Richelle Mead owns these characters.

Chapter 1: All went in the fire.

Its night; my favorite time of the day, if that makes any sense. It's not too cold, the wind isn't heavy and the dim lights in this parking lot keep me somewhat hidden. There aren't a lot of cars here and the store seems mutually empty, which is a good thing. My jeans are covered in grease and oil, my shirt in some spots of blood and my hoodie keeps me slightly invisible. My hair was always a concern for me but right now it was as messy as hell and I didn't care.

As I walk the aisle full of tampons and girl products, I get an odd stare from the old lady holding a basket full of toilet paper. I quickly pass the through finding the Band-Aids and gauze, opening a box and quickly stuffing one in my bleeding nose. I sigh at the relief it brings me and stand there, my head hanging back and I just stare at the ceiling as the bright lights shine into my eyes. The pain eases but not very much. The blood is slowing now and I sigh basking in the peace of the grocery store.

'Um, excuse me?' I ignore the voice and close my eyes as the peace quickly fades away. I'm clutching them tightly and trying to save the last bits of calm I'll probably get for the rest of the night. 'Excuse me, you can't open thos-'

I turn to face them and quickly collide with a girl and all the tampon boxes she was holding fall to the floor. 'Der'mo! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there.' I bend to my knees and begin helping her pick up the boxes and keep apologizing.

'It's fine. It's okay, really, they're pads not wine glasses.' she laughs lightly and I let my eyes move up to her face, her big brown eyes somewhat covered by her dark brown bangs shine. The slight smirk of her full natural colored lips and her dark brown hair falling in her face like a wave of a curtain and I'm just staring. 'Are you okay?'

I snap out of my daze and realize I've been staring at her for much too long now. 'Um-yea, yeah. I'm good.'

We stand and she grips the many boxes in her hands and nods with her head in my direction, 'Your nose is bleeding.' I reach up and sure enough my finger comes back with blood. 'Der'mo. Sorry, I was trying to stop it-'

'I came and ran into you, yeah, sorry. My boss saw you on the security camera and I was supposed to tell you not to open the box until you've bought it.' I nod my head and follow her to the aisle ahead. She begins stacking the boxes on the shelf and then when she's done, she takes the ones I'm holding. 'Thanks for the help. If you bring those I can help you at the cash register over there...'

I nod and as she takes the last box from my hands, I go back and grab the box of gauze and make my way to the counter. I swallow nervously and look around the store as I wait in line. The security guard is old and has a beer gut about the size of Sonya's six month pregnant belly, well, the last time I saw it anyway. Through the window outside it looks like the wind has picked up.

The trees move slightly, dropping leaves and as I check for my bike that I've tied to a light pole, I spot him. He stands there, in his Dockers and navy blue sweater, looking over my bicycle and judging me. He's alone and from what I'm guessing waiting for me. As usual just his appearance irritates me. My mind blanks and suddenly all my earlier anger rises.

I place the gauze on a magazine shelf and head straight for the exit. As I approach his smile appears and his eyes have an obvious smugness in them. 'Belikov, thought this piece of shit was yours.' He says kicking the bike as I stop in front of him and stand my ground.

'What do you want, Zeklos?' He smiles and nods his head toward the store and that's when I know I'm in trouble.

'Just some reassurance from your old man… You know my fathers a little impatient about his money. So I'm here for some... collateral.' He says with an eerie smile as the three other boys surround me.

I'm alone, in the middle of a parking lot and no one else is around at the moment. It doesn't scare me though; I'll take all four of them on. If I get the shit kicked out of me for it; oh well. I won't back down without a fight and I never have. 'I told you at school that I have nothing to do with that. What your father and my father do is none of my business. I don't care for it and neither should you.'

He shakes his head and laughs as his friends close in on me. I watch all of them carefully, not making any sudden movements until I'm sure they are going to first. 'Does it look like I give a shit about what you said? My dad wants his money and your old man is late, so now you have to deal with me.' It's quiet as they all keep moving around me. They're circling me as if they're sharks and I'm the meal. I keep my fist clenched, my eyes open and my body ready for anything though. 'Think of it as a late fee, Belikov.'

Those were the last words said as all three boys came at me. A tall one, who was about my height, another who was built and a little harder to take down, and the last one was quick. There were fists and legs flying about. I felt hits to my jaw, my stomach and then as I bent over in pain, a kick right to the back of my leg and I fall to the ground. Although, I'm down, I know I've hurt them too.

