Chapter 23
Adrian left shortly after I dropped the 'Mason-is-my-kidnapper' bomb, leaving me with Dimitri. I lift my arm a bit in his direction. Dimitri takes my hand and sits down at the chair.
"Roza, how can I ever show how sorry I am?" Dimitri asks me, his accent thicker now. I tilt my head to the side as I look at him.
"What are you talking about?" I ask. He rests his forehead on my hand for a few seconds before he looks up at me again.
"You got into an accident with my car. I should have been the one in the car. It should have been me laying here in this bed." He looks devastated. He blames himself.
"No, Dimitri. No. We could not have predicted a car accident. Please, don't blame yourself." I wish I could say the right words to convince him that I truly don't blame him. And I would much rather it be me in the accident than him. He means so much to me and I don't think I would have made it if he died.
"When I got home and you were not there… this sinking feeling took over my stomach and I just knew something was not right. And then your father called." He lets out a shaky breath. He must have been so terrified. I know I would have been. If my father, or anyone really, had to call me and tell me Dimitri was in a car accident, I'm sure I would have lost it. We may not have been together for long, but the love I feel for him is out of this world.
"Seeing you just lay there with the machines breathing for you… I can't even…"
"Come here." I say. Dimitri lays on the bed next to me, trying not to move me too much. The pain in my body is far from being gone. It's going to be a long road for me to recover.
"I don't blame you Dimitri. Okay? I just want you to help me recover. I love you." I say. Even though we have said we loved each other when he came out of jail, we have never said it again until now. I didn't know if I could say it whenever I wanted to because we just started dating.
"I love you to, so much. I will help in any way I can." He kisses me lightly on my lips and then we just lay next to each other. I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes again, Dimitri was gone and Lissa was pacing the length of my room. She's biting on her nails, a nervous habit of hers.
"Lissa?" I get her attention. My voice is still raspy, but speaking is getting a bit easier. Her head whipped to me and she starts to sob.
"I thought I lost you again." She runs to me and wraps her arms around me. I bite my tongue to stop the grunts of pain from coming out.
"Did you say yes?" I ask. I know my mother told she did, but I want to hear if from Lissa herself. She pulls back from the hug and hold out her left hand. The beautiful diamond ring we chose, shines brightly on her ring finger.
"I called you right after, but your mother answered and told us. Rose, you can't scare me like that again." I roll my eyes at her. She can be a little bit dramatic when she wants to be.
"I will try my best." I laugh. Lissa looks at me seriously for a second. She is debating on telling me something.
"I heard about Mason. They can't find him. He just disappeared." I suck in a deep breath. So, it really was him. I know what I heard, but I hoped they would take him in for questioning and he would say that I misunderstood him, that he is not really the monster that hurt me so bad.
"Did Dimitri tell you they found the brake cable cut on his car. That is what caused the accident. Someone must have done that while we were at the restaurant." He never said anything like that. All of a sudden, my dream about the kidnapper makes sense. He told me that it was all his doing. And then Mason said that I was not the one who should have gotten hurt.
"He cut the brake cable. How could he have done that? Dimitri could have died Lissa." Tears fall from my eyes. Lissa takes my hand in hers and rubs small circles on the top of my hand.
"I'm sorry Rose. I wish I knew what to say. He fooled us all." I try to lift my arm up to whip my face but it hurts too much. Lissa takes a tissue and whips my tears away.
"Adrian is doing an individual investigation for him. His lieutenant doesn't want to go crazy about this because of what happened to Dimitri. But Adrian is doing everything in his power to get Mason. And we are all helping. We will let him pay for what he did to you." Lissa lays down next to me much like Dimitri did earlier and we both fall into a deep sleep. I try to keep the nightmares of Mason out of my mind but I just can't. He was a friend. A person I loved and held close to my heart. I couldn't love him as more than a brother and that is why his head went off the train tracks. He was obsessed with me. I knew he liked me but this is much more than love. It is not healthy.
Xxx
I pull the shorts over my cast carefully. The leg has been healing nicely the two months I was on life support and the one month I laid in the hospital to heal. My arm healed but I will have a long nasty scar and the place between my breasts where the glass got stuck also left a long scar. My head is okay, I just shouldn't shake it around much or bump it at all. The only thing left to heal is my leg. The doctor said the cast needs to be on for one more month and then I will need to come back for a check-up.
"Are you ready to go?" Dimitri asks as he makes his way into my room with a wheelchair. I look at it and then at him and raise both my eyebrows.
"What? It is hospital policy." He helps me drown from the bed and to the chair. We have talked about his guilt the whole time I was in the hospital. He has only recently started to accept the fact that there was no way we could have knows what would happen.
"I can't wait to be in my own bed again." I say as Dimitri wheels me out of the hospital. My car is parked by the entrance. He is busy getting a replacement car from his insurance but he has been using mine in the meantime.
"I can't wait to sleep next to you again." He says. He puts a hand on my leg as he drives us home. Lissa, Christian and Adrian wait for us as we get to the training center. Lissa has Rosalie on her hip as she walks to the car. I haven't seen my little goddaughter in three months. She has grown so much. Her black hair is way past her small ears. She has Lissa's beautiful green eyes and fair skin tone.
