DPOV
One Month Later
I slammed my fist on my desk in anger. Another girl, another girl had showed up dead in the woods again, same scenario, raped and throat slit. There was zero evidence. Some sick bastard was getting away with this. I contemplated calling Rose. She could know who this guy was. I hadn't spoken to her since she left my apartment that night, though I did mail her the necklace I bought her, with a small note inside.
Keep it, it was a gift.
Dimitri
I sighed, thinking back, thinking about her again. It had been one month and I was still miserable. I missed her, her soft long brown hair, her cute little laugh, the way she tries to raise one eyebrow but fails every time.
I picked up my stuff and headed home for the night.
I was just walking through town when I saw her for the first time in one month. She just walked out of the café, holding a box of donuts. She was walking with her head down, and almost walked right into me.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry" She looked up and froze, her eyes widening slightly. "Dimitri…" She trailed off, and took a step back.
"Hello, Rose. How are you?" I said, my voice tight. She looked hurt momentarily before clearing her throat, her face hardening.
"I'm great thank you, and yourself?" She asked.
"Perfect." I replied.
"Well, I better go." She cleared her throat once more. "Goodbye, Dimitri."
I watched her walk past me and all the way down the street before turning around and storming home. I hated when she spoke like that, so harsh and cold.
I was just unlocking my door when Emily came running up the stairs. For fuck sake, I can't be bothered with her.
"Hey Dimitri, how's it going?" She asked. I turned around and at least she was clothed this time. She looked like she'd been for a jog.
"Good thanks, how are you?" I asked, not even bothering to fake a smile.
"I'm great thank you. So uhm, is everything okay with you and Rose? I haven't seen her around in a while…" She trailed off, looking at me from under her eyelashes.
"We broke up." I said simply, I didn't want to talk about this with her.
"Well, it's about time" She purred, and before I knew it she practically pounced on me, grabbed my face and pulled me towards her. She placed her mouth on mine, I was so shocked I didn't do anything. I didn't kiss her back, but I didn't pull away either.
After a moment, I moved my hands to her waist. It was nice to be kissing. She wasn't as good a kisser as Rose. Mmm, Rose, her lips were so soft and sweet.
I felt her tongue push into my mouth and I froze. What the fuck was I doing? This wasn't Rose, she wasn't Rose. I pulled away from her abruptly, and she looked confused.
"I'm sorry Emily. But I don't feel for you that way. Don't do that again." I told her before turning and entering my apartment, slamming the door behind me.
I can't believe I had just done that. You idiot, Dimitri!
RPOV
I was in the bar with Lissa, Christian and Adrian. It was another one of their attempts to cheer me up. I was still upset over Dimitri, and now I was pissed at our accidental meeting earlier. He was so cold, it was infuriating. I suppose I deserved it.
It was 10pm and I was drunk. Like, really drunk. I kept thinking about Dimitri, seeing him had stirred up all kinds of feelings within me. I abruptly got up because I needed to pee.
"Where are you going Rose?" Lissa asked, frowning slightly. She was worried about me, I'd never been this upset over a guy before.
"To the bathroom, I gotta pee." I grinned at her and headed towards the ladies room. There was quite a long line so I stood in the queue, leaning against the wall.
I can't believe he mailed me the necklace he got me. It was wonderful, but I didn't want it. It reminded me too much of him, and it hurt. I should give it back, I decided. I then did something I knew I'd either forget about or regret in the morning, but fuck it.
I drunk dialled Dimitri.
He answered on the third ring.
"Rose?" He sounded surprised to hear from me.
"Yep, that's, that's me. Why did you send me the necklace?" I slurred my words slightly, damn alcohol.
"Rose, are you okay? You sound weird." His voice filled with concern, at least he wasn't being cold anymore.
"I'm sending the necklace back, cause I… I already a ridiculously expensive necklace, thanks though, for the kind… kind gesture." I tried to sound bold, my drunk mind was pretty sure it worked. He ignored my sarcasm.
"Where are you, Rose?" he asked.
"I… I'm waiting in line because I have to pee really bad." I whispered into the phone.
"Rose, are you drunk?" he sounded increasing.
"Of course I'm drunk" I said defiantly.
"Where are you?" He asked again, his voice demanding.
"You're so bossy! Stop it" I giggled into the phone.
"Rose, so help me, where the fuck are you?" I giggled again. It was funny when Dimitri swore.
"I'm in a bar" I mumbled.
"Which bar?" he asked
"I… I don't know. Goodnight Dimitri!" I hung up before he could reply. I giggled again. Ha! I showed him! Nobody messes with Rose Hathaway.
