Oh wow! I didn't expect to get that many awesome reviews! Thanks, guys. To the guest who was talking about Lissa's powers and everything: all of the characters are human in my story. Lissa does have powers, but they aren't the same as her powers in VA. She's able to manipulate energy, but it takes a tremendous amount of her own energy to do so. That's why she's always tired and looking bad when she uses it. The good news is that she can take energy from Rose or – in a pinch, because she doesn't like taking energy from people who haven't given her permission – from other people. Sorry for not making that more clear.

Thanks to everyone who answered my two questions! I love hearing your theories on who attacked Rose, but I especially love hearing about your favorite Dimitri/Rose moments. :)

I was in strong arms. They were cradling me like a baby, but I didn't care how they carried me. I just wanted – no, needed out of here.

I opened my eyes, but it was hard to see anything through the red and blue lights that kept flashing around. I closed my eyes again, feeling my cell phone start to slip through my fingers and involuntarily tightening my grip on it.

"It's okay, Rose. Let go."

I wasn't able to speak, so I didn't protest as the phone disappeared from my grasp. I slit open my eyes again when we started moving. That wasn't such a good idea. The world turned on its side, disorienting me, especially with those red and blue lights. My stomach flipped and I was worried that I would throw up.

I got a grip on the nausea and looked up into my savior's arms, thankful. I wanted to cry, but I didn't have the energy. Deep, dark brown eyes looked down into mine, eyes that I would know anywhere. I took in his long brown hair as the realization of who had saved me dawned on me.

I hoped you would come, I thought.

I felt my phone getting slipped into my pocket right before we made it to the end of the alleyway. As the lights got brighter, I heard more and more voices, but I never got to see who they belonged to.

The darkness took me away.

I sat up in bed, freezing despite the sweat that had drenched me. My head was pounding and my throat was on fire. I looked at my alarm clock, sighing when I realized that it was almost time to get up and get ready for school.

I got up and went to the bathroom, splashing cold water from the sink on my face. As I did, red and blue lights flashed before my eyes. I stopped moving and looked at my reflection in the mirror, letting the details of the dream come back to my mind. I went back to my room and grabbed my phone without realizing it.

Why didn't you tell me? I sent to Dimitri, not bothering to explain what I was talking about. Even though I knew it was irrational, I felt hurt. I pulled my phone off the charger, taking it with me back to bed. I grabbed the journal Dimitri had given me a couple of days ago – he wanted me to write down everything I remembered right after it happened – and began jotting down the details of the dream.

To my surprise, he messaged me back a few minutes later. You needed to remember on your own. Of course he already knew what I was talking about.

I knew he was right. I did need to remember that on my own. But that didn't mean I was thinking with a level head. Please stop with the Zen life lessons crap. I can't believe you didn't tell me.

I thought back on the dream as I waited for his reply and got ready for school. Dimitri had been the one to find me after my ordeal. I wondered if there was anything else he was keeping from, like if he knew part of what had happened to me. My phone buzzed.

We'll talk later.

I sighed, but, again, he was right. This wasn't a discussion that needed to be had over the phone.

About an hour later, I yelled a goodbye to my mom and started to slip out the door. Right before it closed behind me, I heard her yell back.

"What?" I asked, stepping back into the house.

She made her way down the living room stairs. "Tell Mr. Belikov thank you for me when you do." I must have had a look on my face that told her I had no idea what the hell she was talking about, because she elaborated. "You'll know what I'm talking about when you get to school."

"Uh, okay…" I replied, wondering what was going on. My mother was really good at scheming; I guess that's where I got it from. "I'll see you later, Mom. Love you."

I started to step outside again, but I stopped when I caught the look on her face. She was looking at me, well, like I was the most beautiful thing in the world. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She shook her head, her eyes bright and shiny from unshed tears. "I'm just so glad you're okay."