I got one in the nose and the tall one in the ribs but it wasn't enough. As I'm covering everything I can with my knees to my chest, my back takes kick after kick. My ribs punched over and over and my head met with a steel toe boot of whoever was kicking me.

'Hey!' A soft yet firm yell comes from I don't know where. My head is aching and my cover prevents me from seeing anything other than a shoe or fist. 'Leave him alone! Get the fuck away from him!'

'Ow! What the fuck you stupid bitch?' Now there's only two still hitting me and I hear loud thumps and fast swishes as if someone is swinging something heavy. 'Shit! She's got a fucking bat, watch out!'

Now there's no one touching me anymore and I fade in and out as the pain in my face takes over. The blood from my nose gushes out to the gravel and my ribs make it hard to breathe. 'Get away or I'll smash your balls like grapes. Now! Leave him alone!' I can see a shadow looming over me in a protective stance.

'Fuck! Dude, I think she broke my dick.' A coughing fit begins as I try to open my throbbing eyes and see the tall one on the floor clutching his junk. 'This isn't over, bitch! You fucked with the wrong guy, Belikov!' I hear his distant yell.

'Fuck off, Jesse!' her voice once again sounds. I attempt to breathe and groan at the pain of moving. My nose is bleeding even worse than before and my head just pounds, my back feels like shit too. 'Hey, are you okay?' I roll in pain as my ribs make it hard to answer her. I moan and groan as I try to pick myself up off the floor and get away as quick as I can. 'Hey, maybe you should take it easy, you're hurt pretty bad. I could call an ambulance and we'll get you to the hospital a-'

'No! No, I'm fine.' I manage to say as she touches my side to try and help me up. I hiss in pain. It feels like a giant truck had smashed into me and the simplest things as breathing hurt.

'Sorry, look please let me get you some help.' she says helping me to stand.

'No, no. I'm fine, really, I have to get home anyway.' she doesn't say anything else and my eyes catch the bat in her hands. I finally, after struggling, am able to stand on my own. I use my sweater to clean the blood dripping from my nose and apply pressure. One of my eyes is swollen shut and I'm as dizzy as ever.

'Are you sure you're okay? We should call the cops, they started it I seen it from the store.' I shake my head no and wobble as I turn to search for my bike. 'Where's my bike?' I say before clutching my stomach and spitting blood to the ground.

It's hard to breathe and my head keeps throbbing like some tiny man inside of it has been hitting me with a hammer non-stop. 'It's still there...' I turn to face the pole I've locked it to and attempt to unlock it.

However, bending to my knees hurts worse and my eye is completely closed, which makes it hard to see the tiny numbers on the lock. 'You need help? I can do it for you, just tell me the combination.' I take a deep breath and lean against the cold metal pole as I give her the combination. She unlocks it and I find myself tired and aching everywhere, almost ready to fall over right to the ground.

As the pain and weakness overwhelm me I slightly feel her light touch on my waist. 'Whoa, hey, be careful.' She helps me lean against the pole and removes her apron to clean up my face. Slowly she dabs and pats gently, the white of her apron becoming a deep red and it's getting harder to find a cleaner spot on it.

The quiet surrounds us while she does this. I flinch and try to hold in my groans at the pain. Her eyes steadily watch me, switching from my nose and lip back to my eyes. I couldn't tell what it was she was searching for; if I was okay or something else entirely but I knew these eyes. The girl from the store, the one with the beautiful hair.

'So, no hospital huh? No police either?' her voice low and concerned. It somehow soothes me that she listened and doesn't think I'm crazy. I shake my head no and try to breathe throughout the pain in my body, her gaze envelopes me. 'Can I at least give you a ride home? I don't think it's a good idea for you to ride your bike like this...'

Rose.

'So I know it's none of my business but what did you do to piss off Jesse like that?' he slumped in the passenger seat in pain and holds my work apron to his nose.

I've never seen someone endure so much pain and not want help with it. The ride was quiet and intense; he seemed a little hesitant to accept my offer to drive him home but nodded a yes anyway. After helping him in the car and asking Mason to put his bike away in the store, we were on our way to his house. The seatbelt was a no and I kept checking on him every few seconds or so. He didn't have to tell me where it was he lived or what house to stop in front of, I knew.

The whole town knew where he lived, who is father was and the stories about them. The Belikov's weren't exactly a subtle kind of family, especially in a town like this. 'It was my father's doing.' The silence that followed was all I needed to know that he didn't want to say anything else, so I just kept driving.

