Safe And Sound
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You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life – Winston Churchill
Chapter Six
Friday September 7th 2012, 8:30 am, my flat.
Reasons as to why I feel so happy and excited today:
1) Mason made up with Lissa, Christian and Mia.
2) Mason spent the night at mine. Don't worry, just as friends.
3) I had my night out with the boys and Dimitri tonight.
Yes, I know I'm slightly pathetic and sad. Well, I guess I'm very pathetic and sat now that I read through that list again and realise that those three things are really the only things that are making me pleased right now.
"Come on, Rose" Mason called from the bathroom where he stood brushing his teeth with my toothbrush. I'd get him back for that later. "You're going to make us late for school."
"Since when have you ever been bothered about being late for school?" I asked with a bemused expression. He simply stared at me with a look that told me that I was right. Reluctantly, I slung my bag over my shoulder and followed Mason to his car. "I really need to start saving up for a car."
"Just ask your dad for one" Mason laughed as we drove out of my street. "I'm sure he's got enough money to spare you some."
"Hey, I don't need my dad to buy me a car" I said defensively. As soon as I finished with therapy, I wanted to go it alone. Well, my dad paid for the flat, but I had no source of income at the time. As soon as I get a job, I'll start paying for everything myself.
"If I had a dad like that, I'd be scrounging everything I could off him" Mason joked, but I could tell that he wished he had the opportunity to exploit his dad like I did. You see, his parents didn't have much money. The reason he managed to buy a car was because he spent all his time stacking shelves in a hardware store.
"You're a bad person, Mase" I laughed, attempting to make light of the situation. I had never really been one interested in talking about my own life and my parents. It was a sore subject for me.
"Whatever you say, Rose" He sighed as we parked up as close to the main doors as possible.
"Good morning, Rose" Dimitri said once we got out of the car, his hands buried deeply in his pockets as he shielded away from the wind. "I'd dress warm tonight. The weather is definitely not on our side." Just hearing him talking about our night out was enough to get me way over excited. In a matter of hours, we would be going out with each other. Well, we'd be going out with each other along with Mason, Adrian and Eddie. I guess beggars can't be choosers.
"How the hell did you manage to swing this?" Mason asked in reference to the night out. Was he really that in awe of me managing to do this?
"Well, I didn't really swing it per say" I answered coyly. "He kind of offered. He thought it would help me get used to this school and help me adapt to the new lifestyle."
"He really did that?" Mason asked with a shocked expression on his face. "You know, you could just suck it up and deal with it." That was the best thing about Mason…he didn't sugar-coat anything
"I know I should do that, Mase" I sighed in agreement. "This shouldn't be that hard. Surely I should be glad that I'm getting some normalcy back in my life. For some reason, I just can't seem to think like that."
"Hey, it's fine" Mason assured, wrapping a friendly arm around my shoulder as we walked towards the picnic benches. "You'll get used to it in your time. Of course this is going to be hard for you."
"Aw, you always know the right thing to say" I chuckled, for once actually feeling better about myself.
"You know it, babe" He joked. Ah, who knew being a teenager would be so difficult?
Friday September 7th 2012, 1:00 pm, lunch time.
The whole day had been completely uneventful. So uneventful it actually shocked me. Mia hadn't stirred trouble, Christian and Lissa hadn't bickered about their relationship and Avery hadn't even verbally bitch-slapped me. It seemed that because I was so excited about tonight, nothing interesting was going to happen to me today. On the whole, it sucked.
"Rose, wait up!" a voice called from behind me as I made my way down the corridor that led to Dimitri's classroom. When I turned, I found Mason jogging after me. Was he stalking me lately or what?
"What do you want?" I asked, continuing to walk, but also allowing him time to catch up.
"I'm coming with you to Dimitri's" He answered as though I should have already figured that out. Sometimes his infatuation with that teacher freaked me out a little.
"Why do you love him so much?" I asked before we got to the class. The look he gave me told me that the question I had asked was virtually unheard of. God, it's like this whole school has one big secret that they refuse to share with me.