I immediately dropped my books and went to my mom, not bothering to shut the door. She took me into her arms, resting her head on my shoulder because I was taller than her. "I'm sorry I've been so…protective lately, not letting you go out with your friends. I just want to keep you safe."

"Don't apologize for taking care of me." I told her, pulling out of her embrace.

She smiled, walking me to the door. "Okay, sweetie. Now, get to school before you end up late."

We said goodbye one last time before I headed out. I knew my mom was a ball of nerves this morning. I'd finally talked her into letting me walk to school, like I used to. If all turned out well, she'd let me walk to and from school, as long as I had Lissa or my other friends with me.

It was Friday morning, a week since I'd returned to school. I'd told my mom – per Dimitri's request – about what I'd remembered about my incident. She'd called the police and set up a time for us to talk to them, which had happened yesterday. I hadn't been able to remember anything about what my attacker looked like, so there wasn't much they could do right then. They did tell me that if I remembered anything about who hurt me, I needed to report it. The sooner I got that information to them, the better.

Dimitri and I had daily sessions, but we'd agreed that we would only try to find out what happened to me every other day. I didn't think I could handle trying to remember the incident every single day – hell, just trying to remember every other day was killing me – and Dimitri'd told me that he thought I was right. So, on Tuesday and Thursday, we talked about my recovery instead.

We'd had a little trouble with my teachers when we first asked Fink if we could have daily sessions, but they'd all gotten on board when I turned in half the work I'd missed the past month. I hated homework, but I tried to get it done as fast as possible so I could get caught up. I think my teachers were actually impressed with how dedicated I was to getting my work done.

As I made it to the school, I saw Lissa and Christian waiting right outside the entrance. They were holding hands, staring into each other's eyes as if they were the only two people on the planet. I sighed, wishing that I could do that in public with Dimitri.

"Hey, guys." I said, making my way up to them. I turned to Christian. "Cut it out, it's my turn with Lissa."

He shook his head. "Is there something I need to know about?" he asked, looking back and forth between us. "You know, I never thought about it before, but you two are awful close…"

Lissa and I burst out laughing. "Incorporating me into your fantasies, eh, Christian?" I joked.

"You wish."

Lissa grabbed my left arm and his right, dragging us into the school. "Alright, enough, you two. Let's go get breakfast."

"Sorry," I said, shaking my head. "I can't. I have to go see Mr. Belikov." I'd been working on making sure I didn't call him Dimitri around them.

Lissa's face fell. "You've been seeing him a lot lately."

"Have I?" I asked, my heart beating harder. Dimitri and I were playing with fire, spending so much time together. I did my best to mask my face. "I haven't really noticed. I guess I've just been too busy trying to remember…things."

I lowered my voice on the last word, hoping no one heard. I'd told my friends about everything I'd remembered, making them swear not to tell anyone. When I said I was trying to remember "things", I really meant that I was trying to remember details about who'd attacked me.

They both nodded, looking around. I knew they were also making sure no one heard me. I continued, "That's why I'm heading to his office this morning. I had a dream last night that I think had something to do with the incident, so I want to tell him about it while it's still fresh in my mind." That was technically true.

"Okay," Lissa nodded. "Meet me after third period?"

I agreed and we went our separate ways, with them heading to the cafeteria.

I'd been to Dimitri's office so often that Mrs. Stepp didn't have to ask me what I needed anymore. As I stepped into her office now, she looked up and said, "He's back there. I don't think anyone is with him, but you might want to knock before trying to go in."

I nodded my thanks and headed toward his office. I went to knock on his door before letting myself in when I heard voices on the other end of the door. I stood there, trying to hear what was being said.

"You have no idea what you're getting into." a female voice laughed.

I tried to hear Dimitri's response, but his voice was too deep and muffled through the door. I leaned forward, trying to hear them better, when someone cleared their throat behind me.

