Just wanting to update before work. I LOVED THE REVIEWS. I honestly didn't think you guys would like the last chapter. Don't worry about long reviews, because I love them. I'm so happy you guys enjoyed it so much and I hope you love this one just as much. Slowly going to start moving forward. Anyways I need to leave so ENJOY and please don't forget to leave me a review!
Rose's POV-
Hormones…They suck. They come in and they make you feel all hot and bothered. They cause mood swings that leave you feeling dizzy. They react without your permission. I want to say other than the usual string of teenage bad moods and the usual influx of growing up, I'd happily never struggled with hormones…until now. Now I'm laying here with a twisting/tingling feeling in my stomach and throbbing between my legs. The feeling is uncomfortable and definitely weighs.
"Oh God!" I shout as fingers push inside of me.
"Just me." Dimitri chuckles as he uses his thumb to circle my clit.
I feel like I've been electrocuted and all I can do is let out broken moans. His hair is loose and it drags along the skin of my chest as his lips and tongue trail down to my breasts. My hips jerk and I arch my chest in hopes of feeling the warmth of his mouth on my nipple.
Knocking on my door yanks me from snippets of my dream. I lay still hoping they'll leave. They don't.
"Rose schools been canceled today." Viktoria yells through the door. "Get up lazy bones! We're going ice skating today!"
"Alright I'm getting up." I shout back.
I wait until I hear her footsteps fade away and lay there for a second more. I don't know what happened. It's been a week since Mason had asked me out. Luckily our friendship stayed intact, and if anything, had grown stronger. School had resumed and was boring as ever, but somethings changed since that day. Something to do with Dimitri. Instead of feeling anger and pain, I feel acceptance and…nothing. The lack of negativity so sudden and so noticeable its left me gaping at the difficulty keeping up my defense. It's disorientating and let me tell you that it's not easy to keep up ignoring him. The effort to keep from talking, looking, or even being near him is so large that I can only seem to find solace in my room…well used to only find solace in my room.
"I love the taste of your skin." Dimitri groans against the bare skin of my stomach.
His proximity to the promise land, where his fingers were still playing, had my head spinning. My breathing is coming in short pants. My hands move to tangle in his hair. Giving a weak tug, I feel the vibration of his chuckle as he follows my wordless command and lowers his head further down my body.
Jerking out of my thoughts I quickly get up and grimace at the damp feeling between my thighs. Great now I need a shower.
Breakfast was pretty quiet. Dimitri sat in the living room grading papers and us teens ate cereal as we contemplate what else we're going to do other than ice skate.
"I heard Mason asked you out." Viktoria brings up.
"I said no." I shrug.
"Why?! He's cute and sweet." She exclaims.
"I just don't see him that way." I tell her. She grunts and puts our bowls in the sink.
"Let's go skate."
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"What the hell is this thing?" I ask as I observe the walker looking contraption in Paul's grip.
We'd been skating for about an hour when Karolina sent Paul outside to skate with us. Viktoria proceeded to bring down what looked like a walker for old people down. The thing confused me instantly.
"It's to help him keep from falling. For beginner ice skaters." She explains as Paul zooms over the ice like a maniac. "Slow down!"
I laugh at her concerned expression and drift across the ice. I feel like I'm free. The wind pushes at my hair and the feeling of just gliding on frozen water feels like I'm flying. I close my eyes briefly and when I open them I find a winter wonderland. Snow falls from the sky in thick flakes and the lights at the house give a warm glow. Birds tweet and ice hangs from trees. I love it. I see Dimitri coming outside for logs and feel the faint throbbing left from this morning kick up a notch. I look away and chase after Paul.
Dimitri had taken my words to heart it seemed. He stopped following me. Stopped trying to talk to me. Stopped pushing me. Maybe that's another reason for my lack of negativity. Mabey I'm finally healing? Except healing let the attraction to escalate from a low simmer to a burning fire again. Sighing I push forward some more. I mean it's even difficult to concentrate in class.
"Let me tell you how the British were not happy in the least at having their tea thrown into the Boston Harbor."