"My beautiful baby girl. I want to hold you so bad but uncle Dimitri need to take me inside first." I say to her. Dimitri lifts me up bridal style and carries me up to our loft. He sets me down on the couch and makes sure I'm comfortable. Lissa puts Rosalie on my lap. I make sure to support her back with my hands. Dimitri, Christian and Adrian goes to the kitchen and have a hushed conversation. It's probably about Mason and where they should look next. I can't believe he has evaded our search efforts for a whole month.
"She rolled over yesterday for the first time." Lissa says as she sits down next to me. Rosalie plays with the small ruffles on my shirt.
"That is good. She is developing well. What is happening with our business?" I ask. I have put off asking that question since I told them about Mason. When I was out for the first two months, Mason covered as much as he could. Now we have no other photographer.
"Most of the clients are so understanding. They don't mind waiting for their pictures and some unfortunately had to cancel with us because they needed a photographer for events. Sonya's wedding is next month. She is holding on to us. If you are good by then, then she wants you to do it." Luckily, I can do any editing from home and have Lissa give them to the clients.
"I got this for Christian but I don't know what to give it to him." Lissa pulls out a pink baby onesie with a tutu from her purse. I take it and fold it open in front of Rosalie.
"Christian will not fit…" My sentence is cut short when I read the words on the front. Best big sister is printed in bold black letter.
"You're pregnant?" I ask. Lissa shushes me and looks over to where the guys are talking. She takes the onesie from me and folds it up to put it back into her purse.
"Yes, I found out two days ago." I hug Rosalie to my chest.
"Is that even possible? You only had Ro five months ago." Lissa nods her head.
"It is. You can fall pregnant as soon as three weeks after birth. I'm two weeks pregnant." I pull her into a hug, squeezing Rosalie between the two of us.
"I'm so happy for you. I think Christian will be super…"
"Roza, do you want some juice?" I look up to Dimitri and nod my head.
"Please, Lissa wants some to." I say. The guys join us a few moments later.
"Any news?" I ask Adrian. He shakes his head.
"No, I'm sorry. I went back to the cabin, the police cleared it a while ago and I was sure he would go back there. His mother has not heard anything from him. It's like he fell from the planet." Dimitri hands me and Lissa our juice and sits down next to me. Rosalie holds out her hands to Dimitri. He takes her from my lap. I love seeing him play with her.
"Thank you all for trying so hard." I say to all of them in the room.
"Tasha is hosting a small get-together for me and Lissa tomorrow night, I hope you guys can all make it. It's sort of a belated birthday party." Christian says. Shoot, I wanted to arrange a massive shindig for him and Lissa. Well, a small party is better than nothing and two months later is not so bad.
"We will make it." I say before Dimitri can start about me needing to rest. I won't miss anymore of my best friend's life. And I won't allow her to put her life on pause for me again. She is already behind in her wedding planning.
"I told Tasha it is not necessary…" Lissa starts to say but I cut her off.
"No, it is. A twenty first is a big birthday. And I am so sorry you missed having the right attention on your actually birthday." Lissa lays her head on my shoulder. I just want the absolute best for her.
"How are things with you and Sydney?" I ask Adrian. He gets a small smile on his face at the mention of her name.
"We are good. Her mother had a terrible fall and she had to go back to Florida to help out for a bit. She should be back end of the month." She only came to visit me once in the hospital but it was very brief and she didn't say much. She is not a share your soul with everyone type of person. She is very closed off and private, like Dimitri is. I'm still working on getting him to open up and when I'm done with him, I'll start working on her.
"Send her my love." I say and start to yawn. I didn't even realize how tired I am.
"Do you want to rest for a bit Rose?" Dimitri asks me and I nod my head. I take Rosalie from him and give her a big kiss before I hand her back to her mother. I wave at all my friends as they leave the apartment.
"Can we have some Rose and Dimitri time now?" I ask him seductively as soon as he comes back into the loft. Dimitri shakes his head and laughs.
"You have a broken leg Roza." I give him my best puppy-dog face. Dimitri lifts me up and carries me to the bedroom. I start to kiss his neck. He loves it when I do that and he can barely say no to me.
"Roza, we can't. what if I hurt your leg?" He places me on the bed. I pull him down and he lays down next to me.
"I'll be fine. I need you." I say as I attach my lips to his. The kiss goes from gentle to heated in 0.4 seconds. I lead Dimitri's hand to my vagina where I need him the most right now. He unbuttons my pants and slides them down my legs, being careful of my cast. He resumes kissing me as his fingers finds my clit under my panties. I want to scream with pleasure as he starts to pump one finger inside me. I can feel my juices leaking around his finger. I'm so close.
"Oh, yes! Dimitri go faster." I beg. Dimitri inserts another finger and starts to pump faster. I come fast and hard. It feels like I have been deprived of this pleasure for far too long. Dimitri pulls out his fingers and licks them off. I have never seen anything hotter in my life. I pull his face close to mine and kiss him again. I start to fumble with his pants to return the favor when I bump my injured leg against his and gasp. Dimitri pulls away and scoots as far away from me as the bed will allow.
