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CHAPTER 10

DPOV

"Yes, she's fine," I murmured into the phone.

I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was behind me. As Mazur continued talking about Rose's safety, I leaned against the wall and suppressed a sigh. I was downstairs, in the lobby, whilst Rose was upstairs in our room. I'd told her I needed to call my family and let them know I was okay, but instead I was calling her father.

"Like I said, other than the nightmare the other night, she's fine," I interrupted. Rose was probably wondering where I was. I needed to go back to our room.

"Okay, well, it's good that you were there when she had the nightmare," he said. "I don't know what she would've done if she'd been alone. It's very upsetting to her."

Yes, I've witnessed that. And I'd prefer not to see her that upset ever again.

"She's okay now," I responded.

"I'm glad to hear that." He cleared his throat. "I have to go to a meeting now. Keep me informed."

"I will," I promised.

I knew I should probably head back to my room, but I hadn't talked to my mother in ages. She was probably wondering what I was up to and why I never called. I guess I should let her know I was fine. She answered the phone on the first ring.

"Dimitri!" she exclaimed. "How are you? How come I don't hear you anymore as often? Where are you?"

"I'm okay, Mama," I said quickly. "And I've been busy. I've taken on a new job."

"Oh, how's it going?"

"Umm, it's going pretty well."

"Are you sure? Because it doesn't sound like it," she noted.

I sighed. "It's complicated. And it's not why I called," I added. "How are you? How's Vika? And the rest of the family? Is everyone doing okay?"

We kept talking for a while and I almost lost track of time. I really should be heading back to Rose and see if she was okay.

"Say hi to everyone, okay?" I said.

"Of course," Mama said. "Call me back soon. I'm always so worried when I don't hear from you for days."

"I'm sorry. I'll call you back as soon as I can."

"Okay. I love you, Dimitri."

"I love you too, Mama."

With a sigh, I disconnected, put my phone back into my jeans pocket and walked back to our room to find it empty. I stopped in the doorway and looked around. Where the hell did Rose go? She said she would wait here for me. And I hadn't seen her anywhere near the lobby. She didn't run off without me, did she?

Panicked, I walked to the bathroom and opened the door. A shriek erupted from the room and I froze, staring at her wide-eyed. I quickly turned around and closed my eyes, but it was too late: I'd seen her naked.

"Oh my God, Dimitri! Can't you knock?" Rose exclaimed.

I turned back around, but didn't open my eyes. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you were here."

"Where else would I be?!"

I opened one eye and saw that she'd wrapped a towel around her body. Thank God. "I don't know," I mumbled. "I came back and I thought you'd left."

"I said I would wait for you," she said, her cheeks red, as she clutched the towel to her body. "I was just taking a shower."

I nodded. "Well, I'll, umm, let you get ready," I stammered. "I'm sorry."

I quickly turned around and closed the bathroom door behind me. Taking a deep breath, I let myself fall onto my bed. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get the image of Rose naked out of my head. But how was I ever going to do that? I'd only seen a flash of her, but it was enough to know that Roza was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen in my life.

Oh God, I wish I'd knocked on the door before entering, but I'd been so panicked. I hadn't thought Rose would be there. God, I was so stupid.

When Rose finally got out of the bathroom – it took her longer than usual – I shot up from my bed and said, "I'm so sorry, Rose. I didn't know – I swear. I didn't mean to-"

To my astonishment, she started laughing. "Jeez, comrade. Relax. It's okay. I know it was an accident." I gaped at her. "What's wrong with you? Most men would be more than happy to see a woman naked."

I blushed and looked away. "I'm really sorry," I mumbled, embarrassed.

"It's fine," she said, waving it away. "Let's just forget about the incident, okay?"

I nodded. "You ready to leave?"

We went to visit the Anne Frank House. The museum was pretty amazing. It was a somber experience, though, knowing that such a young girl and her family had to hide here for several years.

Next, we went to the Van Gogh museum. I didn't know much about paintings, but I could say that these were incredible.

"Wow, that was pretty much amazing," Rose said as we walked out of the museum.

"Yes, it was," I said, not looking at her.

"God, Dimitri, are you going to keep acting like that?" she said, sounding frustrated.

I looked up at her, frowning. "Like what?"

"You haven't looked at me since this morning!" she said. "Not once!"

"That's not true," I protested.

"It is!" she insisted. "Is it because you saw me naked? That's why, isn't it?"

"Roza! People can hear you," I hissed as I quickly looked around to see if anyone was within earshot.

She didn't hear me. "Why are you so embarrassed? I should be the one embarrassed, because you saw me naked. Not the other way around."

"I'm not-"

"Or am I that ugly? Is that why you-"

"No, Roza. Of course not! You're beautiful!"

My eyes widened when I'd realized what I'd said. She looked at me, astonished. Then, slowly, a grin spread across her face.

"You think I'm beautiful," she said. It was more a statement than a question.

I felt my cheeks heat up. "I, umm…"

"Aww, comrade," she said smiling. "Thanks for the compliment. Now, will you get over yourself and act like a normal person?"

"Fine," I grumbled begrudgingly.

She sighed. "Good. I'm glad we cleared that up."

"Do you want to head back?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

"No, unless you want to," she said.

