I was restless as I tried to sleep. I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't sleep. Maybe it was also because I had gotten used to sleeping next to Dimitri most nights. Doing the one thing I used to when I first moved out, I checked the time back home and picked up my phone.
I stood up from my bed and crept to the small hall between our rooms, glancing into his room to see if he was asleep. I went back to my bed just as the phone picked up.
"Hello?"
Hearing her voice was like a balm, telling me that I was safe. But hearing her voice also made me break. I started to speak but instead, began to sob.
"Rose? Baby, what's wrong?" Mildred asked.
I choked on my tears before I was able to speak. "Mom?"
I rarely called Mildred mom directly. It wasn't that I wasn't comfortable, but it was more out of habit. I never called Rhea mom, but I only called Mildred mom in moments of unrest. Or if I was talking about her to Andrew.
"Sweetheart. Take a breath," Mildred whispered. I cried a little bit before I was able to get a hold of myself.
"I met him," I whimpered.
"Met who?"
"My father," I sobbed, pulling the blanket up to try and stifle the sound of my sobs so I didn't wake Dimitri.
"How?" Mildred asked.
"He's Dimitri's boss," I said after a few moments, "He sat down at the bar and told me. He said that by the time he found where I was, you and Barry had already put the adoption process through, and he didn't want to cause me any more trauma."
I didn't know why I was so upset, but I couldn't stop crying. My chest ached for my tears, but Mildred didn't say anything, just listening to me cry.
"Baby, I wish I was there to hold you," she whispered over the phone and I nodded to myself.
"I know. I wish you were here," I whimpered.
She tsked quietly. "Hunny, why do you think you feel so upset?"
I took in a deep breath. "Because Barry is my dad and this man has just walked back into my life," I said.
"You think that Barry wouldn't want you to know your father if you wanted to know him?" she asked and I shook my head to myself.
"But Barry is my dad."
"Yes, he was. But he would never have stopped you from meeting your biological father. But don't put yourself through that if it is not what you want," Mildred said gently.
"I feel like it would be an insult to Barry," I whispered but Mildred tsked.
"No. It wouldn't be an insult, sweet girl. Please don't think that. But tonight, I think that you need to breathe, and I want you to lie down."
I took a few deep breaths and laid on my side, moving the pillows around so I was supported.
"Are you laying down?"
"Yes," I whispered. She said good and started to sing to me. She used to sing it to me on nights I couldn't sleep while recovering from surgery. She would pull a dining chair up to the gurney bed and sing to me. I smiled to myself and sniffed, wiping my raw cheeks as I listened to her voice. I wasn't sure how long she sang to me, but eventually I drifted off.
Maria had a pinched look on her face.
"You shouldn't have let it go on this long without saying something," she said as she tried to help me with my exercises, stretching my hamstrings and rolling me into different positions to help me stretch.
"I know," I moaned quietly as I rolled onto my stomach. Tasha wasn't able to get me in to see anyone until after the meeting with Abe, but I woke up this morning barely able to get out of bed. It was bad enough that I lay in bed and cried, calling out for Dimitri to help me.
He knew I had pain sometimes, but I never let on how bad it could get. I think he realized that when he had to physically sit me up in bed and lift me out. Once I was out of bed, he put me on the couch and ran a hot bath for me to soak in. It was easier for me to get off the couch than out of bed.
Once the bath was run, Maria knocked on the door, apologizing that she had fallen asleep so early, but ran to the pharmacy as soon as she got up. She poured some things into the bath, and I struggled to get in but moaning quietly as I sank into the bath.
Dimitri wasn't overly talkative, but after twenty minutes he came in with a bottle of cold water and a coffee, setting it on the edge of the bathtub. I thanked him quietly and closed my eyes for a moment and then reached for the coffee.
"Did I do this? Make it worse?" he asked.
I furrowed my brows at him. "What do you mean?"
He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "We've been pretty active lately," he said almost sheepishly and I gave him a small smile.
"Not necessarily. I mean, we probably irritated it, but no. I've been doing a lot of stage stuff with the crew, and I think I just overdid it. Plus, stress can make it worse. I fell a few earlier this and I jerked my back pretty hard then," I explained.
Dimitri nodded and left me to my bath, I closed my eyes again and soaked as long as I could. At least it would loosen the muscles enough for me to stretch.
Maria moved her hand over my back, her thumbs digging in on either side of my spine as she moved downwards.