I whipped around, startled, to find Fink standing behind me, a small smile on his lips. "May I ask what it is you're doing, Miss Hathaway?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." I said, trying to buy time. I said the first thing that came to my mind. "I was just trying to figure out what type of wood this is." I touched Dimitri's office door. "I was thinking mahogany, but I'm not sure."

"And why were you doing that?"

I tried to think quick on my toes, which was hard with him staring at me like he was. "I, uh…was thinking about soundproofing my room. This door keeps sound from getting out pretty well."

He chuckled. "That it does. If someone wanted to hear what was being said in that room, they'd have to get pretty close to the door, don't you think?"

Busted. "Uh, well, you see…"

"Don't bother, Rose. Why don't you have a seat and wait your turn?" He gestured to the couches before turning to leave. I watched him as he went, taking in his appearance. He was big, but not in a tall sense. To me, he looked a little like a blueberry. He was balding on the top of his head and his face tended to turn red a lot, especially his nose. Today he was wearing a gray tweed suit with a black tie and shoes. He waddled a little when he walked.

I went to take a seat when Fink suddenly turned back around. "You were very close. It's red oak." With that, he left.

I sat there for only a minute before Dimitri's door opened. Ms. Amos – the teacher who had made sure I was okay in the hallway when I remembered Mason's death – stepped out, giving me a smile when she saw me. Her short blonde hair was curly today, making it look even shorter. She was wearing gold eye shadow that looked really good over her blue eyes. She was wearing straight black pants – she'd had to have ironed them to get them that straight – and a light yellow blouse. She had heels on, the same color as her top.

"You can go in, now, Rose." she told me. I decided that I like Ms. Amos. I hadn't known her very long – and I rarely ever saw her – but she seemed really nice.

"Thanks." I said, standing up. I wondered what she was talking about when she told Dimitri he didn't know what he was getting into, but didn't say anything. I mean, hello, Fink had already caught me snooping; I didn't need anyone else knowing I'd been eavesdropping, not even Dimitri. "I like your shoes." I added, smiling at her.

"Thank you. I got them at that little boutique on 2nd – " She stopped, apparently realizing what she was saying. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking…"

I shook my head. "No, it's alright. I like that store." I did. I'd gotten a bag there once that I loved, even though it never left my closet.

She hesitated, not knowing what to say. That boutique was on the same street where I'd been attacked. No one knew exactly where I'd been when I had my "accident" – that was still what everyone else was calling it – but they all knew it happened on 2nd Street.

"Well, I'll see you later." I said, needing to fill in the awkward silence.

She nodded. "Yes, see you later."

She left as I knocked on Dimitri's door before opening it. He was standing in front of his filing cabinet, feeding his fish when I walked in.

"Do you think I'd look good with short hair?" I asked, shutting the door and sitting down in one of the chairs.

He finished feeding his fish and put the food down next to the bowl. "I already told you," he laughed, turning around. "I think anything would look good on you, even short hair."

I smiled, thinking back to the night he'd first said that to me, our last night on the Shore. "Should I get it cut?"

He came around his desk, grabbing my hand and pulling me up so that I was standing. He ran one of his hands through my hair before giving me a kiss. When he pulled back, he looked at my hair, his face thoughtful. "No, don't cut it. I like your hair long."

I thought that was what he'd say. I considered teasing him, telling him I was going to cut it just because he said he liked it long, but then I remembered why I was here. I pulled away – well, as far as I could, anyway, with the chair behind me – and glared at him. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, repeating what I'd texted him earlier.

He sighed and sat down, gesturing to the chair behind me. When I didn't sit, he went on. "I already told you. You needed to remember on your own."

I wanted to be mad at him, but my curiosity got the better of me. "How?" I asked, finally sitting down. "How did you find me?"

"You remember that app we both got on the Shore? The one that allowed us to track each other?" he asked, getting up and grabbing his cell phone out of a desk drawer. I nodded as he sat back down and began scrolling through his phone. "I got a text message from you, one that scared me half to death. Do you remember?"

