Rose's POV –Five days later.

As much as I wanted it to, things with Dimitri hadn't got any better. Adrian and Lissa had helped me to see that I needed to let Dimitri in, needed to let him help me, but I just couldn't seem to let my guard down around him.

After the – incident – at the gym, I planned to speak to Dimitri as soon as I got home. Lissa had managed to sneak back home undetected (somehow), and Adrian walked me home before I told him to head back to his place; if I was going to take this step, I needed to push myself to do it without him.

When I walked in through the door, I saw that Dimitri hadn't moved from his spot on the sofa, but he looked up at me and smiled as I made my way over to him. I planned to open up to him, I really did, but when I went to say what I planned to say, no words came out. I ended up standing there, staring at him with my mouth open like some kind of awkward, gaping fish.

He had a quizzical look on his face, and when he asked what was wrong, I simply turned away and scurried back to the bedroom as quick as I could, cursing myself the whole way.

Why couldn't I just talk to him?

After all, I loved him with everything that I had, even if I couldn't show it, and I wanted things to go back to normal. I didn't want to be afraid around him, or constantly worrying whether or not he still loved me. I wanted us to be 'us' again.

But despite my newfound outlook on things, and my desire to open up to him, Dimitri and I hadn't said two words to each other. Well, I hadn't at least. Dimitri would check on me, asking me if he could get me anything, asking me if I wanted to talk, but each time I just shook my head, unable to speak actual words. I guess the head shake was progress though…

Thankfully, my dreams hadn't returned and Adrian hadn't needed to rush over to comfort me in the middle of the night. I knew he wanted to help me, but I could also see his frustration and I knew that him being here was hard for Dimitri. Neither of them would admit it, but I knew that they both wanted Adrian to move back home. As much as I took comfort with Adrian being there, and how safe I felt in his presence, I knew that if I wanted to move on from everything and start taking steps in the right direction, I needed to eradicate my dependence on him.

So I did.

He would still check in, of course, but at least now I didn't feel the need to be around him twenty-four-seven.

While I'd still not dared to leave the apartment by myself yet, I'd managed to venture out of the bedroom a few times instead of locking myself away – albeit when Dimitri was working and he wasn't at home. Of course, before, I'd been able to leave the bedroom occasionally to use the bathroom, but up until now I hadn't stayed out of the bedroom.

It had been five days since I went to the gym, and it was really starting to bother me that I hadn't made progress with Dimitri. So much so that I'd barely managed any sleep in the night, tossing and turning, and before I knew it, moonlight came peering in through the curtains once more. I was exhausted, and that was only adding to my feelings of fear, annoyance at myself and frustration at the situation.

This morning in particular, I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed all day and sleep, to just lock myself away, but judging by its earthquake-inducing rumble, my stomach had other plans. Plans that involved breakfast - preferably something doughy, sweet and covered in chocolate. Unfortunately, that meant vacating the apartment and forcing myself to walk to the bakery, so I knew I would need to settle for whatever I could find in the kitchen.

I knew that Dimitri was working today and, not too long ago, I'd heard the tell-tale sound of the front door opening and closing as he left to meet Christian. I was alone in the house.

As I made my way into the kitchen, my stomach once again made itself known and I felt my hunger increase ten-fold. With everything going on, I hadn't managed to feed myself much or force myself to eat and, as someone that usually ate like teenage boy hitting a growth spurt, I was beginning to feel the effects. I took it as a good sign that I was starting to feel properly hungry again.

It seemed that Dimitri realised this too as, when I entered the kitchen, waiting on the counter I found a small box, filled to the brim with exactly what I was craving – donuts. I smiled to myself as I reached out for them, a feeling of warmth and comfort spreading throughout my body as I saw the note left on top:

With Christian. Back later. D x

I took the box off the counter and made my way to the sofa before tucking into the delicious treats, my mouth watering as I ate them. It had been weeks since I had the pleasure of devouring these, and they tasted even better than I remembered.

