"Rose," My father called for me from downstairs. I had just finished facetiming my best friend, Lissa, who was still living in America. "Can you please come downstairs?"
I grumbled as I got myself off my bed and walked downstairs. It was still weird living in a house this large. I was not used to it at all.
You see growing up it was just my mother and I. Correction, it was just me. My mother was a very famous and well-respected FBI agent. She spent most of her time traveling the country helping out police solve crimes. So, she sent me to St. Vladimir's Academy in San Francisco, California. It was one of the top elite school's in all of the country. Almost everyone that went there went to an Ivy League school, even if they didn't have the grades, just because of the status they had.
With a single mother, we never had a lot of money, so we would never have been able to afford my tuition. But, my mother solved a major, nation-wide case for them. Girls were going missing and were brutally murdered from St. Vladimir's. Once my mother was on the case, it was solved within a week. So, to repay my mother, they allowed me to attend the school for free. It's still their gratitude to my mother that they haven't expelled me despite all the trouble I give them.
I would spend almost all of the year there at the school until I met Lissa Dragomir, who quickly became my best friend. Then, she started allowing me to come home with her and her family quickly adopted me into their family.
But, it was two years ago that I found about my estranged father, Abe Mazur, who I grew up knowing nothing of. He said that he has been searching for me for years and finally, my mother told him about me. So he reached out and took me in. The only thing about him was that he was filthy rich, and he lived in Turkey. So, both him and my mother agreed that I would spend my breaks with him in Istanbul with him.
He ended up giving me a bank account that seemed endless, and trust me; I've tried to reach it. Thankfully though, they have allowed me to stay at St. Vladimir's.
When I first learned about my father, I learned a lot more things about his life. Before he met my mother, he had a previous marriage and had my two elder siblings, Adrian and Sonya. Then about six years ago, his girlfriend had Logan and then 2 years later had Chloe before she just left leaving my father with 2 little children.
So here I was, just starting my summer break in my father's house in Istanbul. I walked downstairs to the kitchen where my father, Adrian, Sonya, Logan, and Chloe sat at the island.
"Whoa, is this an intervention?" I asked as I went to the cupboard and got out some of the donuts that Carol, our housekeeper, got this morning. I stuffed my face with one while everyone just laughed.
"No Rose," My father said with a chuckle as I showed Logan my chewed up donut and he squealed in disgust but laughing non-the less. "There is going to be a…little change." He said as he tried to figure out his words.
"This is never good." I said with an eye roll. I took a swig of water before he continued.
"I understand that this whole life change hasn't been easy on you. Especially to be in a different country as it is." I was confused on what he was trying to say. I was trying to make this whole thing work. "The business here is doing extremely well and I feel that Sonya is more then capable of running it here. That was why I have decided that we were going to move to San Francisco where my headquarters for my North American business is located. This will allow for you to be a little bit closer to your friends."
I stood there in shock. I cannot believe he is willing to move everything for me. This was unreal.
"Old man, are you serious?" This was the best news I think I have ever received.
"Yes." I couldn't help but run over to him and hug him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He just laughed and hugged me back.
"Not a problem kiz." He said back. "I already have the house bought. We are going to fly over in 3 days. So there are going to be people in and out of this house packing up some stuff."
I couldn't believe this was so soon! I thanked him again before running up to my room and quickly facetiming Liss again. She is going to be so excited.
After a few rings she eventually picked up, as she was finishing up getting ready for her date with her boyfriend Christian.
"Rose, what's wrong?" She seemed worried.
"I'M MOVING TO SAN FRANCISCO!" I yelled. It took her a second before she was squealing. She, as well as all of our friends, lived in San Francisco, so this was amazing news for us.
"When?" She was all but jumping up and down.
"Three days!" I don't think she could look any happier. We both talked excitingly about how we weren't going to tell the rest of the gang but I will just show up one day. The next three days couldn't come faster.
[Break]
Today was the day! Our flight was leaving early this morning. I am far from a morning person, but today I was. I just wanted to get on this plane and get going.
It was decided that everyone was coming to San Francisco except Sonya. Since she was eldest, and the most responsible, it was decided that she would run the company here in Turkey. It was also easier because her life was here in Turkey, not in America.
Adrian wanted to come because he said he liked adventures and wanted to live in America. Logan was going to attend St. Vladimir's in the fall as a first grader. Chloe was of course coming as well.
My room was entirely packed up except for the outfit that I was going to wear today, which was just a pair of shorts, a tank top, and some sandals. Once I was changed, I took one last look of the room that I actually grown accustomed to. But I was never going to fit in here. America and San Francisco was where I belonged.
