Rose's Point of View.
I slept well considering the fact that I couldn't stop playing Dimitri's words over and over in my head. I packed the rest of my things after he left last night, and then went straight to bed. He'd said we need to 'keep a reasonable distance' does that mean he's going to be in his mentor mode for the next couple of months? Surely not. I made a joke about it when he spoke to me, but in all seriousness, how would we be able to stay away from each other for that long?
I had only just gotten dressed when there was a light knock on my dorm room door, I was dressed in black ripped jeans with a nicely fitted top, and I'll put a zip up hoodie over the top before I leave. I wasn't expecting Lissa for another couple of hours. I was actually quite surprised to see my mother standing there awkwardly.
I just kind of stood there staring at her until she got fed up and asked if she could come in, I nodded and stepped out of the way so she could enter my small room. Janine Hathaway was dressed in her typical Guardians attire, with her short auburn hair tied into a neat ponytail. Calling her my mum had never really felt right; don't you have to act like a mother to be called one?
'All packed I see.' She said, gesturing to my zipped up suitcase. She was making awkward conversation, I really wished she wouldn't.
'We both know you didn't just come here to see if I've finished packing, so could you get to the point, please?' I didn't exactly want to sound rude, but it made me anxious to see her scrutinising everything in my room.
She put the photograph of Lissa and I when we were 6 years old at a fancy dress party down, and looked at me for the first time since she'd entered my room. 'I came to say goodbye really. And to just make sure you look after yourself while you're away. I'll try and text you when I can and see how you're getting on. But please Rose, try not to make Guardian Belikov's life too difficult, he's doing a very nice thing by letting you go with him, don't make him regret it.'
How dare she? She doesn't even know me and she just assumes I'm going to make Dimitri's life hell. And she's never cared about if I look after myself until now. 'Believe me, mum, I know he's doing a nice thing, I have a lot of respect for Guardian Belikov, he trains me practically all day every day, we'll be fine.' I'll admit I am an asshole a lot of the time, but I do know how to suck up to people when I have to, and right now, I was sucking up to my mum. The less she 'worries' about me, the better, she doesn't need any distractions right now, and quite frankly neither do I.
I don't think she was expecting me to agree with her. 'Thank you Rose, I am proud of you, you know.' That stopped my train of thought; I didn't know she was proud of me, why would she be? She could clearly see the doubt on my face; she placed her arm on my shoulder. 'Don't look so surprised, Rosemarie. You've come a long way since they dragged you back here.'
I smiled at her then. 'Thanks Mum.'
She made her way towards my door and opened it; she stood there awkwardly for a moment before she pulled me into a swift hug. I hugged her back for just a moment before she pulled away and left. Janine Hathaway never wasted time.
Time passed quickly after that, I was more worried than I thought to go to Russia with Dimitri. What if his family don't like me? What if he gets tired of being around me for so long?
I was pulled out of my whirlpool of thoughts when there was a knock at the door, I could tell from the bond that it was Lissa, and she wasn't alone. I opened the door to see Lissa, Christian, Eddie and none other than Natasha Ozera, great. My last few minutes with Lissa would be spent with Tasha too.
Although Tasha and I are technically friends, she's been pining over Dimitri ever since she got here, and she knows I'm the reason he's turned her down, and she just loves to show me that she holds the power over me when it comes to Dimitri. She can hug him in public, she can flirt with him in public, and no matter how much he brushes her attempts off, she doesn't quit.
Lissa pulled me into a hug when I opened the door, I gratefully returned the gesture, I really would miss her.
Christian and Eddie both took one of my bags each; I didn't even have to ask. Lissa and I walked a little behind the others, I just wanted to be close to her for a moment before I had to leave, and I was also worried about leaving her. I'd been there to protect her since I could remember.
We reached the front gate of the Academy all too soon, when we arrived, we found Dimitri waiting beside a sleek black SUV car, with the Guardian who will be driving us to the airport, who just so happened to be Stan Alto, great.
As soon as Dimitri was in sight, Tasha ran up to him and practically threw herself at him. He awkwardly put his arms around her, I looked away.
Eddie and Christian had just finished putting my bags in the car, now was time for the dreaded goodbyes. I hugged Eddie first. 'I'll miss you so much Eddie, promise me you'll try and have a nice time with your brother.' Eddie had been like a brother to me since we had first joined the Academy.
'You too Rose, hope the Russian jailer isn't too hard on you.' I laughed and he released me from the bear hug.
Christian approached me next and to my utter surprise, he also pulled me into a hug. 'Look after yourself Rosie, you deserve a break.'
I returned the gesture. 'Promise you'll look after her for me Christian, or I'll kick your ass.' He laughed and faked fear as he pulled away, but I knew he would look after her, and thanks to the bond I'd know if he didn't.
Before I could take a breath, Lissa had thrown herself into my arms and gave me a bone crushing hug, which I returned without a second thought. 'I'll miss you so much Rose, it's going to be so weird not having you around.' I knew she had started to cry, I swallowed the lump in my throat.
'I'll miss you too, Liss.' I pulled back slightly to look her in the eye. 'If there is anything you need at all, tell me, or don't and I'll know anyway, and I promise you I will be on the first flight back no matter how hard Dimitri tries to stop me.' I heard Dimitri's light chuckle at that and felt a sense of satisfaction roll over me.
I slowly released Lissa from my embrace. 'Love you, Liss.' She wiped her eyes quickly, and then smiled. 'Love you too, Rose.'
After watching Tasha hug Dimitri again, and giving her a brief goodbye myself, we took our seats in the SUV. Dimitri was sitting in the passenger seat next to Stan, leaving me to sit in the back on my own.
As we were driving away, I looked out the back window to see Lissa waving with Christians arm wrapped protectively around her, I'm glad she has him. I cleared my throat once again, and discreetly wiped my eyes. Dimitri turned to look at me then. 'They'll be ok, you know.' I appreciated his effort to reassure me; he always seemed to know what I was thinking about.
'I know, they're like my family though, it'll be weird not being there to look out for them, especially Liss.' He nodded in understanding.
The drive to the airport took about an hour. I didn't talk much during the journey, I spent most of the time in Lissa's head, she was getting ready to leave for Court, but she missed me too. I spent the rest of the journey admiring the back of Dimitri's head while he made small talk with Stan.
When we arrived at the airport, Stan helped us take our bags out of the boot of the car. Despite our hate-hate relationship, Stan patted my shoulder in a friendly gesture and said. 'Look after yourself, Hathaway.'
'Thanks, Sta- Guardian Alto, you too.' He nodded at that and shook Dimitri's hand. And before I knew it I was being led through the bustling crowds of Missoula airport.
There we have Chapter 3! I really hope you enjoyed it, thanks again for all your support, I appreciate it so much! I wasn't quite sure how to portray Rose's feelings about her mum, she's normally quite angry at her but I kind of wanted to show how much she's actually matured through the books, and how selfless she actually is. Thanks again for all your support, I really hope you enjoyed the chapter, once again please feel free to give me any suggestions that you think might help me improve! I was also going to hold off posting this chapter until tomorrow, but I love writing so much and love reading your reviews that I couldn't wait!