"Was that a real question?" He asked with utter shock and confusion marring his boyish face. Sometimes I think it would be best if I learned to simply keep my mouth shut. It would probably avoid a lot of awkward conversations. "Dimitri is by far the best teacher we have in this place. He's more like a mate than a teacher. Everyone loves him."
"Well, I figured that out almost as soon as I set foot through the door." I joked, opening the door to his class and taking my usual seat at his desk. He was too immersed in his work to even notice that anyone had come into his classroom. "Dimitri, I'm here."
"Oh sorry, I've just been so busy" Dimitri sighed as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. I had never seen him like this. He was always so laid back. Just seeing him managed to make me relax. "It's not like I'm going to be able to catch up on it tonight." Yet again the mention of tonight made my heart race. Why was I so excited for it? I'd been on nights out before. Surely this one wouldn't be any different like all of the rest.
"You'll forget what work is by the time we're through with you" Mason joked as he perched on one of the work tables with a goofy grin on his face. He was even more excited than I was and that was saying something.
"Let's hope that's true" Dimitri muttered. "I could use a good drink."
He barely helped me that lunch time. He continued on with his work and asked Mason to give me useful ideas on the design. Mason was more than happy to do this. Hell, he probably felt as though he had been given a highly important job to do. God, this was tedious. I, on the other hand, was disheartened. One of the only things that got me through the day was the prospect of spending time with him. His work somehow managed to get in the way of that. The very thought angered me. At least I would have his undivided attention tonight.
Throughout the whole session, he offered up small comments about how good Mason's ideas were, but never approached me. By the end of lunch time, I felt like a huffy little girl who hadn't been given what she wanted. What the hell was I turning into?
"I'll see you later, Rose" Was all he said when we left. I was surprised I managed to get that out of him. It was probably the longest sentence he had managed to string together today.
At least I'd have tonight to look forward to.
Friday September 7th 2012, 7:55 pm, my flat.
Dimitri didn't strike me as the type of man to ever be late for anything. I was always late for everything. All because of this simple fact, I got dress at 6:00 pm to ensure that I would be ready on time. The last thing I wanted to do was keep Dimitri waiting. He also didn't strike me as the kind of man to enjoy being made a prat out of.
Well, when I say that I got dressed at 6:00 pm, I mean that I just started to choose my outfit which took a hell of a long time. Hey, is it such a crime that I want to look nice for Dimitri? Then there was hair and makeup. By the time I was completely ready, he was almost due to be knocking on my door.
The excitement was insane. My palms were sweating more than usual. I know, completely unattractive, but what can you do? As soon as the doorbell rang, I practically launched out of my seat and dove for it.
Wow. That was quite literally the only word I could think of to describe the way he looked right now. He wore a plain black shirt and black jeans. The fashion was ever so simplistic that it made me swoon at just the first sight of him.
"You look great" He said as he stepped aside to allow me room to get through. "You're really going all out for this aren't you?"
"Well, it's my first night out in a while" I explained, feeling rather awkward at the fact that I had just admitted that I hadn't had much of a social life for a while. "I've got to make it special."
"Well, you look beautiful" He complimented, making my cheeks flush in just an instant. He held his arm out for me and led me straight to his black classic Cadillac.
"Holy shit, you didn't tell me you have a car like this" I sighed in awe, hurrying straight towards to the body. My dad had been a total car freak; I'd grown up with them. It had always been my dream to own a Cadillac. At this moment, I was tempted to grab the keys from him and take off.
"Oh, you're obsessed with cars too?" Dimitri asked, his fingers sweeping over the car door in awe. This car was clearly his baby. If I did steal his keys, I had no doubt that he would chase me to the ends of the earth to get them back.
"I'm not really the obsessed one" I said, not taking my eyes off the car. "My dad is, so I know a lot about them. I love this beauty, though."
"If you're good tonight, I might let you drive it sometime" Dimitri grinned as he held open the door for me.
