Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to Richelle Mead.
The original content, ideas and intellectual property of this story are owned by Ms. Belikov. Please do not copy, reproduce, or translate without express written permission.
Previously on Saving Me…
"Oh, great. You again." I said, when Tasha suddenly appeared out of thin air. "What do you want? Stop following me around like some kind of freak."
The ghost snorted and rolled her eyes. "We need to talk."
"I'm working." I said, clipping the order up for the chef to see.
"Doesn't matter," she reached out and grabbed my arm. It touched me! It could actually touch me! A shot of pure ice spread through my veins instantly at the contact, making me gasp. Every hair on my body stood up from the supernatural static crackling in the air. I breathed heavily, my breath fogging in the air.
"We need to talk," Tasha's grip tightened, nails biting into my forearm. "You, my dear, made a huge mistake…"
"You can touch me!" I gaped, horrified. "How can you touch me?"
"I'll explain that later," Tasha dismissed. In her haste to get me out of the restaurant, I ended up catching my leg on a chair, stumbling forward, and knocking the drinks clean off a passing waiter's tray. Ice-cold coke dumped all over my back, shoulders, chest, and stomach.
"What the hell is your problem, Hathaway?" Stan growled. "Are you high?"
That was Stan's question and answer to everything, at least when it regarded me. Somehow I didn't feel special. The waiter was in his late forties, with a leathery face, mean black eyes, and a thick amount of salt and pepper hair on his head. Despite all of that, he was actually quite handsome, in a mature way. Maybe I could hook him up with my mom after the divorce.
I nearly puked at the particularly graphic images that were carved in my brain. What the hell was wrong with me?
"Are you high, Hathaway?" Stan solved the mystery. Except, for one tiny fact—I hadn't touched drugs a day in my life. And never would. No matter how sick and twisted my life had gotten in the past year, I would by no means turn to a chemical substance that would change my behavior and attitude. Why would I need it? I was crazy enough as it was.
"Let's go," Tasha hissed, ignoring Stan and pulling me out of the restaurant. The heavy glass door opened and sunshine blinded me temporarily.
"Why can I see you?" I asked. "Why am I seeing ghosts?"
Tasha turned around and smiled somewhat sadly, and I was suddenly reminded of how captivating she was. Even as a translucent ghost, covered in a dirty, torn army uniform and blood, there was an eerie beauty to the woman. The world had lost a beautiful soul the day she met her violent death, but the heavens had gained someone who made their home a more amazing place than it had been before.
"Your near death experience," Tasha explained, brushing a raven lock away from her pale cheek. "But you've always been extra sensitive to the spirit world. Your hallucination merely opened that final door."
I gaped. "Fuck. You too? I cannot believe ghosts think I'm lying too."
"I don't think you're a liar," Tasha said. "I think you are confused."
"How old were you when you died?" I asked for no apparent reason.
"Thirty-two."
A stab of sadness shot through my heart and all I could was stare at her, my eyes burning.
Wham.
"Ouch," I clutched my throbbing cheek, shocked. "Did you really just bitch slap me?"
"No pity. Absolutely no pity." Tasha jabbed her pointer finger in my face. "I'm here to do a job, not find someone who feels bad for me. Now, let's go." She strutted off in the opposite direction.
"Go where, Casper?" I unconsciously followed right behind her translucent form. "Are you going to pick me up and fly away into the sunset—"
Her combat boot clad foot shot out, and like a complete sucker, I tripped and landed in a pile of limbs on the sidewalk.
People nearby shot me weird looks. I probably looked crazy talking to myself and tripping over invisible objects, but I really didn't give a damn.
"Ouch! What the hell?" I stood up and dusted off my hands and knees.
"You talk way too much, you know that?" The corners of her perfect cupids-bow lips twisted upwards, lighting up the whole town with her smile, and I suddenly forgot why I was angry. "And an unhealthy dose of attitude in your blood. Now wonder Dimitri is so in love with you."
There were a few heavy moments of silence, where all I could do was stand there like an idiot and stare at her mesmerizing, eerie beauty. And then it dawned on me.
My jaw dropped open. "Wait...what did you say?"
"How many packets do you like?" I asked, taking the steaming mugs out of the microwave.
Tasha leaned over the kitchen counter and snorted in amusement. "I can't eat or drink. In case you can't tell, I'm kind of dead."
I winced and opened my mouth to apologize, but Tasha waved me off.
"It's fine. It's fine. Listen, I can't stay here long. I've got to get back soon."
"Back where?" I asked, ripping the tops off the hot cocoa packets and pouring the stream of chocolate powder into my mug.