I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty as I ate, however. Even without having spoken to him in days, or showing him any kind of affection, Dimitri still did the little things for me that he knew would make me smile. These donuts were just further proof that I needed to let him in, to let him help me.

I just needed to stop being so silly about it. I was safe. I was home. And I knew that Dimitri would never hurt me, so I didn't need to be afraid of him. Both Lissa and Adrian had told me exactly how distraught Dimitri was when I was missing, so I knew also that his love for me hadn't faltered – despite Nathan getting his grimy hands on me and my body.

I wanted Dimitri's help, I wanted his love. But for some reason, I just couldn't convey that to him. I was so thankful for his patience, but I knew that it wouldn't last forever.

In an attempt to start finally bridging the gap between us, once I had demolished all of the donuts, I went in search of my phone – not having had it with me for weeks I wasn't sure where it was. I searched the apartment, eventually finding it one of the top draws in the kitchen counter. I turned it on, thankful it still had a small amount of battery life left, and waited for it to become responsive. Almost immediately, unread text messages from the last few weeks began popping up, demanding to be replied to. One text in particular made my heart jump in my chest.

Kiz - Love you. I'm still here at Court. Please see me when you're feeling better. X

Baba.

Along with Dimitri, he had been on my mind recently. Having apparently freaked out when he first came to see me, I knew it would have been hard on him not being able to see his only daughter after she had been missing for weeks. I missed him, and I felt determined to get myself better so that I could see him soon.

But this was not the reason for finding my phone. Ignoring the rest of my messages, I switched to the camera setting before snapping a photo of the empty box of donuts and sending it to Dimitri with a simple 'Thank you. Xx'

It wasn't much, but I hoped it would make him smile at least.

Not five minutes later came his reply:

'You're welcome. Xx'

A few hours later, I found myself idle and slightly bored, so I decided to clean the apartment – for probably the first time since we moved in. Unsurprisingly, that job usually fell to Dimitri. As someone that tended to throw dirty laundry in the general direction of the hamper and call that 'tidying', cleaning wasn't exactly my forte…

As I stood at the kitchen sink, washing up some dishes that had been left on the side, I began to get the unwelcome feeling that someone was lingering outside the front door. I felt uncomfortable, my heart rate elevating and feelings of fear pushing themselves to the forefront of my mind. When I heard movement, I quickly dried my hands before reaching into the draw beside me for a kitchen knife in an effort to protect myself. I stood staring at the door, ready to attack should anyone come in – Dimitri wouldn't be home for an hour or so yet, and Adrian always came in the evenings when he visited, so I knew it wasn't him either.

Two seconds later, when a bundle of mail was pushed through the letter box and I heard footsteps disappearing down the hallway, I immediately relaxed, letting out a shaky breath and chuckling quietly at myself. I had no reason whatsoever to be scared. I was safe. I was home.

Turning away from the door and the mail discarded on the floor, I returned the knife back to its draw and went back to cleaning the dishes, vowing to pick up the mail when I had finished cleaning. I knew it would only be a few bills, Dimitri's paycheck and, if anything else, something from Dimitri's family – it wasn't anything urgent.

An hour later, and the apartment thoroughly cleaned, I returned to the front door and picked up the pile of letters. Skimming through them, I saw that I was right before – bills… bills…. paycheck… an envelope with Olena's delicate handwriting on it…

Until I reached the final one in the pile.

Marked with a stamp and addressed to me with handwriting I couldn't quite place, my brows furrowed in confusion. I hadn't been expecting anything, and being handwritten I knew it wasn't something as official as a bill or a paycheck – not that I had worked in the last few weeks to warrant any pay at all.

Tentatively, I placed the rest of the mail on the counter before cautiously opening the one addressed to me. Pulling out its contents, my heart immediately sank and my breath caught in my throat as I came face to face with… me. A photo of me.

In my hands was a polaroid picture of myself, unconscious and laying bound to a bed, covered in deep bruises, scratches, and barely contained by that disgusting, red silk babydoll I had been made to wear for weeks.