"You're really tight in here," she said as she pressed inside the dip of my spine.
"I know," I grunted.
Maria sighed and tried to work out some of the tension, but I knew that it was futile. Once my back got this back, it would take a lot of work to loosen it up.
Maria looked at my phone and helped me roll onto my back again, glancing back towards the rooms of the suite.
"What happened with you and Dimitri last night?"
"What do you mean?" I asked as she stretched my hip.
"Someone witnessed the little tiff you two had downstairs. Some people around saying some strange things about him being 'controlling'."
I shook my head. "It was just a misunderstanding," I said. Maria raised a brow at me but let it go.
"Okay, I think this is enough before you go for physio. I don't want to do anything that will make it more inflamed," she said and helped me to my feet. I sighed and stretched gently, twisting side to side with a pinched face.
"Okay, now I need to get dressed in something that is somewhat comfortable but still appropriate for this stupid meeting," I said and walked into my room.
The tension in the room was so thick that you could cut it with a piece of dental floss.
Tasha looked like she wanted to bolt the whole meeting, and while I was here as moral support, I zoned out a few times during the meeting. I didn't realize I had zoned out until someone touched my arm.
"Hmm?" I asked quietly.
"Are you okay?" Dimitri asked, tilting his head to look at me, "Is it your back?"
I bit my lip. "It's fine," I lied through my teeth, but Dimitri's brows furrowed.
"You have issues with your back?" Abe asked.
I nodded. "I have an appointment for physio once we are done here," I explained, "I'm fine. Sorry if I interrupted your meeting."
"No, that's fine. We had just asked if you were comfortable working on a collaboration for a single. I saw the video from last night's show. It was fantastic. The two of you blend well together," Abe commented with a small smile.
Dimitri noticed the expression on his face and raised a brow.
"I'd be up for that if Dimitri is," I said looking at him. He nodded and dotted some notes on his paper, but looked up and studied me for a few moments. Tasha whispered something in Ivan's ear and slipped him something under the table. When he got up to get a drink, he set a glass of water in front of me and dropped a new bottle of pills into my lap.
I gave Tasha an appreciative look and took one quietly, slipping the bottle back into my back. Abe had an expression on his face that I couldn't decipher. Dimitri noticed it too, and the tension started to build in the room again. Aside from this morning and the meeting, we hadn't spoken very much.
"I am proposing some changes to your contract," Abe said as he slid a new one across the table. Dimitri sighed quietly.
"This better not rope me in for another three years," Dimitri muttered.
"No, these are temporary measures until your contract is up in July. These are just until the end, and then we will sit down all together, and redo a contract all together," Abe explained, winking at me when neither Dimitri nor Tasha were looking. I looked down at my lap and closed my eyes, shifting in my chair so I could get more comfortable.
"Why are you bringing these forward now?" Dimitri asked, "These are things I asked for over a year ago."
"Because Victor didn't forward those on to the label. He made the decisions on his own, which is why he was fired. It came to light just how unhappy you are with the label, and we greatly appreciate and value you. We want you to stay," Abe explained.
"And just how far are you willing to go to keep him? I don't think you realized just how much damage Victor caused," Tasha asked tapping the end of her pen on her notepad.
"I am willing to increase your royalties and salary, along with giving you more freedom in regards to the sound of your music. I am also willing to have a formal statement given about your mistreatment. Regrettably, you are not the only artist that Victor was taking advantage of," Abe explained, "That also goes for your partner, Rose."
"What about Rose?" Tasha asked, bristling when Abe's attention turned to me.
"While you yourself get protection from the label, I think it is smart that it be extended to Rosemarie as well. She has grown in popularity, and if you continue to have her feature on your tour, her popularity will continue to grow. It may even be wise to even start branding her. Get your writing out for the public to see. You could write creatively, you could sell your work as a writer," Abe said, turning his direction to me.
"I don't think extra security is necessary," I started to say.
"It's absolutely necessary. You go out on your own, and I can't expect that you're going to hang off Dimitri's arm every minute of the day. You should have your own protection," Abe cut off. Dimitri's brow raised, noticing the severe tone in Abe's voice. I wasn't sure if it was just Abe being a good employee or if it was him trying to keep me safe because of our biological ties.
"I don't see an issue with Rose having her own security. It may be best to have Rufus transfer to her full-time. They work well together and we don't need to worry about an accusation," Tasha said after a moment. I nodded.
