The Russian Next Door

CHAPTER 46 - Hostage

I read the letter three times. As I finished reading it the last time, I was crying like a little baby. What have I done? Why didn't I just listen to what he had to say? But God I was so furious back then. And I felt so betrayed. I couldn't trust him. He lied to me for so long. But here I was, holding the whole story in my hands. Suddenly I felt the need to hear his voice. A longing feeling clutched my heart. I missed him more than ever.

I got up fast and ran to my apartment. I got to the box where I put all the things that reminded me of him. I took everything out looking for a piece of paper. And then I found it. It was the note he wrote to me after the Adrian incident. It contained his number. Without thinking, I got out my phone, introduced his number and called. The phone started ringing. Then I realized. What was I doing? Why was I calling him? For all I knew, the letter could be another lie, from the beginning to the last word and that was another way of fooling me to trust him again. Or was this really the truth? Was he telling me a tragic story just to make me feel sorry for him and go back running into his arms? Was he trying to make me think this situation was Tasha's fault and he was just a victim? I was so confused. What do I do now? But my succession of thoughts was interrupted by a raspy voice into the speaker, saying: 'Roza?' I gasped and ended the call, throwing the phone on the ground like it was spontaneously on fire. How did he know it was me? And what was I doing? What was I thinking? How could I be so stupid? I needed to stay as far away as possible from this man, not to call him into the middle of the night. What was wrong with me?

I went back to his place, I grabbed all of my belongings and I got out if there. Forever.

Before going to bed, I read the letter one more time. Was he saying the truth? Was he trying to fool me even more with lies and sweet words and apologies? I was so confused.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up as I heard some movement into the house. Another mouse? Maybe a rat this time. But now I had to deal with this alone. No Dimitri to come to my rescue. I got out of the bed. The sound seemed to come from the living room. Before heading that way, I took with me the Frozen metal bat my dad gave to me to protect myself. It was kind of funny. I opened my door without making a sound, so that I could catch the rat red-handed, chewing on my furniture, making illegal races into my living room or anything that rats do at night when no one is watching. I made my way downstairs and stopped at the bottom of the stairs because the noise stopped.

Then I saw a human silhouette. It was a burglar! My heart skipped a beat and a ball formed in my throat, detaining me from screaming. My palms became sweaty and the bat was slipping from my grip. I enclosed my grip so hard on that bat feeling my circulation stop. I needed to get back up, lock my door and call the police. But then I realized: my phone was somewhere on the living room floor. So stupid! What could I do instead? Get back up and get out of the window and scream maybe. That might draw attention. I slowly turned away and began ascending. When I put my foot on the first stair, it creaked. Fuck!

'Hello, Rose!' a woman's voice said. Did I know her? I turned towards the source of those words. Then the light got turned on. And there I was, facing Tasha. I felt sick to my stomach.

'There you are. Why don't you come closer?' she asked with a squeaky voice.

'No thanks, I prefer this spot.'

'Maybe this will help you change your mind?' she asked as she revealed a gun from behind.

My blood went cold. I thought that this was the end of me. But I didn't want to die. I took a deep breath and made a step towards her.

'Stop. Drop it first.' she was talking about my bat. I slowly bent and put it on the floor. "Good girl. Now come closer.' I obeyed.

'Sit' she said, gesturing to the sofa. As I sat down she continued: 'You aren't such a beauty, you know? I can't understand what attracted him at you. You look like a child. You are a little dwarf.' she huffed sarcastically.

'You came here to insult me, huh?'. Well, if it was my time to go, I could at least do it my way. I shouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing me frightened.

'Not really. I came here with a more important purpose. Now about that, I have a call to make.'

She got out her phone and searched for something, then put her phone to her ear, watching me the entire time smiling. It took a couple of rings until the person she called responded.

'You finally picked up, baby. It took you some while.' pause. 'Oh, don't take me with ''What do you want Tasha?''. I really think that you want to hear what I have to tell you.' another pause. Why wasn't she talking in Russian? Oh, she wanted me to hear her. She wanted to scare me. Well, I wasn't going to show her how afraid I really was. She could just go to hell.

'Fine, I'll tell you. Can you guess who am I with right now?' she turned the speaker towards my direction. 'Say hello, Rose. It's your little lover, Dimitri.' my eyes widened. She put the phone back to her ear. 'What do I want? Well, I heard that you were in Baia, and I thought that your little girlfriend would need a little company in your absence. It was so bad from you to leave her here alone. So I am going to make you an offer you can't refuse. How long does it usually take to cover all the way to Moscow? Hm, about seven hours from what I remember. And because you know what a lovely woman I am, I'll give you six hours to come here and say goodbye to your little whore. Tick-tock Dimitri.' she said and she hanged up and looked at me with an evil smile.

It was three in the morning. Until nine o'clock I'd be long gone.