Chapter 4
First Impressions
DPOV
"Are you all packed Dimka?" I turned to see Viktoria standing in the door way.
"Yes… Do you know if the car is here yet?" I asked her looking at her carefully. After I came back from my meeting with Mikhail and Abe, I let everyone know about my new "job".
"Just be careful Dimka…"
"Vicky—"
"Listen… we all saw you go through hell when Ivanna died and we don't want to see you hurt again. Mamma was hurting just by seeing you almost destroy your life…" Viktoria said with tears welling up in her eyes. I pulled her into my arms, planting a soft kiss on her head.
"Thank you Vicky, for everything. Besides, it's not goodbye, from what I've been told I'll be able to come back for the holidays." I said remembering Mikhail telling me that Mazur's daughter always ended up going with her aunt anyway. She gave me a nod as she pulled apart. We headed downstairs and everyone stood by the door.
"You really were the most stubborn…" my sister Sonya said as she came to hug me goodbye.
"I'll miss you too Sonya…" I said giving her a kiss on her forehead.
"You better write Dimka!" Karolina screamed out before giving me a soft punch on the arm.
"I'll do you one better, I'll call, every night… And make sure you take care of my niece as well…" I said letting out a laugh and gently holding her stomach, making her glare at me playfully. She was expecting soon, when I heard that she was once again pregnant I almost went to find and kill the coward who had gotten her pregnant and leaving her, but she stopped me telling me that him leaving was a decision on both their parts.
"Take care of yourself son… Let us know as soon as you get there…" my mother said before pulling me into her arms. I felt my body go limp for a moment, taking in everyone's embrace.
"I will mamma…" I said as I pulled apart. She gave me a soft smile. I turned to Yeva.
"You should allow your heart to heal Dimka… embrace whatever opportunities are offered to you…" I could feel my mouth slightly drop, as always she knew how to make one's mouth drop. She just gave me a knowing stare, but I could see a hint of a smile on her face. By now I knew not to question Yeva, she was known to have revelations while she slept, and I wasn't one to question her.
"I will babushka…" I said still somewhat confused.
"What about me!" I heard behind me. I turned to see Paul coming down the stairs with bed hair and a blanket in his arms. Paul is Karolina's son, my nephew.
"Uncle Dimka you were leaving without saying bye to me?" Paul started pouting.
"How could I forget my favorite nephew!" I said as I ran and threw him up in the air to catch him once more.
"I'm your only nephew uncle Dimka!" he screamed happily. I hugged him in my arms and I could feel his little arms wrap around my neck.
"Paul?" I whispered softly trying to get his attention. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes.
"I don't want you to go uncle Dimka!" he screamed out.
"Paul!" Karolina was about to chastise him.
"I need you to do something super important for me Paul, do you think you can handle this task?" I said in my serious voice. I could see his eyes widen in interest.
"I'm going away for a while, so I am going to need you to be the man of the house." I said trying to emphasize the man part, his eyes and smile widening.
"Do you think you can do that for me Paul?" I asked still serious.
"Yes sir uncle Dimka!" he screamed out happily.
"I know you are the best man for the job Paul…" he smiled even wider. I turned to see everyone else. Karolina took Paul from my arms once we heard a car pull up. We all walked out and noticed it was a black limousine parked in front. The driver was about to take my suitcase when I pulled away and told him it was okay. He gave me a curt nod and walked back to the driver's seat probably knowing I wasn't going to let him open the door for me either. I put my suitcase in the trunk and walked towards the door of the limousine. I looked back to see my family one last time. It was a perfect moment, Karolina and her round belly holding Paul in her arms, Vicky standing next to her with Mamma, Yeva, and Sonya.
I got into the car and brought the window down waving goodbye to them as we drove off. As we made our way to where Mikhail was waiting for me I thought about everything that's happened. After Ivanna died I'd lost a part of myself, I'd been young and idiotically in love. Her death only brought sorrow to my family. I brought sorrow to my family. Now we were all happy, not as happy as we were before she ever showed up in my life, but still happy, though now I am leaving once more.