I finally got to pee and decided I needed some fresh air. I went outside and leaned against the wall. Some random man approached me, and put his hand on my ass, grabbing it. I pushed him away from me.
"Leave me alone, creep." I slurred.
"You're pretty" he said as he grabbed me again, leaning in towards my face. I put my hand on his face and pushed him away, but he was stronger than me.
"No!" I shouted. "Leave me alone!"
"Get off her!" A voice growled from next to me. Holy shit! It was Dimitri. How the hell did he get here so fast?
The guy turned toward him. "Fuck off man, this is none of your concern" he spat and turned back toward me.
Dimitri grabbed him and pushed him away from me, he moved to stand in front of me protectively. The guy squared up to him, but he wasn't as tall or built as Dimitri, and decided to back off, muttering as he walked away.
"Mmm, my hero" I giggled.
"Rose, how fucking stupid are you?" he chastised me. My head was spinning, I couldn't see anything. I could feel my body getting weak.
"I think I'm going to pass out." I mumbled as my knees buckled. The last thing I heard before fainting into Dimitri's arms was him shouting some explicit word in Russian.
I woke up in my bed, daylight streaming in. Ugh, my head was killing. How did I get home? I looked around and saw there was paracetamol and a bottle of water, with a note next to them.
I brought you home last night and put you bed.
Drink the water, take some paracetamol and eat something.
Dimitri
"Oh my God" I exclaimed as everything came back to me. Drunk dialling him, getting groped, passing out. Fuck, that was embarrassing. But I did as the note asked, and felt a bit better shortly after.
DPOV
I ran my hand through my hair then promptly banged my head on the desk. Ugh. It was 2pm now, I hoped Rose was okay, I couldn't believe how drunk she had gotten. Just then Ivan and Isaiah walked in, Ivan took a seat in his chair, and Isaiah stood near us.
"Hey man, I know you're still miserable and everything, but I was thinking maybe we should question Rose. It's possible it's the same guy, and she could easily tell us."
I sat up and turned around in my chair to face them. He was right, I decided. We needed to know who he was, it was highly possible it was him.
"I was just thinking the same thing. We'll head over there now."
"What if she won't talk?" Isaiah chimed in.
"We'll make her, or she can be arrested for obstruction of justice." Ivan said. I didn't want to arrest her, I probably wouldn't, but telling her that might scare her into telling us. I was mad that girls were dying and she still wouldn't admit who this guy was.
RPOV
I was sat at my desk working on an assignment. My hangover was gone, thankfully. I put on cheery music to try and lift me out this depressing slump I've been in since I broke up with Dimitri. Isaiah hadn't hurt him though, he'd kept his word.
I can't believe he came to the bar to get me last night. I shuddered at the thought of what could have happened to me if he hadn't showed up. Some people are cruel and disgusting.
There was a loud knock on my door, bringing me out of my depressed thoughts, more like loud banging. I swiftly got up and answered it.
"Hey, what's with all the bang-
My words dropped when I saw Dimitri standing there, with Ivan and Zi. I frowned and looked at Ivan, not wanting to see Isaiah, and too embarrassed to look at Dimitri.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Can we come in?" Ivan asked me in return.
"Uhm, I guess." I moved aside to let them in. My room wasn't that big, so it was pretty crowed now. I walked back over to my desk and contemplated sitting in the chair, but I decided to stay standing. They all towered over me enough as it is, never mind when I'm sat down.
I cleared my throat as I leant against the desk, Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' started playing through the speakers. Fitting, I thought. My monster stood right before me, a small smirk on his face.
I turned off the music, creating an awkward silence. Finally, Ivan spoke up. "Rose, we're sorry to bother you, but you need to tell us who attacked you." He said firmly.
"What? Why?" I glanced toward Zi, and he narrowed his eyes at me in warning.
"Another girl had been found dead, in the woods, exactly the same as the last girl, similar to what happened to you. We need to know, it could be the same person."
My stomach felt sick. He'd done it again, he'd killed another poor girl. I started panicking, how could I tell them when he was stood right in front of me, a gun resting on his hip!
"I… I can't. I can't tell you. I'm sorry" I said looking down at the ground.
"If you don't tell us then we're going to arrest you for obstruction of justice." Dimitri spoke for the first time, his voice hard. I snapped my head up and looked at Dimitri, shocked at how cold he sounded. I suppose I deserved it, for getting drunk and ruining his night, for breaking up with him the way I did. I was only harsh because I knew making him angry would make it easier for him to accept, even though it killed me to do it. He simply stared at me, his detective mask on.