I started to shake my head, but stopped, thinking about it. It seemed like the more details I had, the more I could remember. An image flashed through my mind.

I held my cell phone in my right hand, which was sticky with blood. Message sent briefly appeared on the screen before showing which message had been sent. Yeah, I'd like tHELP ALLEY HURT SOS SOS SOS…

I rubbed my temples, my head throbbing. "Yeah. I remember now." I winced, wondering what I'd feel if Dimitri had sent something like that to me.

"I freaked out. I started driving around the streets near your house, checking every alleyway I came across. That's when I remembered the app. I opened it, clicked on your number, and it told me where you were. I sped all the way over there, parking right in front of the alley. When I saw you…" He stopped, gulping.

I put my hand on his knee. "It's okay. You don't have to go into it. I understand."

He leaned forward, shaking his head and taking my hand in his. "Oh, but I do. You aren't the only one who needs to talk every now and then."

I thought about that. I'd always seen Dimitri as a kind of mentor, even when he was kissing me. It had never occurred to me before that he might need my help sometimes.

"I thought you were dead. I ran to your side, calling 911 as I did. I was so scared that I didn't even answer all their questions. I told them where we were, told them to hurry, and hung up. I knew I was right in telling them to hurry when I rolled you over. You were barely breathing, wheezing as you did.

"I stayed with you while I waited for the ambulance to show up. The cops showed up, too, so I deleted everything in your phone just in case they checked it. I told them that I'd been driving down 2nd Street when I saw you laying in the alley and they believed me." he finished.

I stared at him, giving myself a minute before trying to talk so I could keep the emotion out of my voice. "I'm sorry I worried you."

He shook his head, taking both my hands in his. "You did way more than that, but don't be sorry. I'm glad you got that message to me. If you hadn't…" He let his words trail off, not needing to say it. If I hadn't have messaged him, I'd be dead right now.

"Well, I'm glad that I finally know who to thank for saving my life. So, thank you."

He planted a kiss on my forehead. "You're more than welcome, Roza, but it wasn't just me. I was worried about you, yes, but I was also in awe. You'd taken so much damage, and yet you were able to make it that far to the road. I saw the blood trail. I know you tried to crawl away. After Monday's session, I figured that's how you broke your finger."

I nodded, remembering. "I didn't think I could actually make it to the road, but I knew I had to try. It was hard for me to even move. I couldn't think straight after – "

I stopped, a memory rushing forward. There was a hand under my left arm, another one in my hair. I heard a loud thunk! before tasting metal. I shuddered.

"What is it? What did you remember?" Dimitri asked.

Before I could answer, the bell rang. I groaned. "I'll have to tell you later. If I'm late, I'll get detention."

"I'll give you a pass."

"No," I said, grabbing my books from the floor. "We've already been spending a lot of time together. I don't want to start looking suspicious."

He looked like he was going to protest, but stopped, thinking about it. "Okay. Oh, I changed your appointment from fourth period to during lunch. You're doing a lab that you can't miss today in that class. I thought we could have lunch in here while we talked."

I told him that that sounded good to me and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye.

[BREAK]

"Ugh, this is so not cool with me." Lissa was saying after school. "First Mr. Belikov steals you away this morning, then he takes you away at lunch, too. Now, you tell me he's suggested you take self-defense after school, taking away our after school time, too. I'm starting to think he doesn't like us hanging out."

I laughed. Dimitri'd been suggesting I take a self-defense class after school ever since we figured out someone had beat me nearly to death. I kept telling him that the only place around here that offered those kinds of classes was an hour away, but he never listened. He'd called my mom yesterday evening and talked it over with her. She thought it was a good idea, but she wouldn't be able to take me because of her job. Luckily, Dimitri and I had been able to kill two birds with one stone when he said he could take me and my mom accepted.