We ended up taking a walk along the canals, admiring the view, and visited the flea market. When we started to get hungry, we went to a small Italian restaurant close to our hostel. We didn't feel like going back yet so we went to a small café afterwards. This time, Rose didn't drink any alcohol – much to my relief.

"You know, you never told me anything about your family," Rose said all of a sudden.

"You want to know about my family?" I asked, a little surprised.

"Yes!" she said, grinning excitedly. "Do you have siblings?"

"Yes, I have."

"What's that like? Is it fun to have a brother or a sister?"

I smiled. "I don't have any brothers. Just sisters."

"Really?" she said. "How many sisters do you have?"

"Three. I've got two elder sisters, Karolina and Sonya, and one younger sister, Viktoria. She's about your age, actually."

"Are they all living in your hometown?"

"Yes, with my mother and grandmother," I said, nodding.

"You grew up in a house full of women?" she exclaimed. "That must've been hard on you!"

"Sometimes," I admitted. "But I love them."

Rose smiled. "So…" she said slowly, her eyes twinkling. "Does that mean you played with dolls instead of cars when you were a kid?"

I laughed. "No."

"Let me guess, you just sat in your room and read books all day," she said as she crossed her arms and smiled smugly.

"Something like that, yeah," I said shrugging.

Her smile faded and she leaned forward, her face serious again. "You never mentioned your father. Is he… Did something happen to him?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh no," I said quickly. "He left after Vika was born. I don't remember much of him."

She frowned. "That sucks."

I shrugged. "Not really. From what I remember, he's not a nice guy."

Rose gave me a sympathetic smile and squeezed my hand gently. "Well, I think your mother did a pretty damn good job on raising you on her own. Not that I have much experience with people in general, but I think you're a great person."

I grinned. "Thanks. I think you're a pretty great person, too."

She smiled widely and I suddenly realized I was still holding her hand. She looked up at me, her smile gone. My heart started beating faster as I stared into her eyes. Into those beautiful brown eyes…

I barely noticed I was leaning forward when, suddenly, her phone started ringing. Clearing my throat, I let go of her hand and looked away.

"I'm sorry, it's my father," she said. "I'm going to have to take this call."

I nodded and she got up and walked outside. I let out a sigh and leaned back against the chair, burying my face in my hands. What the hell was I doing? I'd almost kissed her. I'd almost kissed my charge! If her phone hadn't rung…

I was getting too close to her. Way too close. Mazur had told me to become friends with her and not anything more. But the way we interacted with each other, the way she made me feel… That was more than friendship. At least, it was to me.

"Dimitri, are you alright?"

Startled, I looked up. Rose stood next to me, a small frown on her face.

"Y-yes. Is everything okay with your father?" I asked, getting up.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I think he's still mad at me for leaving the way I did. Without saying goodbye, you know."

"He's probably just worried about you," I said, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"I guess," she mumbled. "Do you mind if we go back? I'm tired."

"Sure. We'll go back," I said, following her out the door.

We walked back to the hostel in silence. She was shivering and I wanted to put my arm around her and give her some warmth, but I reminded myself I was already too close to her.

I was glad when we finally got back to our room and Rose disappeared into the bathroom. I really needed some time alone to think about what had almost happened. And if it had happened, it would've been because of me. I was the one who'd leant forward. I was the one who'd almost kissed her.

My head snapped up when the bathroom door opened and Rose walked out in her shorts and a T-shirt. I moved past her without glancing at her. If I did, I might do something I would regret. I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath before walking to the sink and splashing water in my face. Maybe this would help me clear my mind.

But it didn't. All I could think about was Roza.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. "Dimitri? Are you alright? You've been in there for a while now," Rose said through the door.

"Yes. I'm…fine," I answered.

I took another deep breath and walked out of the bathroom. Rose was already in her bed, much to my relief. I flicked off the lights, mumbled a good night to Rose and got into bed.

My mind went back to what had almost happened in the café. How could I've let it come so far? My only job had been to befriend her and make sure she was safe. But instead, I'd grown closer and closer to her. It had never been my intention to become so close to her, but it happened and now I didn't know what to do. I couldn't just keep my distance from her, because I had to spend every moment of every day with her. And I didn't want to keep my distance from her.

I was almost afraid to close my eyes. If I did, I might see her…naked. Once again, I cursed myself for barging into the bathroom this morning. It had only made things worse for me.

I sighed and closed my eyes, willing myself not to think about Rose. I needed to get some sleep. Maybe it would all be clear to me in the morning. Maybe I would wake up and see Rose again as my friend and nothing more. Because it couldn't be, right? I couldn't have feelings for her. There had to be another reason for why I'd wanted to kiss her.

But what other reason could there be? Maybe I'd wanted to kiss her because I was attracted to her. I'd been attracted to her from the beginning. There was no denying in that. But to actually have feelings for her? That couldn't be true.

I don't have any feelings for Rose. She's just my friend. Nothing more.

Maybe if I kept repeating it, I would actually start to believe it.

That was it for this chapter. I hope you all liked it! :)

I know this chapter was a little short. The next one will be longer. Promise. And who would like a Romitri kiss in the next chapter? ;)

Have a nice day/evening! :)