"Oh my god, Heather?!" I heard Zarina's voice echoing in the cafeteria before I actually saw her and the next moment, I was pulled into a bear hug.
How can she be so cheerful all the time?
"Hey Zar." I said, hugging her back. She pulled away a few moments later and grabbed my shoulders, looking me in the eye.
"Where have you been? You had us all so worried!" She exclaimed before engulfing me in a hug again and nearly knocking the air out of me.
"I needed space, like right now." I said patting her arm as she chuckled nervously before finally pulling away with a shy smile.
"Sorry I got carried away. But I'm so glad you're back! I even met Jane today, and that other British guy.. I forgot his name though.." She said pouting, making me laugh at her as we sat on an empty table.
"Dean." I told her and watched her face light up.
"Yes, exactly him. Anyhow, how are you planning to go home and face everyone?" She asked me concerned as Zephyr brought me a rather large plate of fries and brownies.
A lifesaver, I tell you.
"I don't know honestly. I guess I'll just have to wing it." I said shrugging as Jane, Matt and Dean came into view and walked over to us, smiling wide.
I had already met them a while ago and explained everything that I could, but obviously gave Jane the longer version of me staying with Roman.
To say she was shocked and surprised would be an understatement.
But she also said it was kind of expected since he was clearly infatuated with me.
I beg to differ.
"Hey guys. Thea." Jane said smiling as she sat across me next to Matt. Zephyr sat beside me and offered me a warm smile that would have girls swooning.
They already were anyway. Zarina sat on other side and Dean sat next to her, much to her excitement, and I noticed it wasn't only her joy but also the way Dean was nervous around her.
They'd definitely make a cute couple.
"Do you have any more classes today?" Zephyr asked me munching on a fry as I shook my head.
"Nope. I'm done for the day. You?" I asked him.
"Done." He answered.
"Would you take me home then?" I asked him batting my eyelashes, making him chuckle.
"Of course Heathy baby, we'll leave in ten minutes, yeah?" He asked me getting up from his seat as he pulled out his phone.
"Yeah okay." I told him as he walked away.
"Where's your ring Thea?" Zarina asked me eyeing my bare ring finger and I noticed no one was listening in.
"I gave it to Zeph for safekeeping until we went home. No one outside the family knows of the engagement, and we intend to keep it that way. All other people know is that we are in a relationship of some sort." I explained to her the same way I told Zeph and saw her nod in return.
"Oh okay... I guess it's better that way. Anyways, I have class now so I'll see you at home then?" She asked me getting up from my seat.
"Yeah, see you at home. Bye." I waved to her and she waved back, walking out of the cafeteria. I glanced at my phone and saw Zephyr's message pop up to meet him in the parking lot.
Saying goodbye to my friends, I headed out and was met by Zephyr leaning against his sleek silver car with girls flocking around him.
He caught my eye and grinned, straightening up as I mirrored his grin and walked towards him, the girls giving me death glares with such intensity I though they'd actually kill me as I sat in the passenger seat and buckled my seat belt.
I noticed him wink at the girls, effectively making them all faint as he smirked and sat in he car and drove off towards home, each second taking me closer to my doom.
"Don't worry. I'll be right with you the whole time. So will Zar... if she's home by the time." He said, making me chuckle lightly as his words reassured me when I saw the approaching estate and took a deep breath.
Here goes nothing.
Walking inside my house, I was welcomed by an eerie silence. It almost felt calming if not for the impending storm that awaited me but before I could make the turn to my room, I was engulfed in a hug by none other than my uncle Karl.
"There's my favorite girl. Don't tell Zarina though, she'll throw a fit." He whispered the last part in my ear, making me giggle as the sound of heels made me pull away from him and look into the eyes of his wife, aunt Kristina.
"Heather dear, is that really you?" She came to me and hugged me tightly.
"Yep, that's me." I assured her as she pulled away and flashed me a big motherly smile.
"Look at you, so beautiful, just like your mother." She smiled warmly at me.
"Thanks aunt Kris. Where's-..." I started but was cut off by another deep voice.
"There she is, the woman of the hour and our little Queen!" Uncle Mikhail's voice boomed in the hallway as his arms wrapped around me.
