Richelle Mead owns these characters.
Chapter 7: Watch it unravel...
It was about time for the library to close and as Rose packed up; I couldn't help but go over everything in my head. She was right, it's all a bunch of drama, but if I could keep Viktoria away from it then it was worth it to know. Viktoria... she was much to handle and obviously way in over her head. I knew reality would eventually set in, but not when. I just had to make sure I was there to support her when it did.
We made our way outside, me following silently behind Rose as we exited the library. As soon as we were outside I wasn't sure if I should say anything or just keep walking away. It turns out I didn't have to do anything as she was welcomed by a visitor.
'I've been trying to call you all fucking day, Rose, what the hell's going on?' I slow my pace as I walk down the rest of the stairs and away from the not so happy couple.
'I was busy obviously.' Adrian huffs at her answer and the two of them stand in one spot as I slow my pace even more to listen. Why? That's a mystery to even me.
'What do you want Adrian, I have to go and get Mer...' The irritation in Rose's voice amused me, well, for a short second. The moment I saw Ivashkov roll his eyes in annoyance at the mention of the little girl, I found myself with even more dislike for him. If that were possible.
I had decided to stop at one of the picnic benches in the middle of the quad where the library was and pretended as if I was waiting for someone. I was still close enough to hear them, but had my back to them as if I wasn't paying attention at all. Not that I think they would have noticed me anyway.
'Yeah, yeah, yeah, the kid. It's all about the kid. You know, I'm getting kind of tired of this routine Rose. Sooner or later something's got to give...'
Rose sighs tiredly and tries to side step Adrian, but he blocks her. Watching from the window on the library, I had placed my skateboard on the table and pretended to fidget with it. It was kind of odd their relationship. From my perspective, it looked as though Adrian thought he was the king and everyone -including Rose- had to be at his command. It wasn't surprising, this was the way Ivashkov was, everyone seemed to be on his time.
'What is that supposed to even mean?'
'What do you think it means, sweetheart? You think I have time to be waiting around on you and your bratty sister, and all the other shit going wrong in your life? I don't need this, Rose. You're either with me or you're not.'
The words coming out of his mouth only seem to anger her more and myself for some reason. For someone who appeared to have it all, Rose sure was unhappy it seemed.
'Are you serious right now, Adrian? You're going to stand here act like your god and give me this shit? What about you, what about all the talk everyone saying around here, huh?'
'What the hell are you talking about, talk, what talk?'
'Oh, you know, that shit about you almost getting arrested at the party? The fact that Avery and all her little stupid friends keep looking and whispering at me about how I ditched you, and you were hurt, and all that other bullshit. What about that Adrian?'
Her voice had risen a little and I couldn't help but turn to face them. Her body language spoke volumes, her hands were out as if she was gesturing with them. Her feet sternly planted to the pavement as Adrian looked to her with a blank careless expression. After a few short seconds of silence all he did was shrug and pull out a cigarette to place in his mouth. Rose shakes her head exasperated with him and his antics, and then once again tries to walk away.
'Hold up, I don't even remember what happen that night, okay? All I know is you left and then I got wasted and then the cops showed up... All that other he said she said shit doesn't matter.'
'Doesn't matter? Really? If it didn't matter Adrian than why have you been calling me all day? Texting me every damn five seconds... What sorry excuse do you have to apologize with now?'
He didn't say anything, but made it a point to avoid her eyes. She stood there waiting for him to reply while he stood there and kept quiet. After a few seconds of that, Rose sighed and then got to walk away this time.
'This isn't over, Rose, we're going to talk about this! No one just walks away from me!'
As Rose kept her steady angry pace walking away. I stayed in my position and watched as the two most popular people in school expose themselves right here in the middle of campus. It was an illusion those two, perfect on the outside, but one huge mess inside. And once again, it only made me more confused as to why Rose would put up with that.
I shake my head and roll my eyes at them as I place my back pack on and get ready to head to work. I wasn't sure why I stood around and listened, but I couldn't help it. Maybe I need to stop hanging out with Christian. He loved when he saw some drama happening, especially when it was between people like Adrian and Rose.
'Hey, sexy, what you doing tonight?' I turn before walking away and look to where Adrian had stood. I notice he was on the phone now. He was smiling and relaxed from just a second ago.
'Aww, how about you ditch that boring mess and I'll pick you up, around nine... Just look cute and be ready to have a good time, okay?'
He hung up, looking much too happy for having just argued with his longtime girlfriend and the unsettling feeling in my gut grew rapidly. I didn't know who he was talking to, but I knew it sure wasn't Rose.
...
