Chapter Twenty Three.

There is a thunderstorm rolling in above Court.

I watch as the black clouds slowly creep across the sky until they settle at the edge of Court. I rumbles a few times before lightning strikes West of the gate and thunder follows. Alexis dives for my legs and I barely have time to scream before I fall. I catch myself on the hard pavement, my palms screaming at me with pain.

I stand up, look around and see that nobody saw how embarassing that was, for me to be taken down by a five year-old. Then I dust my pants and jacket off before leaning down and pulling Alexis off the ground.

"That hurt," Alexis mumbles as I wipe mud off her pants. From the corner of my eye, Wren and Henry are recovering from a good laugh.

"Yeah? Well, it was worse for me." I take a step back to see if Alexis' fall ruined anything, but she looks good as new. Hopefully she can stay that way until I get her back to her house.

We walk for a long time before coming into the heart of Court. Moroi and dhampirs alike mill around, grabbing at their coats that slip off their shoulders, some casting worried glances at the darkening sky. One woman gives me a pointed glare when I walk in front of her to get to the sidewalk.

Though it is two hours away from daybreak, the sky is not lightening. The moon, which has almost disappeared behind black-as-night clouds, is fading, but it is also casting an eerie blue glow around us.

"I hate thunderstorms," Henry mutters under his breath.

I cast a quick glance behind me at Wren and Henry, bundled in their jackets and sweaters and undershirts, and sigh. "Let's just get you home."

"I'm cold." Alexis tugs at my jacket sleeve. I grab her hand and rub them until they are warm, and then we continue walking. I'm able to get a quick look at myself in a store window.

Good God, I look like the babysitter's bandwagon.

"I'm coooold!" Alex wails loudly. I get a few annoyed look from passersby and bite my lip. Then I scoop Alex up into my arms and jog past people.

And then, as if the weather and Mother Nature are looking for veagance against me, it starts to rain.

Really?

Of course, it's cold. Of course, it's raining. Of course, the children are being whiny little munkchins. Of course, I apparently won't allow some guy to kiss me so he gets mad at me and our friendship ends for the. . . third time. . . . ?

I stop jogging once we get to the neighborhood they live in. I drop Alex onto her feet and walk down the cobblestone trail and up the glassy stairs. I lightly knock on the door before turning the doorknob. I turn to the kids.

"In you go!" I say with a grand waving gesture. Henry and Alex scramble to get in first, while Wren slowly creeps up the stairs. We both look at the grey sky for a few minutes before she turns to me.

We're both soaked, but it's not like it matters anymore.

"You shouldn't walk around in this weather," she says. "I'm sure Mom wouldn't mind if you stayed for a couple hours."

I nod, but in my mind, all I hear is, But Julius would.

"Oh my God!" Vivian shouts as she runs in the front foyer from one of the many doors. "I was so worried! Where have you been? I didn't know where you were! Rose, why didn't you tell me you were taking them out? Alexis, it's too cold to be wearing such clothing! Let's get you into a warm bath. I will get Elizabeth to start you a bath in the master. ELIZABETH! ELIZA- oh forget it."

Vivian puts a hand to her forehead. "Wren, take Henry and Alexis upstairs, please."

Wren obeys and grabs her siblings' hands without question. They climb up the stairs before disappearing behind a wall. Vivian turns to me.

"How? Why?" she asks in an exasperated voice.

"Um." I bite my bottom lip. "Excuse me?"

"Why did you take them out in this. . ." Vivian glances out the kaliedoscopic window. "This monstrous weather!"

"It, um, it wasn't like this earlier." I glance toward the tall windows with red velvet drapes. The house is old. "I just wanted to take them ice-skating. They were so excited, and the weather was perfect. And, uh, I'm sorry."

Vivian sighs and rubs her temples with perfectly manicured nails."You should be." She lifts her chin, making her look taller and a bit scarier. I feel no guilt creep into my soul, though. Ha! Nice try, Mother Bear, but I'm not one of your descendants. Your little game isn't going to work on me.

I take a deep breath and try to look geuinely sorry. "I apologize, Ms. Conta. It won't happen again. Not without your permission. I promise."

She actually looks pleased with me, her smile widening. "Thank you, Rose. Now, there is absolutely no way for you to feat in this type of weather. I'd be happy to offer you some hot chocolate and a place to stay until it settles down."

I smile. "Thank you. That would be great."

"MOOOOMMYYY!" Alexis' voice screams from upstairs. "I'm finished!"

Vivian replies by saying in a loud voice, "I'll be up in a minute, Darling!"

She scurries up the stairs in her knockoff Prada heels, but before she disappears into a visible door, she turns to me. "Make yourself at home, Rose. The half-bath is right there." She points to a door below the opposite staircase before clambering up the rest of the steps.

I have no idea what she is talking about, but one look in a mirror to my left, I realize my boots are covered in mud and ice, and my hair is a tangled lump on my head. Can I even call that hair?

I march across the foyer and into the bathroom, leaving a trail of mud and dirt and ice and snow, and close the door to only a crack. I take off one boot and hold it over the sink, scrubbing furiously at the dried mud, then drop it beside the toilet. I then try to dust off as much ice as I can on the matching boot, but only manage to make a few clumps of melting snow come off.