Dimitri roams up and down the aisles of desks as he lectures the class. My hand moves quickly over paper as I write down notes when a smell hit's my nose. Briefly I mark it down to someone's cologne when suddenly I feel a squirming break out in my lower belly. The feeling shocks me but I push it down and continue with my notes. What the hell did he just_. Something brushes against my arm and fire erupts along the skin. Eyes swinging up I find that Dimitri had brushed against me as he walked by. I feel uneasy at the loss of anger when I see him and then panic when I find my eyes drawn down his toned back and down to his covered ass. My mouth dries and I flashes of his naked lower body thrusting between my thighs go through my thoughts.
"Rose is everything okay?"
Looking up I find Dimitri's confused and concerned gaze on me from the front of the classroom. Everyone turns to look at me and I feel my face flush.
"I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling well this morning sir." I tell him politely.
Damn him. Damn me. Damn everything. Boy hurts girl. Girl moves on. It's that freaking simple. Or at least that's how it's supposed to go. Sighing I push thoughts of Dimitri away and skate circles with Viktoria.
"What grade did you get on the math test Tuesday?" Viktoria asks as she twirls impressively.
"You don't want to know." I giggle at her. "You'll just call me a nerd."
"Will not!" She laughs.
"Will too!" I shoot back. I spy Paul moving too fast again. "Paul slow down or you're going to fall."
"So, things are getting kind of serious with Roland." She says slyly. "I'm thinking I want to bring him home soon."
"I'm not sure the family is going to like the idea about you dating a guy ten years older than you." I tell her feeling stressed at the thought of Viktoria involved with the same person who abandoned Karolina and the kids.
"I know, but we haven't done anything physical yet so maybe if I hold out till my 18th birthday they might accept it." She says sounding hopeful.
"Maybe…" I say sounding doubtful. I watch Viktoria frown in response.
"Look at me!" Paul shouts as he zips by.
"PAUL!" We both shout out to him.
"I've got him." I tell her as I skate over to him. "Is he always like this?"
"Yeah, he gets super hyper on the ice." Viktoria smiles.
"WAIT! WAIT!"
A shout makes us look up towards the house and I find Yeva hobbling pretty fast down the backyard. She's waving her cane as she moves. Confusion moves through me and I see Viktoria start to skate towards her.
"Yeva what's wrong?" Viktoria calls out.
Turning back around I skate over to Paul. I quickly grab him before the giggling boy can take off again.
CRACK!
The loud sound has me freezing as it's deafening sound echoes through the air. Looking down in horror I watch as a large crack punches across the side of the pond towards us. Breath stalling, I pull Paul into my body and grip him tightly. Paul cries out as bits of ice separate and the cold lake is exposed. The crack stops right before us and I watch silently as more form around it.
"ROSE!" Looking up I find Viktoria already on land and looking terrified. "DON'T MOVE!"
Her voice is filled with panic and I watch as Yeva reaches her. Paul whimpers and I turn his head into my stomach so he can't see the ice slowly breaking more. Shock moves through me. We were just skating. The pond should be frozen. We were having fun. I watch Viktoria talk frantically with Yeva before turning to me.
"Stay right there! I'm going to get help." She cries. Another loud cracking sounds out.
"HURRY!" I shout to her. The fear is strong in my voice and I watch as she takes off fast towards the house.
"Aunt Rose I can't swim." Paul sobs into my stomach.
"I've got you." I tell him as I try and force the fear from my voice. "We just have to stay really still."
A tremble moves through the both of us. The pond isn't small by any means but we're halfway towards the middle of the pond and land. I chance a look down and feel my throat clog at the many more cracks in the surface. The sound of a door slamming reaches my ears and I look up to find Dimitri and Abe moving at break neck speed down the hill. When the hell did Abe get back?
"Don't move!" Abe shouts at me.
"NO SHIT!" I yell at him. Paul cries at my raised voice and I force myself to calm. "I don't know what happened. We were skating just fine."
"Sometimes there are weak areas of the ice. Your and Paul's combined weight must've triggered it to break." Dimitri explains calmly. "Just stay still. Mama's calling the fire department. Everything's going to be_."
Dimitri's POV-
A loud crack cuts me off and I watch with pure terror as another large crack starts forming near Rose and Paul. Paul cries and Rose grips him to her as if she thinks if she lets him go the little boy will fall beneath the surface. She doesn't make a sound. I can hear Abe tell me he's going to go open the gate for the responders when they get here, but I don't reply. I can't reply. I can only focus on my Roza and my nephew standing in the doorway of an icy death. It's a good thing Karolina left for work. I can't help but think that the boy would panic at his mother's hysterics and would move, effectively breaking the ice completely.
