Chapter 11: Oh Sister Where Art Thou?
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy
DPOV
Of all the dumb luck in the world, I had to run into Rose on my date with Dawn. If she didn't already think I was a pig, she definitely did now. I smiled at her, but my smile quickly became a frown as I realized she was here with Adrian Ivashkov. The guy was new in town and I knew nothing about him other than the fact that he just suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was a continual pain in my side. I hated that he was hanging around Rose. Were they on a date? I glared at them and I didn't realize how hard I was gripping my cup until my milkshake shot out the top and all over Dawn. She of course squealed drawing attention to us.
Rose was laughing like a hyena and I couldn't blame her. Dawn gave me a dirty look and rushed off to clean herself up. Adrian threw some money on their table and helped Rose to her feet. Yep they were definitely on a date, I thought as I watched, green with envy as he put his arm around her and drew her closer into his body.
I had to restrain myself from growling at them as he flaunted the fact that she was on his arm in front of me as they headed out the back door, which I'm sure was for my benefit.
Dawn came back a few minutes later looking a little better, but not too happy. I decided to call it a night and offered to drop her off at her house. I met her adoptive parents on the way out of the house. All I had to do was run their names through my computer and wait on the results of the adoption to see if all the paperwork was in order.
When I got home it was quiet on my end of the house. I decided to log onto my computer and see if by chance Rose had added me as a friend. She hadn't. I didn't figure she would. She was angry with me and with good reason. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if her hanging out with Ivashkov was just a ruse to make me mad. If it was then it was working. My blood had been boiling when I'd seen the way he had his arm around her waist.
I had been here a little over a month and I had accomplished very little. My high hopes for being out of here by Christmas were not looking good.
My cell phone buzzing brought me back to reality. I recognized Abe's number.
"Privet," I answered.
"How are things going?" he asked. I described my progress and the girls I had ruled out. He told me I was doing well and asked if I needed anything.
"Access to adoption records and possibly DNA testing would be helpful," I said rubbing the back of my neck.
"DNA testing?" he asked.
"Well if I could get DNA samples from some of the prospects we could send them to a lab with a sample from you and know one hundred percent whether or not they're a match in just a few weeks."
"I'll work on it," he said. "Oh and one more thing, my son has taken it upon himself to keep an eye on you. He's infiltrated the school system and is staying with an Aunt on his mother's side. I'm sure you've met him by now. I would have warned you sooner, but he didn't take care to tell me of his plans until just last night."
I wracked my brain to think of any new people in town and it hit me.
"Adrian Ivashkov," I growled.
"Ah so you have met him. Well be warned he is unpredictable, but extremely concerned about his sister. They were close as children despite their age difference. He's under strict orders from myself not to interfere with your work."
I hung up the phone. Not only was Adrian the son of Abe Mazur, but I knew from his background check as Adrian Mazur, that he was twenty-one and had been in trouble with the law on more than one occasion. He was known for drinking and partying. This whole time he'd been here he'd been keeping his identity from me and from Rose. Not that I wasn't even guiltier for keeping my identity from Rose.
One thing was for sure, I was going to have to have a little chat with him to make sure he knew that Rose was off limits. She was too young for him and way too young for me. If I was forcing myself to maintain a distance, then so was he. There was no way knowing what I knew about him that I would allow him to start any sort of relationship with her. She was pure and innocent. Hell she was a virgin. He was known for being a lady's man in his college years. I'd be damned if I was going to stand by and allow him to corrupt her.
It had been two more weeks and Halloween was fast approaching. I hadn't had any luck on the case. The adoption records I sought were sealed and I was having a really hard time cracking the encryptions and passwords I needed to access them. Abe had called back telling me that he had hit a dead end on the DNA front and that if we wanted to do it we'd have to wait six to eight weeks for each test result. I thought I'd have better luck the way I was doing it now. I had only ruled out 5 out of the thirteen girls and since had added four more to my list. They were not on the original roster having not paid their entrance fees in a timely manner. My goal this week was to figure out the mystery that was Jill Mastrano. It would really piss me off if I checked out all the rest and the one I wanted was right under my nose.
