A/N: Heyyy:) How was your week? I hope you like my double whammy surprise last week :) My week was absolutely exhausting...I don't know why I'm in school :/ Either way! I hope last chapter helps with this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything VA

4 months later

"Thanks for picking me up, Alberta," I said once I got into the car. I didn't think loading an SUV trunk full of luggage would be so hard! And that's not even everything!

"It's ok Rose," she said simply. "I just didn't expect you to bring so much luggage." She nodded her head to the back seat and I giggled.

"Hey! I'm not extra baggage, I'm a guest," Joshua said defensively.

"Oh stop taking it so personal," I replied back before turning to Alberta. "Sorry I didn't tell you. I happened last minute. The flight he was taking got cancelled so he tagged along."

"That's fine. I'm glad you moved on," she said sweetly. Her comment meant well, but I flinched on the inside, wearing a small smile on the outside. "Not that I don't mind or anything, but why did you ask me? I mean why not Lissa or one of your other friends?" This time I physically flinched.

"I…well cus you became like a mom for me, especially when I had a falling out with my mom. You were there for me when I needed you. Like today," I replied. "And…since I left, Lissa and I haven't talked much. I try not to talk too much with Vika, Mia's in New York so she's always busy. The only friends I've stayed in contact with are Adrian, Sydney, Eddie, and Jill and they're all out on some group date thing today."

"Ahh," she said, nodding her head without taking her eyes off the road. "And your father?"

"I'd pick you over him any day. Especially with what I brought home," I grimaced. She let out a full hearted laugh, which caused me to join in. Joshua just pouted in the back.

We got home sooner than expected, and once we had everything unloaded, I showed Joshua to the guest room and left him there to settle in while I brought my stuff to my room. After unpacking two luggages, I went out the living room and plugged in my phone to the dock, laying on the couch while my music played.

"So is this what we are doing on a Friday night?" Joshua asked from somewhere behind me, disappointment and denial all over his voice. "I don't-"

My ringtone blasting through the sound system cut him off. Too lazy to take my phone off, I answered it on speakerphone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I just wanted to know if you found a way home," Adrian asked on the phone.

"Yea, I got Alberta to pick me up." Joshua nudged me, catching my evasiveness about him.

"Oh yay! Then you can meet up with us!" Jill shouted excitedly.

"Wait, Ivashkov, do you have me on speaker phone?"

"Yes just like your lazy ass has me on it." Touchê, I thought. "Now get your big butty off the couch or bed and get dressed. Then meet us at City Nights."

"Uhh…i don't-" I began to say before Joshua covered my mouth.

"We'll be there," he said.

"Wait, Rose who's-" Eddie began to say before the call ended.

"What the hell was that for?" I asked as I slapped his chest.

"What the hell was that for?" he repeated, massaging where I hit him. I gave him a pointed look and he sighed before answering. "You were doing so well at school. When you came back you were all Sappy Sally and then when we left you were all Alluring Alice. And know that you're back home I'm not going to let you regress back to Sappy Sally. So listen to Ivashkov and go put something sexy on."

I groaned as I got up. "Fine but you're coming with me," I said as I entered my room, closing the door before he could answer. When I finished putting on some light make-up, I grabbed my black clutch and went out to the living room to meet up with Josh. As soon as he saw me the room filled with the sound of him wolf-whistling.

"Shut up," I said as I put on my black patent leather heels. I shimmied in my dress, trying to make it longer, and then lifted the front, the cleavage line getting too long. "I feel like a hooker," I grumbled as I grabbed my purse.

"Well, with a dress like that, at least you're not cheap," he said.

"Oh, I feel so much better," I muttered as we made out way out. I sent a text to my dad telling him I was going out as we got into the car.

"Holy fuck it's cold!" Joshua shouted as we exited the car. I laughed as I pulled my black mid-knee length trench coat tighter around me. We hurriedly walked across the street. Even though there was along line, I walked to the front.

"Hey Dean," I said, flashing him a smile.

"Hey Rosie," he responded as he opened the door. He looked at Joshua with a question mark on his face. I nodded my head and soon we were surrounded by darkness.

"Jess-ay!" I called out to my favorite bartender. He whipped around with a broad smile on his face. He stepped out of the bar and wrapped me in a bear hug, lifting me a little off the ground as I let out a carefree laugh. When he put me down he took my jacket.

"Holy shit, Rose, if I didn't know any better I'd say you're on prowl," he commented. I mean I did have on a gold sequin mini dress that came up shorter than my coat and had straps that weren't shoulder-covering thick, but weren't spaghetti strap thin. Best part of the dress was that the gold gave my light tan a honeyer glow. And let's not forget my hair, which I spent longer time on than I usually do. I curled it before spraying a few strands with glitter.