Work was work and the moments I caught myself pondering about Viktoria or Rose were way too many. It was all so confusing and secretive. Two things I tried very hard not to have in my life. I was simple, work and friends, family and focus. Viktoria and the people she surrounded herself with was a whole other thing.
My mother was working late and my grandmother hadn't been feeling well this morning, so I knew it would only be me and Viktoria for dinner. I was about three houses from my own, skating at a steady pace as I enjoyed the cool night air. It wasn't until I saw two small red break lights in front of my house that I had sped up. The car was small and almost silent, until the engine roared and that's when I spotted a small figure running out of our yard.
'Vika!' I yelled as I ran off my skateboard and headed to our yard.
'Vika, where are you goin-' 'I'll be home later, Dimka!' Those words left her mouth and then she was quickly in the car as I reached our gate.
The car was red from what I could tell, a nice expensive Porsche with Avery Lazar hanging out of the passenger door as Viktoria got in.
'Viktoria!' I tried again as the person who was driving came into full view and I knew this wasn't good.
He smirked when our eyes made contact and my dislike for him only grew to a point where I wanted to throw my skateboard at his stupid fancy car. The small door shut as Viktoria and Avery were giggling away and when my body was finally able to move closer to the car they sped off with a loud screech.
'черт' I shook my head and open the gate to head inside. Viktoria with Adrian was not what I wanted, but at least she wasn't alone with him. He was the last guy I would ever want my sister to be around, but maybe Avery was the one distracting him for the moment. This only just confused me even more, I mean wasn't he dating Rose and he's driving around with two other girls late at night?
I headed inside to a quiet house and knew Viktoria had snuck out without babushka knowing. The kitchen sink was full of dishes, the laundry only half done and Viktoria had to finish this before mama got home this morning. I guess I was going to be up for a late night, if not doing her chores then definitely worrying about her. These guys only seem to get on nerves more and more and I truly wondered what Rose -let alone anyone- saw in him. Rose... черт!
...
I was horribly tired today. Last night I stayed up until three waiting for Viktoria to come home before our mother did. Of course when she walked in she was drunk, smelling like reefer and so loud it was like she wanted to get caught by babushka.
I had to make up lies for her when mama asked why she was still asleep when it was time for breakfast. I never liked lying to mama, but Viktoria would be causing stress she didn't need. And even when I tried to lecture her as I put her to bed, all she did was laugh and brag about how awesome her friends were. How I had to get new ones. How I wasn't her father and so I had no say in her life. How I had to experience life, I could tell it was the alcohol talking. She just ended up making me mad and so I plopped her down on her bed and went to my room.
I wanted to warm Viktoria off of Adrian and those people, but I figured the more I pushed her, the more she would just ignore me and do it anyway. It was too late for that now or maybe it wasn't; either way I knew she had to learn on her own now. Once mama told me that it's better to learn from your mistakes by making them and I had soon realized, Viktoria would have to do just that. It didn't matter if I tried to help her or not. Viktoria was going to do what she wanted.
'Tutor.'
'Are going to greet me like that every day?' Rose stops to look at me for a second before rolling her eyes and siting down, placing her pack on the table. 'We can just finish some of the chapters you missed in the literature book, the essay questions. If you need help let me know.'
She nods after a moment and then opens the textbook to the chapter she finished last time. I sigh and try to rub my eyes of the frustration and tired I was feeling. I was being a little snappy with her having my mind full of Viktoria's drama. That and I still had to go to work after this, when all I wanted to do was go home and sleep.
'You look tired, stay up late reading Twilight or something?' I look to her with a slight glare and shake my head at her smug expression. 'I'm just joking with you, okay? You just- you got that look… that one that settles on your face when you've got a bunch of crap on your mind. I know that look… you want some concealer it helps to cover it?'
'I'm not in the mood for your banter right now, please.' She smirks and keeps her eyes to the book.
A few silent moments pass us by as Rose puts herself into her work. I was thankful for the silence. It was kind of unnecessary really, her having a tutor, she knew what she was doing and she was smart. Why she was in here with me, I have no clue, but I'm getting paid anyway.
I sigh once again in the silence. For some reason with all the Viktoria mess swirling in my head, a thought about the whole argument Rose and Adrian had yesterday popped up in my mind. I wondered if she knew that I heard it, if she would be embarrassed or if she even cared. I also wondered about Viktoria and her late night party with Avery and Adrian. I wondered if Rose knew anything or if she was just as clueless as Viktoria was?
It was all appearance and material things with them. Yet, I find myself still heavy in curiosity about the girl sitting in front of me. How the smirk when she says something sarcastic plants itself in the perfect corner of her mouth. How her hair always looks good and how beautiful she is. Why would someone so pretty and decent on the outside, be with someone like Ivashkov? Who was just some showboat spoiled and selfish to the core?
