Early start to the morning = crabby Rose. I've never really been a morning person. Dimitri is, even when he first gets up you'd think he'd been up for hours. I didn't used to mind the mandatory morning training sessions I had with him, back at the academy. I got to spend one on one time with him, of course getting up early was worth it. But now. Now is a different story, I woke up so tired and grumpy, Dimitri just sat there laughing at me as he sipped at his coffee. "Cheer up my love, I'll make the day worth it." He said cheerfully as he walked over to me to give me my coffee. Along with the coffee I got a delicate kiss on the top of my head.
"The owner said he'd put on breakfast for us this morning, so that's something we don't have to worry about." He said as he sat down beside me. "Mhmm, food." That brought a bit of perkiness to me. I took a big mouthful of coffee then got dressed. He of course, was already dressed. Ugh, so organised. Once I was dressed we made our way downstairs, as we got closer I could smell the food. I'm sure I actually started drooling! The pups were sleepily following behind us, they too were tuckered out by all the travel. The owner really went all out to feed us, there was a massive spread all across the big table in the dining room.
I spotted the sausages and quickly went to sneak a couple for the pups. I paused mid-grab when I heard a deep laughter. "No need to sneak them food, I've already put a bowl out for each of them." I turned to see the owner, smiley as ever. He pointed in the direction of the two dog bowls, full of somekind of home made food. "Don't worry, it's really good for them. I make the same for my own dogs." Wow, he's a really nice guy. I sent the dogs to eat, they chowed into the food so it must have been tasty. We sat down and dug into the food, I was so hungry and the food tasted amazing. Shortly after we had started eating, Sydney and Mark joined us. They too were appreciative of the food. Once the pups had finished eating they came and laid down by our feet, so well behaved!
The owner, Jim his name was ended up joining us as we ate. He was super lovely, and a good chat. "If you don't mind my intrusion, what are those interesting tattoos the two of you have on your necks?" This question made me choke on my mouthful of juice, after swallowing it I had a coughing fit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to catch you off guard." The man was sincerely sorry. I cleared my throat and took a decent breath to regulate my breathing again. "It's fine, they're um... They're cultural. A lot of people in our culture end up getting some throughout their lives. Some may only get a couple, others get heaps." I gave a kind smile as I spoke, I think I did a good job at covering the truth. "Huh." He said, face deep with thought. "I had some drifters like you come through a while ago, they bared the same marks, well one of the marks you both have. They weren't so kind, and they seemed to be up to no good. Cops ended up coming through looking for them, for assault or something like that."
We were all shocked to hear this. "Some people in our culture fade out, end up taking a different direction with their lives. They often end up in troubling situations, sadly, it happens." Dimitri piped up, saving me stumbling for an answer. "Well, at least you two seem to still be on the straight and narrow. What about you young lady, that gold tattoo upon your cheek is very interesting." Sydney blushed from the direct attention. "Different culture." She said nervously. "Different values." She added. Jim noticed her unease and decided to leave her be. Once we had finished breakfast we thanked him then headed back up stairs to organise our stuff to leave. We put everything in the car then headed back to the front desk to checkout. We thanked Jim again then headed on our way.
When we went shopping for snacks, we found these cool things for the pups. They're a set pf deep double bowls that attach to the back of car seats so they can have food and water while traveling. They much appreciated the constant snacks when they felt like being awake during the drive. With them settled in the back seat we went to get into the car, but Dimitri stopped me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. "I told you I'd make today worth it." He said mysteriously as he kissed me. As he pulled back away from me he placed the car keys in my hand. I squeaked with excitement. "You're kidding!" I exclaimed, he just shook his head as he smiled. "You get to drive, for part of today at least." He kissed me again then defiantly opened the drivers door for me. I literally jumped into the car.
