Chapter 2

"Rose," My mother raised both her arms in what seemed like a calming gesture; like I was a rabid animal that she was about to sedate. She had on a somewhat amused expression.

I relaxed. "Hey Mom," I tried to sound casual but I sounded like the dead talking and it surprised even me. I saw her stiffen for a moment. I hope she would not take it personally as it had nothing to do with her. I was just not in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment.

Expecting her to give me one big speech that spelled sermon just like any of the school authorities would have, I was totally caught off guard with what she said next.

"Rose, are you alright? You look li-" Genuine concern etched on her face.

"Like hell, I know." I interrupted, sighing. She might have been absent for a long time but we have been getting closer since the time she had been there for me after the Spokane incident, after Mason. And, ever since yesterday, when she let her guard down and allowed herself to cry while she told me how worried sick she was when I went to Russia, I realized that although she had a weird way of showing it, she was concerned.

She shifted, seeming to be calculating on something. "Would you like to go to my room?" She asked after about five seconds of silence.

I nodded without really thinking and with that she turned, Janine Hathaway style, towards the direction of her bedroom. We walked side by side in silence. I felt her glance at me once in a while as if making sure I was still there, beside her.

After a few minutes, we sat on her bed facing each other in silence. "Rose," She broke the silence, once again, sounding unsure of her self. Strigoi are no problem for Janine Hathaway for she is so "badass" and yet facing Rosemarie Hathaway, her own freaking dhampir daughter, was all it would take to shatter her "Badass" composure.

"I just had a nightmare and I figured that going out of my room would be nice." I said, saving her from her unpleasant state.

"Oh,"

"Yeah," With that, we lapsed in silence again. I really eyed her room for the first time. It was one of the guest rooms of the academy and it resembled Adrian's room but it was smaller. Beside the door was a coat hanger, which was empty at the moment. On the other side of the door was a long side table and sitting on top of it was what I assumed to be my mother's black traveling bag since it has one of her plain tees poking out of the zipper. Aside from those, she did not really have things around the room. My mother had little personal effect on the room since she did not really live here.

In my peripheral, I saw something that caught my attention. My mother must have noticed for she picked up the necklace that resembled the one she gave me last Christmas and handed it to me. I looked at the nazar, instead of blue, I found brown. I did not know it came in different colors. I wondered if this was from my dad also.

"Ibrahim gave it to me when I told him I gave you mine." She answered my unspoken question. I felt a smile find its way to my lips as I examined it.

It looked really familiar. Looking up, I saw my mother smiling at nothing in particular for the second time in my life. The first one was yesterday, when she eyed my father's scarf around my neck. She did not seem to notice me, her glance was so far away, a love struck grin on her face again. Then it clicked. The eye on the Nazar looked exactly like her eyes.

My smile involuntarily grew into a wry grin matched with a smirk. My dad, probably had the nazar custom made or maybe he made it himself. The thought of my mobster dad making a nazar for his… I don't know, girlfriend, wife or whatever my mother was to him made me let out a chuckle. Maybe their relationship really was more than just a fling. Some part of me, the normal daughter part, hoped that my mom really did not go all Darwin and found my dad to give the best specimen she could find for the Guardians. She looked at me quizzically.

"Thanks mom." I grinned, making her more clueless than she already was two seconds ago. I realized she could distract me from my horrid thoughts without even trying,

I just shrugged. She frowned. Janine was not the type of woman who appreciated being left behind the shadows. "You still owe me a lot of explaining, Rosemarie." She said all of a sudden. Oh no. I knew she was about to launch in a lot of questions about my trip to Russia… oh god, Dimitri.

"Rose," Her eyes shown with worry. I felt my eyes sting again and I started to cry. The time I stabbed Dimitri before he got to say he would always love me and the look on his face as he fell off the bridge replayed in my head. I felt a pair of arms envelop me and I sobbed into my mother's chest.