I didn't get it. What was it about him that kept her? It had to be something decent right, Rose seemed like a person who could carry her own. Why be with some guy who bought his way through life? That wasn't real; didn't girls want something real, something mutual?
'Why are you with him?' The question stuns us both as I catch myself asking it aloud instead of in my mind where I tried to keep it.
'What?' Rose eyes widen in confusion as I lick my lips and clear my throat in attempt to save myself.
'I didn't- never mind, I- I don't know why I said that.' She looks at me for a few seconds, searching my eyes, but then just goes back to reading. The air around us is now awkward and a little tense.
My brain racking itself with regret at why I even said anything. What the hell was I thinking about when I just out and said that? It was about Viktoria and her undying need to fit in with those people, and Rose with her confusing relationship. It was all so... strange and misunderstanding. I just didn't get it, plain and simple.
'Are you okay?' I look up to her and notice the concern leaking from her eyes. 'You keep rubbing the sides of your head, like you're lost or something... You have a headache or what?'
I shake my head no answering her and put my hands down on the table not even noticing I was doing that. I avoid her eyes and clear my throat to try and get my head clear of everything.
'We could end this early, you know, if you don't feel good...' I look to her and shake my head at her suggestion. Of course she would find a way to get out of this, even if it is out of my own discomfort. She was just adding to my frustration and confusion.
'Why so you could go and argue with your boyfriend again? Or hang out with your superficial friends?' I close my eyes tightly in regret once again at what has left my mouth, and then slowly open them to look at her.
The look on Rose's face only insured me that I was getting into forbidden territory. But I couldn't help myself, the fact that Viktoria was sneaking out and coming home drunk. The fact that she was acting just like them and there was nothing I could do about it. The fact that Rose- any girl really- deserved much better than Adrian fucking Ivashkov. It was all just frustrating.
'Arguing... Were you- were you listening to that? Yesterday, were you- What the hell, isn't there privacy anymore?' I shrug and wait for her to come out with some kind of snarky angry rant to scream at me, but she doesn't.
'You two were right there in the middle of the quad, I'm sure a lot of people heard you...' Nice one Dimitri, I thought to myself.
'Yeah, cause there's so many people who hang out in the quad after school. You like listening to other people's private conversations? What are you a tutor and spy on the side or something?' I swallow my own retort and look down to the table in attempt to avoid her eyes as I hesitantly ask my next question.
'I just... I don't get why you're with someone like him. Why you waste your time with some guy who only cares about himself... Is that like your type, assholes?' Her glare is deadly and sinks right into me. I swallow deep and avert my eyes for a few seconds, waiting for her to say something.
'Why do you even care?' She asks with her eyes burning into my own, her voice a little calmer. The silence was intense and lingered as I went through all the answers I could come up with in my head. She sighs and pushes the book out into the middle of the table, then reaches for her notepad in her pack to write in. 'I get it, you don't like him, but you have no right questioning or listening to our conversations. The least you could do is apologize and go back to helping me.'
'I just wanted to know what it is you see in him. What any girl would see in him, he's kind of conceded and spoiled. How is that appealing to girls like you?' I should really just stop talking.
'Girls like me? What's that supposed to mean?' I shrug as my hand runs through my hair and to the back of my neck. I was pushing it, but I couldn't stop myself.
'Girls that, you know, like all that stuff... The money and the reputation that comes with hanging out with people like that... and being with guys like Adrian. I mean you're a beautiful girl, why waste your time on some ingrate like him?'
There was a certain look in her eyes, they widened as I stood silent and anticipated her answer. Her eyes stayed on me for what seemed like the longest minute in the world, until something flashed in them and she looked back to the book before speaking.
'You wouldn't understand.'
And that was it. All that I needed to know about her and Ivashkov, in her mind anyway. It wasn't close to enough for me, but it was all I needed to go ahead and tell her about him picking up my sister last night, and then bringing her home completely wasted this morning.
'It's just... I don't know. You- you don't seem like the type of person who would stand for that. I don't know though, maybe I'm wrong... Maybe if you explained it to me I would-'
'Maybe you are wrong and maybe you should just drop it. You wouldn't understand, it's just the way things are.' Yeah, but it didn't have to be. Just as I was preparing to tell her about last night, a sudden voice sounded followed by small footsteps through the aisle of books.
'Rose!'
.R.
'It's just that my dad called and he wants to me to meet with this college guy and you know; I can't tell my dad no. I'm really sorry though, I just didn't want to leave her out there and then just take off-'
I nod at Lissa's rambling still in slight surprise of what Dimitri had just asked me. I couldn't believe it at first, it was like he was investigating me or something. Like it was really that hard to believe Adrian and I were together. Well, okay, he kind of had a point, but he didn't understand what I did.
