Thank you for the reviews! I honestly wish I had gotten more on the last chapter, mainly because your feedback tells me if I'm doing something right and you enjoy it. I hope this chapter came out right. I haven't been feeling well and the kids were a little more rambunctious than usual. I don't want to take up any more time so here you are!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the VA characters. They belong to the beautiful Rachel Mead!
"I could've been successful!"
Mommy's scream sounds out causing me to get off my bed. The sound of her stumbling her way down the hallway. I hate it when she gets like this. Tucking the covers around my pillows I quickly slide beneath my bed and pull Eeyore to me. Mommy always gets like this when the juice from the no touch bottle. Fear slides through me even though I know she won't touch me. My breath holds as the door crashes open and I clutch onto Eeyore.
"I had it all! My future was set out for me and I would've had it made." She shouts around the room as she rips down the pictures I drew for her. Tears flood my eyes at her disdain for them. "He loved me. He was going to marry me…and then YOU happened!"
I've heard it all before. Mommy and daddy loved each other. Then mommy found out about me and daddy didn't want me. Mommy kept me and daddy left and now we're here. Guilt floods me. I caused all of this. I sniffle into Eeyore so mommy can't hear me. She kicks over my bookbag and screams loudly in anger. The smell of something sour makes me want to gag.
"He left me and I lost it all." She's crying now. She throws my favorite book and makes a hole in the wall. "ROSE!"
"You have many thorns."
Blinking at my eggs and bacon I look up and almost start at the old woman in front of me. Silver hair, wrinkled face, black eyes and a very knowing expression. Sitting down on the other side of the table, she stares at me. Keeping eye contact I don't say anything.
"You're wilting." She says.
"You're not wrong there." I agree.
"You just need some sunlight." She replies smiling and nodding her head.
"There's no sun in my world." I tell her before looking away.
The kitchen grows silent except for the humming of Olena and the sizzling of bacon. Poking at my eggs I move them around to make it seem like I ate some. The knowing stare of the old lady unsettled me and her comments made my stomach churn. Who did she think she was, a fortune teller?
"Are you just going to waste food?"
"What's it to you?" I snark at the tall asshole moving past me.
"Dimitri stop it." Olena snaps at him. She doesn't look the least bit happy.
"You're wasting food." He continues ignoring his mother.
I decide to shut him up. Looking him straight in the eye I make sure I can be heard over his mother snapping at him in a steady flow of Russian.
"I'm not used to eating a whole lot. My stomach can't handle it at the moment, but if you want me to clear off the plate I'll make sure I leave the reappearance of it on your bed." I tell him deadpan.
The room grows absolutely silent. A small part of me wants to bulk and leave the room and the other part of me wants him to see that I'm not some verbal punching bag. I never asked for any of this and I didn't deserve his rude commentary. I meet the shocked look on his face and try to ignore the slightly heartbroken face of Olena in the background before I'm put in shock at the outburst of laughter from the old bag across the table. Gaze swinging to her I watch as she clutches her cane as she leans forward in her fit of chuckling.
"Mama?" Olena gasps in shock.
"Oh Dimika…ahahahahahaha! You've…ahahahahaha, met your match!" She gasps out in heavy Russian between her hysterics.
"It's not funny it's disrespectful!" He says outraged.
Something inside of me snaps at the comment.
"No, what's disrespectful are the looks and comments I've had to endure in the last 24 hours from some asshole who doesn't even know me!" I snap at him. The laughter stops abruptly. "I didn't ask for the life I've had, nor do I need sympathy for it. I didn't ask for my mother to leave, nor do I need sympathy for it. I certainly didn't ask to be picked up by a couple of strangers or deserve the treatment I've received from YOU!"
I'm screaming by now. It's like all of the rage I've been holding in is spilling out of me and no matter how much I want to hold it in I can't. I don't care about the expressions ranging from pained to shock to…whatever the old woman's expression was. I'm tired. I'm alone. I'm fucking Rose Hathaway and I'll be damned if I'll be treated like this.