We arrived at a type of warehouse, but I could see a runway leading out. I opened the door before the driver came and did it for me.
"Dimitri!" I heard Mikhail's voice behind me. He was wearing all black and was even wearing black sunglasses.
"Mikhail." I said voice firm as we shook hands.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked me taking his glasses off.
"Uh yeah, I just need to—" I turned to get my suitcase but saw the driver taking it with him towards the warehouse. Mikhail let out a laugh.
"Nothing changes does it?" he asked me with a small smile. I returned the smile.
"So what are we doing in the middle of nowhere?" I asked almost curiously. There was a forest surrounding the warehouse, but not close enough to hide from anything or anyone.
"If you'll just follow me, I'll show you why we are in the middle of nowhere…" he said with a small chuckle. I followed him towards where the driver went through. I should say that I should have been surprised when I saw a midnight blue private jet parked inside the warehouse, but seeing the runway and knowing who I was working for now, I wasn't surprised at all. Damn rich people.
"Whenever you're ready sir…" I turned to see Mikhail nod to whom I believe is the pilot.
"After you…" he signaled me with his arm. I walked up the steps and was awestruck as I walked in to see the private jet's interior. Even working for Ivanna's family, I had never been inside a private jet before, but I guess those are the perks when you're as rich as the Mazur's. The seats were khaki colored leather, there were small curtains draped over the windows. There were two doors on both sides of the plane. I guess this is how first class lives.
"We are ready when you are sir…" I turned to see the pilot standing in front one of the doors.
"Perfect… then we are ready…" Mikhail said with a small nod. The pilot turned and closed the door behind him. I turned to look at Mikhail giving me a curious look.
"I take it you have never been in a private plane Dimka?" he asked me curiously.
"No I haven't…" I said turning back around.
"I always figured that with the relationship between you and Ivanna, that you'd been on trips with her all the time—"
"No, we never took trips together." I said firmly trying to get him to drop the subject and he did.
"Okay gentlemen, if you may please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts, we are about to lift-off, I will come back on to let you know when it is safe to unbuckle…" I heard over the intercom.
"What? No stewardess?" I asked turning to look at Mikhail with a humorous tone. He turned back and laughed.
"No… she's on vacation…" he said as he clicked his seatbelt still laughing.
"Of course… how silly of me…" I said with a smile also clicking my seatbelt. I looked out of the window to see we were moving. We lifted off the ground and I could see the forest underneath become nothing but a green blanket. A couple minutes after take-off the pilot said it was okay to move around. I unbuckled my seat belt and turned to see Mikhail already standing.
"So you've seen up here, let me show you the rest of the plane." He said walking towards the back.
"Rest?" I asked incredulously. I followed Mikhail to through the back door. My eyes must've popped out because Mikhail was chuckling at my reaction.
"I thought this just led to a restroom…" I said astounded at the sight in front of me. There was a mini-bar at the far left hand corner, a flat screen on the wall across from there with a blood red couch in the middle.
"I didn't know Abe Mazur or his daughter were entertained by video-games…" I said noticing the game systems under the television.
"Well they aren't…" he said almost hesitantly.
"Figures… the rich always have to have everything…" I said annoyed. I heard Mikhail take a deep breath.
"It was a gift… from Rose… she thought I'd be bored whenever I had to be on a trip by myself, it took her father some convincing, but Alberta seemed to have soften him up…"
"Alberta? I thought her mother was dead…" I said questioningly.
"She is… Alberta is Rose's aunt, Abe Mazur's sister…" he said softly.
"And you are on a first name basis with her?" I asked incredulously, but if I wasn't mistaken, I could see a longing look in his eyes.
"She's become a very close friend…" he said coming back to the present. I smiled inwardly.
"Why did Mazur need convincing?" I asked.
"Well this is his plane…" he said opening the curtain of a small window by the mini-bar.
"And Ms. Mazur didn't want toys in her own plane?" I asked with roll of my eyes.
"She didn't want her own plane…" Mikhail said sternly. I looked up to see him looking out of the window tense. How could someone not want their own plane? I asked myself not wanting to upset Mikhail.
