Finally managed to finish this chapter, I hope you like it :D
Don't wait for the
Perfect moment,
Take the moment
and make it perfect.
Chapter 10, Forgive
Rose's POV
After a tense breakfast at the Belikov house Dimitri decided to take us on a tour of Baia. Dimitri takes us to the little market place in the middle of town and on the way we are repeatedly stopped by people who are shocked to see Dimitri. And even more shocked when he introduces us as his family. Some women look from me to the kids and smile, I don't feel like it's a genuine smile but I just let it go, I'm sure it's a surprise seeing two damphirs with kids, biological at least.
Dimitri and Alexei are getting along, Alex is beginning to trust his father, to a point at least and I am pretty sure Ally liked him the minute he showed up, she always wanted to know her dad.
After we went to a cozy little bookstore where Dimitri and the kids got new western novels, much to my annoyance, we went to a beautiful restaurant called the Red Horse, the restaurant is spacious and modern, with dark gray walls and crystal chandeliers lighting up the main dining area with dim lighting, the booths and chairs are black and the tables have shiny red tablecloths. While we wait for our food both Alex and Ally start to read one of the ten books each of them got so Dimitri and I have a light conversation until our food arrives in the hands of a tall blonde dhampir girl wearing black jeans and a white shirt and a little apron with the restaurants logo of a red horse on the top right corner. When she gets to the table her eyes fly to Alexei, who is totally focused on his book and she blushes averting her eyes, Dimitri smirks at Alexei who finally looks up from his book. The girl puts our food in front of us "I will be right over there if you need anything, enjoy your meal" then she walks away.
After dinner Alex and Ally take a cab back to the Belikov house while Dimitri and I take a walk, we have been walking and talking for a while when suddenly we hear a loud agonizing scream coming from one of the alleys on the street. Dimitri´s first reaction is jumping in front of me and reaching for his stake on his hip and so do I, and in that moment we look at each other and start running as fast as we can side by side towards the screaming.
Dimitri´s POV
When we get into the alley we see a group of teenagers surrounded by an even bigger group of Strigoi who are coming towards them fast. Rose being the guardian she is, she jumps in front of me and screams at the white cold figures who all turn around and snarl at us, then with a blink of an eye there are three coming at me and five at Rose the rest are still surrounding the group of teenagers but they still keep their blood red eyes and pearly white fangs trained on both me and Rose. She is doing well she has become an even better fighter after all these years, I keep thinking to myself she'll be just fine.
I was so wrong.
After getting the three creatures off of me a few more attack me, finally, when all of them are staked and dead I take a deep breath and look at Rose´s proud face, some sound is coming from the shadows behind her and quickly turns her head, but it's too late she is jumped and hear head slams on the cold hard ground with a thud and my heart skips a beat as the panic rises. I run to her side and manage to pull one of them off her and stake another, I need to kill them all, I need her safe. When they are all dead I drop to my knees beside Rose and I see so much blood coming from her hand and running across her stomach, she has been scratched and I need to get her help, fast. The group of teenagers is still behind me shaking, they are dhampirs who have clearly never seen a strigoi before "Run, get out of here" I scream at the top of my lungs the fear breaking through.
As soon as they're gone I grab Rose in my arms and Run as fast as I can to the car.
Alexei´s POV
When Ally and I got back to the house Olena and her mother were playing cards at the dining room table by a candle light and they both look up at us and Olena smiles when she sees the books in our hands "Hello kids, how was your day? Did you have fun?"
"Yes, it was great. Dad took us on tour of Baia and then we went to a really nice restaurant where our waitress blushed at the sight of Alexei when she brought us our food" Ally says, smirking at me and I roll my eyes at her, Olena keeps smiling at us "Would you like to join us"
"No thanks, I have a book to finish"
"Yeah, me too, maybe next time"
I take a seat on the couch in front of the lit fireplace and as soon as I'm comfortable Ally takes a seat at the other end and put her legs on top of mine, I glare at her and she gives me an all teeth smile and I can´t keep the grin from appearing on my face and I snort turning back to my book.
