Mistake ♦ Romitri

Chapter 34

A/N Second to last chapter! Everything is getting better for Rose!

'Hi, Mase.' I whispered down the phone, seemingly guilty for not having talked to him since we had left.

'Rose!' Came his loud response, 'I'm so glad you called! What happened?' He questioned a little quieter as if he knew that this was not all flowers and rainbows. This was serious.

'I refused to go to rehab for drinking...' My words trailed off, not wanting him to answer. I didn't want to hear criticism for the stupidity of my acts but, this was Mase, I should have expected more.

'I'm so sorry, Rose. Oh dear god, I was the one supplying you, wasn't I? This is my fault.' I let my mouth hang open; my last thought that he would blame himself of all people.

'No, don't do that, Mase. This isn't your fault. I didn't tell you. How were you supposed to know any better?' I chastised his own self-guilt despite revelling in my own. I was a hypocrite in so many aspects of life, I wasn't going to change that now.

'I know but-'

'No, Mase. This was me not you...' a pregnant pause followed, neither of us quite sure of what to say. 'So...how's school without the magnificent Rose?' I teased, my voice up and octave trying to quell the darkness from the previous conversation.

'Dull, Rose. I'm bored without you. No else will talk to me! Why is life so cruel!' He feigned sadness in a dramatic tone as I listened in with a smirk on my face.

'Mase, I was not your only friend.' I sighed, laughing without breath.

'I know but you were my best friend, Rose!' He whined, his childish nature front and foremost.

'I wasn't there for that long, I'm sure I wasn't your best friend.'

'Sure you were! You were by far the funniest!...and the only girl.' He murmured shyly.

'Ha! So you did just like me because I was a girl! You're disowned as a friend, Mase!' I taunted, flailing my arms in the air despite my camera not being on.

'That wasn't it!' He defended although it was rather clear that he had talked to me in the beginning for my gender and looks rather than my personality. But, I couldn't judge him for that- that was how most people were, including me.

'Sure it wasn't.' I laughed, smiling on my side of the receiver. Another infinitely long pause followed. It wasn't awkward, it wasn't like that. It was as if we were both trying to grasp at the words we were supposed to say. Mason and I had never been ones for small talk, we liked the nitty-gritty conversation and it just felt unneeded to continue the conversation as it was.

'How are you, Rose? Really.' I sighed, not quite knowing the answer to the question. Since I had left, good had happened as well as the bad.

'Well, I haven't drunk anything since I left- alcoholic, I mean. And, I've been good enough to not have the urge to either...so, I think I'm doing okay. I'm better than I was.' Mason sounded relieved as soon as the words had come out- he truly was a good friend.

'You don't understand how glad I am to hear that. I couldn't bear it if something were to happen to you.' He admitted, the words corny yet necessary. They needed to be said.

'Rose!' Another voice called out, this one from the next room, not the receiver.

'Got to go, Mase. Dimitri's calling me, I'll speak later, alright?' I was sure with the lengthy pause that followed he had nodded as ensured by a hurried 'yes' had come down to the speaker followed by him hastily hanging up. Always like Mason to be embarrassed, no matter how much humour he tried to hide behind.

Stuffing the phone in my pocket, I headed out the room, trying to follow the path in which Dimitri's voice had taken. I soon found him in the kitchen, staring into a cup of tea wistfully. 'Hey, Rose, can you get some-' He stopped dead as he turned around, eyeing me carefully. 'Are you alright, Roza?' That name, that name meant everything to me and was enough to send a smile back to my face despite the serious conversation I had been having before. Sadly, all emotions I had seemed to transfer straight to my facial expression and I struggled to hide anything from many, Dimitri especially. So, he soon calmed when he saw me smiling again.

'I'm just fine, comrade.' I teased, the corners of my lips quirking up just that bit more. He sighed and looked back to his mug, before leaving it and opening the fridge.

'Did you drink all the milk, Rose?' My eyes widened as I feigned innocence. My efforts were futile, however, he could see right through me. He raised a single eyebrow and I blushed heavily under his knowing gaze.

'Okay, okay! I use a lot in my coffee, okay?' I defended, raising my arms up dramatically. He laughed wholeheartedly bringing a smile back to my face again.

'No need to get defensive, Roza.' He smiled widely and shook his head before taking a sip of his tea, no milk or sugar. 'Der'mo.' He groaned as the scalding liquid touched his lips causing him to put the mug back down and resort to waiting for it to cool down. In the meantime, it was clear that we were going to have the fill the time by saying something but as usual, what to talk about was the problem.

Sure, Dimitri and I were a lot more comfortable around each other than we had ever been yet conversation topics often ran low. We still both had to hide ourselves until I turned eighteen and that alone had caused us to be trapped in the cages of our bodies, keeping secrets and creating an awkward tension between the two of us.

'You know, I don't have the urge to drink anymore.' I started, hugging my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them, leaning my head on my knees.

'That's great, Rose. Although, it has caused me to have to sacrifice my milk.' He joked, trying to lighten the tension. It worked to an extent. We would just have to work with it. 'Oh, Rose, what do you want to do for your birthday?' He asked, looking curious. I was sure he wasn't an expert in birthday parties yet he had never failed to surprise me and I wouldn't be surprised if he could plan a perfect party. But, that wasn't what I wanted anyway. I wanted peacefulness. Just us, maybe. I couldn't quite decide.

'Something small.' I ensured. I was not in the mood for a large gathering. Ones that most people would be drunk at. Leaving me not only sober and bored but craving drinks too. Dimitri nodded in agreement; although he was kind and gentlemanly, he wasn't too sociable either. He only was under necessity.

'Here?' He asked simply and I nodded once again.

'If anything, I'd just want it to be the two of us.' I admitted, hiding my blush behind my knees. He smiled gently.

'Me too, Roza, me too.' He agreed. 'But, I don't think your friends will be too happy with that. Lissa had been begging to see you for weeks.' I groaned. I had forgotten about Lissa.

'I really need to call her, don't I?' He nodded, sighing. 'I'll invite her, along with Mason. Mia, Eddie, Jill and Christian can come. Even Adrian can come if he wants.' Dimitri nodded, visibly gritting his teeth. It was clear that he hadn't forgiven Adrian but he knew the decision was up to Rose so he wouldn't fight against it.

'I'll have to hurry. I only have a week to prepare.' He smiled gently, obviously another meaning behind his words.

'I'm sure you don't have to prepare.' I joked, picking up on the slyness of his speech as he did with me.

'With your attitude, I'll have to prepare a lot.' He laughed, quietly, gently, beautifully. I followed suit. I was finally happy. One week and this mess would be over. We could be normal again. That was what we wanted, right? Normality.

But is being normal all that good?

word count: 1368

published: 23.04.17