"Listen Dimitri… even though I asked you to do this as a favor, I don't want you to have a closed mind on this. Rose is… Rose is a special girl… well not even a girl anymore; she's become a woman now." He turned to look at me, his eyes displaying a proud gleam.
"Just get to know her Dimitri…" he said as he walked around the couch.
"Come on, there's more to look at…" he said as he opened another door.
"More?" I asked incredulously. I walked through the door and saw a king-sized bed with comforters the color of the couch in the other room.
"This is the bedroom… Rose usually just sleeps on the couch in the other room or stays up front where we were just seated. This is the only bathroom here though…" he said signaling towards a door to the left. I was actually expecting a huge bathtub and golden toilet, but it was a regular restroom like in any home, it still had a shower but not as luxurious as I expected.
We walked back to the front and sat quietly until I heard Mikhail begin to snore, I reached into my pocket and took out a book I had just begun reading. I always loved western novels, the knowledge of being free to go wherever, and whenever you wanted.
I was almost done with the book when Mikhail stirred and awoke. "Still reading those books huh Dimitri?" he said straightening up his seat.
"Uh-huh…" I said trying to finish the last couple of sentences. I heard Mikhail let out a laugh when I finished and turned to look at him.
"This is about a twelve hour flight, do you not want to rest?" he asked me incredulously.
"How about you go ahead and sleep the rest of the flight? By the time you wake up I'm sure we'd have already arrived." He said fixing his jacket. I let out a laugh.
"I guess I could use some rest…" I said closing my now finished book. I rubbed my eyes and felt them go heavy as I closed them and fell into a peaceful sleep.
"—Dimitri, we're almost there…" I heard Mikhail say. I opened my eyes and saw Mikhail already showered and changed into a new set of black clothing.
"You can go ahead and take a shower before we arrive if you'd like…" he said drinking from a bottle of water. I nodded and grabbed some clothes, a towel, and some toiletries from my suitcase. I walked into the bathroom and took a warm shower.
When I finished I changed into a set of black clothes, I can only imagine mamma chastising me, "Dimka you are not attending a funeral! Put some color on for goodness sake!" I smiled to myself thinking of them.
"Gentlemen, we have arrived, if you may please be seated and put your seatbelts on, we are about to land." The pilot said over the intercom. I saw Mikhail already putting his seatbelt on when I sat down. Once we landed I saw we were at a more public location than when we were in Russia.
"We're taking a car up to the school and picking her up there…" Mikhail said holding a red gift bag in his hand, probably a gift for Ms. Mazur. I was surprised to see that there was no limousine waiting for us.
"No limousine?" I asked speaking my mind. He gave me a small smile.
"She prefers SUV's…" he said almost playfully. We drove for about another hour when we pulled into what I'm guessing was the school, though the architecture of the place was more of a castle, but then again it was a private school for rich kids. There were parents already heading towards a building next to a garden.
"Dimitri Belikov!" I heard a woman's voice behind me. I felt a smile tug on my lips.
"Natasha Ozera!" I replied as she walked, well more like ran towards me. She jumped into my arms making me grunt. She pulled apart and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"What is the great Dimitri Belikov doing in this part of the world?!" she asked with surprise in her voice. Before I was able to answer I heard Mikhail behind me.
"I'll meet you inside…" he said with a small nod.
"Hey Mikhail it's nice to see you again! I'm guessing you're here for Rose?" she said with a huge smile on her face.
"It's nice to see you again Ms. Ozera… and yes, I came for her graduation…" he said politely.
"It's Tasha, Mikhail! And wait, you two know each other?!" Tasha asked fully surprised now pointing to Mikhail and me, Mikhail looked towards me.
"Yes… we work together now… How do you two know each other?" I asked curiously after the whole Ms. Ozera.
"Well my nephew is dating Rose's best friend Lissa… so I usually see Mikhail when I see Rose and Lissa." Tasha said with her smile illuminating her whole face.
"Well if you'll excuse me… I am going to go look for Rose…" Mikhail said before walking away.