The house is quiet apart from the low sound of Olena and Yeva in the dining room and the low crackling sound of the fire, I take a peek at Ally and see that she is struggling to keep her eyes open which makes me chuckle. Suddenly the door flies open and I hear Dad shouting at the top of his lungs carrying my mother in his arms all bloody and unconscious, We all jump up from our seats and I finally hear what he´s shouting
"I need hot water, towels and a lot of bandages, Babushka please help her. Alex go upstairs and make the bed ready, we need to be quick. GO NOW"
I sprint upstairs heading straight to their bedroom, I clear the bed of everything but the pillows. Dad comes rushing in and lays my mother on the bed, he is panicking running his hands through his hair at the same time as I do
"Babushka where are you?"
five second later Olena and her mother come running through the door with their hands full of stuff, Ally comes in after them and her eyes are huge in panic and fear. I take my eyes of her and look to my father "What happened?" he doesn't hear me, so I shout at him
"DAD" his eyes meet mine "WHAT HAPPENED?" he runs his hands through his hair again and looks at mom who is lying so still it looks like she's not breathing.
She Isn´t.
Dimitri´s POV
"ROSE"
She isn't breathing, why isn't she breathing? I run over to where her head is and put my hands on either side "Mama, why isn't she breathing?"
I turn to her and I'm pushed aside by Babushka who lays a wet towel on her forehead and much to my surprise, she punches Rose hard on the chest and a small gasp comes from Rose, I see her chest moving up and down, up and down. We all take a deep relieving breath and then I am pushed out the door by babushka along with Alex and Ally, we are all fighting her when she glares at us
"Do you want her to live or not?"
At that moment we all stop and back away from the door and it closes. Neither me or the kids move, we can´t, we are simply frozen. Until we hear an agonizing cry coming from the other side of the door, we all take small gasps as I close my eyes, but open them again when Ally grips my hand tightly and when I look over at her she has her eyes squeezed together and a tear is streaming down her cheek
"Hey, she'll be alright, babushka is taking good care of her"
I wrap my right arm around her and put one hand on the back of Alexei´s neck reassuringly which he replies by looking at me, he is terrified of losing his mother. It doesn't help him when there is another heart stopping scream from Rose, I can't take this anymore "come on, let's go sit down" neither of them argue with me. Ally is still clutching to my side and to my surprise, Alex doesn't move my hand away from the back of his neck and lets me steer them to the couch in the living room where we all take a seat and Ally tucks her legs under her chin and lays her head on my shoulder, Alex on the other hand sits as straight as he possibly can stare at the fire that lights up the room.
We hear Roza screaming again and Alexei grabs my hand, squeezes it tightly and takes in a deep breath, he doesn't look at me he just keeps staring at the fire, until mama appears in the room wiping her bloody hands with a small white towel.
"She is sleeping now, we need to keep an eye on her, but I'm sure she'll be fine in a few days" Alexei is the first of us to stand up and he walks straight up to mama and hugs her
"Thank you"
Mama smiles and hugs him close "Oh no dear, you don't have to thank me, we're family and we take care of each other, " she says, brushing a lock of hair from his face and kisses his forehead, then she smiles at me and Ally who is still wrapped in my arms
"Why don't you two go to bed, you can see your mother when you wake up, I doubt your father will leave her side and you need to rest"
Alexei turns to his sister and puts his hand out for her to take, which she does. When they're leaving the room, I hear Ally´s low voice, "Thank you Babushka" and then they leave.
I sit back down and rest my head in my hands, mama sits down beside me and puts her hand on my back "She'll be alright Dimitri. She will have a nasty scar, but she'll be fine. You should sleep"
"I can't sleep mama, I need to be there when she wakes up. And please don't try to make me change my mind, " she sighs
"Alright. I however am going to bed and so is mama. If you need anything just wake me up, alright" I nod and she kisses my cheek
"I love you"
"I love you too mama"
It takes me a few minutes to gather the strength to go upstairs but eventually I do. I walk slower than I normally do and I make as little noise as I can, I get to Roza´s door and I take a deep breath and open the door. She is lying on the bed under the thin covers and she's wearing one of my black T-shirts, her hair is in a braid and she has beads of sweat on her forehead and brow. She is fast a sleep and breathing peacefully, too my relief. I kiss her on the forehead and tuck a string of hair behind her ear, then I bring a chair to the side of her bed and take her hand.
