"Rose? Come down here!" Holy shit. Dimitri Belikov was outside of my house. Why the hell was he here? I've never even talked to this guy before. How did he know where I live?
"Umm... No thanks. I'm good up here!" I yell whisper down to him afraid of waking up Sam. Although I shouldn't be worried. A plane could crash into the house and he would still be dead asleep.
"Please, I need to talk to you." He shouts up at me. Sighing loudly I shut my window, throw on some jeans and a sweater and head down stairs. He is standing on my back porch with his arms crossed and a big smile on his face.
"Why are you here?" I ask him, wondering why the hell this crazy man decided to make a midnight visit.
"Rose Mazur?" He questioned.
"Yes?" I answer coming out as more of a question.
He just starts laughing like he discovered some lost secret treasure. "It's me. Dimitri! Well you used to call me comrade when we played together." He says to me. Comrade? I dig through my mind trying to remember if I knew him or not. I don't. I don't remember him at all. I gave him a sad smile and shook my head.
"I'm sorry. I don't know you. Maybe you have the wrong person." I say to the crazy man on my front porch.
"Come on Roza. We used to play together as kids. My mom would take us to the park to play and if we were good she would bake us black bread. It was our favorite. We were about 10 years old when you moved away. I didn't recognize you at first during school but I was laying in bed and it just jumped at me. Come on Roza. You know me." Dimitri said to me, suddenly looking very sad for me not being about to remember him.
Roza. something about that word triggered a memory in my brain. A big smile spread across my face when I suddenly remembered this big lug standing in front of me. My cowboy. My comrade. My playmate from when I stayed in Russia for a few years while my father had business there.
"Comrade?" I said cheerfully and ran to hug him. He squeezed me between his arms as tight as he could. The smell of his aftershave intoxicated me. The warmth of his body heating mine. We just held each other in silence. I can't believe I didn't recognize him sooner. Granted he was a lot smaller then. Well not by that much. He was always a big kid but his features really matured over the years. He looked like a man now. Not the little boy I used to tease for having cooties as a kid. Damn. A lot has changed. I noticed neither of us had moved. We were both still holding each other. I released my grip, but Dimitri didn't get the hint. In fact. I think he was smelling my hair. Cute. But kinda weird. He had his nose next to my neck with my hair completely covering his face.
"Dimitri." I tried to get his attention.
"Yeah?" he mumbled back.
"Can we go inside? I'm kinda cold out here." It was a lie. His body was doing a fantastic job heating mine. I just didn't want to stand here any longer.
"Yeah okay." He let me go. I grabbed his hand and led him to my bedroom.
"So this is your bedroom huh? Nice." He commented as we walked into my room.
"Yeah this is it." My room was nothing special I'll admit but it was all I needed. All I had in there was a california king bed. (Mostly because I like to roll around a lot.) a single dresser, a large mirror, a computer desk and a work desk for my art work. I had a few pictures of me and Sam from over the years posted on the walls. I never put up any pictures of my family because it hurt too much to look at them. To remember.
I sat on my bed while Dimitri went through some of my old drawings from before the accident.
"So how have you been Mr. popularity?" I asked with humor laced in my voice.
He shakes his head and grins at me. "My friends are popular Rose, not me, and I don't want to be."
"Why not? Seems like the life. Walking over everyone, not caring about the consequences or who gets hurt in the process." I say with malice dripping from every word. The Jesse incident still fresh in my mind. I can't stand people like him.
"I'm not like that. You know who I am and who I'm not. Jesse is just well... Jesse. You would have to get to know him to really-"
"I don't want to get to know him." I interjected, completely cutting him off. He knew what I was thinking about which is why he mentioned Jesse.
"I saw what you did to him today." He smiles at me. Then his expression grows worried. "How is Lissa? That looked like it really hurt. Christian was really worried about her."
"Yeah she is okay. And thanks I guess. I take that smirk as approval." I tell him. I keep the Christian comment locked in my mind for later. I'll have to tell Lissa. She'll be excited.
Dimitri came over and sat down next to me. "You know if I remember correctly I was once on the receiving end of one of those punches. Remember when I took the last chocolate doughnut and you freaked out." He laughs thinking back to that moment. As do I.
"Well you were the one who taught me how to throw a punch so you should be proud." I joke with him but with a sensual note to my voice.
"Oh I am Roza. immensely proud." He leaned in further and barely brushed his lips against mine. Electricity shot through my entire body leaving me momentarily stunned. As soon as the shock wore off I kissed him passionately. Earlier worries about boy trouble went out the window. Because I wanted this trouble. I wanted all the trouble Dimitri Belikov had to give me if I got to kiss him like this. He ran his hand through my hair and continued to kiss me so passionately and lovingly that he made it seem as if we were long-lost lovers being reunited or a married couple kissing on their 50th anniversary. He was so sweet and gentle. I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him closer. He wrapped his other arm around my waist and my whole body went up in flames. Fire and electricity ran through my veins. Nothing had ever made me feel like this before. All of the hurt and pain in my life was gone. It was like the accident never happened. My family was still alive and I wasn't haunted by the face of the man who killed them and his followers who helped clean up the evidence. I still see their traitorous faces. Every detail.
I froze. All of a sudden my world came crashing down. My high was gone. I opened my eyes to look at the beautiful face of Dimitri Belikov, but I didn't see him. No. Instead I saw the murderer of my family. The monster who had haunted my dreams ever since. I saw Alexander.
Dimitri's father.