I nod my head in understanding, keeping my eyes foreword and continuing to drive down the old cracked roads. The night brings out the peacefulness of the town. The wind slightly moves the branches and leaves, and the silence is oddly comfortable. I look to him and then quickly back to the road. I've never in a million years would have thought I'd have him in my car.

'You can just drop me here.' he nods to the park where a bus stop is and begins trying to open the door. His body won't let him though and it kind of scares me a little. 'It's okay, I can take you the whole way.' he shakes his head no at me and I reach for him as he attempts to weakly open the car door once again.

He breathes out in a deep tired sigh and clutches his ribs trying to tame the blood still slowly dripping from his nose. I can tell he's in so much pain, it hurts to just move. 'Look, why don't you just sit and let me take you home... All the way home, as in stopping the car in front of your house and then you exiting when it's not moving?' he turns to me and I see in his eyes what he was trying to say.

His breathing is short and the blood makes me want to not listen to him and drive directly to the hospital. However, his obvious discomfort shows through his eyes and I understand it completely. 'It's not a big deal, okay? Just let me get you home without any more damage.' After a moment of hesitating silence, he nods and then leans back in the passenger seat.

We drive for the next few minutes on the main road in our small town. This side of Montana wasn't exactly a place I would choose to live but it was my father's idea after he and my mother had split up. So here I was, taking care of him and working to save up for college. The radio is playing low as some guy strumming a guitar and singing about his love life surrounds the small Honda. I peek over to the tall silent guy sitting in my passenger seat and wonder what is going through his mind.

Is he worried about what everyone will say at school? What Jesse is going to say and what other stories people are going to spread?

If -at all Dimitri even cares he just got the shit kicked out of him by the most spoiled kid in school. I can't say that I know who exactly he is and what he's going through. I just know his name, where he lives and who his father is but I don't actually know him. Things like why he came in the store with a nose bleed pre Jesse and his jerk friends jumping him. I just keep quiet and continue to drive towards the end of town.

To the little brick house where this mysterious boy lives and all those stories and rumors about him take place.

Dimitri.

'How did you know where I lived?' she keeps her eyes to the front of us and shrugs.

'Small town, people talk, I hear things.' I snort a laugh as my nose finally stops bleeding and roll up her apron in my sweater.

It was a bit weird to be riding in a car with her, she wasn't like me, and she hung out with different people at school. We pull up to the house -my own personal hell and the engine cuts off. 'You must hear a lot of things...' she just shrugs again.

'The perks of working at the only grocery store in town.' I nod and wonder what exactly she did hear about me.

It was no secret I was poor, my father was a drunk and we lived on the bad side of town. The quiet isn't awkward or uncomfortable though, it's more of calm, a peace. I stray a little before reaching for the handle of the door and take a deep breath. This is the very last place I want to be. Once I'm in that house everything will be different.

I won't be surrounded by three other guys and she won't be able to help me out of that fight. I guess that's just life with my father though, that's just life for me, something she will never understand. 'Whatever it was about, earlier with Jesse...' We turn to face each other at her voice and I wait for the beautiful girl to talk. 'It's none of my business and I don't mean to pry, but...'

She looks to the dashboard of her car before looking back to me and speaking, 'Whatever that was about, believe it or not, things could be a lot worse. You shouldn't feel bad about what happen out there, you were actually very brave… stupid but brave.' she smiles sadly at me and I can't help but return it with a subtle nod of my own.

After promising to return her apron and thanking her for the ride and help, I make my way into the yard. I turn as she drives off and watch until I no longer can see her lights in the midnight air. The silence that follows is blank and I prepare for another brave act; entering my house. The wind carries a sort of mystery to it. I don't know what kind of man is behind that old wooden door, it could be the man my mother once loved, the one she didn't want to live without.

The man who drinks and is greedy. It's most likely, the man I left in the house earlier right before my grocery store rumble. The angry and bitter monster that gave me the bloody nose and bruised ego I hid so well, the one who hates the very sight of me. The door creeks open and the dark wooden floorboards sink as I press my heavy booted foot onto them. This house is old and falling apart, the windows rattle when big trucks drive by and the plumbing sucks. Then there's my room and it's colder than a winter in Alaska in there.

It was home though and I really didn't have anywhere else. So silently and stealthy, I make my way across the house and pass the living room. The TV is on, the coffee table is piled with bottles and old cigarettes, and my father is passed out on the couch. A sigh of relief releases itself from me unexpectedly and I manage to make it all the way to the bathroom without waking the sleeping beast. The restroom is small and also as rundown as this house.