"Mikhailov, ty dushish' bednuyu devochku. Let her go." (You're suffocating the poor girl.) Aunt Kris said sternly, making my uncle roll his eyes at her as he pulled away and the kissed the top of my head.
"You gave us quite the fright, devushka." (Young woman) Uncle Mikhail said patting my head. Yup, uncle Mikhail raised Ivan and... let's not talk about him just yet.
"I know dyadya. I mne ochen' zhal'. Deystvitel'no.." (Uncle. And I'm really sorry. Truly.) I said, my eyes going down to the floor as uncle Karl clicked his tongue.
"Don't worry printsessa. It's understandable. The pressure must have been too much. I already told Jon not to do this. Bednyazhka ne vyderzhit takogo davleniya. Eta upryamaya sobaka nikogda ne slushayet." (The poor girl can't handle so much pressure. That stubborn dog never listens.) He grumbled, rubbing my shoulder soothingly when my father's voice reached my ears.
"Upryamaya sobaka moya noga. Moya doch' — samaya sil'naya zhenshchina, kotoruyu ya znayu, kak i yeye mat'." (Stubborn dog my foot. My daughter is the strongest woman I know, just like her mother.) Dad's voice rumbled as he looked at me with glistening eyes.
My own heart tugged as I ran to him and he immediately engulfed me in his warm arms, rubbing my back soothingly.
"Oh my darling. You'll scare your old man to death one day." He grumbled.
"I'm sorry dad, I'm so sorry. I blacked out, I don't know what came over me but all I could see was him... and their faces laughing at me.. I couldn't take it dad." I sniffled, letting myself melt into his warm arms.
"I know sweetheart, it's okay now. It'll be alright now." He said kissing my forehead as I pulled away from him, my eyes instantly meeting stormy grey ones behind him.
"Kotenok."
"Ivanom." I whispered as I walked towards him slowly, but before I knew it, his arms were already wrapped around me.
"Don't do that again. Please." He mumbled, making me nod my head at him as we both pulled away and he kissed my forehead affectionately as my eyes settled on last but not the least, my brother.
A lone tear managed to escape my eyes as I ran towards him and practically jumped into his arms, kissing his cheek.
"It's okay sweetheart, I've got you now." He whispered into my hair as he kissed my head and led me to my room, away from everyone.
"You okay?" He asked me concerned after we had come into my room.
"I think so, yeah." I said nodding as he hugged me again tightly, as if he was afraid of what might happen if he let go.
"I was so scared for you sweetheart. Please don't do that to me again. You didn't even have your phone on you." He said, making me sigh as I eyed my comfy bed and he noticed it too and chuckled lightly.
"But we will talk about this later. Get some rest, yes?" He asked me, and I nodded when he left my room after kissing my forehead and assuring me everything would be fine.
I quickly changed into comfortable clothes and got under the covers, feeling the exhaustion take over as a result of all the nightmares and nervousness and before I knew it, I had welcomed the darkness with open arms.
* * *
I woke to someone shaking me slightly and groaned, effectively hitting the person with a pillow.
"Hey! Get up sleepy pants!" A girl's voice rang in my ears and I quickly sat up to the loud sound, narrowing my eyes at the raven-haired girl as a large smile took over her face.
"Kimberly?" I said awestruck, making her nod when she jumped on the bed and hugged me tightly. A cough broke us out of our emotional moment and Kimberly pulled away to look back as a smile made its way onto her face.
"Nik, look who's awake." She said getting off my bed and I followed suit, heading over to Nikolai, Kimberly's husband and smiling at the little princess who was eyeing me carefully.
"Good to see you Nik." I smiled as I hugged Nik while he ruffled my hair, making me scowl.
"Hey! No fair!" I pouted, making the little princess giggle.
"Aunty Thea?" She asked adorably as I reached out for her and she immediately jumped into my arms, making us all chuckle.
"She remembers me!" I exclaimed happily as Zephyr, Zarina, and Ivan entered my room.
"Of course she does, she asks about you everyday." Kim told me ruffling her daughter's hair.
"How is my little Anya?" I asked her, making the four-year old giggle.
"I'm fine aunty!" She exclaimed hugging me as everyone awed at us.
