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CHAPTER 21

DPOV

When I woke up, Roza was still sound asleep. I lay next to her and watched her for a while, not wanting to wake her up. She looked so peaceful. I leaned over and kissed her forehead softly before finally getting up. I put my boxers and jeans on and made my way to the kitchen. I wanted to do something nice for Roza so I decided to make her breakfast in bed.

I opened the fridge, but there wasn't much there, only a few eggs. I guess I was going to make her an omelette, then. I rummaged through the cabinets, hoping I'd find a bowl somewhere, when I heard footsteps. Damn. She was already up.

I quickly turned around when I heard an ear-piercing scream. Mia stood in the kitchen, her eyes wide with fear.

"Oh my God," she screeched, clasping her hand over her mouth. "Oh my God, is this a dream?" She blinked and gaped at me. "Mr. Belikov, is that really you? What…what are you doing in my kitchen?"

I stared at her, speechless. If she was so surprised to see me, did that mean Rose hadn't told her about me?

"Umm…" This was awkward. This was really awkward. As Mia stared at me, I suddenly remembered I wasn't wearing a shirt. Great. "I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to," I said at last. "Did Rose not tell you I would be staying over?"

"Rose?" Mia said, confused. "You're here for Rose?"

"Um, yes," I said. "Didn't she tell you anything at all?"

"Tell me what? That she's screwing our former teacher – sorry," she added quickly, blushing. "I'm just a little shocked."

Before I could respond, there were footsteps again and Rose walked in, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on here? I heard someone screaming." She dropped her hands and looked from me to Mia. "Oh."

"Rose, what's going on?" Mia asked. "Why…why is Mr. Belikov here?"

Rose bit her lip. "I kind of forgot to tell you, but Dimitri is… He is my boyfriend."

Mia's eyes almost bugged out. "Your boyfriend?" she exclaimed.

I glanced at Rose and she gave me an apologetic look.

"I have to sit down for a minute," Mia mumbled as she sank down on one of the chairs. "Okay… So when did that happen? And why did you never tell me this?"

"Umm… Can we discuss this another time?" Rose asked as she glanced at me.

Mia looked at me, too, and then got up. "Sure. I got to go to class anyway."

She quickly left the kitchen and when her bedroom door slammed shut, I turned to Rose.

"Why didn't you tell her about us?" I asked, frowning. "I thought you had… Or don't you want your friends to know?"

"No, it's not that. I was going to tell her," Rose said, biting her lip again, "but I didn't know how. It's kind of hard to explain and she would want to know everything." She walked up to me and took my hands in hers. "I will explain her tonight. I promise."

"Okay," I said. "You should've seen the look on her face when she walked in. I think I scared her to death."

She chuckled. "I'm sure she'll get over it." Standing on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around me and pressed her lips against mine. "Why did you sneak out of my bedroom?"

"I wanted to make you breakfast in bed," I mumbled against her lips. "Now it's all ruined. You were supposed to stay asleep until I was back."

"Aww, you're so sweet," Rose said as she pulled away to look at me. "Now I feel bad. You want me to go back to bed and pretend to sleep until you come with my breakfast?" she asked grinning.

"No, it's fine," I said, pecking her lips.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, lifted her and placed her on the counter. She smiled against my lips and wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me closer as we continued to kiss.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"

I quickly pulled away from Rose and cleared my throat as Mia made her way past us.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," she said without looking at us. "Sorry. I just needed my…purse." She snatched it from the kitchen table. "'ll see you later, Rose. Bye, Mr. Belikov."

She hurriedly walked away. Rose looked up at me and burst out in laughter. I couldn't help but laugh, too. She buried her face in my neck and I pressed my lips against her hair, still smiling. After a few minutes, I pulled away reluctantly.

"I was going to make you an omelette. Is that good for you?" I asked.

Rose hopped off the counter. "Sure. I'm going to take a shower. Be right back," she said, pressing a kiss on my cheek before leaving the kitchen.

I stared after her with a smile on my face. Sometimes, I still couldn't believe this amazing woman was mine.

RPOV

"Oh my God, I can't believe you lied to me for so long!" Mia said, sounding outraged.

We were lounging on the couch and I'd just told her the whole story about Dimitri and me. I hadn't left anything out. Mia knew everything now.

"I didn't exactly lie. I just kept it hidden from you," I said shrugging.

"Whatever," Mia said, rolling her eyes. Then she grinned. "I still can't believe you're actually dating Mr. Belikov! He's so yummy!"

"I know!" I said grinning.

"Make sure you hold on to him, because I don't think there's someone as perfect as him," she said. "I mean, he's hot, sweet and protective. You're so lucky."

I smiled. "Yeah."

"I think it's good he's so protective of you. You need it. With Jesse, you know." She frowned and shook her head. "I never thought Jesse was capable of stabbing someone. Threatening and trying to look like a tough guy, yeah sure, but really hurting someone?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Dimitri got lucky that night."