"You're kidding!?" I gasped, already imagining myself sitting behind the wheel. He simply winked as he slipped into his side of the car.
Friday September 7th 2012, 8:30 pm, at the bar.
The music was so loud in here. It was a song I couldn't recognise…something techno that was easy to get into. For the first five minutes in this bar, I felt suffocated and my head was pounding. Hey, it had been a really long time since I had been here. I'm entitled to some time to get used to it again. As soon as I got over the initial explosion of noise, I could loosen up and enjoy myself.
It was weird to see Dimitri here. After seeing him in teacher mode almost all of the time, I couldn't imagine him at a bar where people were practically gyrating against him. The idea was completely absurd.
"Can I get you a drink?" He shouted in my ear. I nodded, not trusting my voice to be loud enough for him to hear me over the roar of everyone else. By the time I next turned around, Mason, Eddie and Adrian were gone. All three of them were chatting up girls already. Wow, they really didn't waste any time at all.
"Real smooth, Mase" I shouted, but I doubted that he could even hear me. Hell, he was in the zone right now. Even if he could hear me, it wouldn't make a difference.
"Tequila for the lady" A voice sighed from behind me. I turned, expecting it to be Dimitri, but found myself face to face with a man I knew rather well.
"Well, I didn't think I'd see you here, Andre" I chuckled, accepting my drink from him and leaning against the bar.
"Well, I had to come along and see Rose Hathaway" Andre explained, sipping whisky all the while. Man, that kid likes it strong. "Is it true you've befriended my little sister?"
For a moment, I was confused. How could I have been so stupid? It's not like Dragomir is a common name. "You're Lissa's brother?"
"Indeed I am, Rosemarie" He grinned. "So, you have been talking to her."
"Yeah, I have" I answered. "You've got a real nice sister. She's helped me out loads already."
"That's great and all, but make sure you don't drag her into any of your shit" Andre said abruptly, leaving his drink forgotten. Wow, I had been stupid to believe that this was just going to be a friendly conversation with Andre. Of course he would have an ulterior motive.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, incapable of stringing together a more complex sentence. Where was Dimitri? I could really use his help right now.
"You know what I'm talking about, Rose" Andre mumbled. Clearly he wasn't comfortable with having this conversation. Well, that makes two of us. "Look, you're a real nice girl and everything, but we all know that you attract trouble everywhere you go. All you need to do is make sure that Lissa doesn't get mixed up with any of that."
I couldn't argue with him there. I knew that all I ever really did was get myself and others into trouble. As annoyed as I may be at Andre for confronting me like this, I could see exactly where he was coming from. I would be acting exactly the same if I was him. Well, it's not like I could let him know that I agreed with him.
"Whatever, Andre" I grunted huffily, feeling the relief flooding into me as Dimitri returned to my side.
"Everything okay here?" He asked, his eyes narrowing at Andre as he snatched the glass from my hands and replaced it with a rum and coke. I guess it wasn't very hard to tell that I had just been in an incredibly uncomfortable position.
"Yeah, everything's fine" Andre answered for me, the grin showing me that he found Dimitri coming to my rescue highly amusing and probably rather pathetic. "I was just leaving. Remember what I said, Rose."
As soon as he was out of sight, I let out a deep breath that I didn't even realise I was holding. Was I really going to get Lissa into trouble if she spent time with me? That was the last thing I wanted for her.
"What did he say to you?" Dimitri asked as he continued to glare at the space where Andre had been standing. Wow, was it possible for him to hate Andre already? As much as I would have liked to believe that he hated Andre because he caused me pain, I couldn't think like that at the moment. There was much more pressing matters at hand.
"Oh nothing" I waved off. Well, it was pointless making Dimitri worry now. It wasn't like there was anything he could do about the annoyance that went by the name of Andre Dragomir. "He was an old friend of mine before everything went wrong. He's just looking out of his little sister. Don't worry, he's not a threat."