There's mold caked in the tiles of the shower and the window doesn't shut. After I undress and start the bath, I look at myself in the mirror above the cracked sink and stare. My nose is crooked and fat, my left eye purple and just about swollen shut. My lip bleeding and chin scraped, and then my eyes wonder to my ribs and stomach. My sides are purple with spots from their boots and hurt whenever I breathe deeply.

My eyes water at the very sight and anger runs in my veins. The last time I was this bruised and battered, she was alive. My mother had just helped me into the bath and as soon as I flinched from the heat of the water pressing against my sore skin, she began apologizing in Russian, telling me she was sorry for being so weak, for letting him hurt me. The anger I felt that day was beyond anything I've ever felt in my life. That was the last time he ever put his hands on us expecting no one to fight back.

After that I decided he wouldn't get away with it anymore. Thinking it would change things in my favor -and my mother's it just made them worse. The water running in the bathtub snaps me out of my memories and so I strip, sitting to relax in the heat of the water. The warmth makes it a little easier to breathe and washes away the blood. I'll have to go see if Eddie can get his aunt to help fix me up again.

And that usually means more questions and concerns, Eddie telling me I should just tell someone and see what happens. How I wish things were that easy, kind of like the smile Rose gave me as she thanked me for helping her at the store earlier or when she tried to make me feel better. She never had to tell me her name, I knew who she was. I close my eyes and see the concern and worry in her eyes as she cleaned me up out in the parking lot. The help she gave willingly and didn't judge or question me after doing so.

It was funny how I seen her in school, smiling and laughing with all of her popular friends but when she was by herself, she was different. She seemed more caring and kind, eager to help someone like me. It was like my mama used to say; you think you know people.

Rose.

I close and lock the car, sighing as I make my way to the house and try to be quiet. The front door has a note from Lissa; Mom wanted to make sure Abe ate something other than that weird Turkish thing you guys pass as food. She says you're welcome and if you need anything- Well, you know the drill. You're welcome, love Liss.

I open the door and see the living room lamp on, 'Pop, why are you still up?' he shrugs and continues watching some lions eat a zebra on Animal Planet.

The couch is Abe's sanctuary; sometimes I think if he could he would physically attach himself to it. 'It's a documentary about wildlife, you should watch it, and you might learn something.' I plop myself on the recliner next to the sofa and sigh.

The room is quiet while we watch the lions stuff their faces full of bloody zebra. It sort of reminds me of what happen earlier with Dimitri and Jesse. 'What's on your mind, kiz?' I snap out of my thoughts and look to my father, shaking my head and blowing off his question. So his focus returns to the TV, his body comfortably relaxing on our old leather couch. It's amazing that he looks as though there's nothing wrong with him.

As if he's just this fifty year old man lounging on the couch in his bathrobe and underwear. It's like he's not even sick or in any kind of pain. As I sit here though, I know it's not true; he's in constant pain and the pills help but not with everything. I sigh and turn back to the TV catching the lions ripping a piece of meat from the zebra's carcass. 'Ew, old man, that's gross. Why are you watching this?'

I get up and make my way to the coffee table, cleaning up his dishes and shaking my head at him before reaching the kitchen. He just laughs and continues watching as I clean up. 'What did Rhea make you for dinner?' he groans. 'Some weird salad thing, it's in the fridge if you want it. I kept it wrapped for you.' his amused voice makes me smile but he's right; It did look weird.

Our house is only two bedrooms, kind of small and on the not so rich side of town but is ours. Abe bought it before I was born, he and Janine were supposed to raise me in it but that didn't exactly work out. My room was the biggest. Abe thought I deserved it since I worked so hard and "thought I was the parent" his words not mine.

The room was white and had pictures everywhere all over the walls. Ones of me and my friends, of me and my father, or ones I took at random. My bed was my favorite part of the room right now though and as I lay there, I couldn't help but think of the boy who I had helped earlier tonight. The rumors and stories I heard at the grocery store or in school, well, they weren't very nice ones. Vladimir Belikov had a reputation of a drunk among other things, someone you didn't get too close to and so by association -and mere bad luck with DNA Dimitri got a reputation as well.

One that I now think may not fit him because there was something in his eyes as I helped him get home tonight. I'm not sure what it was or why I find myself so interested in him all of a sudden. But as I fell asleep in my comfortable bed, I couldn't help but wonder just who the anti-social guy I got a glimpse of was and will I ever get that chance again?