No damsel in distress, don't need you to save me

Picked a fight with the gods, I'm the giant slayer

~Rosemarie Zeynep Nuray Hathaway~

        After 6 hours of waiting at the bus stop Abe and Pavel appear with Abe looking ridiculous. Which isn't too bad since they somehow cut the travel time in half, a flight from Turkey to Portland by private plane is about 12 hours. Honestly is that man colorblind? Who combines lavender and mustard yellow together? This man is a feared Mob Boss how exactly? I sigh and shake my head. "Pavel over here." I grunt grabbing Lissa's hand as she goes to start grabbing her bags. They start walking over to us from the entranceway of there bus stop. "Hold up Liss they're gonna help once they get over here so don't bother." I smile feeling her confusion. Which then turns into understanding and bewilderment as Pavel and Abe get closer.

           "Ah Kiz it's nice to meet you in the flesh. I can't wait to hear your story once we get back home to Turkey." Abe grins pullling me into a hug. He releases me after I hug him back and turns to Lissa and smiles. "And you must be my Kiz's charge Miss Vasilisa. It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiles and shakes her hand. "Here let us help you with your things to the car." Abe offers. We grab everything between the four of us and they lead us to a truck parked in front of the bus stop and in no time we load the stuff into the car.

          We climb into the backseat and buckle in while Abe climbs into the passenger side while Pavel climbs into the driver side. After everyone is buckled in Pavel pulls out of the bus stop parking lot. I can't refuse the opportunity to tease Abe about his clothes. "So Old Man are you color blind? Or do you just have terrible taste in clothes? Because I can't tell which is worse. Honestly Pavel should start picking out your clothes if you're going to combine lavender and mustard yellow together." I snicker. Pavel snorts but doesn't say anything. In the rear view mirror I notice Abe's lips tipped up in a reluctant smile.

         "You're definitely my daughter Little Girl. I could never resist the urge to say what was on my mind as a child. Maybe that's why my older sisters were always irritated at me. But no, part of it is a way for people to underestimate me. They will never take me seriously so long as I dress like this." Abe snorts.

           "That's where Rose gets that from! She chooses to act dumb so people constantly underestimate her. She's incredibly intelligent. She just acts like she's of average intelligence, and she has a great tactical mind while also being incredibly insightful. She just has this way of being able to see into a persons mind and understanding them on such a fundamental level." Liss rants excitedly.

       "Well did you think I got that from my mom? She's emotionally stunted in pretty much all our conversations. You know I haven't seen her in years. The last time I saw her was a few years before the accident." I snort rolling my eyes. That still hurts to this day? I don't know how to phrase it since my body was sent back. I was in a life altering accident and she didn't even visit me. If it weren't for Spirit I would be dead, and she didn't even bother to visit me afterwards.

       'I know Ro, I'm still sorry that she didn't visit you after the accident.' Liss thinks.

      "What accident are you talking about?" Abe asks his voice becoming tense. Liss and I look at each other and I sigh before explaining.

         "The Dragomir car accident. Are you telling me mom didn't tell you I was in the accident with Liss and her family?" I ask in disbelief. "You know what I don't even know why I'm shocked that mom kept it from you. Figures, it's just like her." I scoff.

         Abe turns to stare me in the eye. " No Little Girl, she didn't tell me. She hasn't given me updates on you since right around that time. I heard about the accident but nowhere was it mentioned about you. And your mother didn't let me know. After that the last time I've heard from her about you was when you two left the Academy." Abe explains beginning to look frustrated.

          "Well once we get to where we're going I promise I'll explain everything. Alright Old Man? " I offer him a halfhearted grin. He smiles and nods his head before turning back around. And continue the drive to the private airstrip in comfortable silence. And Liss soon falls asleep against my shoulder and I rest my head against hers softly.