The room next to me was Chloe's. Carol was trying to get her out of bed, but was failing. Chloe and I were defiantly related because we both weren't morning people. I walked into her room and told Carol I'll get Chloe.
"Let's go Chlo." I said to her rubbing her back but she just grumbled and rolled over. "Okay, you left me no choice." I quickly grabbed her blanket and ripped it from her, but she was able to grab a corner of it and pull back. For a four year old, she was strong, but I ended up winning. She sat up giving me the death glare with attitude. Yup, she's my sister. I picked her up and helped her get dressed. I realized that she was still half asleep so I picked her up and carried her downstairs.
Abe, Adrian, Logan, and Sonya were already up waiting for us. "Always late kiz." Abe joked.
"Hey, blame it on this girl." I said nodding my head to a sleeping Chloe.
"Well, the jet is waiting for us, so let's head out." Abe said picking up a briefcase and walking out the door. We all said goodbye to Carol since she was going to stay here with her family.
We all piled into the limo. Chloe decided she was going to remain on my lap and sleep. It was only a few minute drive till we got to the airstrip. Abe's plane was already waiting for us and the pilot was standing outside.
After they loaded up the plane and we were all settled on the plane, it finally took off. I could barely contain myself, and it was a long 16-hour flight. After several hours, Chloe eventually woke up and I agreed to play games with her since there was nothing else to do. Abe was on his laptop doing work while Adrian just drank away.
Several games later, I decided that I would try and sleep the rest of the plane ride. And that was the best decision. The next thing I knew, Abe was waking me up telling me that we were about to land.
Lissa said that she was going to meet me at the airport so I was basically bouncing in my seat. It seemed like it was forever until the plane touched down and we were allowed to get out. It was so nice to be able to get some fresh air, but I quickly forgot about that when I saw Lissa standing by a car with her brother Andre standing next to her. I ran towards Lissa as she ran towards me and we hugged like it was the last time we saw each other
"I've missed you Rose!" She said. We broke apart and I went to hug Andre. Before I knew that I had 2 brothers, he was the closest thing to a brother I had. He literally went and punched a kid after he found out that he was just using me. I knew that this kid had my back and I missed him, especially when he was away at Yale.
"Nice to have to you back Rosie." He said then laughed when I punched his arm. My family walked up behind me and I knew that I had to introduce them.
"Lissa, Andre," I said. "This is my father, Abe Mazur, my brother Adrian Ivashkov-Mazur, Logan Voda-Mazur, and Chloe Voda-Mazur. Guys, this is Lissa and Andre Dragomir." They all shook hands and Chloe stayed behind Adrian because she was too shy.
"Any friends of Rose is welcomed in our home." Abe said as he motioned towards the car. Andre decided that he was going to go home and Lissa was going to come over so we could catch up and that she could help me unpack.
We drove for about 30 minutes before we pulled up in a gated and expensive looking neighborhood. It was like the one that Lissa lived in with all the wealthy people. The driver winded through the neighborhood and I was in awe. The houses were huge and luxurious. Then I rolled my eyes at Abe. Of course he would get a shiny house. That's who he is.
The house we pulled up was beautiful and huge. It was surrounded by woods and had one of the biggest front doors ever. The driver pulled up to the front and the door was opened by a middle age woman. The first thing that you saw in the house was the huge chandelier that sparkled and then the huge staircase.
"Hello," The woman said to us after she closed the door. "I'm Oksana, the housekeeper and this is my husband Mark, he maintains the grounds." I didn't pay much attention to her; I just kept looking around this massive home. It was bigger then Lissa's and was twice the size of the house in Istanbul.
"Hello, I'm Abe Mazur, these are my sons Adrian and Logan and my daughters Rose and Chloe. This is Lissa, Rose's friend." Abe said as he shook each of their hands.
"Mr. Mazur, if you would follow me, I can show you the grounds." Mark said and Abe agreed following him somewhere.
"I can show you all to your rooms so you can get settled in." Oksana said to the rest of us. We walked up the large stairs to the upstairs. "This will be Mr. Adrian and Mr. Logan's wing." Oh goodness gracious, they have their own wing of the house!
We just stood there as she walked them down the hall and showed them to their own rooms. Then she walked back and showed us to our rooms. "This will be Miss. Rose and Miss. Chloe's wing." She showed me my room first. We came to a set of double doors and when she opened them, my mouth dropped the ground.