"Except that time when people thought Rufus was feeling me up when he fixed the back of my dress," I snickered into my water. Dimitri cracked a smile at that.
"He felt so bad about that, even though I was sitting right there when he fixed the back of your dress," Dimitri laughed and rubbed his eyes. The media had a field day with the photo someone took of Rufus pulling the edge of my dress down before the birthday dinner in New York.
When we went to a movie premier that one of Dimitri's songs was featured in, a reporter asked him about it and he couldn't help but laugh. He said that he was sitting in the chair that was seen in the photo and that it was simply him noticing that the back of my dress was stuck and folded under itself. He was quick to dismiss rumours, and instead how much he laughed at me while I tried to fix it on my own before Rufus helped.
"I'm glad that we can trust Mr. Vilks. Any concerns about Mr. Alto?"
"I think it'd be best if Stan stayed with Dimitri."
"Why is that?"
Dimitri bit his lip and tried to hide his laughter. "It turns out that Stan was a teacher of Rose's in high school. They did not get along well. Apparently, he quit teaching the year after he had Rose, and well… it was interesting the first time they saw each other after that," Dimitri explained and smiled at me. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't thrilled when I found out who Stanley was, and I was adamant that I wasn't working with him.
Abe nodded to himself and wrote something on his notepad before turning the conversation back to the existing contract Dimitri had with them.
I moaned quietly as the cups slid over my lower back.
"Does that hurt?" Dimitri asked quietly. He wanted to wait for me, but waiting in the lobby would have caused a scene, so he sat in the chair in the room while the therapist worked.
"No," I said quietly, sighing softly. There were two stationary cups on the glutinous medius, the 'back pocket' muscles and there was a cup that the therapist slid across my back. it didn't hurt per se, but it just felt weird. But after all of the tension I had felt in my back, it felt amazing.
"How does this work?" he asked, tilting his head to watch.
"In short, the suction pulls the muscle into the cup, which in turn, pulls more blood into the muscle. It helps promote blood flow. It stimulates healing and helps remove toxins from the body. It's used for arthritis, muscle tension, pain and inflammation. Everyone in the clinic does it, and it's beneficial for massage therapists too," the therapist explained in a heavily accented voice.
"I think that I will do a little bit of massage as well. You were right when you said that you left it too long," he said and adjusted where my pants sat, "I'm going to slide these down a bit more."
I nodded and lifted my hips so that my waistband was laying just below my butt crack. He loosened the stationary cups and moved them lower. He took off the sliding cup and massaged my lower back, working up my spine. After a few minutes he took the cups off and told me I could fix my pants and lay on my back. he did a bit of range of motion work with my hips, digging into the muscle at the front of my hip bone.
I hissed and winced while making a odd laughing noise.
"Tickles?"
"Yes and no," I chuckled, "I hate this part. But I need it."
The therapist chuckled and then switched to the other side.
"Now, I have rules for you," he said as I sat up. I sighed as I sat up, already feeling ten times better than I did when I walked in.
"What's that?" Dimitri asked.
"Rest, you're going to be very, very tender tomorrow. Lots of water, if you feel pain use a heating pad. Try to avoid caffeine for the rest of the day," he explained. I nodded.
"And I don't suggest wearing jeans," he said with a smile, "You are going to be very, very tender."
I nodded and paid at the front desk for my appointment. Once I sat down in the car, I moaned quietly.
"What's wrong?" Dimitri asked immediately.
"Nothing, just a little sore," I said and stretched my legs out and closed my eyes.
"But you're feeling better?"
I nodded. "Much. This morning was a rough one."
Dimitri nodded and twisted the band I bought him on his wrist.
"How often do you feel pain or discomfort in your back?"
I bit my lip and glanced out the window.
"Depends on what's happening. But in usual circumstances, I can usually go about four weeks before I start to feel pain that I can't ignore. I'm usually pretty good at keeping it at a manageable level, but I've really been missing my expensive ass mattress," I said with a chuckle at the end.
Dimitri cleared his throat.
"Yeah, I miss my own bed too," he said tiredly, "If it ever starts to get bad, I can also try to massage your back a bit."
I looked at him and raised my brow at him. "Is that supposed to be an innuendo?"
Dimitri laughed. "No. I promise. Not that kind of massage," he said with a smirk.
Cupping is my preferred choice in treatment for my lumbar arthritis. It is amazing. Honestly, it's the only thing that works for me.
This was a shorter chapter, but there is plenty more to come!
Let me know what you think!