This is a really late update. I'm sorry! But if I don't update before 2011, Merry Christmas!~

Enjoy~


Lost Hope


"My son doesn't have to accept this under your condition," my mother said with an acidic tone I had only heard once before in my lifetime; and trust me, it was something no one wanted to hear. Her tone sent chills down my spine.

Marina folded her large arms across her large chest, her jewelries jangling against each other. "Olena, stop doting on poor, little Dimitri. He's a grown man, and you know that he will have to eventually get married," she pointed out. God she was annoying. Like mother like daughter, they always said.

My mother suddenly had a slightly smug look on her face. "I know. That's why I won't approve of this marriage. I won't approve of anyone until Dimitri finds someone he actually cares about on his own," she said, heavily emphasizing the last part.

The other woman narrowed her eyes at me. "You don't care about my precious Lilia? Answer me, Belikova!" she demanded.

I shrugged. "I hardly know her to start caring," I replied with a little harshness in my voice. Lilia had visibly flinched and looked as if she'd start crying at any moment.

"Belikova, do you have any plans to settle down soon? Honestly?" Marina asked with high skepticism.

"Obviously," I replied, mentally rolling my eyes at how lame this conversation was turning.

"Anyone in mind?" she pressed.

"No, but-" I began.

"Then how about this. Three days," she said, leaning back in her seat.

I had to swallow out of anxiety. "Three days for what?" I asked cautiously.

She looked at me like I had just asked the stupidest question in the world. "I'm giving you three days to find yourself a wife. If you don't, you will be married to my Lilia by the end of that third day," she said, looking pleased with herself.

My mother jumped out of her seat. "Marina!" she growled, surprising the three of us. I had heard my mother scream, shout, and scold, but I had never heard her growl.

I stood up and took my mother's arm. "I'll take that offer. Three days," I confirmed and led my fuming mother out of the restaurant and into the taxi.

When we had arrived home, she set her things on the kitchen table and sat down in a chair while I went in and out of the kitchen with a cup of water in my hands. After she finished drinking the cup, she slammed it down on the table hard but not hard enough to break it.

"Marina's a fool. I'm doting on you? Look at her doting on that half-wit daughter of hers! A marriage in three days is insane!" she groaned and ran a hand through her hair.

I held her hand reassuringly. "Don't worry about anything," I said soothingly, hoping to ease of her the anger that never failed to scare me.

She turned her head and looked at me with sympathy. "I have to worry. I don't want my son to go off and marry someone he doesn't love. You can't fall in love in three days," she said softly shaking her head. "It's just not possible."

Giving her a smile, I said, "Don't worry. I'll think of something."


"Oh, you're already seeing someone? I see. No, no it's okay. Thank you," I said for the umpteenth time today and hung up, frustrated. I shut my high school yearbook closed and tossed it onto the floor. Clearly, trying to hook-up with my old classmates was proving to be a futile effort. I was surprised that some of the nerds I had known were already married with kids.

And that's what had been bugging me.

I found it hard to believe that every girl in my high school class was with someone. My thoughts led me to believe that Marina, and even Lilia, had something to do with it. They were really persistent last night that I wouldn't doubt in my mind that they had somehow threatened or bribed every girl I knew.

Or, almost every girl.

As if my prayers had been answered, Rose walked out of the bathroom with a yawn. Of course. What was I doing calling up random girls I had hardly talked to back in school when I had the solution in front of me with all her glory?

Apparently, Rose had felt my eyes on her for a few seconds before turning to give me a confused expression of hers. "Anything wrong, Comrade? You've been acting weird ever since you woke up," she said, standing up straight with her arms folded across her chest.

I shook my head with a small smile. "Nothing's wrong. You look great," I said, making her flush slightly.

She glanced at her clothes before looking at me again. "Have you been drinking? These baggy pajamas of yours don't really make me look great. Midget's a better word," she said with a laugh.

Her laughter died, and we were just there staring at each other. Her eyes showed some sort of internal struggle with her conscience. As I continued to dive deeper into her chocolate brown orbs, she suddenly turned away and became very interested in her clothes that took up half of my closet. "We should hurry up and get ready. Alina's already at her school by now no doubt," she said in her normal tone, taking a pair of dark skinny jeans and a white shirt back into the bathroom.

I blinked several times, wondering if she realized that I was already dressed and ready to leave. If I didn't know any better, she was the one acting strange.