"Okay, that is over. You need to rest." I try not to laugh at Dimitri. He is clearly turned on and wants me but he does not want to risk hurting me again.
"But I need a shower first." I say. As much as I want to go to sleep now, I really want a hot shower.
"Okay, but no funny business." I cross my heart and smile at Dimitri. He pulls the plastic bags we got from the hospital for showering over my cast. It looks like a huge condom. He carries me to the shower and puts me down on the closed toilet. I watch as he gets the water to a nice temperature and then he starts to take the rest of my clothes off. He stares at the long scar between my breasts for a few seconds to long. It looks ugly and it will never fade away. He doesn't want to look at stuff like that for the rest of his life.
"I can handle it from here." I say as I try to push Dimitri away. He looks at me with one eyebrow raised.
"I'll call you if I need any help." Dimitri reluctantly leaves the bathroom. I hop into the shower and try to wash as fast as I can. I turn the water up and let the scalding hot water burn away all my tears. My body use to be so good. My skin was flawless and I loved the way I looked. Now I'm like Frankenstein, cut up and scarred.
Xxx
"Go and mingle Dimitri, I'll be fine." I say for the fourth time since we arrived at Tasha's house for the party. Dimitri got me crutches to use when I need to walk so, I can move around without him. I didn't tell him why I didn't want his help yesterday in the shower. I don't want his pity. If he can't look at me with my scars then we have a problem. They are on me now and there isn't much I can do about them.
"I'm so glad you are able to join us Rose." Tasha walks towards us and leans down to give me a gentle hug. She hugs Dimitri to.
"I'm glad to be here. Thank you for doing this. I wanted to give Lissa and Christian the best party ever but then the accident happened." Tasha waves off the compliment for the party. It is not just a small get-together. There must be at least forty people here. It is some of Christian's cousins and some old college friends of Lissa's. My parents are here to, but they will be leaving soon and looking after Rosalie for the night. That little girl has climbed into every person's heart. My father can't get enough of her.
"Dimka, you should walk around for a bit. There might be some people you know." Tasha says to Dimitri. I push him a bit towards her.
"Why don't you take him for a spin around the place Tasha?" Dimitri throws me the evil eye as he and Tasha walks off to greet some people. I spot Lissa and Christian by the snack table. They are in a deep conversation with one of our old friends from high school.
"How are you doing Darling?" My mother asks as she takes a seat next to me. I sigh and shrug my shoulders.
"Dimitri stared at my scar yesterday. Like almost gawking at it." I say. My mother raises an eyebrow at me.
"And you didn't like that?" She asks.
"No, I have always felt so beautiful under his gaze but last night I didn't. I can just imagine what he is thinking. How can he love me if I'm so ugly?" My mother wraps her arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer to her.
"Ah, baby. I'm sure that is not what went through his head when he was looking at your scars." She tries to reassure me but it doesn't help.
"Then what was he thinking?" I ask.
"I don't know sweetheart. But I'm pretty sure you weren't born with the ability to read minds. Why don't you just ask him." She is right. I should just ask him. It will help me put these negative thoughts to bed. And Dimitri has never lied to me, well, I don't think he has.
"I will think about it, mama. Thank you." She gives my shoulder a small squeeze before she stands up.
"We are going to head out now. I love you." She kisses me on the forehead and then she leaves to find my father. He comes to me to greet me to and then they leave with Rosalie. I can just imagine what they will be like with my kids. I observe the party for about another hour. Tasha was right about Dimitri knowing people here. He struck up a conversation with a guy named Ivan. They use to be best friends all throughout school until he went off to join the army. He just got back from Afghanistan. Well, that is what Lissa told me when she came to sit with me for a bit. I make my way to the restroom slowly. I hate walking with crutches.
"How are you and Dimitri doing? Are you getting anywhere?" I stop when I hear Dimitri's name. I back up a bit to be covered by the wall.
"We are still just friends. I wanted to make my move a long time ago but Rose just got into an accident. I don't want to be that woman who hurts other people to get what I want." I hear Tasha reply to who ever she was talking to. She is after Dimitri. I knew it. All the looks and touches she gives him. She is just waiting for the right time to jump in. Now would be the perfect time. I'm too scarred for him now. She is beautiful. She has a scar on her cheek but it just makes her more beautiful. It's small and completely healed now where as mine is big and ugly and fresh.
"Screw the tween. If you want him then go and get him. You have something that little girl will never have. You were his first time. You made him a man." I feel like vomiting as the images of Dimitri and Tasha having sex invades my mind. I knew Dimitri has done it before but I hoped to never hear about it and to need meet one of his ex's.
"He was fresh out of high school and I was the only woman paying him any attention. But it was amazing. Maybe I should go for it. What we had was incredible and Rose would understand." I turn around on my crutches and walk towards the front door as fast as I can. I need to get out of here before I punch someone hard in the face.
Looks like a cat fight is in the near future.