I looked back over to Zi, his face told me not to say anything.
How the fuck was I going to get out of this?
Just then, my phone rang.
"What?" I snapped when I answered.
"Wow, sorry Miss Grumpy. Rose you have to get to class now, Alto is giving us a god damn surprise exam in 5 minutes! If you miss it you're in trouble!" Lissa said over the phone.
Ah, my hero!
"Shit, okay, I'll be right there, save my seat." I hung up and grabbed my bag and jacket.
"I'm sorry, but I've got an exam I can't miss." I said as I practically ran out the door.
"Rose!" I heard Dimitri call, I ignored him and flew out of the building, running towards my lecture hall.
Three hours later, I was pretty confident I'd nailed the surprise exam, I was back in room, and thank God, the three fucking musketeers were not there.
I paced my room for a while, contemplating what I should do. Should I tell Dimitri in private?
Yes. I should.
It was too much now. Two girls were dead, and I was pretty sure it was Isaiah. I couldn't bite my tongue any longer, I had to do something before more people were killed.
I called Dimitri, he answered on the second ring this time.
"Rose?" he asked.
"Yeah. Listen, I'll tell you who he is, in private. Just the two of us." I told him, whispering, paranoid Zi would somehow find out.
"Thank God. Do you want to come over to my apartment now? I just got back." He said.
"Yeah, I'm on my way. Be there in twenty minutes" After that, I hung up, put my coat on and grabbed my keys and phone before setting off. I was about five minutes away when I heard his cold voice behind me.
"Rose." I abruptly turned around, to see Isaiah standing there, staring at me. Fuck, does he know what I'm about to do?
"What do you want, Zi?" I tried to sound bored, like I wasn't about to just turn him in.
"Where are you going?" His voice dripped with malice. It was pretty fucking terrifying.
"I'm just going to meet some friends." I lied. "Zi, is it you? Did you kill those girls?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly.
"Yes" he said, so unbothered by it. How could he be so calm? Did he want to kill me? I felt my hands shaking, I tried to get it under control.
"Are you going to kill me?" I whispered, my fists clenched with fear.
"No Rose. I love you. Why would I kill you?" He took a step towards me, and I took a step back. He looked hurt.
"Why are you backing away from me? Don't you love me too?" He kept walking towards me until he had me pushed against the wall.
"No I don't. I don't love you Zi! You're sick, and twisted. You're incapable of love." I spat at him.
I jumped as he punched he wall right next to my head, making his knuckles bleed quite heavily. "Dammit Rose!" He yelled. "Why do you have to be this way? We could be together, forever!" He kept shouting.
"I don't want to be with you. I hate you." I whispered. Before I could react he backhanded me across the face, making me fall to ground. I looked up at him, cradling my face with my hand.
"Don't, please Zi." I whispered as he got down and straddled me. He punched me in the face, hard. My head snapped back from the force, blood pouring from my nose. I screamed, yelling for help, when he punched me again, this time around my eye. He clamped his hand around my mouth, a feeling I was too familiar with. He got off me and stood up, pulling me up with him.
"I'll let go of you if you promise not to scream." He hissed.
I nodded in response and he let go of me. He stood looking at me for what felt like forever. I needed to find a way to get rid of him, to get away. He turned away from me, hands running through his hair as he muttered to himself. I quickly took my phone and speed dialled Dimitri, hoping he would answer. I put the phone back in my pocket and Zi turned back around.
"I'm sorry Rose. I never meant to hurt you. You just infuriate me sometimes!" He yelled. "Why don't you love me? I try so hard for you." He pleaded. "Is it because of him? Belikov? That's it isn't it? You love him, that's why you can't love me." He whispered.
"No! I broke up with him. I don't love you because you're a cruel, evil person. I could never love you, so just give up already!" I yelled back. He grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. My back groaned in protest and pain. He grabbed my face in his hands and slammed my head back, once, twice. I was seeing stars when I heard someone yell my name. Suddenly Zi was off me, he had turned to face the person who yelled my name. I blinked so my vision would clear.
"Isaiah?" Dimitri whispered, momentarily shocked. He leapt at Isaiah, making them both stumble away from me. Dimitri got in a good punch, and they both grappled for what felt like forever.
BANG! I clutched my head at the loud noise, my ears ringing. What the hell was that?
I looked up and saw Zi take a step back, holding a gun in his shaky hands. Dimitri looked shocked, his eyes wide. He slowly looked down at his torso, put his hand to his stomach, and pulled his fingers away. I was filled with horror when I saw they were completely coated in blood.