Looking at the photo, I felt physically sick. Bile formed in my throat as my fear came instantly rushing back to me. This was from Nathan. I knew he was still out there, and I knew I hadn't seen the last of him when Adrian told me he had escaped, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. I didn't expect him to send me such a visual reminder of what I had been through, making me instantly sick to my stomach.

Attached to the back of the polaroid, a note had been added, and I could feel my tears collecting behind my eyes before I even read what it had to say.

My Dearest Rose,
Look how gorgeous you are. The scars left on your skin brand you mine and they only add to your beauty. Mine.
You're mine - Remember that.
I'll see you soon.
Nathan x

Reading his words, I couldn't breathe. I found myself gasping for air, tears now streaming down my cheeks and my whole body trembling in terror.

This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. I was safe. I was home.

I was safe. I was home.

I was home – I wasn't safe.

I wasn't safe.

My heart was now beating so hard in my chest that it was painful and the world around me was slowly falling out of focus. I couldn't concentrate on my surroundings – all I could see was the polaroid and Nathan's threatening words.

I was shaking and sobbing so much that I didn't register the door opening beside me, or the person that opened it rushing towards me in panic.

"Roza?!" he exclaimed, clutching my shoulders tightly in his hands in an attempt to pull me out of my panic. "What's wrong?"

The polaroid still in my hand, I looked up through my tears into his worried eyes and let out a shaky cry. I dropped the photo and it slowly fell to the floor as, without thinking, I buried myself in his chest, clutching tightly at his shirt and crying into his tight embrace.

"Oh, my Roza…"

Dimitri's POV

I had to chuckle to myself when Rose's text message popped up on my phone – the empty box of donuts and a simple 'thank you'. It was such a 'Roza' thing to do, and it warmed my heart that she took the time to do that. I knew that she had made so much progress in the last few days and she was starting to become more like herself and emerge from her shell of fear.

I was immensely proud of her.

I had planned to tell her that as soon as I walked in through the door, even if she didn't say anything back to me, but my plans were diminished as soon as I heard her crying.

When I entered the apartment that evening and saw her standing there sobbing, I knew something had happened. This wasn't her usual, quiet cries when she was upset. This was a full blown panic attack. Her body was trembling and from her strained breaths I knew she was struggling to breathe. She was so engrossed by whatever was in her hands that she didn't acknowledge me rush over to her until I physically took her shoulders in my hands and stood directly in front of her.

Her bloodshot eyes met my own and she let out a strangled cry as she fell forward and buried herself in my chest. I didn't think she realised what she had done, but my heart instantly grew two sizes as I had the love of my life properly in my arms for the first time in weeks.

"Oh, my Roza…" I cooed as she cried into me, smoothing her hair back comfortingly. I rested my cheek on the top of her head as she clutched me, before I noticed what she had been holding had fallen to the floor beside us. When I saw what it was, my anger boiled inside me and I had to fight to keep in control of it. As furious as I was, Roza clearly needed me now, and I needed to be there for her. The incriminating object on the floor needed to wait.

As we stood embraced in the middle of the apartment, I realised that Roza had no intentions of calming down any time soon. Her sobbing had increased and each time I moved she clutched harder at my shirt, refusing to let go. Placing a kiss on the top of her head, I reached down and effortlessly scooped her up into my arms, cradling her as I walked us into the bedroom. She didn't show any indication of letting go as I placed her down, moving to lay down beside her myself as she continued to cry into my chest.

My Roza…

I held her close for a while, whispering comforting words to her as she let out her emotions, and eventually her sobs finally slowed and her breathing evened out. I looked down to find her eyes closed and mouth open slightly, now sleeping soundly in my arms, having cried herself into unconsciousness.

Despite the overwhelming sympathy and sadness I was feeling for her, I couldn't help but smile as I gazed down at her, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I tightened my arms around her, and felt a sense of warmth and contentment as she subconsciously gripped me tighter.

She was back with me, back in my arms.

Safe.

Hello everyone! How are you?

I'm finally done for the semester. I have a few weeks off now, so hopefully I'll find more time to write for a while.

Please remember to review and let me know what you think, how you're feeling about things etc. I love to hear from you!