Moving Objects

Chapter 1

I sipped carefully and groaned at the relief it brought to my throat. I gave Dimitri a thankful look as he pulled the cup away from me, but he had a serious look now. "We have a problem."

"What is it?"

"People are questioning what happened at the caves."

I rolled my eyes and immediately regretted it, but gave him a glance. "We can just say that it was fear? I don't know, you're my mentor to everyone else," I said, but the look in his eyes said that it wasn't what he was talking about, and it made fear settle in my stomach like a boulder.

"You don't mean about me going back for you, do you?"

"No. I mean about how you knocked Alto and your mom back ten feet, along with the Strigoi."

I raked my hands through my hair as my heart rate skyrocketed, sending the monitor into a fit. Dimitri's hands were on me quickly, pulling mine away from my hair that I was trying to yank out by the roots. He moved from the chair beside me to the edge of the bed and pulled me into a hug, his large arms engulfing me as he shushed me.

"Roza, take a deep breath. We will figure out a way to explain it off," he whispered but I could barely hear him. My blood was pounding in my ears. I could feel other sets of hands on me as they laid me back down and I didn't realize I was gasping for air until someone placed a paper bag in front of my mouth, trying to get me to focus filling and sucking the air out of the bag. My breathing slowly returned to normal and I discovered that it was Alberta who was holding the bag, her eyes staring into mine as she nodded her head.

"You're ok, Rose. Take a slow breath."

I listened and breathed slowly, my eyes drifting to Dimitri who moved to stand against the wall, his eyes filled with concern.

"There you go. Alright, Belikov? Can you please step out? I have some things I need to ask Rose about," Alberta said when I set the bag down on the bed. My eyes widened and caught Dimitri's again. If she was about to ask the questions I thought she was, I didn't want to be alone. Dimitri gave me a reassuring look that Alberta caught, and she sat down in the chair that Dimitri vacated.

I looked from Alberta to Dimitri and then back to Alberta, trying to figure out what to say. Dimitri seemed to understand my dilemma and came to sit at the end of my bed, his hand coming to rest on my clothed feet.

"Rose?"

I looked back to Alberta and let out a heavy sigh before slumping even further into the bed. "I don't even know where to start."

"We can start with me asking a question. I take it that you aren't leaving, Belikov?" Alberta stated as she crossed her arms over her chest. Dimitri shook his head and squeezed my ankle in an encouraging gesture. I nodded to Alberta and she stood to close the door and returned to the chair.

"What exactly happened that you could have pushed Alto away from you as far as you did?"

I squirmed uncomfortably in my spot, biting down as I processed my thoughts. I caught Dimitri's eye and could see that he wanted to help, but even he didn't know enough about the situation to divert the attention.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I said softly, looking down at the blanket. I heard Alberta sigh and shift in her seat.

"Try me."

I closed my eyes and contemplated just how bad this could be. But then again, I was worried that Dimitri would react badly.

"How do I know that you won't tell anyone?" I asked in a small voice, one that I didn't even recognize as my own. Alberta looked at me with a stone mask as her eyes flicked from me to Dimitri.