Light for the Dark

Chapter 12

Monday finally rolls around, Persephone's birthday but also the day Vladimir flies back. The time apart was actually good for them because they spent a lot of their texting conversations getting to know each other.

Persephone exits the building and sees Vladimir in the same rental car he used last time he was in town, well at least it looked the same. She runs into his strong arms. Persephone knew Vladimir was coming to pick her up so she had Athena drive her car home.

He wraps his arms tightly around her, taking in the scent he has been missing since he left. He spins them around then sets her down on the ground, planting a passionate kiss on her lips.

"Alright. Get in. We have somewhere we need to be," Vladimir commands. He opens the passenger side door then closes it once Persephone is situated in her seat.

"Where are we going?" Persephone asks.

"It's a surprise," Vladimir says turning the car on. He takes to the open road rushing through town.

"I should let my parents know that you picked me up from school." Persephone pulls out her phone.

"Don't worry about it they know you are with me," Vladimir smiles warmly. "So catch me up to speed on whats going on?"

"Well Sabrina and I have been chatting non-stop. She keeps sending me teaser pictures of the dress. Other than that I have just been working on my finals stuff. I have a gallery opening on Wednesday evening and a recital on Friday evening. They are part of my finals," Persephone explains.

"Does this mean I get to go?" Vladimir asks.

"Yes." Persephone smiles widely then her face falls. She feels guilty that she neglected to tell him about what Andrew did to her on Thursday. "Hey Vlad."

"Yes Persephone," he says pulling into a parking lot and cutting the engine.

"There is something I meat to tel you on Thursday but I forgot," her voice wavers. She can see the muscles in his jaw tighten but his eyes were soft. "On thursday at school Andrew kind of threw me against a wall and choked me. Jackson ripped him off and knocked him out. I though you should know."

Anger blazes in his belly at her words "You better hope I never see that punk. He has hurt you too many times, something that is not acceptable in my eyes." His voice is low and rough like he is narrating a voiceover for a horror movie ad.

Vladimir takes a deep breath then straightens out his shirt. He gets out of the car then rushes to her side to help her out.

She takes his hand and follows his lead to an old styled looking mansion type building. She has driven almost everywhere within an hour of her home and has yet has never seen this place before. They walk through the doors into a long dark corridor. Persephone grips Vladimirs shoulders to guide her through the darkness until her eyes adjust. They walk through another doorway. Light flick on a beautifully decorated room fills her eyes as people pop yelling "Surprise."

Vladimir smiles her then places a kiss on her cheek "Happy Birthday Princess."

"Happy Birthday sweetie," Cassandra and Lennard say embracing their daughter in their arms.

"Did you guys set this up together?"

"Yeah we really wanted to surprise you . Vladimir was a bug help with that," Lennard says gesturing to Vladimir.

"Oh you guys did the heavy lifting. I just helped decorate and brought her here," Vlad says sweetly.

"Thank you I love it."

Maria and Jackson hug her tightly wishing her a happy birthday.

Persephone looks around at the small conglomerate of people here which she didn't mind at all. All the people she wanted here were here. Her mom, dad, sister, Antonio, Vladimir, Jackson, Maria and Astria. Music starts playing through the speakers thats when she notices a set of speakers hooked up to her laptop on a table on the far wall.