"I love you Roza. I need you, I promise I'll be here. I will never leave your side again"
Alexei´s POV
It's been three hours since we were sent to bed by our grandmother, Ally has fallen asleep but my head won't let me sleep. I pull the covers of me and tiptoe out of the room not wanting to wake my sister up on, I walk quietly to the room where mom and dad are, when I open the door I stop walking and just look at them. Dad is holding her hand even as he sleeps on a chair beside my mothers bed, I never knew how she could forgive him but seeing him like this not wanting to leave her side makes me realize I need to forgive him, for her.
His head is resting on his free hand and I can hear him snore, I find a blanket on the shelf and lay it over him to make sure he´s as comfortable as possible in this position. I turn to my mother and pull the covers further over her, I can hear the low sound of her breath, I cross my arms and walk out the room. I take one last glimpse at my parents before closing the door behind me. When I get back to bed I fall asleep as soon as I lay my head on the pillow and my mind, is at rest.
Dimitri´s POV
When I wake up I have a blanket draped over me and Roza´s hand is still in mine, I look up and see Alexei is reading on the small two man couch by the window, I clear my throat and Alex closes his book then he turns his head to me "Good morning, how long have you been here?"
"Well I have almost finished my book so I would say around four hours" I rub my face and run my hands through my hair "What time is it?"
"Twelve thirty five. Babushka is making lunch" Alexei says looking at his phone, I raise my eyebrow at his use of babushka, but it makes me smile at the same time. "How´s your sister doing?"
Alexei stands up and walks to his mother "She's alright, considering the circumstances" his arms are crossed and he has his eyes trained on Rose,
"You really do love her don't you?"
I smile and stroke her hand "I do. I actually wanted to talk to you about something and it would mean a lot to me if you would listen" Alex straightens up and nods, I clear my throat again and when I speak there is so much hope in my voice
"What would you say if I asked your mother to marry me?"
Alexei´s face is pure surprise and he drops his hands, I caught him off guard. He repeatedly changes his stands and he´s a little uncomfortable. He opens his mouth and then he closes it again then repeats this a couple of times, suddenly he crosses his arms again and then his expression hardens, but I think I see a hint of something else too, joy? finally Alexei nods
"I´d like that. I know Ally will be thrilled, so if my mother says yes, you have my blessing" he looks at his mother when he says the last part and there I see a hint of a smile around the corners of his mouth.
Rose´s POV
It's so quiet but my head is still pounding, my head isn't the only thing that hurts my arm is heavy and sore. I turn my head and I see a big head of beautiful brown hair resting on the edge of my bed and a massive hand is holding mine, I slowly pull my hand from his and stroke his head, from his forehead to his chin. He opens his eyes and his head shoots up, those beautiful brown eyes staring at me and that smile I would die for. My throat is dry and when I speak, my voice is low and it doesn't sound like me at all
"Hi" Dimitri chuckles and puts his hand on my cheek
"Hi, how are you feeling?"
"Hungry" my reply makes him laugh
"My Roza, it's just like you to think about food over everything else" I smirk at him and I feel better
"You know me comrade, I always prioritize"
"It's good to have you back, I was afraid you were going to keep me waiting for much longer"
"How long have I been asleep or unconscious or whatever I was?"
"Three days, mama and babushka have been taking good care of you. Your wounds look better and I see you can move your arm"
I can see there is something he wants to say or ask me
"Dimitri, is everything alright?"
"Of course, why would you think otherwise?"
"I know when you have something on your mind. spit it out comrade, we both know I'm going to find out at some point"
He smiles and reaches into his pocket and my breath hitches, he pulls out a small black box with one hand and takes my hand with the other then he opens up the box and inside I see a beautiful clear dimond ring.
"I know we haven't had the easiest lives, but from the moment I first saw you I knew you we´re special and I knew that my life would never be the same again. So with our children´s blessing i want to ask you the most Important question I will ever ask. Rosemarie Hathaway-Mazur would you make me the happiest man alive and ...
Marry me?"
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