Rose
"She has a kid and a boyfriend." I stopped as I heard John's voice talking to someone. I ducked behind the wall, coffee in my hand and files under the other. "She doesn't exactly tell me everything. I'm going to try and bring St Vladimir's into a conversation and see how she reacts." I raised my eyebrows. "I haven't seen the tattoos yet, if she has them, she keeps them hidden." I sucked in a breath. "I'll talk to her about them. I'll call you later." I ducked behind a desk and waited for John to walk by.
I walked, passing the room John was just in moments ago. It was empty, which was expected. He was talking in the phone. I sighed and walked towards my little desk and turned on my computer, sending out meeting reminders, emails and cancellations. I finished the work as fast as I could in between until remote access to gather more information on John.
I managed to hack into John's phone records and found the number he had called and did some digging. It was lunch time when someone walked up to my desk. I clicked out of the browser and leaned back in the chair. It was John.
"Lunch?" I hesitated for a minute but nodded. I grabbed my phone and walked towards the canteen with John. He was smiling as we walked in silence. I decided to do some questioning of my own.
"Where did you go to school? You always ask me but never tell me where you went." I didn't look up at him as I asked the question, I kept my eyes level. I could hear the change in body language as John swallowed.
"Oh, just a normal school, you know."
"You don't think I went to a 'normal school'?" I opened the fridge to get my lunch and threw it in the microwave.
"I - I never said that."
"Do you have any tattoos?" I asked taking out my food, mixing it and putting it back.
"Em - no. I don't." He coughed. "What do yours mean? The ones on your neck?" I looked at him and took my food out and walked towards the table.
"Oh, you saw those? I thought I hid them very well." I shrugged my shoulders. "The stars are my boyfriend and child; the individual ones are my friends and family. The one in the middle is just embracing them." I lied. He nodded and dug into his food.
"That's nice." I looked at him and took a bite of my food.
"What? Did you think they were for how many things I've killed?" John spit out his water into his cup. "You know – spiders and flies. Can't stand them." John let out a little laugh as I gave him a smile. "Did you know there are people in the world that believe in vampires?"
"What?"
"Yeah, I watched a documentary last night. People believe that there are vampires, how crazy is that?" I took a drink of my water from my bottle. "I mean, there's people dressing and acting like vampires – it's a cult thing, I think."
"That is crazy." I nodded and took another bite of my food.
"And the documentary was talking about half breeds too." John stiffened and took a bite of his food followed by a drink from his cup. "I mean, how would that be possible? Like Vampire and human? Especially when vampires don't exist-" I cut myself off. "Do you believe they exists?" John hesitated but ten shook his head, with a forced laugh.
"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!" I laughed along with him.
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After lunch, I went back to my desk and put the cleaned lunch box back in my bag. I was moving my finger on the mouse, occasionally pretending to type while I kept glancing and waiting for John to pass. Once he did, I waited a few seconds before I followed him.
He walked towards the stairs and started to run down them. I followed as slowly and quietly as possible watching as he circled and circled until he came to halt at the carpark and looked up. I jumped to the side out of view and John continued through the door. I waited before I made my way down and pushed the door quietly and stepping into the shadows.
"She's not one. She said the tattoos on her neck are just for her family-"
"Don't take me for a fool." Another man laughed. I tried to get a good look at him but his back was too me. If I moved then John would have saw me, so I had to stay where I was, hidden.
"But-"
"She has the tattoos. What school did she go too?"
"She still hasn't said. But I think her boyfriend went to the same school, but he's foreign." John shrugged. "All I know is, his name is Dimitri. He doesn't like me very much – he's very protective of Rose." I smiled a bit. Dimitri was protective – a bit too protective at times. It was kind of sweet that others could see if.
"Do you think he knows what she is?" I scrunched my nose as my mouth flew open. Dimitri's hair is a lot shorter than mine and it was way easier to see his marks. How was Martin able to see my marks if John couldn't see Dimitri's?