When you walked in, the whole back wall was basically made out of glass. In the middle of the wall was a glass door that led to a balcony that overlooked our pool and the San Francisco Bay. The view was amazing. Then on the left side of the room was a huge four-poster bed with so many pillows I could probably drown in. There were some couches and large screen television. Adjacent to the room was a walk in closet that was about the size of a typical living room. Next to the closet was a huge private bath. There was a large glass shower, a Jacuzzi tub, a mirror that took up a whole wall and two sinks. It was one of the nicest bathrooms I've seen. It sure did beat the ones at school.
Oksana walked out to show Chloe her room and I just stood in the middle of the room in shock. Even Lissa seemed impressed.
"Rose, this is amazing." She said in awe. All I could do was nod my head.
"Abe has really lost his mind." I whispered. "Do you think every room is like this?" She just nodded her head as she walked out on the balcony. "Sure does beat the dorms."
She just laughed as she walked in and helped me unpack. "Tomorrow, we need to go shopping to start filling up that closet!"
"That would require me to bankrupt Abe. Have you seen the size of that thing?"
We spent the rest of the night laughing and catching up before making plans to surprise the rest of the gang tomorrow with my move.
[Break]
As I was getting ready the next day, I realized how much I hated jet lag, but knowing that I would get to see my friends made it worth it. When I first started going to St. Vladimir's in kindergarten, I quickly made friends with all of them.
Eddie Castile was one of my closest guy friends. He had sandy-blonde hair and hazel eyes and was one of the sweetest guys I have ever met. We spent a lot of time working out together and he was like another brother to me. Mason Ashford was another one of my best friends. He had red hair with deep blue eyes and joined me in a lot of the pranks that I did. I wouldn't say that Christian Ozera was one of my best friends, but he was dating Lissa so I guess I had to accept him. We were always being sarcastic with each other and making fun of the other. Sydney was another one of our really good friends. She has blonde hair with almost gold looking eyes; she was an amazing and loyal friend to us since she started attending St. Vladimir's in 9th grade.
Lissa and I had just finished getting ready when we headed downstairs. We took a tour of the house last night and I thought at one point that I would get lost. Oksana was in the kitchen ready to make some food.
"Oh good, you're up Miss. Rose, Miss. Lissa." She said when she saw me. "I already made your father some breakfast and the rest are still sleeping. What would you like for breakfast?" Boy, was she in for a treat when she will realize my endless stomach.
"Could I have some eggs, bacon, and toast?" She just nodded her head and turned to Lissa. "I'll just have a yogurt and fruit please." Oksana nodded her head and went right to work. She quickly had orange juice and water in front of us as she started the eggs and bacon. While those were going she got a bowl of yogurt and pulled out bowls of fresh fruit. She handed those to Lissa as she put my food in front of me. Luckily she made enough food for 3 more people, thinking that Adrian, Logan, and Chloe would join us. Boy her eyes went wide when I ate all of their food as well.
"Oksana, just to warn you," Lissa said with a small giggle. "This girl has an endless stomach. She will eat the same amount as two boys put together." I just rolled my eyes but nodded in agreement.
"I'll know for next time Miss. Rose." She said with a laugh. "Is there anything else that I can get for you two?"
"No thank you Oksana." I said with a smile. "Do you know where Abe is at?"
"He went to his office Miss. Rose." I thanked her again before heading towards that way. When I reached there, I opened the doors and saw him standing in front of the large windows overlooking the water while talking on the phone. He turned around when he saw us standing there and motioned that he would be a minute.
Lissa and I saw down in the leather seats that were in front of his desk. After a few minutes, Abe hung up the phone and sat down at his desk.
"What can I do for you kiz?" He asked me leaning back in his chair.
"Lissa and I were going to meet up with some friends. Is there a way we could borrow the car?" I didn't know if we owned a car here or if we were renting a car.
"I actually bought you a car for you to have." I started to shake my head. Growing up, I couldn't even dream of living in a house like this or even living like this. I was raised dirt poor. This is just getting too much. "Kiz, before you say anything let me say this. I have spent way too many years away from you. This is me making up for all the birthdays and Christmases that I didn't get to spend with you." Then he opened a drawer and held out some keys. "Here, at least take a look at your new car." I agreed and stood up and followed him through the halls to the garage.
There were several cars in there that I expected he bought for us. But one caught my eye. It was the only red car in there, and I loved red. I couldn't help but fall in love with it.
I was so shocked when that was the car Abe led me to. It was a red Jaguar XF. I couldn't believe it. It was so beautiful, I almost wanted to cry.