"You're lying to me, Rose" He commented. How was it possible to know me so well after only five days? Perhaps I was right…he could just be very perceptive. It seemed as though I was never going to be able to lie to him without realising exactly what I was doing. "I don't know why you don't want to tell me the truth, but I wish you would just tell me. Anyways, this night was supposed to be about you having fun, so I'm not going to bug you about it."
"Thanks, Dimitri" I sighed in relief. I wasn't ready to have some sort of showdown with him. Hell, it didn't feel like I would ever be ready to tell him about my past. That wasn't a bad thing, was it?
"Don't thank me yet, Rose" He said regretfully. "I've always got the rest of the school year to try and get the truth out of you. We've barely even started."
"Why am I not surprised?" I grumbled.
Friday September 7th 2012, 10:30 pm, still in the bar.
Over the past two hours, the whole group had consumed a hell of a lot more drinks. Mason, Eddie, and Adrian were way past drunk and Dimitri and I were just tipsy. The atmosphere was more enjoyable now that Dimitri had let go what happened with Andre even if it was only going to be a little while before he started asking questions once more. It was still nice to be around a relaxed version of him that wasn't constantly trying to find out about what happened to me.
Even the music in here was growing on me. They played a few songs that I knew. I didn't exactly like them, but at least I was familiar with them. There were no more awkward encounters with old friends.
You could even go as far as to say that Dimitri was completely right in his reasoning as to why we were here. For most of the time that I had been here, I hadn't even thought about what happened to me or what was going to happen on Monday when I go back to school. It was like I could truly relax around these four men.
Well, that was until Mason completely ruined it for me when we were at the bar to get more drinks.
"You remember when I said you were pretty?" He slurred. Oh shit, I thought he was going to completely forget all about that. Well, apparently not.
"Yeah, I remember" I said delicately. What the hell was I supposed to do in a situation like this? It's not like I wanted to hurt his feelings, but it's not like I wanted any more of his awkward compliments either.
"I still think that, you know" He chuckled, pressing himself against me. Oh shit. No, no, no, no, no! Please Mason! Don't be so stupid. Oh God, this is going to end badly. He pressed his lips up against mine before I even had a chance to push him off of me. He was a bad kisser. It was probably just because he was drunk, but he had no control over his tongue. His grip on me was strong, but I managed to push him off of me with a hell of a lot of effort.
Just like that, I hurried out of the bar to get some fresh air. There weren't many people out here. Hell, most were probably drinking themselves into oblivion like my friends were.
The wall was more comfortable than it looked to sit on. In fact, I would be content to sit here all night if it wasn't for the bitter cold cutting into me. Next time I do this, I'll definitely wear a jacket.
"Rose, are you okay?" A soft voice asked. I didn't even have to turn around to see who it was. Of course it would be Dimitri.
"I'm fine" I sighed, wishing that I hadn't made a scene and ran out of there as though someone was shooting at me. "It just got a little hot in there for me."
"You're lying again" Dimitri noted as he sat down next to me on the wall, bumping his shoulder against mine. "I saw Mason kiss you."
"Did anybody else see that?" I asked, praying to God that the answer was no. I didn't want anyone else knowing what happened between us.
"No, it was only me" Dimitri answered. "Look, you can do better than Mason. If you didn't want to kiss him then that's completely fine. No one can expect you to do anything you don't want to."
"With the baggage I come with, I don't think I'm ever going to find a man that's right for me" I laughed weakly. Yep, that's the biggest problem I have. Trying to find a man is such an issue for me when really I should be trying to stop my mind from spilling over the edge again.
"You'll find someone" Dimitri whispered, his lips brushing against my cheek in a comforting peck. It was so surreal. That tiny kiss from Dimitri made me feel so much more than the full on lip action with Mason. "You're a beautiful young girl with a bright future ahead of her."
"Thank you, Dimitri" I sighed. Well, I could say one thing for definite: this had been the most eventful night out I had ever experienced.
I apologise for taking so long to update for this! Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to get the next one up sooner!
Baby You're My Immortal