Rose
It was late when Dimitri walked me back to Abes. He took my small hand in his big ones, my stomach fluttering with excitement, my cheeks burning red. Dimitri took my phone, put his number in as I put mine in his.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" He asked before walking up to the gates. I looked towards the house in the distance.
"I think so." I gave him a smile. He walked me up to the gates. Mikhail showed up, looking as if stress had physically left his body.
"Thank god!" He opened the gates and allowed me to go in. I turned to Dimitri.
"I could do with a walk home." He waved goodbye as he stepped backwards and towards his house. I watched him go – realizing I still had his jumper on but before I could call him back to give it to him, Mikhail had a hand on my back, leading me quickly towards the house.
"She's here." He said randomly as he opened the front door and led me inside towards the living room.
"Thank god!" I heard the voice of my mother say as I stepped through the door. I was engulfed in four strong arms, held tightly, I struggled to get a breath in. Mason and Adrian. They pulled apart and then were replaced by Abe and then finally my mom, a very awkward exchange. "You can't go running off!"
"Is that a guy's jumper?" Adrian exclaimed. I looked down at the zip up falling to my knees and the sleeves covering well past my hands. I folded my arms, blushing. "He better-"
"Adrian!" I laughed. He stood there in front of me, threw his hands up as Mason laughed beside him.
"Right, she's here now, you can both go." Abe said. Adrian and Mason both looked at each other and shook thier heads.
"I'll call you later." I said eventually. The nodded and smiled, kissing both my cheeks.
"We're so going to talk to this boy – giving our Rosie her first kiss!" Mason exclaimed. I slapped his arm as both my friends went towards the door. That just left Abe, Janine and myself. I swallowed and sat down on a chair.
"You can't go running off like that." Abe said as he sank into a chair opposite me, my mom followed suit. "We were so worried!" I snorted.
"I bet she was." I rolled my eyes and gestured towards my mom.
"Abe - can you give us a moment, please?" My mom asked. Abe looked between us before eventually nodding. I slipped my shoes off and tucked my legs underneath me. Trying to make myself as small as possible. When the door to the living room closed, Janine let out a sigh.
"You went to see a guy?" She asked softly.
"Just a friend from school. He's Olena's son." Janine nodded her head, wiped her hands on her jeans.
"Rose, I didn't know what was going on." I didn't look at her. "I thought I was doing the right thing. Your father and I were young – and he was having trouble trying to start his empire. Sometimes there's just no good in people."
"Oh, trust me, I know. You left me. I was raising myself!" I replied. "I went to school – I did extra credit and then I went to work so I could get food-"
"I always sent you money." Janine leaned back before sitting up straight.
"Because that makes everything okay."
"Rose, I really am sorry." My eyes stung.
"I just wanted you around." The tears fell from my eyes. "I just wanted you to be there." My mom stood up, walked towards me and sat beside me on the chair. She opened her arms and I flew into them, resting my head on her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered. "I'm sorry for everything, especially Tony."
"I'm so sorry, baby."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
It was finally the weekend. I slept in late and loved every moment of it. That was until I rolled over and checked my phone.
Hey – we're going to the mall. We'll be over at 12 – D
I looked at the clock. It was 11:50. I jumped out of bed, ran into the shower, quickly washed and dried my hair, slipping on high waisted skinny jeans and a high neck, long sleeve bodysuit. I pulled my shoes after I made my bed and ran out my bedroom door and ran into the kitchen.
"Oh look, only a half hour late. That must be a record!" I jumped at Adrian's voice and fell to the floor. He laughed along with Mason. I picked myself up off the floor and stared at the many eyes looking at me.
"I just woke up." I replied taking the bottle of water that fell from my hands.
"Come on, we'll start with lunch when we get there." Lissa said, grabbing my arm and leading me out the door. Adrian opened the passenger side door of his car as Mason climbed into the back. We all drove, bundled in various cars until we parked in the mall's underground.
It was a warm day, really warm. I got out of the car and sighed, pulling my hair up into a ponytail, trying too cool down a bit. We met up with the others by the elevators. We split into two groups, each taking a separate elevator. Luckily for me, Tasha decided to come into the lift with Adrian, Mason, Dimitri and me.
"Don't you think it's a bit too warm to be covered up?" She asked me. I folded my arms over my chest.