"I may not come from the best background but I'm not a fucking street rat who plans on robbing the damned house. I don't eat a lot. I'm not good with people so I won't get in the way. I'm not a slob so expect me to clean up behind myself. I don't like mooching so expect that I'll have a job soon. My goal is to live under the radar till I can leave the system so I can get out of here. So, trust me when I say that if you leave me the FUCK alone, you won't even notice I'm here. Got that Comrade?" I ask tilting my head to the side.
His eyes twitch slightly and his face grows red before it becomes expressionless. Nodding quietly he grabs a piece of toast before sitting down beside old lady. Olena looks to me with a slightly hurt and apologetic expression while old lady looks at me with…respect? My insides are rebelling against me at and I feel exposed. Standing up I stare at the floor, planning to make my escape.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
Gaze swinging towards the kitchen doorway I stand firm. Tall, light tan, black hair, brown eyes…and sights set on me. Drawing myself up tall I meet his stare. I'd be damned if another male in this family tried to be rude to me. An eyebrow raises at my action and I watch as he unwraps a colorful scarf from around his neck.
"Oh, Abe!" Olena exclaims from behind me.
I hear her rush over and her soft hand settles on my back making flinch a little. Abe's eyes catch the movement even though it was too small for Olena to see. His gaze moves to the woman next to me as he dismisses me and I can finally observe him. Intimidating is the first thing that comes to mind. Even standing there speaking to Olena you can see an air of…danger around him. His smile makes my chest tighten with unease.
"I stopped by hoping I could snag some coffee. I have a busy day ahead of me and thought I could snag some of your famous coffee and some baklava." He tells her. "I wasn't aware that you had company."
"Of course!" She says brightly but something sat beneath the surface of that smile. Turning she goes to pour him some coffee. "You're right in time too."
"Were you busy?" He asks as he moves past me to stand at the counter. Olena nods as she passes him a thermos.
"I was just about to take Rose out to do some shopping." She converses.
I watch as his shoulders stiffen slightly and he turns to look at me. His expression is unreadable but it makes me squirm a little bit. It's almost like he's studying me.
"Your name is Rose?" He asks slowly. I don't answer him and I watch his eyes narrow at my silence. "Are you deaf little girl?"
"I can hear just fine old man." I shoot back. "Just figured you'd deduce that I'm Rose since I'm sure I'm the only one you don't know in this room."
Then for the first time since I've gotten here…Dimitri laughed. Everyone turns to watch him and he gets up to stand behind me, causing me to bristle. He grows quiet and I can't see his face but I watch as Abe's grows irritated.
"She doesn't need to answer you." Dimitri growls. "In fact I think she's smart not to."
"OKAY ENOUGH!" Olena calls out clapping her hands.
She comes around the counter and hands Abe some type of pastry thing before putting her hands on her hips to glare at the three of us. The action is foreign to me and I feel disgruntled at the lack of knowing.
"Dimitri none of that. Abe has done so much for our family and you should be grateful for it. Rose enough with the attitude. I promise Dimika will be nice and I want you to feel like you're a part of this family. Abe is a family friend and I'd appreciate if you didn't disrespect him." She chastises us.
"Yes mama." Dimitri answers demurely. Her gaze swings to me and I nod silently.
"Abe this is Rose." She says gesturing to me. "She'll be staying with us for a while. Rose and I were just about to head out to get her some clothes for the winter."
The weirdest thing happened at that moment. I watched as his eyes widened with surprise before an array of emotion flew across his face too fast for me to catch. The end result was a burst of realization before smoothing out. Irked I keep my confusion hidden.
"I imagine you'll be trying to get her into St. Vladimir's Academy with Viktoria?" He inquires Olena.
"As soon as I hear back from the school…we've hit a snag with the FA Department." She says.
FA Department? I sigh lowly. I've been to many public schools and it was no surprise that this one would give issues. Probably having my credits transferred. Frowning at how out of the loop I felt I took a step back, only to bump into a brick wall. Electricity shoots through me and I jump at the suddenness of it. I turn around to find I had bumped in Dimitri and he seemed shocked and confused too before moving away from me and then out of the room altogether.
"I'll talk to someone in the department and she'll be able to start on Monday." He says firmly.
"It's okay I_" She's cut off abruptly.
"I insist." Abe says.
