Moving Objects

Chapter 20

Hello hello! I hope you all have had a splendid week! I know that I left you all hanging last week with the sad chapter, but I promise that this one will not be as sad.

I also have some very happy news. I got promoted! I am finally getting to put my diploma to use and will be moving off the reception desk at my law firm and will start as a Real Estate Assistant in the next few weeks! I am very excited.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter!!!

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Grief was a funny thing. It never happened the same way twice. When Mason died, I was filled with guilt, sadness and regret. But with Dimitri, I feel lonely and sadness.

And I was angry.

Angry at fate, at myself, at Eddie. Hell, for a split second, I felt anger towards Lissa for being his charge. But I quickly dismissed the last two bouts of anger away. It wasn't Lissa's fault, and it wasn't Eddie's either. He was just doing what his superior told him, and I know that it killed him a little bit to do so.

Eddie and Dimitri were friends. I knew that he was suffering as well.

But the part of me that was angry with Dimitri was unjustified too. I knew the risks of this life; he knew the risks of this life. But I was angry. And there was a part of me that was angry that he wasn't wearing my nazar that day. It felt like a punch in the gut that the only token of protection I could give him wasn't there when he needed it the most.

I heard from Olena a few times in the last few weeks. She usually called me on Dimitri's phone. It was comforting in a way to have her, even if it was only through voice. Lissa wanted to have a proper memorial service for Dimitri and was hoping to do it after her exams in the beginning of December. The first date I vetoed immediately, explaining that nobody would want to attend a service of his "death" on his twenty-fifth birthday.

I barely slept too. I was walking around like a zombie. Queen Tatianna encouraged Lissa to try to return to normalcy, assigning her two additional Guardians and appointing Eddie as her main Guardian. She was given a week to stay at Court before politely told she needed to get back to her studies.

I was left alone again.

Tasha came by a few days after the attack and it was surprising that I found comfort in her. She was puffy-eyed when I opened the door, but her standing there made me crack, bursting into tears. She was quick though and wrapped her arms around me in a hug, almost holding me together in her thin, pale arms.

Here was a woman who loved my boyfriend and was one of his only living friends from his teenage years. She was putting aside her own pain to comfort me. She let me cry in her arms as she maneuvered us inside the door, leaning against it as she shed her own tears too.

"I can hear you through the walls at night. I thought you might not want to be alone," she murmured when I stopped crying, rubbing my face. I nodded my head and squeezed her hands, silently thanking her for being here for me. I may have been on the fence about her, but I meant it when I said she was slowly becoming a part of my family too. She ended up staying with me the whole day, watching movies with me and eating snacks. It was quiet, but it was comforting. Just two people sharing their pain the best way we knew how.

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"Are you sure, Roza? I don't want to burden the costs on you," Olena asked shyly on the phone. I shook my head and sighed. After finally looking at the bank account Dad has set aside for me, I had more money than I needed.

"Of course. I don't want you to have to worry about anything. I don't want you to worry about anything but getting here," I said kindly trying to alleviate her distress. Olena looked at me through the screen and sighed. It looked like this ordeal had aged her years. Her brown eyes were mudded, and she looked exhausted.