"I just don't understand." Rose says. "We were having fun not 5 minutes ago."
"I know." I tell her soothingly. I need her to stay calm. "Things just happen."
"I'm scared." She admits. "I'm really scared Dimitri."
I watch as she looks down at the ice slowly, but surely, breaking more and more. The array of cracks forming a circle around the two of them.
"Don't look down." I snap at her desperately. Her, now tearful, gaze swings up to meet mine. "Don't look down."
"It's…It's going to break." She sounds terrified. "They're not going to get here in time."
"They'll get here in time." I tell her roughly. "It's going to be okay."
I feel like my hearts in my throat. She looks so small on that ice. Like a child scared to death, but strong like a woman.
"I'm sorry." I blurt out. She smiles sadly at me.
"I know." She says.
"I miss you." I tell her.
"I know." She says again.
Sirens sound in the distance but the ice cracks some more and I'm faced with the truth. Rose and Paul aren't going to make it. It's breaking too fast. We don't have rope to pull them out. The cold water will drag them down before the responders will manage to get through the gate. I feel like vomiting. I feel helpless. I'm about to watch people I love die. Swallowing the sickness making it up my throat I do the only thing I can…I lie.
"You guys are going to make it." I tell her. "They're almost here."
She doesn't say anything. Instead she just looks defeated. As if my words confirmed something for her. Looking around she nods and I feel a dreadful feeling take over me. The ice starts cracking more and she leans down to kiss Paul's forehead. Whispering something to him I move to the edge of the pond.
"Rose?" I ask. I sound small to my own ears. "What are you doing? Roza?"
I hear the sirens pull onto our street. Mama starts making her way out of the house with a crying Viktoria behind her. Abe has the gates pulled wide open. More terrifying sounds. A sob from Paul. I look to Rose and see determination.
"Rose?" I ask again.
Almost faster than I can keep up with, I watch as she looks down at the still semi-clear ice between us. Looking up I see fire in her eyes and she grabs Paul firmly before flinging him with all her might across the space between us. The little boy screams as he slides across the ice and I dive down and reach out, grabbing him and pulling him to safety. Looking back up I watch as the ice breaks beneath her feet and she silently, wide eyed with terror, disappears underneath the surface of the water.
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Rose's POV-
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Heat blankets."
"Too long without Oxygen to the brain."
"Oh God!"
"I'm sorry."
"Thank you. Oh God thank you. You saved him. You saved him."
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Can you hear me?"
"Please wake up."
"…Dad...forgive…"
"Normal temperature level."
"Will she wake up."
"I love you."
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Blurry. That's how I would describe the world around me. Blurry and sterile smelling. Blinking I try and get rid of the heavy feeling of my eyelids and try to swallow spit so my throat can stop feeling so dry. Head pounding, I finally get a clear view of around me. A hospital room? Looking around I'm positive I'm in a hospital room. The room is sterile. I'm in a bed in the middle of the right wall. To my left is a window that allows a view of the nurse's desk and a door next to it. A machine with monitoring my heart is next to the bed. To my right and in front of me is a tv set to a cooking show. My patch work quilt lays over me and to my right I find Olena passed out, head laid on my bed. Her hand grips mine. Behind her Abe is sits in another chair and is working on paper work at a dimly lit table.
"Abe." My voice comes out scratchy and barely over a whisper but his head snaps up and over to see my open eyes.
"Rose!" He exclaims as he gets up quickly and rushes to the door. "She's awake!"
Rushing back in I'm shocked when he brushes hair away from my face. He looks…relieved. I lift a heavy hand and point to the tubes up my nose. He doesn't say anything but moves to wake up Olena.
"Olena! Olena she's awake!" He tells her as she stirs.
"I'm up!" She gasps as her body swings up fast.
I watch as she looks confused when nurses and a doctor rush into the room. She looks scared.
"What's wrong?!" She asks gripping my hand tighter. I grip it back and watch as she jumps before turning her eyes to me. A smile breaks across her face and to my horror, tears fall. "Oh Rose!"