He always drives, I can't believe he's letting me drive. This car of all cars! So we hit the road, and yes, he ended up telling me off for how I was driving... Aha. So, driving a little more sane than before we made a decent dent in our travel. I drove for four straight hours before Dimitri got really bored, and I wanted some chill time. We let the pups have a quick run around when we swapped over, then we were back on the road. We ended up driving for the whole day, only stopping to give the pups a break and for food when we got hungry. We ended up driving for roughly 12 hours today. It was time to stop and check into another hotel. Tonight's destination Poisevo. It was about 9.30pm when we arrived at the hotel, luckily they were still taking check ins. We'd eaten on the road, so we just went to our room and went to sleep. We've got just over 20 hours left I think, so we're doing pretty good.
What's left of the trip:
We'll just travel half that tomorrow, and the rest the next day, makes it a little less intense. We woke up fairly early the next morning to get back on the road. This place didn't offer breakfast so we had to go find some before heading off again. We found a nice wee café and got a couple of pastries each as well as coffee. We got a treat for each of the pups and then we were on the road again. We did the same as the other days. Did a chunk of driving then let the pups out, and apart from that just stopped when we got hungry. Our final destination for the day was Shumikha. We checked in then decided to do a little sight seeing, since we haven't really done that yet. It was around 6pm when we got there, so there was still a bit of daylight to aid our ventures. We went for a decent walk with the pups since it was so overdue. They had a ball, we wandered around for a couple of hours before we found somewhere to go eat.
We were pretty lucky along this trip, finding places that were very accommodating to the pups. We ended up eating at a nice little restaurant, which offered us two plates of uneaten/wasted customer food for the pups. They were getting so spoilt this trip! We ended up having a lovely dinner, honestly, it was pretty romantic. It just made me appreciate what we have together, even more. We got back to the hotel around 9pm, deciding to head to bed. I stripped down to nothing but my undies, then realised how cold it was here. I went to grab some longer pj's, but Dimitri stopped me. He too was only wearing underwear. I mimicked the wolf whistles when I looked at him, causing him to laugh. "Come." He spoke seductively, as he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the bed. We climbed under the covers, and I cuddled up to him. He was so warm, like always. I melted into the warmth radiating off of him, I no longer felt cold. We laid there in comfortable silence, just enjoying the embrace of each other. I could tell that there was something bothering him. "What's wrong?" I asked quietly. "Nothing my Roza." He breathed into my hair, which I am surprised wasn't suffocating him.
There was those little stomach butterflies, he always managed to distract me when he says that. But it didn't distract me for long. "Sweetie, tell me." I said somewhat sternly as I sat up to look at him. Cringing as the cold bit away at my bare skin where the blanket fell away. Dimitri sighed, and looked away from me. "It's your family, isn't it?" I asked, as I made him look at me. The look in his eyes gave me the answer to that question. "It will be fine. I promise. You don't have to see them straight away, or at all for the matter. It's completely up to you. If one day you suddenly feel the need to go see them, then we'll go see them. Or you can go see them, if I make it too difficult, I don't have to go. It's all up to you. I won't make you do anything you don't want to do, I promise you that. For now, we will just focus on getting to Omsk, and making it just that little bit safer for them." I gently kissed his, causing him to ease up a little.
He pulled me into a big hug, holding me tight against him. I swear I even felt him wipe away a couple of tears. "Oh Roza, you're honestly the best thing that has ever happened to me. I couldn't have wished for my life to go any other way. Even after all the bad that has happened, having you in my life, you being my oh so loving partner, has made every little thing worth it. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you in my life. One day, one day I will make you my wife and we will be so happy. Eventually we'll have kids, don't ask me how, but I know our love for each other will make it happen some how. I will go on to love you for the rest of my life, and I will never ever look back and regret it. I love you so, so much." Now there actually was a couple of tears escaping those amazing eyes of his. "I love you more than anything too! And that life, it sounds so amazing." I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him as some tears ran down my cheeks.
Not long after we ended up falling asleep, I was still wrapped tightly in his arms, and it was one of the best sleeps I've ever had. The next morning we got back on the road. The last leg of our trip. I was honestly excited, nervous as all bloody hell, but excited. 9h 30m left of driving. Then we would be in Omsk. We had decided to just rent a vacation home while we were there, as it makes it a lot easier for us. Then we have our own privacy and everything. It's not cheap, but it's worth it. The place was nearing the outside of the city, shockingly close to the route to Baia, where Dimitri's family lives. Baia is like an hour from the centre city, but only half an hour from where we will be staying. When we finally arrived at the house it was about 7.30pm. The place was so nice! Modern, it had a massive spa bath, I love them!! A California King size bed, which is super comfy, they didn't mind us having the pups in the house. The kitchen was spacious and amazing. And there is a fully fenced backyard for the pups to run around. I was so looking forward to staying here!
