Moving Objects

Chapter 6

I shrugged and polished off the last of the dessert as Mom made her way back to the table. I snickered as Abe's head snapped up and he smiled at her as she sat down.

"How are you going to pay Guardian Belikov for the phone call to me in Nepal?" Mom asked as she folded her arms on the tabletop. I shook my head and rested it against the back of the booth.

"I have no idea," I laughed. "I have a lot of minutes to pay for. I called Abe a few times too from his phone. And the time I actually spoke to him too."

I heard Abe hum beside me but didn't say anything. "I can pay him back for you. I appreciate that he let you call me from his phone." I shook my hand and waved him off. He didn't need to do that, and I said such to him but he just rolled his eyes at me.

Mom chuckled at us and nodded to Abe's Guardian, Pavel, and indicated that the two were going to do the sweep before we left. I sat with Abe while they did it, but he just looked at me with raised brows.

"Belikov is the friend that snuck you out after curfew to call me."

Oh, man. I really walked into that one.

"Umm," was all that I could get out of my mouth. Abe snickered and slid out of the booth when Mom came back in. Abe put his hand on my back and led me out of the restaurant. I looked around like Mom and Pavel, taking in my surroundings despite the sun being high in the sky.

"Why were you so insistent that I sit inside the booth?" I asked.

Abe stopped and turned me to face him. "It doesn't matter if you're a Dhampir or if I'm a Moroi. You are my child, first and foremost. Nothing comes before that. If I have to put myself between you and death, I will. Because that's what fathers do. We protect our children at all costs," he said, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

It wasn't what I was expecting him to say but the statement in itself was heartwarming. I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around his waist, startling him for a moment before he wrapped his arms around me too, resting his chin on my head. I turned my head and rested my cheek against his chest and sighed happily. It felt nice to be hugged by him.

I pulled back and smiled up at him and he returned the smile before looking over my head and pulling me roughly to the side. I stumbled as I tried to right myself as a car flew by us much faster than necessary in a parking lot. We weren't standing in the middle of the driving lane but the car came pretty close to us.

"Idiots," I grumbled as Abe squeezed my shoulders. I gestured that I was fine but my head snapped around at the bang of a car door and a shout.

"Hey! Go feel up your whore somewhere else!" a guy yelled from the car that nearly ran us down. He was medium height with a beer belly and a greasy looking cap on his head. I felt Abe bristle beside me at the insult and I watched Mom jog towards us, her facial expression concerned but firm.

"Abe, Rosemarie? Are you alright?" she asked as she came closer. I nodded and pulled on Abe's arm, but the look on his face was murderous. The guy was still walking towards us and I could see the muscles in Abe's jaw tensing and his nose flaring as he breathed.

I watched as the guy got closer when I tugged on Abe's hand, "Dad? Just leave it. He isn't worth the time."

Abe's head snapped around to look at me and I could see the name calm him a little. He nodded his head and put his hand on my shoulder before wrapping his other arm around Mom and stirred us towards the car.

I could hear him grumbling in his seat, muttering away about the asshat in the parking lot.

"Where does he get off saying something like that? You're a kid," Abe muttered. I scoffed and shook my head.

"One, I take offence to that. I'm an adult. And two, you may not have noticed but I don't exactly look eighteen. I'm pissed that he said it but you can't let it get to you. There are some pretty disgusting people in the world," I said, putting my head on his shoulder. Abe didn't say anything but he lifted my hand and brought it to his lips before squeezing it.

"Regardless, nobody gets to insult my little girl. No matter how old you get."

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"Long night, little dhampir?"

I nodded mid-yawn as I picked up my fried egg sandwich. I barely got sleep last night and I had to be up early for training. I really wished I could have slept in today, but with trials fast approaching, I needed the extra time.

"What kept you busy?"

"My dad."

The looks on the faces before me were comical, aside from Lissa's who knew I was out with Abe. I just hadn't called him my dad yet. I chewed slowly as I nodded at my friends, quietly chuckling at them. Lissa had gracefully let me start eating before starting with the questions about my dinner with Abe, and who he was in general. I ignored the questions until I finished eating, much to Christian's aggravation.

"Ok," I said, wiping my face with the napkin, "now you may ask your questions."

"Who is he?"

"When did you find out?"

"Is he royal?"

"What is he like?"

My eyes widened at the onslaught of inquiries but took it in. "His name is Abe, and no he is not royal. We didn't really talk about what he does but he seems to be an influential guy. I found out about him a few weeks ago because he wrote a letter for me to read when I turned eighteen."

"Ok, but what is he like?" Lissa pushed on as she played with her yogurt. I met Lissa's eye and she gave me a small smile, encouraging me to go on.

"He's really nice. Actually, I'm a lot like him, personality-wise. He has a wicked sense of humour and he's protective. He broke Moroi protocols and made me sit on the inside of the booth and said that he would always put himself between me and something that could hurt me. No offence, but how often do you hear Moroi fathers claim and protect their Dhampir children?"

Adrian seemed to be nodding along but I couldn't be sure if he was actually listening to what was being said or if he was just making the motion. Christian appeared to be surprised but had a look in his eye that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Eddie had an understanding look on his face. Every Dhampir dreamed of finding out about their Moroi parent, most of the time them being our fathers, and I could see Eddie thinking about it himself. Eddie knew both his parents. His father died young in a car accident when he was younger and his mom lived in a small town about an hour away from the academy.

"What's his last name?" Adrian asked as he twirled an unlit cigarette between his fingers. I rolled my eyes at him but obliged.

"Mazur."

Christian and Adrian's eyes both widened, Christian letting out a small laugh. "Well, if we ever wondered why you had such a mean streak, now we know why."