"And how are you Nik? Kim?" I asked her parents.
"Glad to know you weren't kidnapped by a secret lover or anything." Nik said looking me up and down to look for any kind of bruises but found none.
Uhhhhh....
Although his words made me falter a moment as I quickly looked at Zeph who subtly shook his head, and then Ivan who was watching us carefully.
"What? Nice joke Nik." I laughed nervously, making him frown.
"Uh... thanks?" He said scratching the back of his neck, as Kim smoothed out his dark brown hair.
"Aunty Thea?" Anya asked me, making me look at her adorable face with a smile.
"Yes sweetheart?"
"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?" She asked me, making me frown as I looked down at my body and my face immediately flushed red when I realized I was only wearing one of Alex's large t-shirts that went around mid thigh and my black underwear underneath.
My horrified gaze went to the three men in the room whose faces were red, even Ivan who found it hard to make eye contact with me.
"Out! All the men, out!" Zarina yelled, making us all flinch as all the males in the room glanced at each other and with another scream, they all shuffled out quickly and Zarina shut the door, locking it and looking at me a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Oh my god, that was priceless!" Kim said doubling over and I joined them, so did little Anya.
"What's so funny momma?" Anya asked Kim who took her from me and ran a hand through her jet black hair.
"Nothing sweetheart." She assured her, making the little girl pout and look at us with her little blue eyes. Yup, blue eyes. They ran in the family on my father's side. All of us had blue eyes, except Ivan, obviously.
Our blue eyes was kind of like our trademark, since we all had them. Kim had hazel eyes since she was my cousin from my mom's side and Nikolai had icy blue ones, like me since he was Aunt Kris' and uncle Karl's son.
Uncle Karl and Mikhail are my dad's brothers my dad being the eldest. Uncle Mikhail is second in number and married my aunt Innessa who died a few years ago.
They didn't have any children but they both raised Ivan. And then comes uncle Karlsson, or Karl, who is the youngest of the three brothers and his wife, aunt Kris. They are Nikolai's, Zeph's and Zarina's parents.
"Anya Solonik Elias! Don't make me call your father young lady!" Kim scolded her daughter, stopping her mid way from smearing my bright red lipstick on her face.
"Sorry momma." She said innocently as Kim rolled her eyes playfully and put her hands on her hips.
"Welp, here comes angry mama. I'm gonna go change for dinner." I say and quickly dash towards my closet, closing out Kim's warnings as I look for a formal dress.
"How 'bout this one?" Zar takes out a silky emerald green dress that would hug my curves in all the right places and would fit like a glove.
I remembered it catching my eye at the mall when I went with Jane last week because it reminded me of the color of his eyes.
"It's perfect. Are we going out?" I asked Zar who nodded.
"Yup. Hey would you mind if I borrowed a dress? My luggage's yet to arrive." She asked me sheepishly.
"It's okay, go ahead. Choose anything you like." I told her as I took the green dress from her hands, making her squeal and hug me tightly before her eyes scanned everything and stopped at a baby pink dress that flared at the waist and reached the knees.
"That one?" I asked her pointing to it and saw her eyes gleaming.
"Well duh, it's pink." She stated matter-of-factly as she took it out. Zarina absolutely loved pink and loved anything remotely close to it.
"Go for it." I told her as I walked towards my bathroom to take a shower.
"Thanks!" She yelled from behind as I gave her a thumbs up and shut the bathroom door. I took a nice shower, shaved, and moisturized myself and then straightened my hair. I applied some mascara, some eyeliner and a little blush, highlighter and then finished the look with bright red lipstick.
Smacking my lips together, I heard someone wolf whistling and my head snapped to Zephyr leaning in my doorway, arms folded across his chest as he gave me his signature smirk.
"Dressing up for lover boy?" He mused, making me roll my eyes as I proceeded to put on my strappy black heels and ran my hands over my silky dress that ended near my ankles with a slit that went up to my thigh at the side.
It had spaghetti straps and the neckline dipped a little low to reveal a little of my chest, but not too much.
"No. You of all people should know how formal our family dinners are. " I narrowed my eyes at him and scanned his outfit.
He wore a silky red button down with black slacks, his shoes shined to perfection and his white hair messily slicked back, making him look like the definition of a playboy.