That was the only thing my friends didn't know about. I'd told them that my mom had arranged transportation with the school, which they didn't question. I kept telling myself that I'd tell Lissa about Dimitri and I – and all the confusion that went with our relationship, like him actually being my summer fling – soon. I just hadn't found the right time to do it yet.

"I know. I brought it up with my mom and she said you can spend the night this weekend, if you want." I told her.

"Hey!" Eddie exclaimed. "What about the rest of us? I've seen you, what, four times since you got out of the hospital?"

I looked over, shocked at Eddie's reaction. Mia seconded his opinion. "He's right, Rose. We've barely been able to see you. We miss you."

I felt horrible hearing them say that, but I realized they were right. I'd been so consumed with my memories and Dimitri that I'd been ignoring my friends without meaning to. "I'm sorry. Really, I am. I didn't mean to ignore you guys. I've just…been busy trying to deal with all the crap that's happened to me. I know that's no excuse, but it's true. How about I see if we can all hang out tomorrow? I think I can talk my mom into it, as long as we all stay together."

"Sure." Christian shrugged. "Tell your mom we'd be happy to babysit you."

I glared at him. "I may feel bad about not spending time with you guys, but that doesn't mean I won't punch you."

They all laughed. "At least we know you haven't changed." Christian murmured. When Lissa smacked him on the arm, he added, "Okay, I guess I kind of missed you, too."

I shook my head, laughing. "Well, I gotta go, guys. I'll call you all tonight and let you know what my mom says."

They all told me goodbye and stayed in the parking lot, talking as I left. I actually felt bad about leaving them right then to meet Dimitri. I told myself that I'd make more of an effort to hang out with them from then on.

I walked along the sidewalk, counting the steps it took me to reach each line in the pavement. I was starting to zone out when I heard footsteps behind me. My pulse quickened and I resisted the urge to turn around. Had the person who hurt me before come back to finish the job? I suddenly regretted walking home on my own.

Luckily, my house wasn't that far. I quickened my pace, but not by too much so I didn't alert them to the fact that I knew they were there. As I went around a corner, I glanced behind me using only my eyes. Sure enough, there was someone there, but I could only see the outline of their body out of the corner of my eye.

I could see my house; I'd be there in less than a minute. I briskly walked down the pathway in my yard that led to the front door. Once I was at the door, I took the chance to look down the road, seeing if the person was still there.

But no one was. I breathed a sigh of relief as I turned my key in the lock and opened the door. Whoever was behind me must've just been someone else walking home. Just to be safe, though, I locked the door when I closed it.

I went up to my bedroom and changed into some more comfortable clothes, like Dimitri had suggested I do during our session at lunch. I settled on a pair of black sweats and a loose blue t-shirt, thinking they'd give me a lot of mobility. I sent a message to Dimitri, letting him know that I was ready when he was. While I waited for him, I thought back to our conversation during lunch.

"There were two of them?" Dimitri asked, after I'd told him what I'd remembered that morning.

I nodded. "Yeah. One held me up while the other…hit me with something. In the head."

He'd clenched his fists. When he spoke, his voice was low and lethal. "This is why we need to get you into classes: so you can learn to defend yourself. If they come back and I'm not there…" His words trailed off as he breathed out hard. "Well, at least that's not a problem anymore."

"Huh?" I asked, confused. "Why isn't it a problem?"

He gave me a mischievous smile. "I signed you up for a self-defense class this morning."

"What?!" I hissed, frustrated.

"You start today, after school."

"There's one small problem with that plan, comrade. How am I going to get there?" Take that, I thought. You're plan just backfired.

Another wide grin lit up his face. "I'm going to drive you there."

Suddenly, I wasn't so angry with him anymore. "You are? Oh, wait, that actually makes a lot of sense. That's why my mom wanted me to thank you. But how did you get her to agree to it?"

"It wasn't hard." he explained. "Your mom thought it was a good idea for you to take self-defense, she just didn't know how she was going to get you there. I brought up a couple of different ideas – which she shot down, like I thought she would – and finally pretended to be exasperated as I offered to take you. She didn't want to impose, but finally accepted when I told her she could pay me. She wouldn't do it unless I got some sort of compensation."