By the time we arrived at Alina's school, there were many other parents there already. Alina sprinted towards us and grinned. "Hi! Come on! I'll show you my paintings!" she said, dragging our mother and Natalya towards her classroom.

Rose smiled wistfully before following them, a smile that didn't escape my sight. As we looked at the other students' projects, Alina told us who made what and why. After we had gone through everyone's project, we stopped in front of her desk where two paintings sat.

She proudly pointed to the one that resembled all of us. "That's all of us. Mama, Natalya, Dimka, Rose, and me. Because we're one big family!" she said proudly.

As my mother complimented her painting, I heard Rose made sort of a half-choking sound in her throat. Without thinking, I took her hand in mine, making her jump. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here, but I wasn't having any of that as I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Then, Alina pointed at the other painting. "That's Dimka and Rose getting married! It took me longer to finish because I wanted Rose's dress to be beautiful," she said, making all of us speechless. My and Rose's jaw dropped.

It was silent for a few seconds until Natalya bursted out laughing. "Oh, oh that just makes my day. Rose and Dimka getting marr-" she suddenly paused and looked as if she just found the answer to life before rushing out. "Thanks, Alina!" was heard echoing through the halls. The rest of us looked at each other and shrugged.

"Rose, do you think you can go see where Natalya went? I need to talk to Dimitri. Take Alina with you, too," my mother said with a smile.

"Sure, no problem. Come on, Alina. Let's go!" Rose said as if they were going on a treasure hunt, pretending to scout out the hall before walking out of the room. Alina followed her, giggling all the way.

My mother chuckled as the two scurried away. "I really do like Rose. Don't you?" she asked, turning her attention back to me.

I frowned. "Don't tell me you're thinking..." I trailed off since she seemed to be getting the hint.

She grinned. "Yes, I am. This is perfect! Don't tell me you haven't thought of this before!" she said cheerfully, all traces of yesterday's foul mood gone.

Laughing, I replied, "Actually, I just figured it out this morning." She was going to be my last hope. If she could follow through and have decent acting skills, I could get Lilia and her mother off my back.


Rose's POV

"Ah! There's Natalya!" Alina said triumphantly.

I grinned and turned my head just in time to catch her being punched to the ground by the same person who brought in his gang to the bakery last week. All traces of playfulness gone, I strode over to them as fast as I could while preventing Alina from tripping over her own two feet.

He was about to hit her while she was struggling to get up until I managed to throw a punch to his own face, making him stagger back quite a bit. I bent down as Alina and I helped Natalya up. She was dizzy from that punch but quickly snapped out of it as she glared at the gang leader.

"Do I need to prove my point? We're through. If you keep bothering me, I'll make Rose and Dimka beat your ass to the ground until there's nothing left of you," she said in a tone so cold it sent shivers down my spine.

He looked like he was about to retort back.

I stepped forward with a grin. "Asshole, remember me? Do I need to give you a repeat of how Dimitri took you down last week? Seems to me like you have horrible memory," I said, hands on my hips.

He took a step back, still glaring at my face. "You aren't as strong without Belikova," he hissed, stepping back as I advanced.

I opened my mouth to shut him up, until Natalya hissed, "Anton, go away. I don't want to see you ever again."

Anton continued to glare at me, making me roll my eyes. "Glaring at me isn't going to magically burn a hole in my face," I said sarcastically.

"This isn't over, súka!" he screeched before running away.

Unable to hold it in, I started laughing. "He's not so tough without his little buddies after all. Chicken shit," I said, turning to Natalya with a smile. I almost jumped back when I found her giving me a small smile. Small, but it was a smile nonetheless.

Suddenly, she gripped my free arm in an iron grip. "Rose, I need you to help me. I think you're the only one that can help," she pleaded.

I could only blink twice before nodding, not knowing what twisted plan she had for me.


Dimitri's POV

After meeting up with Rose and my two sisters, we walked back home while admiring Alina's work that she got to take with her. Well, at least my mother and I were. Natalya and Rose were off in a conversation of their own, which shocked us out of our wits. How did these two enemies become friends within a matter of minutes? No, not friends. Best friends. Something had to be wrong, because the moment we stepped in the house, those two rushed up the stairs to Natalya's room and shut the door behind them.