Tasha's face filled with hesitation and a lick of fear.
"Everything okay?" I grabbed a spoon and began to stir. "You're a ghost. Don't you pretty much make up your own rules since you're…well, dead."
"Everyone in the universe, including myself and other spirits, have someone—or something—that is higher up than them. More powerful than them."
"Like a demon?"
Her face flashed. "Not necessarily."
"But you're dead. What could you possibly have to worry about now? The worst possible thing has already happened to you." The instant those words left my mouth, I wanted to suck them right back in. Guilt and regret flooded every inch of my body. Except Tasha didn't seem to mind.
"You'd be surprised. But it's not something anyone can control. It's just how the cookie crumbles." was her explanation, and I knew from the look she shot me that this topic of conversation was over.
I took a careful sip from the mug. "Why am I seeing ghosts?"
Tasha stared at me for the longest time, her forehead creased, as if she were deciding whether or not she should tell me.
"Spit it out."
"That hallucination that you had—" I gave her a look, but she cut me off with another one of her annoying waves. "It was a hallucination, trust me. There are two reasons you are able to see me right now: One, I want you to. And two, your near death experience."
I narrowed my eyes. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Yes, it does. And you know it." Tasha placed two palms against the countertop and hopped up. "You've always been extra sensitive to the spirit world. Ever since the accident."
If possible, my eyes narrowed even more. "How do you know about that?"
She held up her hands. "Does it really matter?"
"You're really beginning to annoy me, Casper. Please don't get blood on the counter. It's unsanitary."
"You're the biggest bitch I have ever met," Her huge grin blinded me with its beauty. "I love it."
In spite of myself, I found myself cracking a smile. Tasha's positive energy was contagious, and I was sure that during the time that she had walked the earth, she had amazed everyone that ever had the honor of meeting her. That reminded me of something.
"Were you and Dimitri in love?" I asked bluntly.
Shock flooded her face, and I knew I had hit the nail on the head. What was left of my heart shattered into a million pieces. I was acutely aware that Tasha had met her violent death years ago out on the battlefield and Dimitri was long gone in Russia protecting the ambassador. Plus, he didn't even want me. If he had, he would have fought to stay by my side. But it still felt like someone had just shoved a knife through my chest.
"Dimitri and I have history—"
"Of course you do. Listen? I get it. You know him so much better than I do and he loves you and he'll never want me that way and he's gone so it doesn't even matter—"
"Hold the phone, girl." Tasha laughed in bemusement. "Dimitri is an amazing man. I met him when I first signed up for the army. I had never been more terrified in my life when we first were stationed in Afghanistan. Dimka knew this and did whatever he possibly could to make me feel better, more safe. This one time our camp was ambushed. These men dragged me kicking and screaming out of my tent, and then the leader came up with his rifle raised, pointed it right at my head, and pulled the trigger. Before I knew what had happened, something tackled me to the ground. It was Dimka. He had thrown himself on me to protect me. He was shot four times in the back. The men believed both of us dead and moved on. Dimka had saved my life that day, because that's the kind of person he is." she cleared her throat harshly and blinked, like she was coming back to the present. "Anyways, what I really want to tell you is that Dimitri never loved me like that. My feelings were always one-sided. It never went down like that between us."
"What?" I said hoarsely, my heart weighing heavy in my chest from the tale she had just told me.
"I loved Dimitri. I really loved him. With my everything." If it was possible, I knew tears would be streaming down Tasha's cheeks. But she couldn't cry, and that was heartbreaking. All I wanted to do was hug her.
"But he never felt that way towards me. I was just a friend, which I am so honored to have been considered one, believe that. But nothing hurts more than knowing the one you want more than anything doesn't want you back."
"I know what you mean."
Suddenly, she jumped down from the counter, stalked over, and gripped my arms roughly. "No, you don't. You stupid, stupid girl. I don't know how you can have sight yet be so blind and not see the things that are right in front of you." Tasha said. "Dimitri loves you. He's in love with you. So in love with you."
"How do you know?"
"I'm really resisting the urge to slap you again," her tone was annoyed. "I know Dimka better than anyone else in the world knows him—and don't give me that look. I told you it wasn't like that between us. I never even kissed him. But I ain't going to lie, I had many wet dreams about him all sweaty and dirty and masculine in his uniform…" she sighed deeply. "You know I saw him naked once. He was walking out of the showers to his locker room. He dried off and dropped the towel. I'll never forget it."
"Now I'm resisting the urge to slap you." I grunted.
An evil smile twisted her lips. "It's magnificent. I am not fucking kidding you, the man is hung like a goddamn horse—"
"Tasha!" I blushed furiously.