"Small world huh?! But you still haven't answered me Dimitri, what are you doing here in the states?!" she asked again even though I told her I was working with Mikhail now.
"I am working as Rose's new body guard… We just arrived today…" I said noticing her smile falter.
"I thought you weren't body guarding anymore… especially after the whole Ivanna thing…" she said narrowing her eyes in confusion.
"I wasn't… but I am doing this as a favor…" I said wishing I could take it back. I didn't want anyone to know that I was working just as a favor to a friend.
"Well that's good… it means I might actually get to see you more." She said her smile coming back.
"I guess so…" I said with a small smile.
"Well we better get going, the ceremony should be starting soon…" I followed alongside Tasha. The last time we had spoken was after the accident with the rest of her family. I had gone to see her and she was pretty shaken up. Tasha was actually my first girlfriend when we were about thirteen, she was, or still is rich compared to the girls that were in our school. She attended public school with me and we became friends. I broke up with her after a while, I could never feel more than friendship for her, but she claimed that I was her first love. When she found out about Ivanna and I she wasn't too happy, but she always tried to remain at peace around me.
Tasha and I split ways once we entered the auditorium, it was beautifully decorated, I could only imagine how much went into all of this. I spotted Mikhail sitting around the middle. I walked towards him and took the seat beside him.
"Hey… I didn't know you knew Natasha Ozera…" he said curiously.
"Yeah, we know each other since we were kids…" I said honestly.
"I take there was more than just friendship?" he asked staring straight ahead.
"You always could read people…" I said with a smile, he let out a chuckle. Soon there was a woman probably near her fifties come to the podium and welcomed everyone. The ceremony commenced as the students entered. The male students wore maroon colored gowns, the female students wore white. When the first student spoke Mikhail leaned towards me.
"That's Vasilisa Dragomir, but she prefers to be called Lissa… she's Rose's best friend and Christian Ozera's girlfriend." He said softly. I turned back to look at her, her jade green eyes shone brightly under the spotlight, her hair a pale blond. Her speech was actually pretty good, though when she spoke she usually directed her attention on two spots. When the next girl came to speak she had an over-confident look to her, definitely a spoiled rich girl.
"That's Avery Lazar… her father's Eugene Lazar, for some reason she's got it out for Rose…" he said narrowing his eyes in thought.
"Probably because Mazur is richer than her father, everyone knows that Lazar used to be top gun until Abe Mazur appeared…" I said practically annoyed. It's amazing how some people are so rich, yet they want to still be richer than others. Mikhail just let out a chuckle which sounded like an agreement. The previous girl, Lissa, she a had a more, humble, I guess you can say, look to her. This one dripped of self-importance. When she was ending her speech she gave a smile, I've been around enough self-absorbed rich girls to know when a smile is faked or not, and this one was definitely fake. Before she turned to go back to her seat she rolled her eyes. I doubt that anyone caught that, but being the observer that I am I did, and I take it Mikhail also did since he let out a humph.
The director finally came back and announced some of the students' names to come up. I recognized some of the names but others flew over my head. When Christian Ozera was called I noticed he had the same black hair and ice blue eyes as Tasha and the rest of the Ozera's. I could hear Tasha screaming his name from the other side of the auditorium. The names continued and the name of the girl I was to guard was called out.
She walked up the stage, Mikhail instantly stood up and called out her name, I didn't know what to do so I just stood. When she turned to see where we were I noticed her eyes, the spotlight making them noticeable, both her eyes and long hair a dark brown color. Her eyes met mine and gave me a curious look, I just looked away trying to look as annoyed as ever, I didn't want my charge to get the idea that I was checking her out, her head was probably inflated enough. When I turned to look back at her I noticed she was looking at Mikhail, her eyes were visibly tearing up but let she let out a breath taking smile. When she was walking off the stage I noticed that apparently I wasn't the only one who found her somewhat attractive.
The one person I would probably not forget was the Jesse Zeklos kid, he was the only one that threw his fists in the air. I also noticed him winking towards someone in the audience but didn't pay much attention to it. The director announced the end of the ceremony as the students moved their tassels and were considered graduates now.
