Sorry for the delay guys, I've been busy working…
Well, here it is… the last chapter! Sad I know, but I hope you like it.
Not 100% how I wanted to finish it, I may change it after the comp ends but I don't know, we'll see how I go… LOL! This one is nearly double the length of the other chapters as they all had more to say than I thought and I wouldn't have time to upload in the morning before having to leave… So, a biggish chapter!

Enjoy!

Chapter 19

Rose first laid eyes on Dimitri when she was thirteen years old and up until that day, she always thought boys were just smelly and annoying… But Dimitri was different. It took two years of watching on the sidelines as he dated one skank after the other to finally get the nerve up to do something proactive… That's where her friend Ambrose came in…

The neighbourhood wasn't all that huge so all the kids knew each other even if they didn't run in the same group. Rose had grown up with Dimitri, Adrian and Christian, but only in the 'Hi, how are you', type of way if at all… The boys being older that set them even further apart, but that didn't stop Rose's mind from going in all sorts of directions once she realised that boy could be useful…

"I need some new clothes." Rose said to her mother one day after school. "I saw some good things down at the thrift store the other day."

Her mother turned her sour, hung over face to her daughter before walking over to her handbag. Janine knew that she shouldn't blame Rose for how her life had turned out, but she just couldn't help it… Janine was still so bitter over the life she almost had in her hands being ripped away simply because she fell pregnant, she could hardly see straight at times. Inside her wallet was a fifty and a twenty but she knew she was nearly out of Scotch so she pulled out the twenty and threw it on the table in front of her daughter… "Don't spend it all if you don't have to." She said shortly…

So the next afternoon, Rose dragged Lissa along to buy some clothes that would hopefully make her more grown up in the eyes of Dimitri. Lissa wasn't too sure about her friend's new look, but she went along with it. "Here Rose," she said as she undid the bracelet around her wrist, "…this would look awesome with that denim skirt."

"I can't take that Liss, your mom gave it to you."

"It's fine… she won't mind." Liss said even though she knew her mother would in fact mind a lot… Rose gave her the 'yeah sure' look as the bracelet was clipped onto her wrist… "There, it looks better on you anyway." Liss hated that her friend had to buy her clothes at the local Op Shop because her parents were too selfish to buy her new ones.

But in the end, it didn't matter where she got them; they did the trick… with a little unwitting help from her friend Ambrose. After their first kiss, even at such a tender age, but Rose and Dimitri knew that they never wanted to be apart. Rose watched Dimitri grow into a strong, feared teenager and it excited her no end to know that he was hers. She also got to know those that followed him around like puppy dogs, including Chris' skanky older sister, Tasha. "It's creepy how she keeps trying to get your attention… Why doesn't she hang around guys her own age?"

"She hangs around us because of Chris and she's not interested in me… she just doesn't have much in her life. You know what their dad's like." She did… she knew he beat Tasha, Christian and their mother but it still got under her skin…

And nothing changed over the years, other than Tasha getting hooked on drugs and turning into a stripper. Both Dimitri and Christian had tried to get her to stop but nothing they did worked, in the end, they kept a close eye on her and helped when they could; when she'd let them.

Bad!

After the heaviness of their confessions, the drive over to the club was quiet… quiet enough for Rose's mind to go over a few things in her mine. Memories that she'd rather forget pulled at her relentlessly…

Rose had had a bad day at work, she was in a foul mood and couldn't face going home to an empty apartment so she decided to call into Dimitri's workshop and wait for him to finish…

"Hey Chris, is he in his office?" she asked, her hand pointing to the front of the building.

"Yeah, I think so… He was here a little while ago."

Rose gave a nod and walked off. As she neared Dimitri's office door, she could hear the murmured sounds of his voice, he was either on the phone or had someone in there so she thought she'd just wait outside. It was as she turned around that she heard the giggling laughter of the one person that had irritated her for years… Going back to the door, she leant closer to see if she could hear anything.

"We'll be so good together Dimka…"

"Tasha..."

Rose's heart leapt as she moved away from the door, her mind unable to comprehend what she'd heard… She stopped breathing and turned her head towards the door, her eyes narrowed as she squared her shoulders, then she stepped closer and opened the door… What greeted her was not what she had expected… Dimitri, the man who'd owned her heart for the last nine years was sitting at his desk… with Tasha straddled over his lap.