She merely shrugged and backed up, like nothing had happened. "Sorry. Alright, back to business. Believe it or not, I'm not here to chit chat with you."
"I can believe that."
"It was really stupid of you to get rid of Dimitri. And when I say really stupid, I mean really stupid."
"I did what I had to do."
"He was your only protection." she reasoned. "Why did you give him the boot in the first place? Because he wouldn't sleep with you?"
"No!" I said defensively. "My captor…the man who did this to me is dead. Gone. No longer a problem of mine."
Tasha—I swear—laughed right in my face. "Please do not tell me you are actually that stupid and naïve. Lord, help me here. Please do not let this girl be as stupid as the words that just came out her mouth." Her ice-blue eyes slid over to me. "No offense."
"I do take that offensively."
"Mason truly loved you, Rose. He would never dream of hurting you."
My whole world momentarily stopped. "You don't know anything about that. You don't know anything about that."
Tasha seemed unfazed. "You sure about that." She sounded bored, which only made me angrier.
"Yes. Now please…get out." I jabbed my finger at the front door. She didn't move an inch.
"I said get out."
"No."
"Please." I said through gritted teeth. Tasha was really beginning to test my patience. It took everything in me to hold onto that last shred of cool and self control.
Big, crystal-like eyes blinked innocently.
"Get out!" I shoved at her, but the instant before I made contact with her body, she went completely translucent. I flew through the air and smacked against the tile floor of the kitchen.
Man, was I seriously getting my ass kicked by a ghost? Was I really seeing ghosts? What the hell was really going on? For some unfathomable reason, I actually wasn't afraid of the situation I was currently in or the fact that I was apparently supersensitive to the spirit world. Either I was having a terrible dream, or I had gone entirely crazy.
I had a feeling it was the latter.
"What makes you think Mason didn't do it?" I stood up and dusted my clothes off for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
"He is innocent. No further explanation is needed."
"How do I know you're not lying to me? You could be working for your demon king and be just as evil as he is." I reasoned.
"True." she shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to take a leap of faith here and trust me. After all, there aren't many people who are still on your side. The more you continue to push away, the worst things are going to become. Just like with Dimka."
"I hate that nickname."
"Really?" she grinned. "Dimka loves it."
I growled under my breath, which made her giggle.
"If Mason isn't the man who kidnapped me, then who is?"
Her cupids-bow lips pursed. "It is not in my power to tell you."
I laughed harshly. "Of course it's not."
"I'm already breaking a lot of rules to see you, Rose. Don't push it with the snippy attitude."
"You're wasting my time."
Tasha's head tilted to the side mockingly, her eyes flashing with anger and impatience. "Really? Am I? Your naivety blows me away. It truly does." she said. "I'm offering you help here, and you continue to push my efforts away. Wait—I am not done speaking. You will hear me out."
I bit my tongue hard.
"Continue to live your life the way you are, and I doubt you will ever see your twenty-third birthday. If I were you, I'd be a helluva lot more cautious when it comes to trusting the ones that are around you. Give Dimka a call. You aren't as safe as you believe you are." Tasha's glowing form glided over. "I'd change your locks, too. Not that it'll help much. If someone really wanted to get in this shitty apartment, they could without breaking a sweat."
"Tasha. Wait—"
"And, one more thing, Rose—I'm only doing this for Dimitri because I love him. I could give a fuck about you. I just don't want to see him hurt again. That man has already been through enough in his life." With one last icy glare shot over her shoulder, Tasha vanished into thin air, leaving me gasping for oxygen.
6 months later…
"How old are you again?" I asked, but couldn't keep the smile off my face.
Adrian looked up from what he was doing. Emerald-green eyes sparkled. "Ah, that's about as amazing as it gets. You have the beautifullest smile I have ever seen."
"Beautifullest isn't a word."
"It is now that I have declared it one."
I rolled my eyes as he continued to fill Christian's hands with whip cream.
"Doesn't he look so peaceful when he sleeps?" Adrian asked.
"Yep. Like a baby."
"Like a little innocent baby. A little innocent angel baby."
"We seriously need to get a life. Or maybe some hobbies."
"Hobbies and having a life is so overrated."
We both looked at each other, then burst out laughing.
"Shhhhh." Adrian covered my mouth, as his body continued to rumble with his laughter. "You're going to wake the little angel."
"Sorry." I mumbled, and licked his palm.
Adrian pulled away, eyes smoky. "You little Vixen."
"What?" I said innocently.