"I have to go get the gift, I left it in the car…" Mikhail said getting up.
"I'll come with you…" I said not wanting to stay any longer than I had to. I followed him out and grew more annoyed as the parents crowded around the main entrance not allowing anyone through. It took us about twenty minutes to just get out of the school, now we had to make our way across the parking lot, and we didn't exactly park near the entrance. We made our way through the parking lot and arrived at the SUV.
Mikhail took out the small red gift bag out, "What is it?" I asked curiously.
"Did you ever hear the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'?" he said as he gave me a chuckle, I narrowed my eyes at him.
"It's a joke Dimitri…" he reached into the bag and brought out a small velvet box.
"Jewelry?" I asked incredulous.
"Before you say anything like, 'doesn't she have enough' be quiet and look…" he said shutting me up. He opened the small box, there was a ring in it, not anything fancy but still beautiful.
"Let's go look for her…" he said with a huge smile on his face. We walked all through the parking lot once again. Mikhail and I made our way into the gymnasium where the party was going to be held, we split up but still couldn't find her. Mikhail called me, "Let's go check outside…" he said as he led me towards a garden, I could hear screaming.
When we walked closer there was a female voice, "Yes my father's not here, but my servants like you so well put it came to see me graduate. I've known more love than you'll ever know…" I heard her scream out, Mikhail ran that second and I chased after him.
"You bitch!" the girl that gave her speech last screamed out as she smacked the girl across from her. The other girl had her back turned to us, but she didn't back down, instead of returning the smack she punched Avery, I believe her name was, making her land flat on the floor.
"You're a fucking salvage!" she screamed out at the girl, but before the other girl could go after her I quickly restrained her. I noticed Mikhail went to Avery to try and steady her but she couldn't keep her mouth shut.
"But I guess being raised by servants does that to you." She said with a smirk as Mikhail took her away.
The girl I was holding was definitely putting up a fight, "Fuck you Avery!" she screamed out hysterically. If she kept fighting me this way I don't think I'd be able to restrain her anymore.
"Easy there…" I said trying to get her to calm down.
"I'm going to let you go now…" I said as I softened my grip on her, she instantly turned to look at me. It was her, it's Rose Mazur. I could tell she also recognized me, her eyes were full of emotion, there was anger, but mostly there was hurt. I could see her eyes start to tear up, as soon as a tear escaped she ran. I couldn't control my legs, I ran after her.
"Rose!" I screamed out. "Rose wait!" I yelled out once more. I don't know what it was that was making me run to her. It was probably the fact that she's my charge, but there was something else. I had never seen such hurt. I stopped running, maybe she just needed to be alone.
"You're a fucking salvage! But I guess being raised by servants does that to you." Avery's words kept replaying in my mind as I tried to find Mikhail and that sad excuse of a girl. I knew that rich people could be arrogant to others, but not like this. Who am I kidding, it's not like she can't defend herself anyway.
"Dimitri!" I heard Mikhail's voice behind me. I walked towards me, his eyes looked tired.
"What happened?" I asked noticing his distraught face.
"She was laughing the whole time saying that we should have let Rose go, that she would have just proved her point some more about being raised by servants." He said running a hand over his face and through his hair.
"Where is she now?" I asked.
"I don't know, she probably left to go back to the party…" he said starting to look calmer.
"Where's Rose?" he asked concerned.
"She ran for it…" was all I managed to say, he gave me a small nod.
"I'll go bring the car around… she's in dorm 36A…" he said as he took off. Great, where the hell am I going to find out where dorm 36A is. I walked back towards the garden trying to see if by any chance I'd see some student. Even better, the director was talking with some parents. I walked up to her waiting for her to finish. Once she noticed me she politely let the parents know she had to go take care of some business.
"May I help you?" she asked me curiously.
"Yes, I am wondering where dorm room 36A is?" she looked at me with narrowed curiosity.
"You are here for Ms. Mazur?" she asked me carefully.
"Yes… I am here to pick her up…" I said growing somewhat annoyed.