"What the fuck!" she gasped out.

"Rose!" Dimitri exclaimed, "It's not what…"

"Don't you fucking dare finish that sentence you bastard!" Rose interrupted. "I can't believe you would do this to me… to us!" Rose's stinging eyes flicked from Dimitri's panicked face to the smirking one of Tasha's. "You fucking bitch…"

As Dimitri tried to get a clinging Tasha off his lap, Rose didn't wait around… she just needed to get out of there. She ran as fast as she could through the workshop and out to her car, speeding off into the night before Dimitri could follow. He stood panting at the back door of the garage, watching his girlfriend speed away.

"What in the hell is going on?" Christian said from behind him.

"Your fucking sister, that's what!" Dimitri's eyes flicked behind his friend and landed on Tasha. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I'm sorry Dimka but I doubt she's listen to me… she's never liked me." She shrugged her shoulders.

"You need to go Tasha… and not come back."

"What… why? I didn't do anything wrong." Tears fell from her eyes and if there was one thing that Dimitri hated seeing, it was women crying… especially those who he knew had a bad home life.

"I've got to go see if I can find Rose…" He took off towards his car, not having any idea where she'd go, but he was determined to find her.

He did eventually, but it wasn't until the next morning when she turned up at their apartment. He did everything he could think of to explain what had happened in the office before Rose had turned up, but she wouldn't hear it… She was hurting too much and in that moment, Dimitri was just another person who promised a 'forever love' and had let her down. Half an hour of yelling and unheard explanations, Rose gave him the ultimatum that he never saw coming…

"Get her out of your life completely Dimitri… it's her or me." He was dumbfounded that she would say such a thing. No-one gave him ultimatums and as much as he loved Rose, he wasn't about to let her give him one either. He stood stoically, truly believing she wouldn't leave… until she did. She waited for an answer until she saw his jaw clench tight and then turned to their bedroom to pack some things. Five minutes later she walked to the front door… "I'll come back for the rest of my things tomorrow when you're at work. I never thought you'd ever choose her over me…"

"I'm not… She's a friend, a messed up friend that I've known nearly my whole life; I can't turn my back on her Rose."

Rose tried to hide the hurt his words inflicted by looking at the floor. "Goodbye Dimitri."

Bad!

In the car, Rose tried to wipe secretly at the tear that fell from her eye but Dimitri saw… In that moment, he knew what he had to do. He would not lose Rose again, for anybody. He'd never thought about how his friendship with Tasha appeared to those around him, she's always been Chris' older sister, she'd always been around. He had no feelings other than friendship for her but thinking back to the night in the office that changed everything, he knew that she wanted more, just like Rose had warned…

The night in the club… he was feeling the slight buzz of the Vodka when Tasha got onto his lap. Looking up at the woman he'd always known, he wondered if he could ever return her feelings. After three months, he was just starting to acknowledge that Rose wasn't coming back and he couldn't imagine looking for someone else.

When the girls came into the club the night after the Stingray boost, he thought he was seeing things when she looked hurt… he didn't want to have hope that she regretted what had happened between them but when Lissa came over and ripped into him, it was all he needed. He wasn't going to let her go that night and he wasn't going to this night either. He was going to do what he should have done months ago… fight for them.

As Dimitri and the girls walked into the club, a number of eyes turned to them; including Tasha's. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She thought after the week before that he'd finally be hers.

"You want a drink?" Dimitri asked Rose. She gave a nod so he led the girls over to the bar ordering them a cocktail each and a coke for himself. The music pumped loudly, the bass felt down to their bones.

"You not drinking?" Rose asked as the bartender handed her a 'Golden Lily' cocktail.

"No, I've drunk enough lately to last me a lifetime. Plus, I'll need to keep my wits about myself to keep you from killing a certain someone…" He smirked.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll shut the fuck up and let me do what needs to be done." She said giving him a pointed look. He held up his hands in surrender, but he felt better thinking that her fire meant that her tears in the car weren't a bad omen… at least that's what he hoped.