"Miss could you step back for a minute please?" A nurse asks politely.
She nods silently and backs up, letting go of my hand. The nurse is checking my pulse on my wrist. The doctor is introducing himself but I barely register it in my confusion and watch as he checks my eyes with a light.
"I want her blood pressure taken. Rose I'm going to check your reflexes." He informs me as he lifts the blanket to run something on my legs and feet. I feel the tickle and jerk. He smiles. "That's good. That's very good."
I point to the tubes in my nose and he nods and pulls them out. I cough painfully at the feel and I feel someone rub my back.
"I'm sorry. I know that's not pleasant." The doctor apologizes. "Would you like some water?"
Nodding I take a sip of the cup shoved into my hands and sigh in relief when my throat feels instantly better. I feel the bed lift and I'm able to sit up now.
"Thank you." I tell them still kind of scratchy. Someone turns on a light and I rub at my eyes as they adjust.
"Can you tell me your name?"
"Rose Hathaway."
"Do you know the date."
"No. It's January though."
The doctor scribbles something down on his clipboard. Olena is back to holding my hand and Abe is standing by the wall behind the doctor.
"How old are you?" He asks sounding happy.
"17." I answer.
"This is good." He nods. "Rose, you're in the hospital. You have been for the last three days. Do you remember why?"
Frowning I lean back against my pillows and lift a hand to my aching head. Why was I here. I remember Viktoria, outside, snowing, Paul…PAUL!
"Is Paul okay?!" I ask sitting up too fast and making myself dizzy.
"Whoa. Take it easy. Yes, he's okay." The doctor says as Olena steadies me. "You were very brave. He made it without even getting wet."
I sit back in relief and feel tired. Paul made it. The doctor writes something down and I watch as the nurse puts a blood pressure monitor on my arm and a clip thing on my finger. I sit still.
"I'm so sorry Rose. I didn't think the ice wouldn't be thick." Olena cries.
"I'm okay." I tell her smiling softly.
"I'm very confident everything is just fine with you. I want to keep you for a night for observation and then you can go home." He says smiling. "I want her to have an MRI this afternoon just to stay on the safe side."
Getting up he shakes Olena and Abe's hand and walks out of the room with the nurses. Once alone Olena gets busy pulling out a thermos and cup of chicken noodle soup and pulls a table over.
"I hope you're hungry. I want you to eat this and relax." She says wiping away her tears. She fluffs my pillow and adjusts my blanket.
I listen to her and sip at the warm soup. She chats away about the whole family worrying and how Paul is beside himself.
"You had us all worried, kid." Abe grunts at me. I raise an eyebrow.
"When did you get home?" I ask him. "Thought you were in Russia."
"I came home early." He tells me. "Didn't realize you'd pull a stunt."
"I didn't pull a stunt!" I tell him feeling annoyed at his comment.
"Abe…" Olena says softly.
"All you had to do was sit still." He says looking stressed and angry.
"We weren't going to make it that long." I hiss at him, now fully angry.
"So your idea is to sacrifice yourself?
"My idea was to try and save a little boy since we were both going to die!" I say raising my voice. "What the hell do you care?"
"I care enough that I've been here for the last three days waiting to see if you were going to wake up or die in your sleep."
"ABE!" Olena shouts. I sit back in shock. "Get out. Get out right now."
"You can't…Olena?" He sputters.
"I can and I will. Remember your rights." She hisses icily. "Rose did a very brave thing and I'm just happy she's okay. She needs rest and not someone who BARELY KNOWS her to berate her."
"She's_."
"Nothing but a family friend." She finishes firmly. "Thank you for your concern. You can leave now."
Abe huffs as he gather's his things and starts to walk out, but not before patting my foot. Looking at me I find pride.
"You did good kid. I'm sorry I yelled at you."
With that I watch as he leaves and the nurses enter the room to whisk me away for my MRI.
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"Just put one foot in front of the other, but to pick them up." Mommy instructs.
"I don't know how!" I exclaim as I wobble on my rental skates.
"Yes, you do. Just act like you're sliding on the floor in your socks." She says calmly as she holds my hands and guides me across the ice. "You've got it baby girl!"
