he looked at me. He mirrored my expression, causing me to chuckle.

"I'll have a sprite and ceaser salad." I said calmly.

She nodded, she then got Hank's and Payton's before walking away. Damon sighed as he leaned back against the seat.

"She's good looking." Damon grinned, raising a brow at Hank.

The man sighed, "Damon, not this again. I don't need a woman in my life. I have Payton and my mother."

"Dad, no offense, you need a wife." Payton voiced.

Hank looked at his daughter, "Says who?"

"Everyone." She grinned.

Hank rolled his eyes, when he looked at me a smirk appeared on his face. I immediately shook my head.

"Don't even think about it." I said.

"Damn it." He grumbled.

Damon paid the bill and walked with me as we exited the cafe. I quickly gave Payton my number so we could set up a time for her to visit my work. I usually don't consider doing this, especially for someone so young, but this girl has true talent.

Once they left, Damon gently grabbed my elbow and spun me around.

"Yes?" I asked, laughing.

He had a shy smile on his face as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Uh, do you want to do something else?" He asked.

I blinked, "As in...?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, we could for a walk in the park if you'd like."

"That actually sounds nice."

I sighed as we walked through the park, enjoying the warm weather. I glanced at Damon every now and then, noticing he was always deep in thought.

I bit my lip, "Hey, Damon?"

"Yeah?" He asked, looking at me.

"Uh, what were your parents like?" I asked softly.

He hesitated for a second, "My mother was your usual loving mother. She would always make sure I was happy and healthy. My dad, on the other hand, ignored me. To him, i wasn't worth his time."

"Oh." I whispered.

"What about your parents?"

"My mom is the same as your mother, loving and caring. My father is very protective over me and my mom, my brother was as well when he was alive. After he was killed though, my mother sort of...shut us out. She still works and will talk to me, but her voice is always sad." I sighed.

"I'm sorry." He frowned.

I forced a smile, "It's not your fault, there's no need for you to apologize."

He gave me a strained smile before looking ahead. As we walked in silence I thought about my brother. What he would be doing right now, wondering if he would be married by now.

I could feel the tears pool into my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away. I frowned as I looked down.

"Angelo's brother killed my brother." I stated.

Damon stiffened, "Like I said, he didn't mean to."

I released a breath, "But he still did it, didn't he? My brother probably didn't mean anything to him, neither did my family."

"I admit, no one ever mattered to Angelo's brother. After what he went through, he stopped caring." He replied.

"How come?" I asked, looking at him.

Damon closed his eyes for a moment, "Because it stopped the pain."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Stopped the pain?"

He sighed, "He was tired of everyone not...caring about him. Although, Angelo cared a great deal for his brother, he was still too far gone. He killed his own father for reasons Angelo doesn't know. As always, Angelo was quick to assume why."

"You know a lot about him." I whispered as an uneasy feeling washed over me.

Damon shrugged, "He was my closest friend, he told me everything."

I nodded, "Can you tell me the full story?"

"The full story?" He frowned.

"Yeah, about why he killed his father."

Damon bit his lip, "No."

"Why?"

"Just...no. It isn't my story to tell." He mumbled.

I wanted to know more, but decided against it. I clasped my hands together and thought over what I know of Angelo's brother so far. I pursed my lips.

Angelo's brother doesn't sound like a horrible person. If anything, he sounds like a man who's in immense emotional pain.

"Damon...what's Angelo's brother's name?" I asked softly.

He released a defeated breath, "Stefano."

"Stefano De Rege." I whispered.

"Listen, I know you want to avenge your brother, but Stefano isn't someone you want to bother. Your brother was one of his closest friends, killing him was the last thing he would ever want to do." He said, stopping us.

"Please, if you push this he'll eventually snap and...it'll cause pain. Way too much pain."

I frowned, "I just want to know why."

Damon sighed, "I know, Vi, I know."

When I got home I threw my purse down and ran my hand through my hair. I bit my lip as I thought over everything.

Stefano was a close friend of my brother's, yet, my brother never mentioned him. There's a high possibility that Stefano didn't want to be found out. He was a dirty little secret.

I froze as I grabbed a cup, his father hated him but his mother loved him. My heart raced, maybe his father hated him so much because he wasn't his biological father. Maybe his mother had an affair and Angelo's father found out.

I closed the cabinet and poured some water into my glass. I know Damon doesn't want to tell me anything else, but he's going to have to.

Angelo will probably snap my neck or something, so, Damon is a little easier to approach.