I was amazed at how he went about all of this. I had a hard time talking my mom into letting me go to the fair when it was in town, let alone going an hour out of town, three days a week. I told him so, and from there, we talked about how we were going to meet up and what would happen. School let out at 3:30 and the class started at five, so that would give us just enough time to go home, change, and head out at four – the class was in Helena, an hour away. At six, when the class ended, we would go find somewhere to grab dinner – I was going to get to have dinner in public with Dimitri! – and then we would head home. He figured we'd be home by eight.

I snapped back to the present when my phone buzzed. I had a message from Dimitri. I'm outside.

I got up and, at the last minute, decided to get the bag I'd bought from the boutique out from my closet. I grabbed my wallet from my book bag and a water bottle from the kitchen, stashing both in my purse, and headed outside, locking the door behind me.

Dimitri was smiling as I got in the car and I felt butterflies in my stomach. For once, it'd be just the two of us, outside of school and away from everyone who might know us if they saw us.

The entire way there, Dimitri drove with one hand on the wheel, his other hand holding mine. Every now and then, as we talked, he would lift my hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on my fingers. I couldn't help but smile the whole way there. Besides our loose, casual clothing, it felt like we were going on a date.

The gym turned out to be a two-story white building with tinted windows. It was huge. There were two gyms, a boxing ring, a pool, a track, weight rooms, and so much more. I followed Dimitri to the check-in desk in front of the entrance.

"Hello, welcome to Fuel Fitness. Would you be interested in taking a class today?" the woman at the desk said as we approached. She was a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, with long blonde hair and brown eyes. She gave Dimitri a quick once-over, trying to be discreet. I felt a little uneasy.

It wasn't that I was worried Dimitri might be interested in her – he'd made it perfectly clear that he was only interested in me – but the fact that she looked like she was around his age. I wondered what she thought of me coming in here with Dimitri. Did she think I was his little sister? We both had brown hair, even though mine was darker, and we both had dark brown eyes. We could pass as siblings.

Dimitri gave her a small smile before saying, "Hello. Not today, thanks. I rented an exercise room online."

The woman looked over at me for a moment, but didn't really pay any attention to me. Something stirred in me when she dismissed me immediately. "Your name, please?"

"Dimitri Belikov." he answered.

I stared at him, shocked, as the woman turned to a computer and began typing. "I thought I was taking a course."

He smiled at me. "Just wait."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the woman glance at me. I mentally smirked. That's right. I get to work out with the really hot guy. There will probably be a lot of touching going on, too. As soon as I thought it, I wanted to take it back. That was jealousy talking and I had no reason to be jealous.

Before I could reply, the woman turned back to Dimitri. "You wanted room 2C, three times a week, for six weeks?"

"That's right."

The woman told Dimitri that his total was three hundred dollars. I'd already started opening my purse, but stopped when I heard how much it was. Dimitri handed the woman a card and she took it to the office behind the desk.

I turned to Dimitri. "Three hundred dollars?!" I whispered. "I can't let you spend that much money on me."

"Rose, your mom came by the office and gave me the money for your membership." he laughed. "Even if she didn't, it would be money well spent."

The blonde came back from the office and handed Dimitri his card back before telling us where the locker rooms were and handing Dimitri a brochure. He thanked her and led me down the hallway, towards the stairs. "What's that?" I pointed at the brochure.

"It basically tells us what we can and can't do with the memberships we have." he explained, handing it to me. From what I could tell, we could use any of the exercise equipment or machines we wanted. We were also allowed to use the track and the weight room.

We went straight up to room 2C. Dimitri helped me stretch before we began, even though we didn't do much. He started out by putting on gloves and having me punch them. We talked while we did this.