I drop both boots and look in the mirror, realizing I'm soaked from head to toe. I sigh and shrug off my overcoat, then my jacket, and peel away layer after layer until I'm only in a red sweater and a pair of boy-underwear. I then let my hair fall out of its ponytail, grab a small comb from a cup in the shape of a seashell and brush furiously at the mop atop my hair.

I continue to do so until there the knots in my hair are in the brush and I look slightly presentable. Just as I'm about to strip out of my sweater, the door sweeps open, and in a fury of shouts and screaming, I'm tangled in my own clothes.

"Holy sh- sorry!" The familiar voice screams and I stop screaming long enough to get a view of Julius, staring at me with wide eyes.

He watches me, his hand on the doorknob. "Uh. . . hello?"

I stare at him incredously. "Seriously? You walk into a bathroom to see someone like some kind of pervert and then you just say 'hi'?"

"Um, yes. Sorry." He turns to leave, then turns back. "Oh, um, sorry."

He disappears, shutting the door behind him. I make sure to lock the door this time before putting my jeans on before throwing everything else into the hamper. I look at myself in a floor-length mirror. Wet hair, dark Levi jeans from when Lissa and I were on the run, and a red sweater. Okay, at least I look decent. My makeup might be a little messed up, but I look fine. Right?

I leave the bathroom and try one of the doors. Locked. Crap. I try another. Locked. Finally I try another door and this one swings open, and I collide with a hard body.

I fall onto the hard marble floor, staring up at the ceiling. Suddenly, Julius' face appears above me. The fluroescent lights shine around him. He almost looks like an angel.

"I must say," he says, "you aren't your best with doors."

"Yeah?" I smile slightly. "What made you figure that?"

Suddenly he grabs my arms and lifts me up. I never realized he was that strong. Wow. I rub the back of my head awkwardly.

"It's kind of been an off day for me." I look at anything but his face. "Things haven't worked out so well."

"Hmph," says Julius. "I thought you were just naturally clusmy."

"No, I, uh. . . " I stare at him for a few awkward seconds, an open silence between us. "Julius, look-"

"Rose!" Henry, Alexis and Wren come trinkling down the stairs, all dressed in warm, comfortable clothes and dry of any wetness whatsoever. Henry smiles up at me. "Mom's letting us watch a movie in the theater room. You're staying, right?" I nod. "Can you watch a movie with us?"

I bite my lip in frustration. I really want to talk to Julius about. . . what happened. But I can't turn them down. Besides, Wren would know something is up, and I wouldn't want her knowing the entire truth. I still don't trust her completely. With a slight nod of my head, Alexis and Henry drag me toward a pair of matching doors.

I'm able to glance back at Julius once before he turns away and disappears into the same door he came through just minutes ago.

"We're watching Indiana Jones and that's final!" Wren tells Henry, who refuses to give up on his mission to force us into watching X-Men: United.

Henry's shoulders fall with defeat. "Fine. Whatever."

The theater room turns out to be a decent-sized room with a huge screen for movies on the opposite wall of the doors. A few old, antique couches occupy most of the space, and there is an old popcorn machine that doesn't work in the corner. It's nice, with a lovely maroon wallpaper and plush white carpets. I wonder what else this monster of a house holds. Maybe a sushi bar if I'm lucky.

The second Indiana Jones movie cuts on and immediately the children's arguing stops. For once, I'm allowed to enjoy the silence after a long day. I sigh, happy, curling up on the qntique sofa and trying not to ask questions, as I've never seen the first Indiana Jones movie and I'm completely lost.

I'm lost in the movie when a stinging sensation attaches itself to the back of my head. I hiss, and turn, only to see Julius with an ice pack.

He shrugs. "Thought you would need it after slamming into me back there."

I glance at the kids, who are comfortably sharing a couch in front of me, and turn back to him. I lower my voice to a whisper, saying, "Yeah. Thanks." I reach for the ice pack, but Julius beats me to the chase. He applies the ice pack to the back of my head and takes a seat beside me.

"It's okay," says he. "I got it."

I smile up at him, the burning sensation of the ice having gone away. Then I nod. "Okay." I look back at the kids', then at him. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah." He rolls his eyes.

I grab his arm and my face turns serious. So does his. "I'm serious," I say. "Look, um, I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry."

He looks down, then up, then down again. "Yeah. Me, too. I'm sorry, too."

"Alright." I laugh lightly and in return get a few "Shhh"'s from Alex, Henry, and Wren. I look back at Julius and smile brightly. "I might take you up on that offer one day."

Julius frowns, not understanding what I'm saying, but then his face goes slack and he smiles. "I would very much like that, Rosemarie."

Me, too, Julius. Me, too.

Okay, I would first like to let people know that I appreciate everyone who reads this story. Seriously! It means a lot that people would read what I write, and you keep me writing more and more. That being said, I would like to make a point here. I refuse to acknowledge any of the negative comments posted to my story.

You are NOT writing it, you are NOT in charge of what goes on in the story, and you certainly are NOT going to tell me what I should change about my own story. If I want to pair certain couples together, I will. If I want to leave out names in the info of my story to be a surprise, I will. It's my story, my thought process, not yours. If you do not like my story, please do yourself a favor and get the hell off my page.

If you read what I write to purely insult it, you're being a complete and utter jerk and I refuse to acknowledge your existence. If you don't like it, don't continue to read it. I left out stuff in the info box so I could make this story a surprise, not because I wanted to be a jerk about it. Rant completed, again thanks to the people who give positive comments and I can't wait for this story to be completed (: