Picture this! You're sitting on the couch falling asleep after finally winning your long battle with a teething baby when all of a sudden scene after scene slam into your mind like crazy. This is exactly what happened to me and I know it's not super long and it might not be very well connected but it just feels right. It took a minute but I finally found a way to expand into another direction with Rose and Dimitri! From here it should pick up and that makes me want to dance lol. Before I let you read away, I want to sincerely thank everyone for your wonderful reviews once again. You guys are amazing and I love writing, because I can't wait for you guys to read it. I hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own ideas. The rest belong to Rachel Mead.

"Rose." Mom's voice drifts to me through the darkness. "Rose I'm sorry."

The darkness lifts and I find myself in one of our old apartments. The paint on the walls were peeling and cigarette burns littered the filthy carpet. The world seemed to be black and white. No color except for the red of my mother's hair. She sat on the floor crying into her hands.

"Rose…" She sobs. "Rose I'm so sorry."

The sadness in her voice is heartbreaking and I find myself walking forward. I just want to comfort her. I want to take her away from this world she's stuck in. I reach her.

"Mommy?"

I'm eight and Eeyore hangs from my hands. I don't think she hears me so I crouch in front of her. Reaching forward I push her hair out of her face.

"Mommy I'm right here." I tell her. "I'm right here."

Something in her shifts and I watch as she drops her hands in her lap. Pushing her hair back again, she lifts her gaze slowly to mine and I try not to get scared at the insane look in her eyes.

"The world is so dark Rose." She whispers to me. "It was so bright and now it's so dark."

"We'll make it bright again mommy." I tell her smiling.

Suddenly I find myself on my back with my mother above me. She's screaming and none of it makes sense at first…then it does.

"I HAD IT ALL! I HAD IT ALL!" She screams wildly. Her hair moves around her like a flame. "YOU RUINED ME ROSE! YOU RUINED ME AND I WILL HAVE IT BACK!"

A knife plunges into my stomach and I gasp in pain.

"Mommy I'm sorry! Mommy please!" I plead with her. I feel the knife leave me and relief flitters around beneath my pain and fear.

"I'LL HAVE IT BACK! YOU RUINED ME AND I WANT IT BACK!"

"MOMMY NO !"

Her hand lifts and the knife plunges back down into my chest.

Bolting up in bed I grasp at my chest and stomach frantically. The pain of the dream wounds linger and make it almost hard to breathe as I try and pull myself the rest of the way into the dream world. Finally taking a deep breath, I push my hair back from my face and plop back down in bed. Turning to look at the clock on my nightstand I glare at the earliness of the Saturday morning. Looking towards my window I groan at the darkness outside the window. Closing my eyes I try and drift back off but it seems sleep alludes me. Huffing I get up to take a take a run.

Time at the Belikov's seemed to have flown by without any way to stop it. Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes into hours. Hours into days. Days soon turned into a month since I had arrived. Though still feeling as if I was walking on ice, I'd found myself slowly growing into the Belikov family. While I wasn't a bouncing baby girl, I had managed to come out of my shell a bit. I found myself helping Olena cook, sitting quietly with a very nutty Yeva, and even folding laundry with Karolina. The funniest thing was that I had unpredictably…well at least for me…become friends with Viktoria. It was hard not to. The girl was easy to get along with and even though I was the exact opposite of her sunny disposition…it didn't seem to bother her. Where I was silent, she would fill in my blanks. When I shied from her touch she would just smile. It was like the monsters that plagued didn't scare her.

It had also turned out that St. Vladimir's was definitely NOT a public school. To my extreme displeasure I had been scammed into going to a very posh prep school. A prep school that had $$$ written all over it. I don't even want to know where Olena had gotten the money to enroll me. On the bright side, I shared two classes with Viktoria and kept mostly to myself during the day so no one had even thought to fuck with me.

I pull on my running shoes and quietly make my way down the stairs and out of the front door. I quickly set myself on stretching my limbs as I observe the snow falling peacefully. It's not long before I vaguely register the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"I didn't think you would be up." Dimitri sounds slightly surprised as he starts his own set of stretches. "I thought you'd take advantage of fall break and make up on some sleep."

"I'm used to waking up early." I tell him, shrugging.

"Why don't I believe that?" He mumbles frowning deeply.

Not reacting to his mumbling, I bound off the porch and down the sidewalk without waiting for him. The cold air bites at my face and the slick pavement threatens to take me out, but I push myself to set one foot in front of the other. I enjoy the way my muscles burn and control my breathing as I practically sprint along. I hear footsteps running beside me and don't question that Dimitri is next to me. The man is fast and over the last month it's been something I've become used to. The change is hard to pinpoint, but at some point within the last month the tides between us had shifted.