"Oh yes… well you can just go past the auditorium, the first building to your right is building A, her room is on the third level…" she said pointing me towards the auditorium.
"Thank you…" I said as I started to walk away but didn't get too far.
"By any chance did her father come?" I heard behind me, I turned to see her eyes emotionless.
"He wasn't able to make it…" I said as she rolled her eyes.
"Of course not…" she said walking away.
Okay then, I thought as I made my way towards the building, I was amazed to see the lounge and the spiral staircase, I ran up to the third floor, whether they had elevators or not was beyond me. I picked a hallway and luckily it started at 30. I made my way down the hall when I started hearing sounds coming from her dorm. I instantly kicked the door open unsure of what I was to see, but I discovered a half naked Rose and the same guy that threw his fists in the air was now standing as mad as ever.
"Who the fuck are you?!" he screamed out at me. The question annoyed me for some reason.
"I'm Dimitri Belikov… Ms. Mazur's bodyguard…" I said trying not to ask him the same question.
RPOV
"Dimitri is everything—" I instantly felt my heart drop when I saw Mikhail come in after Dimitri. He looked at me and then at Jesse, his face contorting disappointment. That pride that was on his face earlier at the graduation ceremony was gone now.
"Get out of here kid… Now" Mikhail said towards Jesse, his eyes narrowed. Jesse turned to look at me, his eyes showing a tinge of fear but he tried to hide it.
"I'll see you later Rose…" Jesse said trying to come near me again.
"Belikov get him out of here." He said sternly not taking his eyes away from Jesse. Dimitri instantly walked towards Jesse and jerked him by the shirt. Jesse tried to fight him off but Mikhail made his way to him.
"What's your name?" Mikhail asked almost in a whisper, but the way he said it for some reason sent chills up my spine.
"J-Jesse… Jesse Zeklos…" Jesse said starting to show his fear.
"Victor Dashkov's nephew?" Mikhail asked in recognition. Everyone knew that Jesse's parents had also died, maybe that was another reason why him and Christian got along. His custody went to his uncle, Victor Dashkov.
"Yes sir…" Jesse said his eyes widening knowing what was coming.
"We'll be giving your uncle a call later, Jesse…" Mikhail said with an intimidating voice as he nodded at Dimitri. Dimitri then effortlessly took Jesse out of the dorm. Dimitri soon came back in, there was almost a disapproving look in his eyes, but it changed, Mikhail was still not talking so it was silent and completely awkward. I noticed Dimitri start to notice me more.
"Dimitri give us a minute…" Mikhail said snapping Dimitri's attention back. I felt more calm, but somewhere deep within me, I felt somewhat annoyed that Mikhail called Dimitri away. Dimitri left quickly leaving my and Mikhail on our own again.
"Put your shirt on…" he said emotionless. I could feel my body grow cold even as I put on my shirt. A couple minutes pass and I could feel my hands start to shake. I had never done anything like this, especially to the point to where Mikhail witnesses it.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked me harshly. I could feel myself flinch. Mikhail had never been this harsh.
"What would make you want to put yourself into this kind of position?! You've just graduated and already you are acting—"
"—Acting like what?! A slut?! Go ahead and say it Mikhail!" I screamed out feeling anger surge through me.
"You know that's not what I meant." He said looking up at me, his eyes showing no trace of emotion.
"Then what did you mean?!" I said, my voice getting louder.
"What do you think your father would say if he was the one that caught you this way?!" he screamed out just as loud. I let out a scoff as I wiped away tears I didn't even know I had.
"He wouldn't say anything! If you haven't noticed my father hasn't shown his face on any of my graduations! Not even to come visit me during visitations! He'd probably just walk away like he always does!" I said feeling my body start to shake. I had never screamed like this to Mikhail, but it was as if he was throwing it at my face.
"You know he doesn't come because of…" he said trying to find the right word.