"Old man," I started in shock. "This is too much." I could probably pay for my tuition with this car.
"I won't hear it." He said as he put the keys in my hands and walked away, giving me no room to object. "Now go have fun. But be careful."
Lissa started to squeal as she went and sat in the passenger seat. "Come on Rose." She yelled. "We're going to be late." I finally shook off the shock and slid into the driver's seat. Oh my glorious, this car was heaven. I never wanted to leave.
I started up the car and started to melt. Then I slowly backed out and started to drive. It was the best car ever. Of course I sped too much, but I couldn't help myself. It was of course raining outside so we decided we were going to meet everyone up at the mall. They of course didn't know I was coming.
When we parked at the mall, we defiantly got the attention of some guys when they saw my car. I just smiled and walked in with Lissa.
We were going to meet everyone up at the center of the mall where the large fountain was. When we got there, everyone had their back to us so it made it all the better.
"Hey guys." I said like it was no big deal.
"Hey Rose," They all said then they took a double take making me laugh. "Rose!" They yelled as they all tackled me all to the ground. People were giving us weird looks but I didn't care. I missed my friends.
"Guys-can't-breath" I choked out and they all slowly got off of me.
"What are you doing here?" Sydney asked.
"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be in Turkey?" Eddie asked as Mason put his arm around my neck and hugged me.
I just laughed at all of them. "Yeah about that," I started. "The old man wanted to move here. So we did." I tried to make it seem like it was not big deal at all.
"Are you kidding me?" Mason asked in shock. "Just like that?"
"Yeah," I said as we started to walk around the mall. "He said last week we were moving and yesterday we just arrived."
Christian was holding hands with Lissa as they walked on the other side of me. "So how did Lissa know?"
"I told her once I knew and then she met me at the airport yesterday and slept over." We laughed for several hours and we did a lot of shopping. I think we might have filled up half of my new closet. Good thing Abe had an endless credit card. "So, Abe has this huge pool at the house. Do you guys want to come over tomorrow and help me break it in?" Once they all agreed, I gave them my address and they all left.
I put all of my bags into my car and drove to downtown San Francisco. There were a few places that I wanted to stop at before I headed home. I went to a few boutiques and got some new swimsuits and summer clothes. Then I went and got the new iPhone since I broke mine the other day. When I was walking back to my car, I smelled the most amazing smell. Chocolate donuts. That were fresh.
I turned the corner and saw a coffee shop and bakery. I walked in and saw that it was one of those cute little shops that I knew I would go to a lot. It wasn't too busy, so I was able to walk right up to the counter. "Can I have a skinny vanilla late, 2 chocolate donuts and 2 powder donuts please?" The skinny blonde girl looked at me in shock, but got my donuts non-the less.
I was eating one of the donuts while I was waiting for my coffee to be made. "Skinny vanilla late," I walked over to get my coffee and a really cute guy handed to me. So I gave him one of my big man-eater smiles and wink leaving him shocked. I gave a little laugh before turning around and leaving the bakery.
Turning the corner, I took a large bite of my donut, and then smacked right into what felt like a brick wall. I landed on the ground, my donuts flying everywhere, and thankfully my coffee missed me. It felt like it would in a movie.
"Son of a bitch!" I exclaimed looking at my poor donuts.
"I am so sorry," Said a deep voice. "Here," The person stuck out his hand to help me up which I took. Once I stood up, I was about to go off on the guy who not only embarrassed me in front of an entire city, but also made me waste my donuts. But when I looked up into those breathtaking brown eyes, I lost my entire train of thought. "I really am so sorry." He said as he checked to make sure I was all right. "I should have seen where I was going. Are you all right?"
It took me a moment to realize he asked me a question. I snapped out of it before answering him, "Yeah, it's fine. Thanks." I was about to just turn around and leave when he grabbed my arm.
"At least let me buy you a new coffee and donuts." He said in a sincere voice. That was when I was able to take a good look at him. He looked like he was young and tall, really tall, probably around 6'7. His chin length brown hair was tied back at the nape of his neck and had slight stubble. He was gorgeous, almost God-like; he was very lean and muscular and was wearing what looked like a very expensive business suit.
"Okay," Was all I could say, turning around heading towards the coffee shop.
"What's your name?" He asked me as he opened the door for me.
"Rose Hathaway." I said to him, not trusting myself to say anything else. "What about you?"
"I'm Dimitri." He said with a small smile. "Dimitri Belikov."
Hi everyone! I hope you like my new story! Tell me what you think! Please review!