"After everything you've told us about her kind – I doubt it. No guy would be able with their girlfriends walking around with marks on their neck letting the vamps know they're willing donors." I scoffed and jumped back, hiding behind the cars as John and looked in my direction.
Nice one, Rose. Really.
John made his way towards the stairs as I crouched and crawled behind the cars, darting from one to the other as fast as I could. The other man was gone, following John up the stairs. I came out of the carpark and walked slowly towards the front door to the office.
"Hathaway?" I gave Nial a smile.
"I left my phone in my car!" I laughed as I pulled it out of my pocket.
"I didn't see you pass this way?" I gave him a smile.
"I forgot I didn't park in the underground until after I got down there." I laughed. He shook his head and waved me on. I stood in the elevator and took out my phone, leaning against the steel wall and messaged.
Need to talk to you tonight. P.S. I'm still alive.
It would send when I got back into signal. I stepped out of the elevator after I put my phone back in my pocket. I walked towards my desk, my fingers fidgeting, wanting to do something. I went back to my desk, ignored the buzz on the side of my leg.
"Hey! I stopped by a few minutes ago!"
"Yeah, sorry, I was just in the bathroom." I gave him a big smile. "Do you need anything?"
"Yeah, actually!" He replied. "My mom wants to transfer my sister to a school name St Vladimir's - have you ever heard of it?" I shook my head.
"No, where's that?" I asked pretending to be curious.
"It's in Montana." I nodded my head.
"Is it a good school? I mean, I can probably do some research for you but that's all I can do to help." John shook his head.
"No, that's fine. I just thought I heard you saying the schools name before." I shook my head.
"Never heard of it."
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Why do we need to talk?
Roza?
Roza you can't just send me a message like that and then not respond.
Are you sure you're really alive?
Roza?
I checked my phone when I made it back to the house. I sucked in a breath when I read Dimitri's texts and listened to his many – twenty-five to be exact – panicked voicemails. I almost laughed when I video called him. I don't even think the phone finished it's first ring before Dimitri answered.
"I know, I know – poor choice of words, I'm sorry!" Dimitri let out a breath.
"Never do that again!"
"Mommy!"
"Hi baby!"
"Look what I did in school!" She took the phone from Dimitri as I tried not to laugh. Aly showed me a painting of the three of us together in front of a house. I smiled. "I don't like the older kids in school." I looked at her.
"Why?"
"They're not very nice about you." I looked at her. "They say mean things."
"Ignore them, baby." She gave me a sad smile.
"I miss you mommy."
"I miss you too. I'll be home soon." She kissed the phone. "How about I read you a story before bed?" She nodded excitedly.
After 3 bed time stories and hundreds of virtual kisses later, Dimitri closed over Aly's door a bit before walking into the living room.
"They basically think we're all blood whores." Dimitri paused for a second before sitting down on the chair. "That's what they think the marks are for – they think the marks are to let the vamps know that we willing choose to be fed from."
"So, they're killing dhampir women because they think they're allowing vampires to feed from them?" Dimitri repeated. I nodded.
"Yeah. John was talking to some guy today – he mentioned you by the way. He called you 'foreign'." Dimitri snorted.
"That man's a genius." Dimitri mumbled sarcastically. "Did he hurt you?"
"No. Look – you need to talk to Alberta. They know about St Vlad's." He coughed.
"They what?"
"John mentioned Vlad's. You need to talk to Alberta, increase guardians at the gates and the clocking around the school. They're not Strogoi, Dimitri, wards won't stop them." Dimitri let out a breath.
"Roza, that's what I'm worried about. You were able to handle Strogoi, krasota. That was four years ago."
"I can handle myself, Dimitri." He gave me a smile.
"I know, I'm just worried." I smiled at him.
"I know, it's one of the many thing's I love about you." He smiled. "How was your birthday?" He let out a breath and shook his head.
"Alright." I smiled at him.
"I've a surprise." His eyes perked up and I laughed. "Not that! I've been learning some Russian." Dimitri laughed and rolled his eyes.
"Go on then."
"YA lyublyu tebya." Dimitri smiled.
"I love you too."