We got settled in then decided to go shopping for food. We left the pups at the house while we were gone, they just slept, which was good. We weren't shopping for too long, we decided to get home before it got too dark. We made dinner at the house that night, it was nice cooking food again. We decided not to go on the hunt tonight, it really wouldn't be in our best interest. We're too exhausted. I decided to have a bath before bed, which Dimitri decided to join me. It was very nice and relaxing. Until the pups decided they too wanted a bath and jumped in with us! Water went everywhere. So that ended the bath for the night. We got the pups dry and then got ready for bed. Granted we didn't go to sleep straight away ;)
The next morning I woke up to the smell of coffee, and a very handsome man bringing it to me. He even made breakfast, all before I woke up. Gosh he is so amazing. After finishing breakfast I helped clean up. "Go get dressed." Dimitri spoke against the back of my neck before he kissed that spot. Once I was dressed he passed me my boots, urging me to put them on. So I complied. Then he grabbed the car keys and our jackets. Okay, apparently we're going in the car. The pups came too. "Where are we going?" I asked, excited about the mystery. "You'll see." He said with a smile, then he quickly leaned over and kissed me. We were driving for about 20 minutes before I asked again where we were going. "We're not far now." He said quietly, more nervous looking now. Then I figured it out. His family. I decided not to push the subject, I just focussed on where we were going. Making a mental image of the route in my head.
Roughly another 10 minutes later we turned onto a quite street. I looked around, it was a nice peaceful little area. Dimitri just parked the car and turned it off, we were just at the start of the street. He looked so stressed, staring at one place in particular. I followed his gaze, trying to figure out where exactly he was looking. But I couldn't pinpoint the house for sure. Then a lady appeared out of her house, she was very pretty. Dimitri just gasped, I looked between him and the lady then I noticed a tear run down his cheek. "That's... that's my mum." He said so quietly it was barely audible. "She's very pretty." I said with a smile, as I squeezed his hand. Then she glanced towards us, I'm sure she noticed the strange car on her street.
We quickly ducked down out of sight. Waiting a couple of minutes before we looked out the window again. She was gone so she must have gone back inside... "We should leave." Dimitri said sternly as he turned the car on and drove off down the street. I got a good look at the house as we went past, it was a really nice house. Dimitri didn't say a word the whole drive home, I feel so sorry for him. He is fighting an internal war, and I don't know how I can help. We got back to the house and he just laid down on the bed, he was so sad. He ended up falling asleep, I figured he'd sleep for quite a while, so I decided to go on a little adventure. I left him a note so that he wouldn't freak out when he wakes up and I'm gone.
Note:
Dimitri xx
Hey sweetie, I've gone to destress and do some shopping. I didn't want to wake you, so I let you keep sleeping. I shouldn't be too long, but if I happen to loose track of time don't worry. If anything is wrong just text me and I'll do the same. I've taken Serafima with me, I'm sure Alexei will be fast asleep beside you! If there is anything you want while I'm out text me. Otherwise, have a good relax and read one of your novels xx.
I love you!!!
Love Roza ;)
So, Serafima and I jumped in the car and headed off. Yes, yes I was going back to his family's house... I know I shouldn't and honestly I'm freaking out. But, if I find out that they are okay and let them know that Dimitri is okay, hopefully it will put him a little bit more at ease. Either that or he is going to hate me for it, and never talk to me again. In all honestly, I was bad and drove there a lot quicker than Dimitri did. But I had to bide what little time I had, this was a big risk either way. I pulled up outside of the house, completely freaking out now. Am I making a big mistake? I took a deep breath then got out of the car. I didn't want them to notice it again and start freaking out. Serafima was very upset that I left her in the car. I walked up to the door, which opened before I even reached it. It was his mum...