"It's stupid they stopped the search. Are the cops dumb or what? What if he comes back and hurts you?"

"One of my mom's colleagues, Mikhail, is still working on it," I said. "He doesn't want to give up."

"Good. He better not give up," Mia said. "They really need to catch that creep and lock him up somewhere far, far away from here."

I nodded in agreement.

Mia glanced at the clock and sighed. "Well, I should go to bed. Got to get up early tomorrow."

"Yeah, me too," I mumbled as I got up.

I retired to my room and got ready for bed. I'd just put on my PJ bottoms and a tank top when there was a loud crashing sound. I quickly turned around and stared at my window. It was broken and a stone lay on the floor, surrounded by small pieces of glass.

Shocked, I made my way to the window – whilst trying to avoid the glass – and looked outside. It was dark, but I could see a figure standing near the trees. When he saw me looking, he turned and sprinted away.

Suddenly, the door opened.

"Rose, what was that – oh my God!" Mia shrieked, clasping her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide as she looked from the shattered window to the glass splinters on the floor. "What happened?" she exclaimed, lowering her hand.

"Someone threw a stone through my window!"

"Did you see who it was?" Mia asked.

"Not really, but I can guess."

When she saw the look on my face, she stammered, "Y-you mean… Jesse?"

I nodded, my face grim. "Yes, I'm pretty sure it was Jesse."

"Oh God… I'm going to call the police!" Mia said, rushing away.

"No," I said quickly, stopping her. "I'm not sure it was him. I'll call Mikhail, okay? He'll know what to do."

"Okay," she said, a little unsure. "I'll get the dustpan."

I took my cellphone and dialed Mikhail's number. After the third ring, he answered the phone.

"Rose, is everything alright?" he asked immediately.

"I don't know," I said lamely.

I told him what just had happened. When I finished, he responded he'd come over as soon as possible. I tried to convince him to come by tomorrow, because it was late and he'd probably been about to go to bed when I'd called.

"No, Rose. I'm coming over now," he said firmly.

"Fine. But don't tell mom, please," I pleaded. "She will freak out."

"Your mom needs to know about this, Rose."

"But we're not sure it was Jesse. It might've been some stupid prank," I said. "Just wait for a little while, okay? I don't want her to worry for nothing."

"Okay," he agreed. "I'll be there in forty minutes. Keep your phone close – in case he comes back."

"Okay. Thank you, Mikhail," I said before disconnecting.

I took a deep breath and then dialed Dimitri's number. I'd rather not call him, because he would most likely want to come over too – even though it might be false alarm. But if I didn't call him and he'd hear it from my mother or Mikhail, he'd probably be mad at me for not calling him.

"Roza?" Dimitri's voice sounded full of concern. "Is something wrong?"

I told him the exact same story as I'd told Mikhail and just like I'd expected he told me he'd come over immediately.

"You don't have to do that," I said. "Really, it's fine. I'm fine."

"Roza, don't argue. I'm coming over," Dimitri said.

"But-"

"If it really was Jesse, I don't want you to be alone tonight."

"I'm not alone. Mia is here."

"That's not good enough for me. I'm coming."

Before I could say anything else, he hung up. Just then, Mia walked in with a dustpan. We started cleaning up in silence.

"Are you okay?" Mia asked after a while.

I looked at her. "I'm fine."

I wasn't sure if that was true, but for now I had to stay strong. I couldn't start panicking as long as I didn't know who'd thrown the stone. It would be a huge relief if it hadn't been Jesse, but if he'd really thrown the stone… That would mean he knew where I lived and that he'd probably been following me for days - or maybe even longer. That also meant he could come back. Don't think about that, I chastised myself. You don't know for sure it was him. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"Are you sure?" Mia asked, a worried look on her face.

I mustered up a smile and reassured her, "Yes, I'm fine."

After we'd cleaned up, we waited for Mikhail and Dimitri. Mikhail was the first one to arrive. He inspected my broken window and asked me to repeat what had happened. He said he was going to talk to the local police and then left.

Not even two minutes after he'd left, there was another knock on the door. Mia went to open it and seconds later Dimitri rushed toward me.

"Roza, are you okay?" he asked, wrapping me in his arms.

I buried my face in his chest and closed my eyes. "Yes, I'm okay," I said in a muffled voice.

"Did Jesse try to hurt you?" Dimitri asked.

"No, he just threw a stone through my window. And I'm not even sure it was Jesse."

"Who else would do that kind of thing?" he said.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it was a prank."

Dimitri arched an eyebrow. "Throwing a stone through someone's window isn't funny."

I sighed.

"Didn't you see him after he'd thrown the stone?"

"I saw someone standing near the trees when I went to look," I said. "And I'm sure it was a guy. But it was too dark to recognize him."

"It's got to be Jesse," Dimitri muttered.