The shift surprised me just as much as my friendship with his sister. It started off small. Helping me with chores around the house or with groceries. Then it slowly increased. Bringing me a mug of hot chocolate while I work on my homework. Turning off my bedroom lights when he thinks I'm sleeping. Becoming my running partner in the mornings. Even leaving a book for me on my desk every now and then.

Coming home after a long day at work, I try not to groan at the ache that's developed in my lower back. At least the house has a cozy warmth that helped soothe the iciness of outside. Unbuttoning my black pea coat I slip my beanie off and into my pocket with my gloves. Locking the door I mutter under my breath at the late hour and try to be as quiet as possible as I move throughout the house. I freeze on the stairs when I spot someone outside of my bedroom door. Ducking down a little I watch as Dimitri looks around before setting down something and quickly walking back to his room. Carefully waiting until his door clicks shut, I make my way up the rest of the stairs and pick up the book left on the floor. A small smile makes a way to my lips as clutch the book to my chest and head into my room.

Even though he was a serious and quiet person…he had another side to him. I've come to learn that he's intensely loyal to those he cares about. He's one of the most dedicated person I knew. His acts of kindness were touching and when he loved someone he gave it his all. Dimitri had gone from a tall asshole I couldn't stand, to a loyal quiet man who went out of his way to gestures of kindness.

With every small gesture came the strengthening of…the pull. Like we're each attached to an end of a silver line. The pull seemed unnoticeable when I first arrived but a month later I know it's already to too late to even label what's stirring inside of me as a crush. Like a moth drawn to light, I was helpless as he changed from someone I couldn't stand, into something infinitely more…and it scared the hell out of me. No matter what I did or tried to convince myself of, nothing seemed to change my feelings. It didn't seem to matter that he was seven years older than me. It didn't seem to matter that he was my godbrother. It didn't even seem to matter that Dimitri Belikov was my history teacher.

"I still can't believe we have 3 classes together!" Viktoria vibrates with excitement next to me.

I nod in response and even smile slightly at her bright mood. Together we walk into our next class. The front of the room held bookcases lining an old-fashioned chalkboard. The room was pretty standard. Globes, books, and maps were hung on the walls. 4 rows of desks lined the middle of the room…and then HE walked in. Khaki pants, light blue button up, and a black tie. Nothing special except that there was clearly a tall muscled man underneath those clothes. Eyes moving appreciatively up, my face heats up as my gaze meets the brown eyes of none other than Dimitri Belikov.

It was like the world was trying to screw me more than it already has. I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do with these feelings. Oh hey Dimitri, I know you're older than me and I'm your student but could you maybe…take your clothes off…please? A flash of Dimitri naked crosses my mind and I almost stumble.

A warm hand slowly draws me to a stop and I finally realize we've managed to make a full circle around the town and were back in front of the house. Looking up I feel flushed at my last line of thought and thank everything that my flushed face can be easily put off on the run. My arm tingles where he touches it and I can't help but wonder if he feels it too. Does he feel the pull or is it really all in my head? Taking a deep breath, I smile softly at him as I continue to try and convince myself that it's just a silly crush. There's nothing there Rose.

Making a move to go inside, the hand on my arm gently keeps me from going anywhere. I feel my heart thunder as Dimitri moves closer to me. The warmth of his body chases away the cold and looking up I feel my breathing stop as he stares down at me. His brown eyes run over my face before his free hand lifts up to brush a thumb under my eyes. The look on his face goes from unreadable to filled with wonder, confusion, and concern. My ribs are sore from the lack of breathing and my frantically beating heart and my mouth drops open just a little as I force myself to draw in a shallow breath.

"You don't have to lie to me Rose." He murmurs, his Russian accent coming out extremely thick. His eyes darken to almost black. "You're not sleeping and you don't have to hide it from me."

The silver line flares to alarming noticeability and pulls forcefully enough to make me physically flinch. The movement draws Dimitri's attention and he seems to come back to his senses. He yanks his hand away as if burned and steps away from me, before smoothing his face back to being unreadable. The absence of warmth slams into me and before he can say anything I spin and quickly escape into the house and up to my room. Closing the door, I turn and slide down it as I try to catch my breath and push away the abrupt dizziness that's taken over me. There was three things I was now absolutely sure of. One, I was officially positive this was officially no longer a simple crush. Two, Dimitri Belikov definitely feels the pull. Three, I was fucking screwed.

I really hope you guys like this chapter and I once again BEG you to leave a review! I'm dying to know your thoughts and feelings about this chapter.