Page 49 of Mafia and Scars

“They’re puzzles,” he murmurs.

My head tilts, and Leon copies the motion, earning a soft chuckle from me before he plops down on my lap and starts babbling. “Puzzles?”

Viktor’s gaze flicks up from his phone briefly before back down, peering at me from the corner of his eyes. “Yes.”

I take in the two gigantic boxes that were just delivered. My jaw drops slightly. “That’s…all puzzles?”

Viktor shrugs and nods.

“Do you really like puzzles or something?” I ask him.

This time, Viktor looks at me, his brow scrunched. He’s put quite some distance between us, always staying at least three meters away. He opens the boxes and pulls out a multitude of puzzles—many of them with a pink theme. My Little Pony, Care Bears, some unicorn puzzles, and various others. “Not for me,” he explains with a shrug before he sets the puzzles on the coffee table where Sofia is currently piecing together another one.

“You…bought them all for Sofia?”

He nods.

“I…” My mouth opens and shuts. When did he order all this stuff? More importantly, why? Why so many?

Viktor’s sharp inhale of breath snaps me out of my thoughts. Leon is no longer in my lap, and instead, he’s tottering between the sofa and coffee table, his small hands reaching out as he gets closer and closer to Viktor, babbling up a storm.

Viktor’s blue eyes are glued to him. And his chest is rising and falling quicker than it was before.

“Viktor?” I say carefully.

He ignores me as Leon reaches out to him. And Viktor staggers back before he realizes there’s nowhere else to go.

I scoot across and grab Leon before he can reach Viktor.

The audible sigh of relief that leaves Viktor gives me all the answers I need. The space he gave us yesterday. The panic just now as Leon got closer. “You don’t like being touched,” I say quietly.

His eyes snap to mine, and I’m not really sure what I see there. Confusion? Relief? Shame?

“No, I don’t like it,” he answers.

“You didn’t say anything earlier?” I feel guilt burn in my chest. How uncomfortable have I been making him this whole time? Like when I kissed his cheek as I left the first time, or when I reached out to grab his arm when I got out of the car from the hospital yesterday,or when I handed him Leon last night. And this whole time, he’d just dealt with it. “I’m so sorry, Viktor.”

“It’s fine.”

But it doesn’t quite feel fine, especially when he’s been so kind to us. “Sofia isn’t a big fan either,” I say softly. Even now, she’s put some space between us.

“I know,” Viktor says quietly.

My brow crinkles.

“She kept inching away when I was reading before,” he explains.

My gaze drifts to Sofia on the floor, finishing her eleventh puzzle of the morning.

“I guess that’s why you bought more, huh?” I say, turning my attention back to Viktor.

He nods. “She just opened that one like five minutes ago.” A frown crosses his expression. “These new puzzles won’t last long. I should get more?—”

“No, you can’t!”

Sofia and Viktor both look startled at my outburst. I flush. “What I mean is…these are more than enough. You’re doing far more than you need to. And maybe these new puzzles will take her a little longer. Really, Viktor, this is more than enough.”

“She finishes them much faster than most people. She’s very good at pattern recognition,” he remarks.