They made their way over to the large lounge that the guys had procured earlier when they arrived. Dimitri sat first and pulled Rose down onto his lap before she had the chance to do otherwise. Rose smirked into her glass as she watched Lissa curl up into Christian's side. Rose was pleased to see her friend finally get the man she'd always wanted; upset that she'd never picked up on her obvious attraction before now. The girls shared a wink as their eyes met.

"Well, isn't this just lovely?" Tasha said as she stood looking down on the loved up couples. "I thought you'd finally come to your senses Dimka."

Rose couldn't handle it anymore. She gave Dimitri a kiss to his cheek and put her drink on the small table in front of them before standing up and walking over to Tasha.

"I'll only say this once Tasha, so listen really closely. You have never, will never, have Dimitri. You… are a drugged up skank ho that doesn't deserve to breath the same air as him. I don't care who your brother is, if you come anywhere near me or Dimitri again, I'm going to put my fist through your skull. Do you understand me, bitch?"

Tasha sneered at the shorter woman before turning to look at the man who she'd grown up with, with an expression of expectancy on her face. When she didn't have him come to her rescue, her face showed her legitimate hurt. "Dimka, not you too… Are you going to let her talk to me like that?"

"Yes I am, because you need to hear it. I've done a disservice to you Tasha. In trying to be your friend and help you, all I've done is let you think that I had feelings other than friendship for you when I don't… I'm sorry for that, but if I were you Tasha, I'd listen to what Roza just said because you're about five seconds away from an awful lot of pain." He lifted his glass as he sat there watching Tasha's disbelief. She looked to her brother and seeing that he wasn't going to do anything to help her either, she turned back to Rose.

"You're still here, Tasha!" Rose growled. Her fists clenched as she barely held herself back from physically removing Tasha herself...

"You can't make me leave, Rosemarie…" Tasha sneered.

After that, everything happened rather quickly. The challenge as to what Rose could make her do and then Tasha using her full name was enough for Rose to let loose… Her head tilted to once side a split second before her clenched fist swung back. The sound of it making contact with Tasha's face was sweet justice to Rose's ears, the resulting scream however, was not…

Strong, thick arms wrapped around Rose's body as she struggled to get closer to Tasha, she had nearly ten years of pent up resentment and anger that had finally been let loose and she was determined to let it all out.

"Roza, calm down; it's over." Dimitri said at her ear.

"It is not over! Not until I get my hands around her throat and choke the life out of her!" Rose screamed.

"Dimitri, calm her down." Lissa said as she and Christian tried to survey the damage to Tasha's bleeding nose. For someone so small, Dimitri was impressed by the strength he had to use to contain Rose in all of her glorious fury. In fact, her wriggling, raging body was waking his up!

"Let go of me!" she yelled.

"Roza! Snap out of this!" Dimitri tightened his grip before lifting her up off the ground. He saw an empty booth a little way away, so he moved as fast as he could in that direction. "Get in." he said motioning to the table.

"She deserved it." Rose grumbled as she slid across the vinyl seat.

"Maybe so, but I want you to come home with me tonight and not to jail." Dimitri picked up Rose's hand, inspecting it to make sure she didn't do any more damage than she'd already done to it on the guard the night before… Happy that she'd done no more damage, he lifted her hand to his lips. That action had Rose relax somewhat, the fight leaving her only to be replaced by a hunger she needed quenching.

"I tried not to snap."

"I know and I'm proud of you, my little badass, but do you know what I want right now?"

"What?"

"I want to know if you'll move back home. I love you and I miss having you with me. I miss going to sleep with you in my arms, I miss waking up with your foot in my ribs…" he smiled. Rose couldn't help but return it, but before she could answer, Dimitri's phone buzzed in his pants pocket… It was a message from Emil…

I need you to find two ladies for a couple of friends, but only if you two work together! BTW, dinner at mine, tomorrow 7pm. Dress nice.

Emil sat at his desk smirking as he waited for a reply. Alberta poked her head in and saw her husband's expression.

"What are you up to now, Emil?"

"Just giving them a nudge in the right direction."

The End!

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to my wonderful beta, Angela… You did an amazing job. Also to my feisty friend and pre-reader, Sassy, you rock Babe!
To everyone that sent me reviews, thank you so, so much. I can't say how much I loved reading what you thought of this little story.

Love you all heaps!
Sandy XXX