Things with Rose had gone from bad to worse. She still wouldn't friend me on facebook and she barely spoke to me outside of classroom assignments or the occasional yes or no answer. She avoided me in the halls, didn't pass me notes in Alto's class and at the Cross Country meet last Saturday she completely ignored me. Her times were slightly better than mine and she didn't even bother to rub it in my face. It was killing me inside that she was angry with me. I missed talking to her. The only time she'd said anything substantial to me was when she'd reluctantly extended an invitation from her father for the Dragomir's and myself to come over for a bonfire and barbeque this weekend. From her attitude and the way she nearly growled the invitation at me I took it that she was not too happy to have to spend a Saturday with me.
Flashback to yesterday after English
"Dimitri wait!" she called as I got up to leave. My heart jumped in my chest. It was the first time she'd initiated contact with me since the ice cream parlor incident two weeks ago. Maybe she had moved past it.
"Hey Rose, what's up?" I asked trying to sound cool and collected, but on the inside I was a huge ball of nerves.
"My dad wants me to invite you and the Dragomirs to come over on Saturday for a bonfire and barbeque, that is if you don't already have plans with some random girl you hardly know," she practically spat.
"I'm sure the Dragomirs will be delighted to come," I said ignoring her comment. "I know I am looking forward to it. Can we bring anything?" I asked hoping to prolong our conversation. She shrugged.
"I know what you shouldn't bring," she snarked inferring that I shouldn't bring a date. Like I would actually bring a girl over to her house. I'm not that much of an insensitive bastard, although she probably perceived me that way. If only she knew how out of character all of this dating was for me. I was shy in high school and dated only one girl for a short time. I fared a little better in college, but I wasn't used to all this interaction with females. I was by nature and introvert and had become even more of a recluse since Ivan had passed. He always liked to use me as his wing man and that is how I met a few of the girls I dated.
"If you really want to bring something ask my dad," she said turning on her heel and walking away. Damn she looked especially hot today in her tight jeans and deep red shirt that clung to her in all the right places without making her look cheap. My hands clenched into fists as I walked out in the hallway to see Ivashkov leaning against her locker. He said something and she laughed. Wasn't it bad enough that he'd infiltrated our lunch table and hung around Rose like a dog all day?
End Flashback
Speaking of Ivashkov, I had yet to confront him about his true identity. I wanted to obtain as much information about him as I could before blackmailing him to stay away from Rose. I'd finally found a few things I could use. I approached him after school. He of course was standing where he usually did under a big oak tree across the lot smoking one of those ghastly cigarettes. I really had no clue as to what Rose saw in him.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked smugly not moving from where he stood.
"You know what this is about Adrian Mazur," I growled shoving the papers I'd found in his face.
"Ah so I see dear old Dad has made contact and ratted me out. I was wondering what was taking him so long." He didn't seem at all perturbed that I was ready to pummel him at any given moment.
"What is it you want and how close are you to finding my sister?" he asked. Wait wasn't I the one that was supposed to be interrogating him?
"What I want is for you to stay the hell away from Rose. You're too old for her plus you're married," I spat thrusting a copy of his marriage certificate into his face.
"Well you don't say. I did think it was funny that she wore a white dress and we had all that pomp and cirmcumstance. Is that what they call a wedding?" This guy was slick, I'd give him that.
"I'll tell you what, if I'm too old for her then that makes you ancient." He continued to smoke his cigarette paying no mind to me whatsoever.
"Why are you pursuing her?" I snapped.
"I'm not. As you said I'm a married man and a happily married man at that. It only looks like I'm pursuing her because you're so damn jealous. Why don't you just give in and tell her how you feel already? You know she thinks you're a horny pig don't you?"
"That is none of your business!" I menaced.