"Good thing you don't know better," I said to Jesse with a wink before asking for two double shots of vodka, one for me and one for Joshua. "OH! Jesse this is my friend, Joshua. He came to spend the holidays with me."

"A friend, huh?" Jesse said before engaging in an intense eye stare with Joshua and then Jesse broke out into a grin and offered him his hand, which Joshua took and shook.

"So…where is everyone?" I asked. Jesse tilteed his head to the table in the corner we had last time. I gave him a kiss on the cheek before grabbing Josh's hand and a martini and walked over.

"Miss me bitches?" I asked as I stood at the front of the table.

"ROSE!" everyone shouted. Jill and Sydney scrambled out and gave me a hug while Adrian and Eddie just smiled.

"Hey," I said as I hugged them back. "Guys, this is Josh, my…um…boyfriend."

"What?" Jill and Sydney said as they looked at him. They seemed to buy it along with Eddie, but Adrian just shook his head with a smirk on his face.

"When did you guys meet?" Eddie asked.

"Well, we've been friends since freshman year, but when I got back he became my break-up buddy and well it just seemed right."

"Oh, well nice to meet you. I'm Eddie and this is my girlfriend Jill," he said to Josh.

"Oh I'm so rude!" I said, slapping my head. "Next to Eddie is Adrian and this is Sydney, his girlfriend."

"So you guys are the friends Rose talks endlessly about. Nice to finally meet you," Joshua said. "Is anyone else coming? If I remember right the group is bigger."

"Well Mia's not coming, she's not coming in until next week," Eddie said.

"Rose?" I heard a timid, familiar voice say from behind me before I felt something push into me and wrap their arms around me. "Oh Rose I've missed you so much!"

My face broke into a wide grin as I spun around and hugged Lissa back. "Lissa! We can't ever not talk again, understood?" I said sternly. She nodded her head and squeezed me extra tight.

"Can I have my wife back please?" Christian said from behind her.

"No. She's mine now," I said with an evil laughter. "It's good to see you too, Sparky."

"Ok, I think everyone needs a drink. I'll be right back."

"So who is he?" Adrian asked from behind me while I waited at the bar for the drinks.

"Who?" I said, playing dumb. He gave me a look telling me he wasn't buying it. "Didn't you hear me? He's my boyfriend."

"Yea, and Jill's my girlfriend," he said dryly. "Honestly who is he?" I sighed and told him the truth, making him swear not to tell anyone. He nodded his head and then we grabbed the drinks and went back

"Roza!" Viktoria shouted jumping out of her seats and hugging me. "How come you didn't tell me that you had a boyfriend?"

"Um…cus we didn't talk much?"

"Oh, well you're back home and we can fix that!" I laughed and agreed. We sat next to each other, Joshua on the end and Nikolai on the other side of Vika. Vika and I had fallen into easy conversation with the Lissa, Jill, and Sydney. A few drinks later, Vika was facing the wall, her hair swept over her shoulder, as I tried drawing this cool symbol I learned about in school. I think this is the first time I go to the club and don't go on the dance floor, but honestly, I didn't mind. I was having so much fun with my friends, and the fact that it was my closest friends, the people I consider family, the people I was so worried would hate me for leaving like that, made it ten times better.

But a good thing never last forever, I learned that the hard way.

From somewhere behind us, I heard a voice that sounded faintly familiar say, "Remind me to lay off the heels for a while." And the person they were talking to mumbled something I couldn't hear or understand, I didn't really pay attention until they spoke up.

"Roza?" someone said in a hurried passionate whisper, his voice a smooth, thickly Russian accented voice I would unquestionably recognize anywhere. I felt Vika freeze up just like I did and we instantaneously slowly turned around to see Dimitri and Tasha at the end of the table. I didn't miss the look of pure hatred that flashed through Vika's eyes when she saw them. When I looked at Tasha, I saw she was still beautiful as ever, and a small part of me was jealous that she got to be so close with Dimitri, but something was off about her. The dress was fitting her too tight in the wrong places, but hey, if she got the guy I guess she ceased caring about how she looked.

Soon, my eyes coincidentally met with Dimitri's and they locked together, both a mirror image of the other, filled with longing and regret. I was almost tempted to crawl out of my seat and go to him. To tell him that I forgive him for not telling me, that part of me understands why he did it, and that I was stupid to run away like that and stupid for not talking to him. Part of me prayed that he wasn't with Tasha, that she was just being a friend and joining him so he wouldn't be the awkward third wheel. As we got lost in our own little world, my mind swirled with memories of our short-lived love affair. A love I was willing to go back to, I was willing to swallow my pride, admit I was wrong, and give it another chance. Was being the key word, until the next sentence voraciously came out and shattered that thought.