I looked over at my mother, and she shook her head at me. "Let them be. I haven't seen Natalya this lively in such a long time," she said with a chuckle before heading into the kitchen to start preparing for dinner.

Alina tugged at my pants, making me look down at her. "Dimka, can you help me put this up on the wall next to the entrance door?" she asked, holding out the painting to me.

I smiled and ruffled her hair before taking it. I went into the storage closet and came back with four thumbtacks, tacking each corner of the painting next to the door just like she wanted. Looking closer at the family portrait Alina had painted, she subtly had Rose and I holding hands. I shook my head out of exasperation.

"What's wrong, Dimka?" Alina asked, hopping next to me. She followed my line of sight and giggled happily. "Don't be embarrassed, Dimka. Even if no one could see, I saw you holding Rose's hand today. And you looked really happy," she chirped and scurried away before I could say anything.

My face fell. For a third grader, she was certainly a romanticist. But there was no way Rose could have feelings for me. She was only here because she wanted to work to buy her ride back home.

The next morning, Rose spewed out her daily complaints, this time about waking up before the sun god. "It's rude to be up before a god! You should know that!" she muttered before slamming the door to the bathroom.

I laughed at how random her rants were. If things worked out the way I had planned the night before, I would be more than happy to give her two days off.

After opening the bakery, I decided to teach Rose how to make syrniki.

"A sir-what?" Rose asked, dumbfounded.

I heaved a sigh. "Not 'sir.' Syrniki," I corrected. When she failed to comprehend the pronunciation process, I gave up and just showed her where the ingredients to make a syrniki were. Once she had managed to take out everything needed and in the right quantities after several times of practicing, I took out a large pot and poured frying oil in it before setting it on the stove.

Looking over to where she leaned against the metal counter, I instructed, "Take everything you took out, except the flour, and knead it together with your hands until it becomes stiff dough."

"Yes, syr," she said teasingly and put her hands to work as she put every ingredient except flour into a mixing bowl and mashed them together.

Leaning against the wall to supervise, I watched as her muscles flexed when she pressed down on the mixture before tossing and turning it in the bowl, repeating the process again and again. With every movement she made, her hair swung from side to side which made it tempting for me to grab those silky strands. I'd only touched them once, but ever since then I had been repressing the urge to weave my hands in her hair. And the way her beautiful, full lips curved into a smile for the first time ever since we met made me want to run my fingers over her lips, to feel how soft and smooth they really were. Her eyes were deep and smoldering, and there were times when they secretly made me weak at the knees under her gaze. I could go on and on about every feature of Rose down to the last molecule of matter, but I had to remind myself, like every other time, that she probably didn't feel the same attraction I felt for her, and she was only here until she's able to buy a plane ticket back to America, no matter how vivid and creative my dreams seem to speak otherwise.

It's a wonder how a human being like Rose had this much impact on me.

She wiped the sweat off her forehead with her forearm. "Okay, it's doughy enough. What's next?" she asked, turning her face to look at me. And there I saw her internal struggle again, just from looking into her eyes.

Whatever was bothering her had nothing to do with me, so I hoisted myself off the wall and walked over to the counter. I tore off a piece of the dough, rolled it into a small sphere, and flattened it into a disk with my palm before covering it in flour. "Is that self-explanatory, or do I need to verbally give you instructions?" I asked, leaving my finished one in front of the bowl.

She flashed me that trademark grin of hers. "No worries, Comrade. Leave it to me," she said and mimicked my movements. By the time she was halfway done with the dough, I turned on the stove at a low temperature so that the oil wouldn't just suddenly start splashing everywhere. By the time it started to boil, Rose finished using up the dough.

"Bring ten of those over here," I instructed, grabbing a pair of tongs from the cabinet next to the stove. She brought them on a plate and looked on with curiosity as I placed all ten in the pot, the flour causing the oil to sizzle. "Let each batch sit in the oil for three to four minutes, flip them, and leave them in for another two minutes," I said, setting the timer.

"That's it? You make it sound so simple," she said, sounding highly skeptical.

Chuckling, I wiped my hands on my apron. "It sounds easy now. But the trick for these to taste right is the timing," I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Great. Waiting. My favorite thing to do," she muttered, shoving her hands in the apron pockets.

It was silent between us for a few seconds.

I cleared my throat, unsure how to ask her properly. "You don't have any plans tomorrow, do you?" I asked, chancing a glance at her. What was I doing? I sounded like an eighteen year-old boy asking her out on a date. I resisted the urge to smack myself at my own stupidity.