"You're going to pay for that later," He sealed that promise with a sharp slap to my bottom and a quick, yet thorough kiss. Adrian was an amazing kisser, I had to admit. He had a perfectly full bottom lip that was so incredibly soft I wanted to kiss him all day long. I also found the way he kissed me to be thrilling. He would press his mouth to mine like he was starving and always needed to have more of me.
"Hand me a Kleenex, love." Adrian said.
"What do I look like? Your slave? Get your own damn tissue."
His mouth twitched. "For just this one time, can you not be extraordinarily difficult?"
"Fine." I sighed heavily. "But only because you promised to bake me those blueberry muffins."
"You know I never break a promise," he said, twisting the piece of tissue to a point. Then he slowly brought the tip up into Christian's nose. Meanwhile, I watched with a disgusted yet utterly fascinated expression. This was quite possibly one of the coolest things we had ever done to the smart-ass.
"What are you two doing?" Lissa stormed into the room, the pink rolled up bridal magazine pointed menacingly down at her side.
"He did it!" I pointed at Adrian, who threw his hands skyward.
"What the hell, love? I thought you had my back."
"What is he doing asleep?" my best friend demanded, marching up to her fiancés sleeping form. She promptly smacked him in the face with the rolled up weapon clenched in her hand.
"Ouch!" Christian's hands slapped to his face automatically and—BINGO!—the whip cream splattered, covering his face and hair.
Lissa's fiancé groaned heavily, and I took infinite pleasure in his torment.
"Ah, Rose. What the hell?" Christian sat up, swiftly pulled his shirt over his head, and began to wipe up the mess.
"Why does everyone always blame me?"
"That's what you get for falling asleep," Lissa plopped down into her plush, immaculate white sofa and opened the planner. I stared at the thing with pure fear and hatred running through my veins. It had done nothing but cause me hell the past six months.
"I'm getting too old for this kind of shit," Christian grumbled. I rolled my eyes. What a baby.
"Okay, Rose. You have your third fitting tomorrow at Aurora's—"
"Another fitting?" I asked, bewildered. Lissa gave a sharp nod of her head and continued to write rapidly in the planner with her fluffy pink pen.
"You've got to be frickin' kidding me," On impulse, I kicked my leg out. "Ouch!" I cried, when my foot caught the edge of the table. While I sat there in pain, rubbing my throbbing toe, Christian simply grinned like someone who had gotten away with murder.
"Asshole." I muttered.
"Bitch."
"Smart-ass."
"Skan—"
"Christian," Lissa cut him off sharply.
"Thank you," I said, smiling triumphantly at him.
"You two need to get along and stop acting so childish," Lissa pointed at us warningly. "After all, you're going to be related soon."
"WHAT?" We yelled in unison.
"Future brother-in-law, Rose." My best friend nodded at her fiancé. "Future sister-in-law, Christian."
"I cannot wait." he said behind clenched teeth.
"Watch it." Lissa snapped.
Adrian leaned over and sung in my ear, "Someone's on their period."
I heard the slice of paper through the air and just managed to duck in time. The bridal magazine smacked my boyfriend right in the face. Christian and I gave each other blank looks, then flipped out laughing. Maybe this whole marriage thing wasn't so bad. Maybe.
I love you. Ever since the first time I saw you I loved you, your smile, your eyes, your heart…just you. I'll always adore you. –Adrian
I smiled as I searched through the dusty box, on the hunt for an old café flyer.
Love notes were Adrian's thing. He'd write them for me, then leave in random places around my apartment like inside the refrigerator, the shower, buried in my bra drawer—his hiding spot of choice. They were sweet thoughts and never failed to make me smile. I held the wrinkled paper up to my nose and inhaled deeply. Just like I had expected, it still smelled faintly of his cologne. The scent was mouthwatering and always brought me to a positive, warm place.
Setting that aside, I continued to ravage the box that had been sitting in the back of my closet for the past several months. Hearing my phone ring, I flipped open the device and groaned into the phone, "I'm looking for it!"
"Look harder! I need the number of that place ASAP."
"Don't get your panties twisted. You still have four whole months until the actual wedding."
"Exactly!" Lissa boomed, and I had to hold the phone back a few inches. "This is crunch time. The cake is so crucial, and Christian and I both decided on that one. We actually agreed on something! Can you believe it? I can't. Do you know how many cakes we had to sample? I'll tell you: Hundreds."
"That must have wreaked havoc on Christian's figure" I said. "What's so special about that red velvet cake? I had it. It was alright."
"It was magical! Like Christmas in your mouth."
"Like Christian in your mouth," I laughed at my lame joke.