"Who's idea was it to bring a pregnant woman to a club?" Viktoria rhetorically asked, her voice opposite of the usual vibrant, elated tone I'm used to.

"Wh…wa…what?" I stuttered, my eyes probably showing how broken I felt inside. I analyzed how they acted. She was leaning onto him, almost for stability, and support. And he was acting in a protective manner of her, like making sure she didn't do anything to hurt her. Viktoria looked at me worriedly until she saw where my eyes were locked and she just shook her head. Not in the "don't do it" kind of way, but in the "unbelievable" "I was hoping you didn't find out" kind of way. Everyone noticed the mood shift and the rising tension as my eyes stayed locked on Tasha and Dimitri. I started nudging Joshua, signaling that it was time to leave, but he only scooted over.

Finally finding my voice, I asked the one question that could break everything I had put back together. "How many months?"

"Umm," Tasha thought out loud, I could see her mouth moving silently as she counted back. Dimitri's face staying emotionless, but from his eyes I could tell he was hoping I never heard the answer. "Almost four months!"

Four. Months. It's December, so four months ago was August. I left towards the middle of August. Wow, I thought as the cold truth was revealed. He slept with her right after I left. Or maybe before. Maybe he's been sleeping with her the whole time we were dating. The realization hit me like a stack of books. I felt myself starting to shake with betrayal, with rage, with hurt. I narrowed my eyes at Dimitri, watching his face fall as he realized what I just put together.

"No, Rose, I can-" Dimitri started before cutting himself off when he saw me shaking my head. I had to get out of here, but Joshua was blocking my way.

"I don't want to hear it. You just confirmed what I that all of it was a lie," I said, glad my voice stayed strong and confident. Feeling my anger being to boil, I gave up with Joshua and just shoved him out of the booth and crawled out. "Don't follow me. And I mean it this time, no one follow me." I straightened my dress and rushed to the bar to grab my jacket and ran to the car, driving off to find a place no one could find me.

Ding. The door hit against the bell behind it as I opened and came into the coffee shop. I know I was cutting it close to closing, but I couldn't go home because everyone would have thought I'd be there, and no one knew about this place. Well, only one person does, but he's done going after me. No, he's busy going after someone else.

"Hey, we're about to close," the barista said from somewhere behind the counter. I think her name's Penny, Carrie, Kim, something like that.

"I know, but I don't have anywhere to hide to," I admitted.

"Rose? Oh hey! I haven't seen you in forever! Even Dimitri coming is rarity."

"Yea well that's because someone's probably already has the coffee ready for him."

"Uhh, well whenever he does come he usually orders what you would get. Speaking of which, I have a chocolate donut and a cup of hot coco with your name all over it."

"Really?" I asked, the prospect of my comfort food cheering me up a bit.

"On the house," she said as she came around and put it in front of me. I smiled in gratitude and took a bite of the donut. We talked well past closing while she finished cleaning and putting things away.

"Oh my god," Kristen, that's her name!, gasped. "You were chased by a mountain lion?"

I let out a chuckle as I shook my head. "No. I thought I was, so I ran for my life. Ended up being a deer." We both fell into an easy laughter before the door chimed, signaling someone came in. My back was to the door so I couldn't see who it was.

"Sorry we're closed," she said in a tired tone as she looked down at her phone.

"Then you should turn the sign," said the last person I wanted to see in the world.

DPOV

"Seriously, though," my baby sister said as she scooted out the booth. "Who invited Mr. and Mrs. Belikov."

"Mazur did," I said, looking out the front door where Rose had just ran out of. Everyone was still getting out of the booth, but I saw the boy Rose push on his phone. However, as soon as I said Abe's name everyone turned to me. "When I found out Rose left, I may have asked him to let me know when she comes back."

"But you said you wanted to go out," Tasha said, her voice broken.

"No, you wanted to go out. I told you it would be better to stay in, but since you wouldn't take no for an answer I used it as an opportunity. I didn't expect Vika to tell the whole world you're pregnant."

"Yea, well you should have never come here, especially with her. I told you if you didn't stay away I'd tell her, now you know I'm not talking out of my ass," Vika countered. She got right in front of me and looked in my eyes with determination and hate. "She moved on, and coming back into her life when you are about to start your own with someone else, is just evil. If you ever felt a miniscule of anything for her, even if it was just as a friend, then leave her alone." She turned around and walked away.