"Can I help you?" She asked, arms crossed. Wow, she really is pretty, I see where Dimitri gets his good looks from. "You were on the street earlier weren't you?" She asked, expectantly. I just slowly nodded. "Hi." I said quietly. "Ah, this is going to seem very weird, but I know your son..." The minute I said that, her eyes lit up, she looked so hopeful. "Dimka?" She pleaded. "H-how do you know him? Is he okay?" I could feel a whole string of questions coming on, so I raised my hand so I could speak. "I've known him for a little while now. He is okay. I know that he really wants to come here, but he just can't right now. We both went through something very life altering and traumatising recently... I can't really go into details, but we're both okay now. Well... mostly okay. He mi..." My words were cut off when she pulled me into a hug. "He was in the car with you earlier, wasn't he?" She asked quietly, refusing to release her hold of me.
I just slowly nodded, then she let me go and dragged me inside. Before she shut the door, she noticed Serafima in the car. "Your dog... it can come in too, it's pretty warm out there." She then paused. "You're a dhampir, and you have a pet dog? It's not hateful of you?" I smiled as I shook my head. "She's a wolf pup, we rescued two of them when we came across their mother dying." She was shocked by hearing this. I'd left the window half way down, so she had fresh air. "Serafima Ko mne." I spoke loudly, then she flew through the gap in the window and ran up to my side, instantly sitting down. "You know Russian?" She asked as she showed us into the house. "Not really, Dimitri has taught me a little." I said nervously. "How nice." She said kindly, motioning for me to sit down. Serafima laid down at my feet as I did. "Oh, how rude of me. My name is Olena, I'm Dimitri's mother." She said with such a kind smile.
"I'm Rose. Dimitri hasn't told me a lot about you's, but every time he spoke of his family he was so happy and said nothing but amazing things. I didn't have a family growing up, my mother dumped me at my school and went off to be an infamous guardian. I always yearned for a family as amazing as yours. As I was saying earlier, Dimitri misses you all dearly, but he just isn't ready to face you all after what happened. He doesn't even know I'm here right now, he was so sad after seeing you earlier he just went to sleep. I fear he would be even more upset if he knew I came here. I just had to let you know that he is okay." I was starting to fumble for words. I had no right coming here, and I am really worried about how he is going to react. "That is really kind of you, Rose." She went to keep talking, but my phone started ringing. Dammit, I sighed. I didn't think he'd wake up so soon. "Sorry, I have to take this." I said awkwardly as I ran outside. Hopefully Serafima behaves herself while I'm gone.
"Hey baby, you didn't sleep for very long." I said as I answered the call. "Hey, yeah Alexei seen a squirrel outside and went crazy. Where are you at the moment?" I took a deep breath before I answered. "Oh, I'm not even sure. Some mall, I don't know how to say it's name." I awkwardly laughed. "Was there anything you wanted me to get?" The silence waiting for him to answer was eating away at me. "No, I should be fine. Have you brought anything yet?" Currently he is none the wiser. "Not yet, mostly just eye shopping." I was trying so hard to keep my voice normal. "Alright, well I'll let you get back to it. How much longer are you going to be? So I can start making lunch." Shit, I should probably start saying my goodbyes, I've done what I intended. "I'll be back within the hour. I love you!" "Alright, I'll see you when you're back. I love you."
He then hung up and I could breath again. I made my way back inside, Olena was busy patting Serafima. "Everything okay?" She asked with a smile. "Yeah, look I'm sorry but I'm going to have to cut this short. I'm sure Dimitri will find the courage to come by. I will do my best to encourage it, but he shouldn't need it. It was lovely meeting you, you're so unbelievably nice. And I hope that I will see you again one day." I was standing the whole time I spoke, she looked very saddened by my wanting to leave. "Oh..." She said without looking at me. "Well, it was lovely to meet you too Rose. Dimitri has found himself a great friend." I could feel myself blushing, I don't think it's my place to tell her that Dimitri and I are a thing. "He is an amazing friend to have." I said with a smile. I went to leave, but she stopped me to give me a hug.