She laughed, making me wish I could hide under a rock. "Of course not. I'm always here with you," she said, then suddenly froze as if trying to figure out if what she said didn't sound right.

Nonetheless, I couldn't help but smile out of relief. She was my ticket to liberation.

When the timer went off, I handed Rose the tongs. She quickly flipped all ten as I set the timer for another two minutes. When they were finished, she took the plate from my hand and placed the ten syrniki onto it. I took the tongs from her and took one, placing it to my lips to blow off the heat. When I could tell it had cooled down slightly, I held it in front of her, her eyes widening with surprise.

"You won't charge me for this, will you?" she asked with a grin, making me laugh.

I jerked it towards her. "If you don't eat this within the next five seconds, I'll reconsider," I said teasingly. God, did I just tease her?

She carefully took a bite. "Mmm! This is delicious!" she cried with a moan. "I'm definitely in Russian heaven." She took the syrniki from the tongs and ate it while savoring the taste. "Who knew cheese could taste this good," she mused, licking the tip of her index finger when she was finished with it.

"Russians do, apparently," I said, setting the plate on the top shelf of the oven to keep it from cooling down and hardening back into stiff cheese. "Now, finish cooking the rest of the syrniki," I told her and moved to leave the kitchen.

"Are you sure you trust me being back here alone? I might just eat everything," she called, the teasing evident in her voice.

I looked back her and gave her a sly smile. "Do that and I'll be waking you up an hour earlier than I normally do every morning," I threatened playfully, making her groan as I left.


When we reached home that evening, Rose sniffed her jacket. "I smell like cheese balls. I'm going to take a shower before Olena serves dinner," she said and moved to go up the stairs until there was a furious banging on the door.

Alina bounced to the door and opened it slightly to see who it was. This stranger didn't have any patience and slammed the door open, making my little sister fly back onto her butt.

"Ow! Meanie!" she cried as I rushed to help her up.

Looking up, I saw Lilia standing there, her hair a mess and in her hands a pair of killer heels. Did I mention she was out of breath?

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here and doing that to my sister," I said, the bitterness in my voice clearly audible. Using dirty tricks was one thing, but mistreating my family was intolerable.

She waved her hand in front of me. "Whatever. She was in the way. Is she here?" she asked.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Which 'she'?" I asked harshly; there were four women in the house, even though I had a pretty good idea of who she wanted to see.

"That girl that works in your bakery. I know she's here. I saw you coming back together, so don't lie to me," Lilia said impatiently.

And to my dismay, Rose came down the stairs, fury radiating off of her. "Well, 'that girl' is right here. What do you want?" she asked in her don't-mess-with-me voice.

I watched as both women stood there glowering at each other. Alina ran into the kitchen just as Lilia's look wavered first. "Let's talk outside," she said, walking out the door.

Rose crossed her arms across her chest. "I'm perfectly fine here. If you've got something to say to me, you can say it in front of Dimitri," she said with an air of confidence.

Lilia, however, glared at how she used my name. Pushing her thoughts aside, she dug into her designer bag and pulled out a thin, but long envelope, holding it out to her. "Take it," she said.

She cautiously did, her eyes never leaving Lilia's face. "What the hell is this? A paper bomb?" she asked, opening the envelope. Her fingers stopped in the middle of pulling out what made my heart stop.

Lilia triumphantly smiled. "It's what it is: a one-way ticket back to the United States. It departs tomorrow morning, so you don't have to bothering wasting yours and Dimitri's time in the bakery," she said and left. Before she walked out, she paused at the doorway to turn and give me a sickening sweet smile. "Oh, and Dimka, the hill to your house is unbelievably steep and messy. Once everything's settled, I'll make sure you'll never have to torture your body ever again," she said walked out, slamming the door behind her.

I swallowed back a phrase I'd never let anyone hear and stared at Rose who was regarding the plane ticket with something that looked like...amusement? "Rose?" I called, startling her out of her thoughts. "Are you seriously going to go?"

She gave me a humored smile. "What do you think?" she asked, waving the ticket. With that, she walked up the stairs chuckling to herself.

I, however, found nothing funny. The last bit of hope I had left was suddenly gone. Lost. There's nothing more I could do to fight back.


Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? R&R!

Happy holidays, everyone! (:

-Delicate