Moving Objects

Chapter 4

"I started at five. I'm on my lunch now. Do you want me to leave?" he replied. I shook my head and pulled the refolded envelope out and looked up at him.

"Could I borrow your phone?" I asked. He rolled his eyes and handed it to me. I would have asked Lissa, but I knew for a fact that she didn't have international calling. Dimitri, on the other hand, called home to Russia almost every week. I looked at the number on the post-it and typed it in but frowned when I got an error message. Dimitri chuckled and plucked the phone from my fingers and the note before typing in the number again. He lifted it to his ear before handing it to me and I smiled at him, blowing him a kiss as I listened to the electronic tones.

Dimitri leaned down and planted a kiss on my cheek while I waited, and when I went to say something to him, my mom's voice picked up on the other line.

"Hathaway."

"Mom? It's Rose."

I heard her moving and the sound of a door closing before she responded. "Rosemarie, how are you calling me?" she asked. I rolled my eyes at the use of my first name. I wished she would stop using it.

"Alberta gave me the number and Dimitri let me use his phone. I got the letter. Alberta gave it to me last night."

"Oh, good. I was hoping to be there when you got it, but I had to come back to Nepal. Did you read it?"

I ran my fingers over the envelope with a small smile. "Yeah, I did. I looked at all the photos too. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, Rosemarie. I didn't know how to tell you, let alone think you would believe me."

I hoisted myself up on the desk next to where Dimitri was standing and crossed my legs. "I found out that not only was I wanted, but that my father knew who I was and I'm not a complete freak. Why wouldn't I believe you?"

I heard Dimitri's intake of breath and looked up to see his stunned face. Clearly, this information wasn't in my file, so my father was just as much of a shock to him too. I gave him a small smirk while I listened to my mom breathe.

"Do you know if he is still alive?" I asked quietly, kicking my feet back and forth in the space beneath the desk. A part of me was dying to know if he was still around, but I knew there may have been a chance that he wasn't because he was Moroi.

"The last time I heard from him, he was doing well. That was a few weeks ago and he was in Russia," Mom said softly and I could hear fondness in her voice. I could hear a door open on Mom's side of the call and she covered her phone while she spoke before returning to the phone. "I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll text his number to this phone so you can contact him when you're ready."

"Ok. Have a good night," I said. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I love you," I said quietly before ending the call. I stared down at the screen as it switched back to the home screen, momentarily jealous of Dimitri for getting the opportunity to grow up with his family. Sure, his father was an abusive asshole and was out of the picture now, but he got to grow up in a warm household after that.

I handed the phone back to Dimitri right as an unknown message came through and it was another phone number. I quickly scribbled it down on the back of the post-it and slipped it into my pocket.

"You ok?" Dimitri asked as he slipped his phone into the pocket of his duster. I nodded and looked down at my feet and thought over every interaction my mom and I had. I couldn't remember the last time I told her that I loved her. We went so long without speaking and for me resenting her, but I knew that she did it to keep me safe. Sure, I didn't know why she never came around, but to a degree I understood.

"My father wrote me a letter when he and my mom left me here," I said as I crossed my arms over my chest. Dimitri rested his hand on my shoulder, giving me the opportunity to stop or continue talking. I uncrossed my arms and pulled the envelope from my bag, handing it to Dimitri. He took it and pulled out the contents, his eyes settling on the photograph on top of the letter.

"This is your father?" he asked, his voice sounding tight. Maybe it was his accent coming out thicker, but I noticed it. I turned and looked at Dimitri with a nod.

"Yeah. The letter explains why they brought me here, and why I can do the things I can do. It wasn't because of being shadow kissed, but because my father is like me. He can move things too. I guess I started to grasp my abilities really early on and it was getting out of control. The further he got from me, the less I could do."

Dimitri flipped through the photos and while he smiled when he came across a photo of me as a toddler, his face pinched up when he came to a photo of just my father.

"What is it?" I asked, pulling the photo from his fingers. His eyes snapped to mine and he shook his head.

"Nothing, just thought he looked familiar. Now you need to get to your next class. There are only so many passes I can write," he said, standing up and offering me his hand. I rolled my eyes and hopped off, packing my things back into my bag.

"There's going to be a molnija ceremony tomorrow. I'm supposed to come and get you and Eddie during third period."

"Oh? Eddie staked a Strigoi?" I asked as I shouldered my bag, turning to face him.

Dimitri knitted his eyebrows together. "Yes. That's what his meeting with Alberta was about. I assumed he told you that," Dimitri replied, holding the door open for me.

I shook my head. "No, he didn't. When did you find out?"

"Right when you came into Alberta's office."

______________________________________

I set my bag down as I headed into the gym for my final class, spotting the person I was looking for immediately. I huffed and stomped over, pulling my fist back and letting it fly into his shoulder.

"Ow! The fuck, Rose?"

"You could have told me you were seeing Alberta because of the attack! I have been panicking for two days!" I hissed, flinging my arms out to the side. Eddie sighed and turned to face me head-on, wiping the sweat from his face.

"You really think I would turn you in?" he asked, putting his hand out to stop the heavy bag from swinging into us.

"Of course I did! Eddie, you practically called me slut and then ignored me for a week. Then I found out that you had a meeting with Alberta," I said, trailing off as I looked down at my feet. I heard Eddie swear under his breath before pulling me into a hug. I grimaced at the sweat that seeped through my shirt, but wrapped my arms around him anyways.

"I would never turn you in. Sure, I'm pissed at Belikov, but I would never do something to hurt you. You're my best friend, and I seem to have a short supply lately."

I nodded and rested my head against his shoulder, taking a deep breath of relief. Now the feeling that had been sitting like a rock in my chest had disappeared. I pulled away and groaned, pulling my shirt away from my chest where a wet mark appeared. Eddie laughed and ruffled my hair which I retaliated with a playful punch to his stomach.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" I asked quietly, reaching up to brush my fingers over my own molnija marks. Eddie kicked the toe of his shoe against the gym floor and nodded his head. It wasn't often I ever saw vulnerability on his face, but I could see it clearly on his.

"It's not as bad as you think it's going to be. It stings a little, but it doesn't hurt," I whispered. Eddie nodded his head and gave me a tight smile.

"Well, after tomorrow, we'll match," he said. I let out a humourless chuckle and shook my head.

"I'd rather we didn't need a reason to," I said quietly.