A silent conversation passes between the two and I take the moment to go upstairs. The last 24 hours has been one tangled mess. Sitting on the hard bench I make a mental note to make buy a pillow to pad it. The view outside the window was beautiful. The snowfall from last night layered everything in a blanket of white. The backyard had a wooden fence that looked shabby but was lined with bushes and a small gate at the back seemed to lead to a frozen lake. I imagine it looks beautiful during the spring.
If Janine and Olena were old friends, I wonder if this is the town she grew up in. Although, it's entirely possible Olena moved here. I frown at the fact that I don't know much about where my mother was from. Reaching down I grab my book of poems.
"Come, step
into my sweet, lonely little world!
Hand in hand,
We shall run across the cliffs
against which my emotions cr ash,
Fly through the capricious clouds
Through which my wild fancies fly,
Swim in the deep waters of the sea
in which lie buried the secrets of my heart,
Sing and dance
to the music of the swaying plants and the whistling winds,
and when weary and hungry,
eat the Forbidden Fruit...
But perhaps you would wish to run away,
Perhaps you have your own sweet, lonely little world...
But first,
Come, step
into my sweet, lonely little world!"
Jasbir Chatter
"You like to read?"
Looking up I find Abe in my doorway. I didn't hear him but then again, the man walked like a ghost. It's unsettling and I feel myself bristle as walks in like he owns the place. I choose silence as I watch him make his was around the room. The open closet and bare room allow him to see my scarce belongings.
"You must not be around here to not have proper winter clothes." He comments almost to himself. He spots the picture on my nightstand. "Is this your mother?"
"I don't have a mother." I finally speak.
He stops and looks at me. I feel frozen to my spot. I feel like he's studying me. Like he's trying to find something I don't want him to see. Looking away I feel myself breathe in a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
"Olena tells me you seem to be set on getting a job." He tells me. "Now you may not be happy with it but that tells me you know you're going to be here for a long time. In that same case, I have a proposition."
I watch as he pulls a wad of cash out of his trench coat pocket and counts out an easy two grand. My mouth feels dry and I watch him cautiously. I feel like a deer being hunted and the feeling pisses me off.
"I'm in need of assistance at my store and I see that you are in need of décor for your room…maybe some books to add to your…collection." He says pausing to look at me. "Call this an advancement if you agree to help me out."
"No."
Surprise flashes across his face before he grows somber.
"You're saying you don't want a job?" He asks.
"I'm saying I don't want your dirty money." I tell him. "One, I don't know you. Two, the only people I've ever seen carry around wads of cash like that are people I don't want to be involved with. Three, money like that comes at a price. I won't be put in debt to you."
He observes me silently before folding the money in his hand. Nodding at some though in his head he smiles at me. The words DANGEROUS flash in my head and I glare at him.
"I'll give it to you, you are smart." He chuckles darkly. "I've known Olena a long time and I owe her for a couple of things. She wants you to feel at home and doesn't have the money to buy you the room she says you deserve. I'm paying off one of my favors. You don't need to take a job at my shop but consider this a welcome to the neighborhood gift. No strings attached."
"I don't want it. I don't need anything." I grit out.
He sets the money on my nightstand and walks towards the door. Looking back over his shoulder he fixes me with a piercing gaze.
"Olena and her family are good people. You should be grateful that they're taking you in. She wants the best for you and to feel at home. Make the best of it." He says before pausing. "Oh Rose…They're not at fault for your mother's decision, so stop blaming them for it."
With that he walked out of the room and down the stairs. Frowning I watch as Dimitri takes his place in my doorway. I feel exhausted and just want to be left alone.
"You're right not to trust him." He tells me leaning against the doorframe. I don't say anything. "Abe's done some things and he's into bad business."
"Stop acting like you care and get out of my room." I hiss at him. Frowning at me he nods and leaves.
Leaning back against the wall I close my eyes and breathe out slowly.
My eyes are red.
My ribs are cracked.
My lips are bruised.
My soul is sleepy.
My hands are weak.
My legs are numb.
My lungs ache
with each lonely breath.
My poor heart is tired.
Yet it keeps on beating.
And so I will follow its rhythm,
let it guide me home.
Unknown
Slowly adding in new characters and starting to set the stage for the future of the story. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please don't forget to leave a review. I depend on your feedback to let me know if I need to make any changes or if you're enjoying it! See you next time!