Smiling I let go of her hands but the smile disappears when a loud cracking noise sounds out and suddenly I'm falling through water. It's cold and I can't think and when I open my mouth to breathe the water moves in and strangles me. I tell my legs to kick but they're too cold. I don't see mommy anymore. I don't see anyone. All I see is blackness. I'm dying...
Jolting up I try not to let out a scream as I pant for breath. I feel sick for a moment, but relax when I realize I'm in my hospital bed. Looking around I find Dimitri has taken Olena's spot and he's watching me with relieved eyes.
"You're awake." He says tiredly. "You need your rest."
"I had a bed dream." I tell him as I get my breathing under control. "Where's Olena?"
"I sent her home for the night. Told her I'd bring you home." Nodding in response I look up at the ceiling.
"I'm hungry." I tell him. "Do you think they'd be willing to bring me a snack?"
He doesn't say anything but before I can ask again the roll table is in front of me and a box of Danish is set in front of me. I raise my eyebrow and he looks away.
"Lissa wanted to make sure you got some of these." He explains.
I eat in silence and he watches. Offering him one, he smiles.
"It's a good thing you were so far ahead on your school work." He says. "You're not falling behind. Lissa says you can take as long as you need too."
"That's good." I tell him smiling softly. "I didn't work that hard for nothing."
"Let me tell you how the shows here suck."
"That's not true! The had on Rugrats earlier."
"That's a show I haven't seen in a long time."
"Are you calling me old?" I laugh.
"No, I'm telling you I'm old." He chuckles back.
Looking down at my lap I realize this is the first time in a month we've been able to talk like we used to. The feeling was familiar and foreign at the same time and I find that I've missed it. It's like coming home after a long trip.
"I thought you were going to die." He says suddenly. My gaze swings to him. "You were just out of my reach and Paul was to hysterical to allow me to jump in…I…I."
"I'm okay." I tell him gently. "I'm just glad Paul's okay."
"Thank you." He says reverently. "You risked your life for my nephew and I can't thank you enough. Karolina is…she's so thankful that she's planned this big breakfast when I bring you home in the morning. She can't think of a way to repay you."
"I don't want to be repaid." I tell him frowning slightly. "It was an accident."
"No, we both know that you two weren't making it out of that. You chose to go down to save Paul." He says. He's quiet for a second. "You never cease to surprise me. Most people would panic and yet you stayed calm. You knew you were going to die and you focused on saving Paul."
"I'm not the saint you guys seem to think I am." I whisper to him.
"No, you're better." He says firmly. "You're my Roza."
I feel warmth fill me and my heart picks up a little. The beeping on the monitor grows faster and a nurse comes in.
"Is everything okay?" She asks looking from Dimitri to me.
"I had a nightmare." I tell her. She nods in understanding. "Just let me know if you need anything."
I wait until she leaves before looking back to Dimitri.
"Dimitri…"
"I love you." He says grabbing my hand. My skin warms significantly below his touch. I can't take my eyes away from his. "I love you."
"Dimitri, I can't." I tell him with tears in my eyes.
"Yes, you can." He insists. "I made a mistake and it wasn't until I made it that I realized just how deep I'd gone. I gave you space so you could heal and I planned to win your trust back, but I almost lost you."
"Dimitri."
"I watched them pull your body out of the water and watched as they worked over your body. I won't wait any longer." He explains. "I love you. I love your smile, your laugh. I love how selfless you are. I love how you look at snow. I love how hard you work. I love how strong you are."
"Dimitri, stop." I tell him.
He grows silent. I feel flustered.
"We barely know each other." I tell him.
"That's a lie." He says.
"You're older…my teacher."
"It doesn't matter."
"You slept with her."
He doesn't respond. His thumb strokes circles over my skin and he smiles down at my hands.
"Then I guess I'll have to spend the rest of my life making up for that." He says determinedly. My eyes widen a little and he looks up again to meet my gaze. "I'm never going to give up, because I think…I think that even though I hurt you…even though there's so much against us, I think we can be happy together."
"I'm not giving in." I tell him standing firm.
"I guess I'll just have to convince you to."
I don't say anything and I watch as he leans down and kisses my knuckles before turning back to the tv.
Just a quick update before I need to go to work. I hope you guys enjoy it! Please make sure to leave some reviews! I love to read them and they would be perfect to come home to tonight!