"Alright dear, you look after yourself. Drive safe." She said with a smile then Serafima and I left. I was so highly strung after that. I don't think I can tell him yet that I came here. I got on the road straight away, and drove back as quick as I had driven there. I seen a wee outlet mall on my way back, so I stopped there real quick. I brought a wee sexy get up, to keep him distracted later. I know that seems so wrong, but I panicked brought it. I went straight home after that, to find lunch ready and Dimitri sitting at the dining table. "Hey sweetie." He said with a smile when I walked in. "Ooh, what did you end up buying?" He asked when he noticed the little bag. "You'll find out later." I smiled mischievously as I leaned down and kissed him. I went to go sit down, but he grabbed my arm and stopped me. He stood up from his seat and stepped really close to me. He leaned towards me and just breathed in.
The look in his eyes was pure betrayal. He stepped back away from me, grabbing onto the dinning chair to keep himself steady. "You, you went there. You smell just like her." His voice was so shaky. "How... how could you just go there. And not say anything to me. I can't believe you did this, Rose." He ended up sitting down, as he couldn't keep himself standing. "I'm sorry. I really am. I just thought..." I was trying to justify what I did, but he wouldn't let me. "No Rose, you didn't 'just think' you just did. I told you I wasn't ready, but you went and did it anyway. You betrayed my trust." Wow, he is so disappointed in me. "I was trying to ease your mind. All I told your mum was that you are okay. I said you needed time, but you miss them. I was trying to help." Before I could say anymore, he just got up and left. I wanted to go after him, but I didn't want to make things worse.
He ended up being gone for hours... I have no idea where he is, or what he is doing. He left his phone here so I couldn't call him and check on him. In the end, I just curled up in a ball on the bed. I cried for a little bit, then I must've fallen asleep. It was nearing dark when I woke up again, I looked around the room... I was still alone, aside from Serafima. I got up to go look for Alexei, to make sure he was okay. Coming up to the lounge, I could see that the light was now on. I found Dimitri sitting on the couch with Alexei curled up beside him. "I didn't hear you come back." I said quietly, keeping my distance. He looked very worn out, and sweaty. "You were asleep, I didn't want to wake you." He said stonily. "Wh-what were you doing the whole time?" I decided to sit on the other couch, didn't want him running away again... "I went for a run." He said simply. "The whole time?" Jeez, he's going to sleep well. "Yes." Well, I wasn't getting much out of him, and he obviously doesn't want to be talking to me right now, so I decided to leave him alone.
"Maybe I'll go for a run now." I said quietly as I grabbed my running shoes and jacket. "Rose, it's dark now. Don't be ridiculous." Wow, he's showing some concern. "Your point is? I have my stake, I'm sure I'll be fine." With that I went to the front door, with Serafima in tow. I could hear Dimitri coming to stop me, so I quickly rushed out the door. Before I even got the chance to put my shoes on. I quickly walked off the property, to discourage him from stopping me. Then, just my luck... a pile of class on the side walk which I didn't notice in time. "Ow, god fucking dammit! Fuck!" I angrily yelled, as I basically fell over. Serafima freaked out and started barking, so of course Dimitri came running outside. "Roza?" Dimitri frantically called out as he ran outside. As soon as he seen me on the ground he sprinted over. "Oh Roza, are you okay?" He asked as he crouched down by my side.
"I'm fine, I just stepped in a pile of glass." I said angrily. Without a word he scooped me up of the ground and took me back inside the house. He sat me down on the bench in the kitchen so he could get the glass out of my foot. My sock was already covered in blood, god knows how many pieces are in my foot... It didn't take him too long to get all the glass out of my foot, there was at least 5 pieces of the damn stuff. After he got them all out, he cleaned and sterilised my foot then bandaged it up. "Feel better?" He asked as he helped me down off the bench. I just nodded. "Thanks." I hobbled over to the couch and sat down. I turned the tv on and curled up under a blanket, feeling very defeated. Dimitri didn't reappear for a while, when he did, he came baring food. I was very thankful, my stomach was super in need of food. He even sat down beside me to eat. We didn't really talk for the remainder of the night. We ate, watched some random movie, then just went to sleep.