"I think so too," Mia said as she walked in. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt," she added. Then she turned to me. "I don't know how he did it – since he's been on the run for months – but he must've gotten your address somehow."

"He probably got it from someone who knows you're staying here," Dimitri said.

"Only my friends and family know," I said, outraged. "You think one of them told Jesse?"

"No, of course not, milaya," Dimitri said reassuringly. "But he must've heard it somewhere."

"Or he found out because he never stopped stalking you," Mia said. I stared at her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she said apologetically.

"Let's just wait until Mikhail's back," Dimitri said sighing.

I nodded. "Mia, you don't have to wait up. You got a class tomorrow morning…"

She raised her eyebrows. "You think I'm able to sleep now? I'm waiting until Mikhail's back."

"Fine," I said.

We went to the living room and waited there in silence. Dimitri got up at last and tried to fix my window. There wasn't much to fix, though, so in the end he just covered the broken window with a cardboard. By the time Mikhail was back, it was already past midnight.

"A young couple reported their car stolen about an hour ago," Mikhail said, his face grim. "The man was putting the garbage outside when he saw a young man breaking into his car. Before he could stop him, he'd already driven off. The couple lives two blocks away from here. So it's likely it was the same guy."

"Oh my God," Mia breathed. "Was the man able to describe the guy?"

"Only that he looked young, about twenty years old," Mikhail said. "And that he was tall and had short hair. That's all."

"That sounds a lot like Jesse," Mia said. "Can you come up with someone who would throw a stone through your window and then run off to steal a car? I can," she continued firmly. "It's Jesse. It's definitely him."

"We don't know for sure, though," I said. "Jesse has short hair, yes, but the man never said it was a blond guy. It's too dark outside to see. I couldn't see it either."

"Rose is right. We can't be sure, but to be honest… I think it was indeed Jesse," Mikhail said.

"Great," I muttered.

"Anyway, they're searching for the car right now," he continued. "I'll call you when I know more."

I nodded. "Thank you for your help, Mikhail."

After Mikhail had left, Mia returned to her bedroom.

"You don't have to stay," I said to Dimitri. "You have to get up early and-"

"Roza, I'm not leaving," he interrupted. "I don't care if I have to get up early. I'm not leaving you."

I sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to convince him to go home. Sometimes he was just as stubborn as me.

"Fine then," I said shrugging.

To be honest, I was kind of glad he was staying over. I always felt safer with him. Until now I hadn't really panicked, but I knew this calm state I was in right now wouldn't last long and that I would start to panic and worry once I was alone.

"Let's get some sleep," Dimitri said.

I nodded and followed him to my room. Even though I was tired, I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, willing myself to sleep. But it didn't work. I let out a frustrated sigh as I stared into the dark.

"Are you okay?" Dimitri asked softly.

"Yes," I whispered.

I expected him to say something, but instead the lamp on the bedside table flicked on. "You keep tossing and turning and sighing. You're just telling me you're okay so I wouldn't worry," he said at last.

"Then why are you asking?" I snapped. I immediately regretted my harsh words. "Sorry," I whispered without turning around.

"It's fine," Dimitri responded. I was still facing away from him. I didn't want him to see the tears in my eyes. It was quiet for a while and then he said in his soft voice, "Will you please turn around and look at me?"

I wiped at my eyes and turned around to face him. He gave me a small smile as he put his hand on mine and laced our fingers together.

"It's okay to be scared, you know," he said. "You don't have to be ashamed of it."

I averted my eyes and didn't say anything.

"I am scared, too," he continued.

"What?" I said, incredulous. "You're not scared of anything."

"I'm scared for you," he said softly. "I don't want anything to happen to you." He lifted our hands and kissed the back of my hand. "I don't want to lose you."

I moved closer to him and he let go of my hand so he could wrap his arm around me. He pulled me against his chest and kissed the top of my head. Sighing, I closed my eyes.

"I don't want to think it was Jesse," I said after a few moments of silence. "I want to believe it was a prank. Or a mistake – maybe the guy realized he'd thrown at the wrong window and that's the reason why he ran off. As long as we're not sure it was him, I want to believe it was a stupid prank."

"Okay. I understand," Dimitri said, "but will you promise me something?"

I looked up at him. "Anything."

"Don't go out alone after dark," he said, looking straight into my eyes. "As long as we're not sure, you can't go out alone after dark. Can you promise me that?"

"Yes," I said. "I promise." Sighing, I rested my head on his chest again. "Do you think this is ever going to stop?"

It was quiet for a while. I didn't think he knew the answer. Or maybe he knew, but didn't want me to worry so he didn't say anything. At last, he pressed his lips against my forehead and said, "Try to get some sleep, milaya."

And so I did.

That was it for this chapter. So, do you guys think it was Jesse or someone else? And what did you think of Mia's reaction when she found Dimitri in her kitchen? :P

Please leave a review and tell me what you think ;)

Have a nice day/evening! :)