"Wait," I shouted as I followed her out. When we got to the lot, I grabbed her arm. She pulled it away quickly and turned around to face me. "Where are you going?"

"To find her. Because unlike your brainless ass, I know that she wants us to."

"What's that suppose to mean?" I asked harshly, having enough of her _ remarks.

"Seriously? I'm talking about the night it all went to hell. At Mama's house. She wanted you to go after her and calm her down and show her how much you love her and are willing to be there for her no matter how far apart you are," she said, her tone softening.

"But Tasha-"

"Are you fucking kidding me?! She said that so that Rose would think you didn't care enough about her to go after. She wanted your relationship to hell, just like she's trapping you with that bastard she's carrying."

"Viktoria!" I shouted. I can tolerate many things, especially with Vika, but insulting my unborn son crosses the line. She was about to say something but I cut her off. "No! You listen to me. You keep the baby out of it, he's innocent. Don't you come and tell me what I felt or fell. I loved Rose. In the short time I got to know, I fell in love with her, and I haven't gotten back up. I still love her. Every night I pretend that it's not Tasha carrying my baby, but Rose, and that in 5 months I'll be holding a small baby with Rose's hair and nose and eyes and with her intensity and stubbornness, but my calm and rationality. You don't think I wish I could go back to that night and fix it? That night was the biggest mistake of my life. And I know it's all my fault. I feel guilty for the way I used Tasha back in high school and I haven't been able to move past that, and now I lost the love of my life. I'm stuck in a loveless relationship, but for better or worse I need to make it work so that my son doesn't grow up in a broken home resenting me. You don't think I wish there was a way for me to get Rose to take me back and help me raise my son. That Tasha will let me leave but let me stay in our son's life? I have this stupid fantasy that Tasha and I are separated and I have primary custody of the child, and on the weekends Rose and I take him to the park to play on the swings. But I'm not stupid, Vika, I know that's never going to happen. I know Tasha trapped me with this child, and honestly, I do resent her for tricking me like that, but I miss Rose more. I lost Rose four months ago and tonight I just lost any chance of getting her back. And it's killing me. I want nothing more than to hold my Roza in my arms, to tell her I love her and I'm never letting her go. That I was stupid to not tell her, that I chose Russia for a good reason, that I regret letting Tasha connive her way into my apartment, and into my life. But I can't! She ran away and no one knows where she is." By the end I was breathing hard, tears in my eyes, and my little sister had her eyes wide, but she wasn't looking up at me. She was looking behind me.

Shit.

"You honestly feel that way?" Tasha asked from behind me. "You think I trapped you? I never told you that you had to stay with me. If you want her so much then go after her, but you'll never see me or my son again."

"Wait, Tasha," I said, exhausted as I turned around and faced her. "Can we talk about this later? Please? I really don't want to fight, I don't have any energy in me."

"You don't want to fight or you don't want to lose precious time to find your Roza," she said, practically spitting out the last two words. I don't get what her problem is, she won didn't she? I'm going to be spending the rest of my life with her because of the child she has growing in her stomach. Rose hates me because she thinks I cheated on her and I never loved her. Tasha won, and now I'm in prison. I should be the one that's hateful. "But fine, do what you want. You have until tomorrow morning or I'll leave and you'll never see or hear from me again. I mean it this time." I waited until she drove off to look back to Vika, who had a smirk on her face. I looked around the parking lot and saw her car was the only one left. All her other friends left already, in search of Rose no doubt.

"You're wasting your time, why don't you go after Tasha make things right. I'm sure all you need to do is caress her like I'm sure you know how to and she'll be putty in your hands. I mean just glancing at her used to make her day. You know, I'll even give you a ride to your apartment," Vika said mockingly.

"No. I'm finding Rose because believe it or not, I know her better than any one."

"Knew her. Look I don't know if what you said before what true, but honestly there's nothing I'd want more than for Rose to be happy with you, and you probably had a chance to get that. If you came alone. But I highly doubt you can now. Now she knows you cheated on her. There's no way in hell she's taking your sorry ass back."

With that she turned around and went to her car.

"Wait, Vika, are you going to Mama's tonight?"

"Are you staying the night there?" she asked. I nodded my head. "Then tell her I'm staying at Nikolai's tonight."

I sighed and nodded my head. Once she drove away, I thought of the one place Rose would go to if she didn't want to be found and got in my truck.

A/N: ROSE IS BACK! Dun...dun...dun! Sooo how about that meeting? Let me a review what you thought...and what you think is going to happen...in the next chapter? in the near future?

See you next week :) xoxo