"So, if you already planned on renting this room, what was all of that about the times the class started and ended? Couldn't we just come here whenever we want?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Faster." That was directed at my punching. "No, you can only rent rooms for an hour a day. Five to six was the best time I could get."

"Oh, okay."

"Now, when I bring my legs up, I want you to kick them." he instructed.

I stopped punching. "Are you crazy? Don't you have any shin pads? I'll hurt you."

He chuckled. "You won't hurt me, Roza. Just do as I say."

For the next twenty minutes, we practiced like that. He was right, I didn't hurt him, mostly because I never made contact with his legs. Every time he brought up his leg, I kicked, but I was too slow. Before I could touch him, he'd either bring his hand down and block my kick or move out of the way altogether.

"Alright. I think that was enough for today. Good job." he said, taking the gloves off.

I sighed. "Please. You would've already had me unconscious if we'd been in a real fight."

He laughed. "I've been doing this a lot longer than you. And you have to start somewhere."

We went to the track and ran for thirty minutes after that. Dimitri never ran full speed so that I could stay next to him, which made me feel even weaker than I already did. He made me run a mile, testing my stamina. He was pleased that I could run a mile without stopping at a fairly fast pace. He gave me a few minutes break before making me do a couple of laps at a sprint.

"That's it for today." Dimitri announced when I finished my third lap at a sprint.

I was sticky and smelly from sweating so much. "Uh, is there a shower I can use?"

[BREAK]

Ten minutes later – after quick showers in the locker rooms – we were sitting in a booth in a tiny diner.

"So," I said while we waited for our food, "what made you want to be a counselor?"

Our hands were on top of the table, meeting in the middle. He rubbed my fingers with his as he spoke. "I always knew I wanted to help people, but I wasn't sure how for a long time. I had to take a psychology course as a part of my core classes in college and found myself interested in it. From there, it wasn't a hard decision to make. I decided I wanted to help kids instead of adults and here I am."

I'd been smiling, but immediately stopped when he said he wanted to help kids. "Oh. I see."

"Hey." he said, voice low. "What just happened? Did I say something wrong?"

I smiled at him again, but my heart wasn't in it. I hoped he didn't notice. "No, you didn't say anything wrong. I'm just tired, especially after all that exercise we did."

He didn't say anything for a moment, just sat there and studied me. I thought that he would catch on, somehow knowing what he'd done – he knew how to read me better than anyone. But, instead, he said, "Are you sure? I feel like something just happened here, but I…don't know what."

I opened my mouth to assure him that I was fine, but I never got the chance. His cell phone went off. He held up his finger and answered it. I sat there, telling myself to stop being a baby. I knew that he didn't think of me as a kid, but I couldn't help the sting I'd felt when he'd basically put me in the "kid" category.

"I understand. We're heading back now… Alright, bye." Dimitri said into his phone before shutting it. I looked at him, confused. "That was your mom. It looks like we'll be getting our food to go." He signaled the waitress – who, it turned out, was bringing our food to us right then – and told her to change our order to go.

I waited until we were back in the car to ask questions. "What's going on?"

He backed up, stopping when a little old woman started walking behind the car, oblivious. "The police called your mom just a couple of minutes ago. They found a shovel covered in blood in the woods."

"So?" I asked. "What does that have to do with me?"

Dimitri frowned, looking upset. "It's covered in your blood."

I didn't know what to say to that. Instead, I looked out my window, thinking about everything I'd remembered from that night. The only thing I could think of that might have involved a shovel was when I got hit in the head while being held up. I hadn't seen what they'd hit me with, so it could very well have been a shovel.

We sat the rest of the trip in silence. I knew Dimitri would've figured it out on his own and I really didn't feel like discussing it. And, yes, even though I hated to admit it, I was still feeling the sting of his "kid" remark.

We'd just hit the town limits when Dimitri said, "Oh, wait a minute."