"Business?!" I said bitterly. "Please Mikhail! Don't feed me that bullshitted line! Whenever he's on business, it's because he's avoiding me! I don't even remember the last time he ever came to see me if he ever did!" I screamed as I grabbed the lamp from my nightstand and threw it against the wall. Instantly I felt Mikhail wrap his arms around me as I cried. His hold tightened around me. My father… my father never hugged me this way, he's never even smiled at me.
"Oh Rose…" I heard Mikhail sigh sadly. I could feel myself start to calm down.
"I'm sorry…" I said softly. Mikhail gently pulled away and wiped my tears off.
"I was going to stop… but then the Russian kicked the door down…" I said with a laugh mixed with a sob remembering when Dimitri walked in. Mikhail let out a laugh.
"Yeah… he's great at making grand entrances…" he said leading me to sit on the bed.
"I'm sorry Rose… I shouldn't have blown up at you like that…" he said looking down at his hands.
"Don't be… I actually think I needed that…" I said admitting more to myself than to him. I had never been yelled at, at least not in the fatherly way Mikhail did. He gave me a small smile.
"Remember I told you I had a gift for you?" he asked with a sincere smile.
"Mikhail you didn't have to…" I said before he put his hand up to stop me.
"I wanted to… and besides, Alberta coordinated us…" he said grabbing a red bag off the floor by the door, he'd actually dropped it when he came in.
"Alberta wanted to come, but you know she couldn't because of—"
"—I know… and it's okay, I know she would've if she could…" I said knowing that my Aunt would come, but she had to care for the center.
"Here…" he said pulling out a velvet box.
"Mikhail you know I don't like jewelry—"
"You need to work on just accepting… and besides, it's not anything fancy…" he said as he handed the box to me. I opened it and inside was ring.
"What is it?" I asked astounded but curious.
"It's called a nazar… in this case it's in the form of a ring… it is said that it protects you from the 'evil eye'." I looked at carefully.
"It looks like tiny little eyeballs…" I said with a smile. I looked up at Mikhail.
"Thank you… for everything Mikhail…" I said wrapping my arms around him.
"Anything for you…" he said gently pulling away.
"Now how about I properly introduce you to the Russian?" he asked with a playful smile. I felt my stomach go tight for a moment. What the hell was this Russian already doing to me? I just nodded, when Mikhail left the dorm I ran towards my mirror. Damn my make up was highly smudged. I tried to clean up as best I can. Why the hell should I even care what the Russian thought about me?! He looks like he's got a stick up his ass anyway. I thought to myself running back to my bed when I heard the doorknob move.
"He's not out there… he's probably already outside." Mikhail said as he reached for my suitcase. In a way I was relieved, "Do you think maybe I could get a minute to, you know…" I said signaling my face. He gave me a small smile.
"Sure thing…" he said as he walked out. I ran to the bathroom and started washing my face with cold water. I looked back up at the mirror and was finally conformed with the way I looked. I did a double take on everything making sure I had everything. I finally walked out and saw Mikhail was still standing there.
"Ready to go?" he asked me with a small smile.
"Yup." I said cheerfully. I couldn't stop looking at the ring, it was kind of weird because of all the eyes, but still cool. It had from blue to green to brown eye colors. Mikhail and I made our way outside.
"I parked the SUV by the garden…" he said remembering where he parked. We walked towards the garden and saw Dimitri standing next to the bench where Avery and I had confronted earlier. I took a deep breath trying to forget about her, I just stared at the ground where she had fallen, that was actually one of my best punches ever.
"I guess proper introductions are needed…" I heard Mikhail say, getting my attention. I looked up to see Dimitri watching me, his eyes didn't give away anything though.
"Dimitri Belikov, this is Rose Mazur…" Mikhail said signaling towards me.
"Ms. Mazur…" he said as he gave me a small nod. I scoffed and rolled my eyes earning a laugh from Mikhail, Dimitri however looked if not confused, insulted.
"No Miss… It's Rose…" I said extending my hand. He looked at me like he'd just seen Oprah pop out of the screen.
"Well then Rose… I'm Dimitri…" he said shaking my hand. I felt electricity shoot through me when I felt his touch, and I think he felt it too because he instantly pulled his hand away. I let out a laugh.
"I like Russian better…."