"The hell it isn't. You're so busy thinking about her that you haven't even come close to figuring out which one of those girls you're pretending to date is my sister!" he yelled raising his voice for the first time.
"That isn't true. I have been making progress. I'm not with Rose because I'm too old for her and I am not here to socialize. I'm here on a mission. She's just a distraction I can't afford," I hissed running a hand through my hair in frustration.
"As long as you keep up what you're doing there's nothing wrong with having a little fun while you're here."
"Rose is not someone to have a little fun with. She's not that kind of girl," I roared shoving him up against the tree.
"Wow you really have it bad for her don't you? You know she's fallen under your spell as well," he said.
"What do you mean? You said she thinks I'm a pig."
"She does. It doesn't change the fact that she's falling for you. Haven't you heard that teenage girls are all about guys who treat them like dirt?"
"She's falling for me?" I asked lowering him back to the ground. He nodded.
"You Russian's are so dense," he commented lighting up another cigarette.
"What are you really doing here?" I asked him.
"I know this might be hard for you to understand, but I was ten when my sister disappeared. I remember her, hell I took care of her while her mother was having her crazy manic episodes. I've been helping my father search for her since I was fifteen. This is the first time I actually feel hope that I will see her again. Mostly the leads have been dead ends and the investigators tell my father to give up and that she's long since dead. I never believed that. Janine was batty as hell and crazy to boot, but she'd never kill her own daughter."
For once since I'd met him I felt sorry for him. I don't know what I'd do if someone took one of my sisters away from me. I guess I would be trying to find her as well.
"I understand your need to be here, but I'm warning you. Don't get in my way! If you hurt Rose, I'll hurt you!" I threatened.
"I won't hurt her. She's a good kid and fun to be around. She's not like her friends. She's got substance. Besides she's the only one here I have anything in common with."
"And what would that be?"
"Well we're both competetive, we like to play games, we're both separated from the ones we love." He gave me a pointed look.
"I see, well like I said be good to her and don't try anything or I'll expose your secret. I believe her name is Avery."
"She knows I'm involved and that her name is Avery. She doesn't know I'm married because she thinks I'm seventeen you nitwit. It wouldn't benefit your undercover status to reveal my true age," He rolled his eyes at me.
He had me there and we both knew it.
"One question," I said. "How is it that you've been going to this school for over a month and your sister hasn't recognized you? I looked at pictures of you at that age and you look different, but you are definitely recognizable," I mused. His green eyes were unmistakable.
He sighed, a grimace on his face. "The only thing I can think of is that she was somehow brainwashed to forget the first five years of her life. My sister was smart. She knew how to speak Turkish and English and had just learned to read and write. She was close to six years old when Janine took her. You don't just forget your father and brother, your address, phone number and the fact that you lived in Turkey. Janine did something to her and if she wasn't already dead, that Bitch, I'd kill her myself." By the end of his rant he was breathing heavy and his voice was elevated. With each word his face became redder.
"Okay I get it. I was just wondering," I told him.
"Well you keep wondering and keep looking. Don't you think that every time I look at one of the girls at this school with dark hair and dark eyes I wonder if she is my sister? Why do you think I like hanging out with Rose? She's a dead ringer for Rosemarie and has the same name. That may make me a little sick in the head, but she brings me comfort okay!" By this time he was raving like a lunatic. I couldn't blame him. He'd been through a lot.
"Really, I am sorry you had to go through that. I promise that I will not stop looking until I find Rosemarie," I assured him.
I walked away more confused than ever. He was right Rose was a dead ringer for the girl I was looking for. She didn't fit the profile, but her looks were dead on. I could see how he was drawn to her.
So all of you who were encouraging me to have Rose and Adrian make out… can you say gross! They're brother and sister for heaven's sake…. LOL a few of you caught my hints along the way. So there will be no Rose/Adrian romance because I do not believe in incest… but that does mean she could make out with Christian right? Nah I would never do that or would I? What do you think of Adrian now?