"What?" I asked, feeling a little dazed. The sound of the car in motion had been starting to lull me to sleep because – I was telling the truth earlier – I really was tired from practice.

"Roza, you don't think I meant anything earlier when I said I wanted to help kids, right?"

I blushed, unable to stop myself, mostly because I was embarrassed. I was also amazed that he'd figured it out, almost an hour after it had happened. Thinking about it, though, it really shouldn't have surprised me. Not only was Dimitri smart, but he knew me, almost too well. "N-no. Of course not." I mumbled.

He licked his lips, tucking a piece of hair that had fallen in front of his face back behind his ear. It promptly fell back in his face. "You should know that I didn't mean anything by it. I don't see you as a kid, Rose. Not at all."

He glanced over at me, giving me a quick once-over that reminded me of the blonde at the gym. I knew the blush on my face was turning scarlet. Sure, we'd made out a few times since he started working at the school, but he hadn't even suggested that he wanted to do anything more. I let my hair fall down the side of my face, trying to hide my blush. "Oh?"

"I wouldn't be able to see you that way even if I tried. And, believe me, I've tried." he elaborated. "Especially not after that last night in Jersey."

I felt a rush of heat go through my body, similar to the feeling of when Lissa took some of my energy, but not quite the same. This wasn't coming from some outside source; this was all my body's doing. I remembered how it'd felt when he first glimpsed me without my shirt on, how I hadn't cared that we weren't in a relationship. I'd just wanted him.

I cleared my throat. "You didn't look too bad yourself that night, either, comrade."

He laughed, shaking his head, and a comfortable silence fell between us. As my house appeared down the road, I mentally kicked myself for being so dumb and wasting all that alone time I'd had with Dimitri being upset. As he parked on the curb down the street from my house, he sighed, as if he'd wished we had more time as well.

"You'll text me later, right? After you figure out what's happened?" he asked.

"I'll try. Lissa's coming over tonight, so I can't make any promises."

He nodded, needing no further explanation. He stared into my eyes and, for the life of me, I couldn't imagine what he was thinking. But I didn't need to imagine. "I wish I could kiss you."

I smiled. "I'm sorry, I know you can't help it. I'm just too irresistible."

I got a full grin from that one. "You don't know the half of it."

"Well, I should probably get going. If I don't text you tonight, I'll text you tomorrow, okay? Oh, and thanks for the lesson." I grabbed my purse and opened the door, but Dimitri put his hand on my arm, keeping me inside.

When I turned my head back towards him, I had to stifle a surprised shriek. Our faces were an inch apart. "You're welcome, Roza. Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you, too." I whispered, desperately wanting to close that inch of space between us and kiss him.

He chuckled, pulling away. "Who's irresistible now?"

I scowled, turning around and stepping out of the car. "I'll remember that, comrade."

I went to close the door, but he said, "Oh, and Rose?" When I looked back in, he smiled. "You look beautiful when you blush," he told me, keeping his voice low so no one would overhear.

The blush returned and I shut the door, waving to him as I made my way to the sidewalk. With one last glance at me, he put the car in drive and left. I watched him go. With a goofy smile on my face, I began walking towards my house.

I'd only passed one house – I had four more to go – when I heard footsteps behind me again. I tensed, thinking the worst, when I remembered what had happened earlier when I started to freak out. I took a deep breath, telling myself that it was probably just someone going for a walk.

I was in front of the second house I had to pass when I noticed the footsteps were getting faster. No, no, no, I thought. This isn't happening. Not again. Why did Dimitri have to drop me off down here?

As I made it to the third house, the footsteps got even quicker. Fear was now taking over my body, clouding my judgement. I whipped around as fast as I could, hoping I could get a clear view of whoever it was before turning around and going to my mom. To my terror, the person was right behind me.

"Hey, there, Rose." Mason said. "Miss me?"

So, what do you think happened here? Is Mason really visiting Rose from behind the grave? Or is he – somehow – not dead at all? Let me know what you think in a review :)