"You look good." I complimented him, making him give me a toothy grin.
"Don't I always?" He said waling over to me as I rolled my eyes at him playfully and smack his arm.
"I was joking. You look good too, by the way." He complimented me, making me smile at him as he fetched something from his pant pocket and held out his hand.
I looked at him confused before giving him my hand and he placed the not to large diamond ring in my palm, the weight of it weighing me down suddenly as reality crashed on my head.
"It'll be okay. They're going to need more details, obviously, but don't worry. I'll be with you every step of the way." He reassured me, his words making me cam down a bit as I slipped the ring on and wrapped my arms around Zephyr.
He had always been there for me, just like everyone else. Being only a year older than me, Zephyr always thought it was his duty to look after me because I was like his little sister.
We were inseparable, always together when we were younger, but after we moved we had distanced a bit but still managed to keep our friendship going.
"Thanks. For everything." I said gratefully as he hugged my back.
"It's no problem." He mumbled just as someone cleared their throat behind us. Both of pulled away and faced Ivan who stood with his hands in his coat pockets, wearing a black suit with a crisp white shirt underneath.
"Ready kotenok?" He asked me and I nodded.
"Yeah." I said as I made my way over to him. He held my hand, making me look up at him as he sighed deeply and closed his eyes a moment before opening them again.
"You look beautiful." He commented, making me smile.
"Thanks. You do too." I said, making him smirk.
"Don't I always?" He repeated Zeph's words, making me roll my eyes as I stepped out of the room with both boys behind me.
"Cocky bastards." I muttered as I walked towards the staircase, my heels echoing in the empty halls.
"I heard that." Ivan said from behind me, making me stifle a smile.
"That was intended." I said looking at the both of them as they rolled their eyes and followed me downstairs.
"Aunty Thea, aunty Thea!" Anya giggled loudly, running up to me and grabbing my hand as I descended the staircase.
"Sweetheart please stay still for me a minute, will you?" Nik came running from behind her and sighed loudly.
"What's wrong?" I asked the both of them as Nik raised a pink bow in his hand.
"She won't let me put the bow on her head. Can you help, please?" He asked me pleading making me chuckle as I took the bow from his hands and bent down towards Anya's level.
"Turn around for me will you sweetheart?" I asked her with a smile and she complied within a second and turned around, letting me put the bow on her adorable little ponytail.
"Well, don't you look like a princess?" I cooed, looking over at a surprised Nik.
"What is it about you that she gave in so easily?" Nik asked me baffled as Zeph and Ivan joined me.
"I'm just too charming, no one can resist it." I said batting my eyelashes.
"And pretty!" Anya said giggling, making us all chuckle.
"Alright, alright." Nik said smiling just as footsteps were heard on the stairs and Kim and Zar joined us.
"Don't you look stunning, Thea." Zarina gushed, making me smile at her.
"You definitely look more beautiful Zar." I commented as she twirled for us, her blonde hair curled to perfection.
"Thanks." She gave me a wide smile as Kim went to Nik who put an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek.
"And aren't you two adorable." Zarina said joining her hands.
"You kids ready?" Uncle Mikhail approached us along with aunt Kris and uncle Karl, with dad trailing behind them.
"Everyone's ready. Where's Alek?" Zeph asked dad who gestured upstairs.
"Fetch him will you son?" Dad asked Zeph but I quickly walked towards them.
"I'll go get him. I need my phone anyways." I said patting my dad's shoulder and went upstairs and turned towards the hallway with my brother's room and office.
Knocking on the office door, I didn't get any answer so after waiting a few more seconds I walked in, only to find it empty.
"Alex?" I called out hoping he was probably in the bathroom but didn't hear his reply, so I walked further into the room when my phone caught my eye.
I picked it up and turned it on going through my messages, when something on the desk caught my eye and made me look twice.
Is that...?
Among the scattered papers, the familiar signatures of him made me squint my eyes as I looked even closer, my heart beating louder and faster in my chest.
No fucking way.
"A. Solonik Elias." I whispered, the name sounding foreign to me after two years and something inside me tugged but was gone the next moment as my eyes widened.
What the hell is going on?