"Rose, this is so unbelievably important to me. So crucial to the success of my wedding. Please take this seriously. I'm on the verge of tears here. I just want this one thing to go smoothly. You need to find the number of that café, and I need to place in a custom order for a red velvet cake." she sighed deeply. "Rose, please…I'm so exhausted I'm going cross eyed here. I just can't take it anymore. I honestly feel like I'm going to collapse here any moment."
"I'm sorry," I said truthfully. "I know you're under a lot of stress and this whole situation is too much for you to handle. I want to help my best friend in any way I can. I promise you, Lissa, that I will do anything in my power to find that damn flyer."
Planning the wedding had put a huge strain on Lissa's mental and physical health. So much so that I didn't go a minute without worrying about my best friend. I wasn't the only one who was concerned, either. Christian had become a complete Nervous Nelly when it came to his future wife. And even though I wouldn't dare admit it, I absolutely loved him for it.
"There's a reason you're my best friend in the entire world," Lissa said, and I was ecstatic and relieved to hear the grin in her voice. "I love you."
"I love you too."
There were a few moments of heavy silence, and I knew what was coming next.
"So…have you seen anymore ghosts?"
"Just like you have asked me the last thousand times, the answer is always the same: No." It was the truth. I hadn't experienced anything supernatural since Tasha's bizarre visit, which made that day seem unreal. At times I believe I had imagined the whole thing or even just dreamed it.
"Good," she breathed out in relief. "I just worry about you, you know."
"The only thing you need to worry about is your mental health. I don't know what you were thinking when you said yes to Christian." I teased.
A giggled bubbled out of her mouth. "I love him."
"I rest my case. We need to get you checked into a crazy hospital—immediately."
"He's the only man I can ever imagine myself being with. I want him by my side always. Honestly Rose, I cannot explain how strong this feeling is. All I know is that I want to spend the rest of my life with Christian."
"I'm going to throw up."
"Rose."
"Fine. I'll accept the whole situation." I said in defeat. "Just please…please don't reproduce with him."
"Goodnight, Rose."
"Night, Liss." I grinned brilliantly. "I loooooooove you."
Though I didn't see it, I was positive she rolled her eyes and couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Yeah, yeah. Alright, take it easy. I love you too. Bye. Don't forget the number to that café!"
Just as I flipped the phone shut, it was my luck that it began to ring again. "What?" I snapped.
"Easy, love. It's just me." Adrian chuckled, and my body instantly relaxed. "I come bearing the ingredients to bake you the most epic blueberry muffins ever. Buzz me in."
A jolt of happiness and excitement—which had nothing to do with the fact that I was about to eat some seriously awesome dessert—shot through me, and, not wanting to act like a stupid girl in love, I fought the urge to squeal.
"Hmmm. I'm not sure if I should let you in."
"And why is that?"
"Because you didn't give me the magical password,"
"I got something magical for you, but it ain't got anything to do with a password." Adrian grunted. "I'll give you a hint: it's behind my zipper."
"Adrian!"
"Let me in. These muffins are getting cold!"
"They're not even baked yet."
"I was talking about my sweet ass cheeks."
Rolling my eyes, I pushed the star key, opening the gates.
"I'm coming in, love." was the last thing I heard before I slammed my cell shut.
Though I wasn't exactly proud of admitting it to myself—or accepting it—I had developed serious feelings for Adrian over the past few months we'd been dating. I had been extremely cautious at first—still was—but Adrian being the cocky bastard he was, never gave up and slowly but surely wormed his way into my life.
The thing I admired about my boyfriend was the fact that he never left me. Even when we hit bumps in our relationship—and believe me, there was plenty of them, mostly because of my own personal problems—he stuck by my side and bit the bullet. Aside from Lissa, he was my best friend. Someone I could be my true self with. Someone I could possibly fall stupidly and dangerously in love with. At the end of the day, I was blessed to have him in my life.
Excited and thrilled to spend time with Adrian, I hastily picked up the old battered box and tossed it on the top shelf of the closet. Though I felt a twinge of guilt, the duty I had of finding that old café flyer would wait until tomorrow.
Something white floated down through the air, catching my attention from my peripheral vision. I bent down and picked the piece of paper up. My heart stopped beating and I went ice to my core.
Before I could think about what I was doing, I flipped the check over and punched in the numbers written on the back.
He answered on the fourth ring, "Belikov."
Hearing that voice shot me through the sky and made the clouds my kingdom. I had the absurd urge to burst in tears. The feeling, truly indescribable in words, made me feel like I was flying home after years of being alone.
"Dimitri…" I breathed.
A/N: Hey, guys! Happy Valentines Day! I'm BACK! Cop an Attitude is next to be updated! :)