"Leave her alone Tasha." Dimitri defended as he leaned on the side of the elevator.
"I was only asking." Mason rolled his eyes. We walked out of the elevator and met up with the others.
"Thank you." I whispered to Dimitri as we started to walk towards the food court. He gave me a smile.
"Just ignore her." I shoved his arm and gave him a smile. Adrian and Mason both interrupted by sneaking up on either side and snaking an arm through each of mine. They walked me faster towards the food court.
Everyone ordered food and brought it back to a big table to fit us all. I sat my tray down and sat next to Dimitri, Mason and Adrian sat on my other side. The others followed suit.
"I'm starving!" Lissa exclaimed as she dug into her own food. I nodded and followed suit, digging into my food and snagging things from Adrian's and Mason's tray, refusing to allow them to do the same. "So, how long have you known Rose?"
"For about six years." Mason replied. "Six, long, long years." I slapped his arm, rolling my eyes at his innocent smile.
"That's a long time." Adrian nodded.
"It is. When you have to mother the two children." Mason and I both snorted at him.
"We know I've been the mother here." Adrian gave me a smile. "And a therapist."
Lissa had so many questions that she kept firing at us which Mason and Adrian answered. After we finished eating, we walked around the mall, Lissa's arms full of bags just like Tasha, Viktoria and Mia. Dimitri and I waited as the others helped the girls down to the car to load up before we continued on.
"You're not exactly the shopping type, are you?" Dimitri asked with a smile. I shook my head.
"Not really. Anything I get is usually from online and I send back things that don't fit." He shook his head. "What?" I laughed.
"It's refreshing to not see a girl full of bags." I slapped his arm.
"What about you? Are you trying to start a library?" I was referring to the many books he bought and put back into his car during the first load off.
"I like to read."
"Now, that's refreshing." He laughed and then dipped, covering my lips. My heart beat quickly my hands started to sweat. Dimitri pulled away too fast. "Dimitri, what is this?" I asked referring to us. He shrugged.
"I don't know, maybe you could be my girlfriend." I looked up at him.
"Me?" He nodded and smiled. "I've never-" He laughed and covered my lips again for longer this time, my hand reached up and wrapped around his neck, having a mind of his own. A cough split us apart. I looked down and blushed, licking my lips.
"So, you're the guy?" I looked over at my two closest friends.
"Adrian - Mason!" I warned.
"We just want to talk." I rolled my eyes.
"Guys-"
"Now, now Rose. Don't hog all the fun." I followed as they both walked with Dimitri. Lissa snaked her arm through mine and leaned in to whisper.
"So, Dimitri's your boyfriend?" I smiled and blushed, looking away. That's when I saw him.
He was standing on the other side of the hall, wearing all black, staring at me. My heart beat painfully fast and hard, my hands started to sweat. I struggled to pull in a breath. Lissa dropped my arm and looked at me funny, a worried expression on my face.
"Mason, Adrian." I called in between breaths, but they weren't load enough. They couldn't hear me. Lissa called them for me instead. They turned around in unison and ran back towards me.
"What is it? Is it Tony?" Mason asked. I nodded and they both cursed. "Is he here?" I nodded my head. Adrian took my arm, put two fingers on my pulse point and checked his watch and then led me to the bathroom. The girls bathroom.
Mason kept my hair back as he rubbed my back. I puked up everything that I had for lunch and when that was done, any water that was in my stomach. Adrian stood by the door, worried as he looked around. He left and came back when I had finished.
"Are you okay?" Mason asked finally. "I think we need to bring you to the hospital." I shook my head.
"There was no blood. I'm okay I promise." Adrian helped me stand with my wobbly knees. Adrian handed me a tooth brush and paste and I brushed my teeth.
"He left." Adrian said. "You're okay, you know." I shook my head.
"I hate it – I can't see him without having a panic attack-"
"You have good reasons." Mason leaned against the sink. "He won't hurt you here." Adrian promised.
"Come on, we better go. I'll get you some ice-cream and we can all sit in a dark room and watch films with low brightness." I smiled at Mason as Adrian picked me up.
"Is she okay?" Dimitri asked. I gave him a smile.
"We're going to go."
And true to his word, I had ice-cream and movies.