'I'm so sorry, Rose, I'll see you though. I have to go my dad's going to pick me up, see ya Mer!' Liss shouts as she exits the library and leaves Meredith standing there holding her bright pink back pack. I get up from my seat and guide Meredith over to the chair next to mine as she looks to Dimitri in curiosity. 'You don't mind do you, just for today...'
He gestures its okay with a nod of his head and I set up Mer to color so I could get back to work. Its a few silent minutes as I keep working out of the book and Mer keeps coloring. Her eyes keep going back and forth to Dimitri then to her book. She turns a few times in the rolling chair and at that discovery, she stops coloring all together.
A few half turns in the chair and I let it slide, knowing how bored she was, I could at least let her enjoy the chair. Then it gets faster and then she discovers suddenly stopping the chair using the table as a break. She moves the table a few times and I give her a look, of course, Mer ignores it. Then she goes into full turns, full fast turns and even uses the table for leverage.
I reach out before she can push off the table for another high speed and potentially dangerous spin of the chair. I grab her tiny hand and she looks to me innocently as I don't have to explain I want her to stop with only a look. I go back to work, but I can see from the corner of my eye the moment she sticks her tongue out at me.
'Really, Mer? What are you five?'
'Yeah' I can tell she's fighting off one of her wide smiles, but also spot Dimitri hide his with his hands.
'Smart ass.' Mer only smiles as I look back to my paper and just before I start writing, I hear her tiny voice sneak out.
'I learn from the best, Roses.' That causes her wide cute smile and a flat out laugh from Dimitri. I look at him and glare as if telling him he wasn't helping. He just shrugs and I go back to work.
'Do you like to read, Meredith?' His smooth velvet voice sounded out of the quiet.
'Yeah, Roses reads me Juny B. Jones sometimes before bed. It's my favorite.' Dimitri nods and then reaches for his back pack. I keep my head down toward my paper, but watch them both as they interact.
'When I was about your age my mother used to bring home Calvin and Hobbs books from the doctor's office she worked at. I used to read them to my sister...'
He pulls out a book of Calvin and Hobbs collection and opens it, sliding it toward Meredith. It was a little weird for me to see how easy it was for him to make conversation with her. Usually Meredith was quiet and a little shy toward people she didn't know, but with Dimitri she was anything but.
'I like this one, I think I've read it about a hundred times, but it always makes me smile.'
'Hey that's the guy that pees on everything! Look Roses!' She takes the book from him and shows me the page of comic strip with Calvin and Hobbs the tiger.
I nod and smile toward her as she places the book back on the table and goes through the pages asking Dimitri to read her certain ones. To my surprise he does and as distracting as they were getting along, I couldn't help but like the sound of his voice as he read the comic strips aloud to Meredith.
It went on like that for a while. He would read whatever comic strip she pointed out or he would have her read some of his favorite ones. It was endearing. How he took up her attention so I could finish my work. How good he was with her and how much she smiled and laughed as they read along. He asked her questions about things she liked and she showed him all the drawings she did in class and explained the many reasons why pink was the best color ever.
It was actually fun watching them and it made me realize how Adrian would never do anything like this. Or Hans. I didn't want to say Dimitri looked like a father figure to Meredith, no, he looked like her friend. Someone who just wanted her to have a good time while she was stuck in some humid library waiting for her sister to finish her school work. He was sometimes annoying and always used big words when he spoke, but he was kind and for once in a long time; I didn't have to worry about Meredith. That small relief felt a million times great.
...
'I like Dimitri; he's a lot nicer than that other one.' I roll my eyes at Mer and follow after her as we walk home. She could not stop gushing about how much fun the library was and how come I didn't take her in there the first time.
'Yeah.' She nods and continues to skip stepping on cracks in the cement for reasons unknown to me.
'And he smells really good.' I laugh and shake my head at her.
She was right of course, he did smell good. He smelled like some kind of aftershave and leather oddly. He was also kind of frustrating me though, with his questions about me and Adrian, and his listening in on us. Then I think about him with Meredith back in the library. How comfortable he made her and how she smiled with pure joy. He was strange to me, but not in the weirdo kind of way. I couldn't really explain it and the thought of it just confused me more. However, it kind made me curious about him and what he was about.
Then there was that whole speech on how I shouldn't put up with Adrian and asking me to explain our relationship to him. What did he want to know? Why did he want to know anything? I didn't get it, but it certainly got me thinking.
Thanks for reading. Next chapter will be up soon (:
