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Desirable Conversationalist
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 Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:10 pm
Arielle Shore
Maria nodded again, liking the idea of staying in touch with Mrs. Emma. Had she known the address then maybe she would've come over to visit. Of course, she would've done so with Jared not around, not that she would've mind, but at least she wouldn't have to worry about the man butting in if Maria asked Mrs. Emma any questions. The man was a complete enigma to her.
When Jared asked if the two teenagers were ready to go, Maria nodded, ready to reunite with her friends. We'll be back soon, Maria thought, the idea of seeing Kedrick and Arielle again lifting up her spirits. She gave Mrs. Emma a small wave before following Dimitri and Jared outside to his car, staying close to Dimitri. The car was a decent size, but the backseat was a bit of a mess.
Maria looked at Dimitri in surprise when he offered to sit up front next to Jared. In all honesty, Maria didn't want Dimitri so close to him and wasn't against the man moving the stuff so that she could sit next to him, but she knew that was her being protective of Dimitri. Still, she kept her mouth shut, especially since he sounded so sure of what he was doing, and sat in the back seat.
At least I can watch him, Maria thought, partially looking out the window absentmindedly. Maria barely saw the smirk on Jared's face, but she did see him place his hand on Dimitri's shoulder and how her boyfriend's body tensed up. GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM! Maria mentally snarled in anger, annoyed that he was making Dimitri so uncomfortable. Was he enjoying that? Maria could already sense that the atmosphere had shifted and became tense, and she honestly wished she could've done something instead of watching Dimitri have to bear Jared. Looks like Jonesy has a run for his money... I think I actually despise Jared more than Jonesy, Maria thought, mentally shooting daggers into the back of Jared's skull. How long was it going to be until they got there?
Maria was glad that the ride had come to an end and wasn't too long or she was sure that she was going to snap at Jared, most likely making the situation worse. Maria reached to open her door when Jared beat her too it, acting like the gentleman she knew he wasn't. She only glanced at him, a small nod of thanks, fearful of what would actually come out of her mouth at that moment.
She glanced over at Dimitri as he walked over to her and she could sense his fear, and the anger at the pit of her stomach growled again. She gave him a small smile and held onto his hand, wanting to let him know that she was here and that it would get better. He needs to go, now...
Maria focused her attention at Jared as he spoke to the two of them and honestly wished she could wipe that smile off of his face. Thank goodness you're leaving, Maria thought, holding back every fiber of her being to not let the cold, harsh words escape from her lips. She looked back at him and smiled, but unlike most of her others ones. "Oh, I'm sure we'll meet again, Jared," Maria said, in a false cheery tone. Her eyes had gone cold and she felt like her words were a warning, a dare to him almost. Hit me with your best shot. Do your worst to me. But you're going to regret the day you crossed paths with a Vázquez, she thought, honestly wishing she could say what she was thinking. She knew she would get her chance to do so. Someday.
The young woman watched as Jared walked over to Dimitri and she had to control every urge she had in her body to not retaliate. She felt like the man was doing this to her on purpose. Almost as if he wanted her to get inbetween them and make a scene. Even though Jared was hiding as much as he wanted from Maria, he was still revealing just as much. Another mental growl went through her head as Jared moved so that she couldn't see Dimitri's facial expression. When they finally pulled apart, Maria wanted to shove Jared away and tell him to stop touching his face like he was his lover. Maria didn't like the way he was holding his face or how close his face was to Dimitri's. Stay away from him you foul demon!
She didn't know how long she could actually control herself to not do anything, feeling like she was already breaking her promise to Mrs. Emma. Maria caught only a brief glimpse of his smirk and she had to clench and unclench her hands behind her back, making it seem like she was trying to regain feeling in them when honestly she just wanted to punch the look right off of Jared's face. Everything else he did to Dimitri was lost, and as he walked away from them, never before had Maria honestly wanted another human being to suffer a fate worse than death.
Maria was glad that Jared was gone, driven off away from them for the time being. There was no doubt in her mind that they would meet again, but that wasn't important to her. Her eyes glanced back at Dimitri and she watched him, her heart sinking down low and that rage for Jared returning as well. She walked over to him, waiting for him to stop puking before she bent down beside him and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder before wrapping ehr arms around him in a hug. It's time that I learn the truth, Maria thought determinedly, There's no hiding from me now.
There was some silence before Maria pulled back a little and looked Dimitri eye to eye. She saw all of his feelings and it hurt her to see him like that. She stroked his face, closing her eyes for a bit as she tried to figure out the best way to start this, partially fearing that Dimitri would try and lie to her.
"When I was out in the forest," Maria started, her eyes still closed as she focused, "Jared was the one that found me, as you probably saw when we came back. And he told me the same thing your mother told me, which was the fact that the two of you don't get along very well. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that there's something wrong with your relationship."
She opened her eyes and looked at him, wanting him to understand, to know that he could still trust her. "That man... That man is obviously a fool if he can make me believe that he honestly "loves you like a father", as he so claims. I know there's something not right with him, Dimitri. I knew it as soon as he entered the room last night. Everything about him screamed 'bad news' and 'danger'. True he has some wonderful acting skills in the fact that he can make it seem like everything's alright, but he can barely get that past me. Even if your emotions also made it partially evident, something about him seemed so very, very wrong."
There was another pause as Maria continued to gather her thoughts, looking away from Dimitri for a bit before having her eyes focused on him. "To be honest Dimitri, I didn't try and get more into your personal life because I trusted that you would tell me at your own time, whenever you felt like you were ready to tell me. But, after spending a night with Mrs. Emma and Jared, seeing how just being at your old home even gave you nightmares, and my own nightmare myself, I felt like it was about time I asked before... Before things got worse."
"Remember during the barbeque after I lost my temper and I was so afraid that I'd lose you because my temper is a nasty thing," Maria brought up, trying to bring the memory back for him, "And you calmed me down, told me that my temper wasn't going to scare you away and that you'd always stick with me and that I should trust you. I told you that I always trust you and I still do Dimitri."
"What had bothered me so much that I left this morning and why I was so down during the first night of camping was because my thoughts were getting doubtful," she sighed, looking at the ground in shame, "Not just of you, but of Kedrick and Arielle. I knew you were hiding something from me. I knew there was a secret that I was left out of and I felt... I felt awful that you, the person who loves me hadn't even told me. I didn't know what to feel and it was so stressful bottling it up, and just being in that house, which was so full of deceptions and lies made things worse."
She was silent for a bit, still trying to phrase her words properly. When she felt like she was ready, she looked up at Dimitri, her eyes watering again. "I know he scares you Dimitri, I can see it in your eyes, in your body language. But you have to tell me the truth, Dimitri," her voice pleaded, already sounding like she would start crying, even her eyes were begging him to tell the truth, "I don't care what he said to scare you from telling the truth, Dimitri, but you can tell me. I will always be here for you Dimitri and, I know I said this before, but I'll say it again; No matter what happens, I will always love you, Dimitri Jameson Hunter. Jared can't do anything to stop that or to stop me because I will always be by your side and I will always protect you. There is nothing in this world that could ever make me stop loving you or supporting you. I'd rather die than let that happen."
At this point the tears were flowing freely down her face but she didn't look away from him. "So please, tell me everything, Dimitri," Maria begged finally, looking at him with that same look in her eyes, her hand gently placed on the side of his face. "I don't want to be left in the dark anymore..."
(Edit: Made my changes~ and added something. I knew there was something I wanted to add =w=.)
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 6:59 am
♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ
Can you keep a secret?...
Dimitri was only partially aware of when Maria layed her hand on his shoulder, her arms wrapping gently around him in a comforting embrace. The boy could feel himself shaking, his stomach twisted into a knot. He looked her in the eyes and could see pain there, the pain of not knowing, the pain of being worried for someone you love. Her fingers brushed lightly along the side of his face, her touch so different from Jared's, although his skin still prickled where Jared had touched him.
It took all Dimitri had in his strained mind to focus on what Maria was say. His mind wanted to pull him back, trap him in memories of Jared where he couldn't get away. None the less, his blood ran cold as Maria told him that it was Jared that had found her. What had he done to her? What had he said? He absorbed her words slowly, his arms and legs feeling like boneless rubber. He was so tried, so exhausted both mentally and physically, but he made himself take in everything she was saying.
Dimitri felt a flash of guilt as he saw the tears in her eyes, but she was wrong. Jared didn't just scare him, the hurt the man had inflicted on him ran so much deeper then just that. Dimitri was terrified of him, every fiber in his being feared the man with such a wild terror that it made him feel physically ill.
The boy's lips and mouth where dry, they moved soundlessly for a second as he tried to formulate words that could express exactly what had happened. Jared's threats on Maria's safety where forgotten, and all Dimitri wanted was to make her understand. But he knew he couldn't tell her if he was kneeling here on the verge of tears. He had to pull himself together so that he could make her understand. There would be time for frightened tears later.
The dark haired boy slowly stood, sweat making his shirt cling to his back. He swallowed, and then, reaching down, he took the girl's hand, and lead her over to a small bench on the other side of the corner store parking lot. He sat down, easing Maria down into the seat next to him. He lowered his eyes, unable to look at her. How could he? After the thing he had seen, the thing that had been done to him, how could he look someone as clean and pure as Maria in the eyes.
Dimitri took a deep breath, "I-I need to start pretty far back..just so you get the whole picture...I'll try not to bother with useless information..." He started, his voice a mere croak. He swallowed stiffly, and took another deep breath, willing his voice to be stronger. "My mom and my dad...My real dad, Jameson Hunter, where really young when they got married...He was twenty one, she was twenty, I was born a year after they where married. My dad loved my mom, and me...but he had cancer...he died when I was three." The statement was spoken without emotion, but there was a flicker of pain in his eyes as Dimitri felt a stab of remorse at the loss of the man he hadn't had the chance to know.
"I don't remember much about him particularly, but I remember what happened to my mother after he died...She was only twenty three, still just barely more then a teenager...his death crushed her...She stopped acting like herself, she would send me to stay at daycare's, or with friends most of the time because she was afraid with how bad her depression was, that she wouldn't treat me well...Meanwhile, she went to therapy sessions, counseling, took anti-depressants...the whole works...nothing helped." Dimitri hesitated slightly, his eyes still focused nearly unblinkingly on his hands that where clenched in his lap.
"A-and then...she met Jared." He stopped, just the mention of the man's name sending a fresh shiver though his body. He took a deep breath, and continued. "Jared...made her happy...like any other relationship, they started out as friend. But soon, he would take her for dinner, or they would go to a movie together or something like that. And mom stopped sending me to daycare's to take care of me, because she had begun to trust herself enough that she wouldn't neglect me...."
"Jared and my mom got married when I was nearly six...And I'll admit...I liked him...I thought he was okay." Dimitri said with a bitter laugh. The sound seemed inappropriate for the situation. "He wasn't like my dad...but I liked him well enough..." Dimitri frowned, still staring hard at his hand, unable to look up. "And then...Jared started to change, he would never show it around my mother, but he'd react badly to little stuff when she wasn't around...and he would hit me..." He said, his voice softening. Dimitri wished that was as bad as it got, if that where the case, he would have told Maria long ago. "He was smart about it though, he didn't want my mom to know, so he'd never hit me in the face...or, if he did, never hard enough to bruise me."
Dimitri tipped his chin up, looking at the slightly overcast sky. "He would threaten me, to make sure I didn't tell mom, and I never did...I thought I could live with it...thought it couldn't get any worse...but I was wrong..." Dimitri voice trailed off to a croak. This was the part of his story that he had never intended for Maria to know. He swallowed, once again feeling the sting of tears in his eyes, but he forced them back even though the threatened to blur his vision.
"One night...when my mother was asleep...Jared came into my room, He threatened me, all sort of terrible things if I ever told my mother what he was about to do. I didn't think there was anything worse then what he was threatening...but I was wrong again...H-he hurt me..." He said softly, his face burning with shame. He knew Maria was smart enough to connect the dots, even if he didn't spell it out of her. He didn't want to scare the girl any more then she undoubtedly would be, the least he could do was avoid hard, ugly words like rape.
The boy licked his dry lips, finding that he was breathing hard, his heart rate double what it usually was. When he tried to speak next, he found his voice was so tight that he could barely croak out the next words. "I-I hated it...every second of it...." Dimitri knew that it hadn't been all the time, sometimes there had been weeks, or as much as a month between the times that he hurt him. And then other times it had been nights, in a row, back to back. Dimitri could clearly remember waking up for the sixth, or seventh night in a row, aching, and sore, sweat dried to his body. He took a deep breath, tears trembling on the verge of his eyelids. "And nothing ever changed...Jared lied, and I learned how to act, and how to dress carefully so that she would never see the bruises he gave me..."
The tears dropped unheeded from his eyes, and the boy was silent for several long moments. He wiped the back of his hand quickly across his eyes, bracing himself to continue. "Like I said...nothing changed...not until I was thirteen....It had been a very bad night..." He started hesitantly, not sure how else to say when he meant to say without being crass about it. "Jared drove me to school that morning, and didn't give me a break until long after we had gotten there...Once I was by myself, I-I couldn't stand the thought of going into the school, I knew I was going to break down, and I wanted to be alone when it happened. So I waited until everyone had left the school yard, and I sneaked back behind the school...well, almost everyone had gone in...Kedrick saw me go around the back though. Kedrick and I had seen each other in school, we even had a few classes together...but we had never spoken, we didn't even know each other's names..."
"When he came back around to the back of the school building, he saw me crying, and asked me what was wrong...I didn't want to tell him, I didn't know what Jared would do to me if I did, and I didn't want him to go telling anyone else either. He didn't understand at first what kind of problem it was...he thought I was being bullied...But...after a lot of prodding on his part, I told him." Dimitri smiled sadly, a note of bitterness in the expression. "He didn't say anything...he just listened to me...and when I was finally finished, he hugged me, and told me it would be alright, that he had a plan that was going to help me..." Dimitri couldn't help another small smile as he realized that he had described the scene much more sweet, and peaceful then it had actually been. When Kedrick had first hugged him, Dimitri had screamed and begun thrashing like a caged animal. In the past years, Dimitri had learned that any physical contact, from any guy, was something to be feared, and hated. Dimitri had struggled against Kedrick, literally kicking and screaming for a full two minutes, but Kedrick had just hung on to him. Dimitri had suddenly stopped, coming to the realization that there was nothing suggestive, or inappropriate about this touch. That it was just the hug of one young man who desperately wanted to help another.
Dimitri slowly continued. "Kedrick told me...to ask my mother if I could go to his house for a sleepover. When I asked her, she was happy to let me...Since Jared had begun...begun hurting me...I had stoped socializing with everyone practically...I was too scared that someone would find out if I got to know them to well. My mother was under the correct impression that I had no friends. So, when I asked her to let me go to Kedrick's house for a sleepover, she was all too happy to let me go." Dimitri smiled faintly at the memory.
"The first time I went to Kedrick's house was the first time I had really had fun since I was nearly seven years old...We played games, talked, eat, and explored the estate...He didn't mention what his plan was, but I didn't mind...That night...Kedrick wanted to stay close to me, in case I had a nightmare...which was, actually, pretty normal for me...Me on the other hand...I didn't want Kedrick anywhere near me while I was asleep." Dimitri gave a bitter laugh. "I was actually afraid of Kedrick....but year with Jared had taught me that any man was someone I had to be afraid of...besides...Jared told me that the only thing anyone would ever want me for was to use me for my body....and then throw me away...." He words had become soft, and hurt, and Maria could tell from the look on his face, that a large part of Dimitri still believed that.
Dimitri shook his head slightly, clear the thoughts from his mind and continuing. "Of course...nothing like that happened, and I went home the next day, still not knowing Kedrick's plan. Kedrick would invite me over to his house maybe once a week, we'd have fun, I'd be safe for the night, and I still didn't know what he was planing." Dimitri frowned, as though it still bothered him. "I started to get kind of angry after a while...He had told me he would help me, promised me! But still, nothing...I stopped talking to him in school, my mom still said I should go when he would invite me over though, sometimes for two nights now, or twice a week. Eventually, I flat out refused to go...and I wouldn't talk to him, I would go to see him, or stay overnight, not even to get away from Jared...he had me hoping...that there really was a way out of my situation. I believed him...and now I felt completely betrayed...."
Dimitri ran his finger though his hair, looking more and more tired the further though the explanation he got. He could only imagine what Maria was thinking right now...but the again, maybe he couldn't face that just yet...She had to hear the full story first. "After nearly two months of not speaking to him, my mother made me go to his house. We didn't talk the entire time, I completely ignored him. Mom did this twice more, on the third sleepover, as my mom was dropping me off...I suddenly got it, I understood. By this point I was consistently staying at Kedrick's house two nights every week, every so often it would be three. And I suddenly understood that Kedrick was slowly taking me out of my own home. When I ran into the house, I asked him if that was it, and he told me that it was." He said with a thin smile. "When I asked him why he hadn't told me before, he said that it was because he hadn't wanted me to let anything slip to Jared...and once I thought about it, I knew he was right not the tell me, because the minute I thought I had figured it out, the first thing I wanted to do was to gloat to Jared that I was getting away from him, and there was nothing he could do about it."
"Of course...It didn't take Jared long to figure it out on his own...the minute he found out, he started trying to convince my mother not to let me go over anymore...He said that it wasn't good for me to be spending so much time away from my family....when that didn't work...he...he tried convincing my mother that Kedrick and I...that our relationship was...unhealthy..." The boy's hands balled into tight fists, and his face flushed with anger at the mere suggestions. He could feel his teeth gritting together, and Dimitri forced himself to calm down. Closing his eyes, Dimitri continued, his calm restored. "But for once, my mother didn't listen to Jared...she had met Kedrick in the past, she knew he was a good kid, and she also knew that I hadn't had a real friend for so long, so she didn't mind.
"Kedrick and I slowly worked the number of times I'd stay at his house up...and by the time I was almost fourteen, I was at Kedrick's house for four nights, and five days every week. Of course, Jared still tried to discourage my mother from letting me go, he even threatened me....But the only thing he could really do was make sure every night I spent at my house was hell for me...So finally, Kedrick and I were just looking for an excuses to move me out for good. We got that chance when mom decided to do some major renovations on the house. It wasn't hard to convince her that I didn't like the noise and strangers, and so, after nearly eight years of being stuck with Jared...I moved out..."
Dimitri felt a rush of bitterness. 'eight years...' He thought miserably, 'He took eight whole years from me...' Dimitri folded his hands in front of him, slowly picking back up again. "Kedrick and I had two things working in our favor. A: The renovations on the house took a lot longer then mom thought...B: By the time the renovations were done, she was so used to having me out of the house, that she didn't even really mind...Since then...I've only really seen Jared twice...The afternoon before the Harvest Dance..." Dimitri hesitated, wondering if she remember the bruise he had come to the dance with. "And....and now..."
The boy suddenly felt a rush of fear and he nearly doubled over, feeling sick again. "I was so...so scared..." He whisper hoarsely, hugging himself tightly, his fingers clutching at his shirt. "I was so scared that he'd hurt me again...I couldn't...." He trailed off, tears now running freely down his cheeks, his shoulders shaking. And suddenly he just looked very, very small. Like a small, terrified child who had been badly hurt by someone who should have loved him.
    But more specifically...Can you keep mine?...
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Desirable Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:46 am
Arielle Shore
After Maria spoke, she just looked at Dimitri in silence, doing her best to blink away the tears. She waited patiently as he opened and closed his mouth, trying to think of the right thing to say. He looked like he was about to break down crying, and if he was, then she would be there to wipe them away and calm him down. Why does this... Why does this seem so familiar to me? she thought, unable to shake off the déjà vu feeling she was getting.
Her eyes watched as he stood up and for a moment, she didn't know what was about to happen. Maria let him help her up and followed after him as he led her to a small bench that she was barely aware of until just then. She sat down next to him, barely able to say thank you, not sure of what sound would come out. Though Dimitri wasn't looking her square in the face, she still looked at him, taking him in with her eyes. A sad, broken soul.
Maria nodded gently as Dimitri finally spoke, realizing that there was really nothing that needed to be said on her part. Her eyes did widen in surprise when he told her that his father's name was Jameson Hunter. She would have never had guessed that the rest of Dimitri's name was after his father and then wondered if that fact made him miss his father more.
She instantly felt pity for Mrs. Emma, understanding that the death of any loved one was painful, especially through cancer, but for it to be the person that you had loved the most. Maria tried to think of what would happen if her brothers, parents, her grandmother, Arielle, or even Dimitri died of cancer. She was sure that she would be a complete wreck. But she was all on her own and trying to raise a toddler as well, Maria thought sympathetically, My heart goes out to her.
At the mention of Jared's name, Maria had to stop herself from frowning. From how it seemed from the beginning, as Dimitri was explaining it, Jared didn't seem like a bad man, in the beginning. What Maria wanted to know was why would he start to change around Dimitri? What was his reason to become the horror to a boy who never deserved it. She continued listening as Dimitri explained that the first abuse he had received from Jared was physical, in the way of beatings. Even then Jared was clever with what he was trying to do and as much as Maria continued to despise him, she couldn't help but lightly admire that about him. Of course, it wasn't enough for her to like him, just enough to partially see him as her equal, mentally speaking.
And then, when Dimitri came to the part of the story that was a turn for the worst, the young Hispanic teen gasped in shock and horror. Part of her mind was partially filled with thoughts of anger, rage, and revulsion. She honestly wanted Jared to turn back around so she could give him a piece of her mind. She couldn't understand why he would stoop so low as to even rape Dimitri, but she saw Jared like Jonesy; men who were all about exploiting their power and causing fear in their victims. She balled her hand into a fist, furious that Dimitri had to live like that. Had to witness that nightmare every time he was alone with that man.
That house is filled with demons. And Jared's the king of them, Maria thought bitterly, keeping her mind from clouding over with thoughts of anger and rage as she continued listening to the rest of Dimitri's tale. All throughout the story, she couldn't help but feel like she had been in this same position before and she wondered why until it finally made sense. Arielle...
Maria saw Dimitri as he wiped a tear from his eye and she wished that she could've hugged him, but her body felt frozen, like it was afraid to just break apart everything that was there. Maria paid close attention as Dimitri then explained about the meeting with Kedrick and how he found out the truth. He didn't hold back like I did, Maria thought with a small sigh, Then again, I didn't find Dimitri crying either. Maria had always thought that even then that the two of them were the best of friends, but she knew that all friendships had to start somewhere. Never like that though...
Like any story, Maria tried to play the events, imagining the interactions. She refused to do that when he was talking about Jared, never wanting her mind to relay such images of brutality and pain. She tried to see a younger Dimitri and Kedrick in the estate, enjoying their lives as any kid should and wondered if that was a moment of peace for him in the hectic life that he had ever since Jared laid hands on him. She couldn't see Kedrick as a scary person, but she could understand why Dimitri thought that way.
When Dimitri repeated how Jared said that no one cared much about Dimitri besides his body, Maria, once again, wanted to knock him square in the jaw. To saw such a thing to ruin someone's self esteem was just awful and at the same time, something that Arielle had told her years ago came back to her and she felt her heart sink as she thought about it.
"I sold my soul to people who only value me for my body. Even though I resist what they want from me, I can't help but feel like I lost some value in myself as a person and sometimes I wonder if that's all I'm good for in this world. Sometimes I believe that they're right... That what really matters is what people want from my body, not from the person that I truly am inside."
She shook herself out of her thoughts from the past as Dimitri continued, now talking about how Kedrick had a plan. At that point her tears had stopped, her eyes were now a bit puffy and red. She watched Dimitri's expressions and listened to the tone of his voice, sensing the frustration he had felt. Of course as he continued, Maria herself was also realizing the plan that Kedrick had and smiled gently.
Maria didn't know if she wanted to continue smiling or just hug Mrs. Emma when Dimitri told her how his mother wouldn't let Jared get his way when it came to Dimitri spending time with Kedrick. She was angered by the fact that Jared would try and make up whatever lies he could just to keep Dimitri close to him. A mother truly knows best when it comes to her child and their social life, Maria thought, feeling glad that Mrs. Emma allowed Dimitri that freedom.
Her thoughts were silenced as Dimitri continued on, explaining how the days that he stayed with Kedrick became longer and the nights he was with Jared was like hell on earth. If Maria never thought she could despise a single person's existence before, she knew better now to know that there was always an exception.
At the mention of the renovations, she remembered Kedrick having mentioned that one night when she was over when Arielle came home from the hospital after the Jonesy ordeal. And now I know why, she thought as she felt shocked that Dimitri had to deal with Jared for eight years Eight years of a childhood ruined. Eight years of pain and torture when there should've been love and respect.
As Dimitri mentioned the times that he had seen Jared again, she suddenly remembered noticing a bruise on Dimitri. Of course at that time, she hadn't really been too interested in the back story of that, more of trying to get Arielle and Kedrick together and flirting with the quarterback. Just thinking back at it and her failure to notice an important detail like that made her feel sick to her stomach. My how things have changed, she thought sadly, still not believing that something like that had gone past her radar.
Maria looked at her boyfriend with sad eyes as he finished, finally feeling like it was time to unfreeze her body. She sat him up gently, wiping away the tears as she looked at him and smiled gently and reassuringly at him. "You don't have to be scared anymore, Dimitri," Maria said calmly and quietly, "I'm going to keep my word. I'm going to keep you safe, I'm going to protect you. I don't want you to be hurt by him anymore, Dimitri." Again she wrapped her arms around him and again the tears flowed from her eyes, her fingers clinging tightly to the back of his shirt. If there was one thing she wanted him to understand, it was how much she meant everything.
At the same time, Maria's wave of déjà vu overcame her and she suddenly was transported back to a memory that was somewhat like what was going on and at the same time, was completely different.
***
The fourteen year old Maria was sitting comfortably in the family room. Her parents had gone out of town for their honeymoon and her brothers had just left for the evening, knowing that their little sister was okay. At that point in her life, the family trusted her to be able to stay home alone, especially since her father taught her how to shoot a gun in self defense in case of an emergency (much to her mother's displeasure).
Her eyes were glued to the telenovela, otherwise known as a Spanish drama, and she was complaining about the main character in Spanish, a frown on her face, clearly frustrated with the turn of events. Her ranting stopped when she heard her door being knocked on. She immediately muted the TV and looked at the time, knowing that it was late and was wondering who was at her door.
She got off the couch with a sigh. "¿Cómo se atreve alguien me interrumpa durante la mitad de mi programa? Estaba a punto para ver si yo tenía razón sobre Francisco de ser el asesino ....," was all Maria managed to mutter to herself as she took a deep breath and looked through the peep hole to see who it was. What she saw completely surprised her and she opened the door quickly, staring at the person in horrified surprise. "Arielle? What are you doing here so late at night?"
Arielle looked up at her friend slowly, her eyes hollow and empty with what Maria recognized as fear and sadness. It also looked like she had been crying as well. She was wearing an oversized poncho and hugging herself like she was cold. Her friend didn't say anything, so Maria just hurriedly dragged her friend inside.
"I-I-I'm sorry for intruding so late at night," Arielle stuttered lamely, her voice sounding raspy.
Maria just shook her head and smiled gently at her friend. "Think nothing of it. But... How did you come across here Arielle and... What happened to your shoes?" Maria finally noticed that Arielle was partially barefoot, the stockings she had worn earlier that day ruined and torn. Again the young Hispanic girl looked at her friend but Arielle just looked away, ashamed.
"D-D-Do you have anything that I c-c-can change into?" Arielle asked, her body trembling horribly. Just seeing Arielle like that made Maria sick inside, the questions eating at her brain.
"I should have some spare pajamas that you can sleep in," Maria answered, "You get undressed and I'll come back with something clean to wear. No buts~." She didn't give Arielle the time to protest as she raced up to her room, looking around for something that would fit her, glad that they were roughly the same size.
Maria was happy to see Arielle, especially with how strange her friend had been acting for the past eight months. She had heard all the nasty rumors about how Arielle was turning into the middle school whore, but Maria wouldn't believe it. Still, it hurt her to know that Arielle was keeping secrets from her and not even tell her best friend who was basically like a sister to her at this point.
Now's my chance to ask, Maria thought determinedly, glad that it was just the two of them in the house, She can't hide it from me forever.
She walked back down the steps, trying to be as quiet as she could be so she didn't startle Arielle. The way she had entered her home, the way she looked, it almost reminded her of a frightened animal. It took Maria awhile to find which room Arielle was in, but when she saw her best friend, she stopped and stared at her in horror.
Arielle's back was facing towards her, revealing the long gash in her back that was still bleeding and tender. There were smaller scratch like marks around her back, all swollen, all red, all fresh. Some of the marks even looked like smaller iron burns left on the skin. Maria knew that Arielle's grandparents weren't that abusive, in fact, they loved their granddaughter to pieces and would never lay a hand on her like that. So now the question was left to decide who was responsible.
Arielle turned to face Maria, looking startled and once again ashamed, covering herself despite the fact that it was just the two of them. Maria walked closer and sat the clothes down, looking at her best friend sadly. "I'm going to go get the first aid kit," she said finally, before Arielle could rattle off an excuse, "I'll be back and... And I want you to explain... Please...."
Less then five minutes later, Maria returned with about three first aid kits. Arielle stared at her friend, the light in her eyes faded, her entire aura melancholy. There was barely any speaking as Maria gestured for Arielle to sit on the foot rest and she pulled up another one. They were silent, the only thing heard was the sound of their breathing as Maria cleaned off the longer gash.
"Arielle, I need to know who did this to you," Maria finally said, midway through the wound, "I...I also want to know about... About those rumors. You've been avoiding me about them for so long, Ari but.. I know there's something going on and it kills me that you don't trust me enough to know. I thought we were best friends? Why are you keeping such a big secret from me? I don't care what it is, Arielle. You know that I'll never think differently about you, so please... Don't keep me guessing anymore..."
More silence came and Maria was afraid that Arielle was going to make another excuse to not tell her, when she finally heard the girl sniff, her shoulders heaving. She stopped what she was doing and watched as Arielle turned around to face her.
"R-R-Remember that one day when I was giving out fliers," Arielle began, Maria nodding before her friend continued, "W-Well, I lied when I said I didn't find anyone willing to take me in... I... I found someone... And he's a monster, Maria. ¡Un monstruo!"
"I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I thought... I thought that I was getting honest work, but I wasn't. I basically sold myself to the devil, Ria!" Arielle exclaimed in anguish, breaking into sobs before calming herself down enough to continue, "His name is Jonesy. M-My employer. And what he does is pair girls like me to the old wealthy men in the city as their housekeepers or maids, but in reality these girls are their sex-slaves, and their supposed to do everything that their master requires of them to do. But... I couldn't let them take my virginity like that. I was not going to give it away to some stranger."
Arielle paused, her body shaking horribly, more tears coming down her face. "That's why I started taking martial arts lessons and hanging out with you less, Maria. But... Jonesy wasn't happy with this. He let it slip the first few times, but by the fifth complaint, he became very angry. It started off with threats to scare me, to make me do what they wanted, but when I continued to decline, he started to abuse me."
Maria stared at her friend in horror, now understanding why Arielle would've been sore, or she wore clothes that weren't even appropriate for the season. She wanted to see that Jonesy guy and make him pay for hurting such a sweet girl like Arielle.
"He has this place called 'The torture chamber', and this is where his sadistic imagination runs loose," Arielle said with a shudder, her left hand rubbing her right wrist nervously. "He has so many.. So many whips and everything that he uses. It's probably as bad as the torture chambers that they used to have in England. So he took me there when he was tired of yelling and he would molest me, slap me, and beat me, but today... Today he did something worse... H-He raped me..."
Again the girl broke down and cried, her face in her hands as heart breaking sobs filled the empty house. With a few sniffs, she wiped her nose with the back of her hand and continued, "B-But not there... F-F-From..."
Maria didn't need Arielle to explain any further, knowing where she actually meant. She finally realized that Arielle had trouble sitting down comfortably on her behind. She looked at her friend sadly and hugged her, careful not to touch her wounds.
"And I'm stuck with this man until... Until I'm sixteen," Arielle sobbed into her shoulder, her voice somewhat muffled, "I'm sorry I kept this from you, Maria, but I was so terrified... I just... I just didn't know what would happen. What you would think of me.."
Maria shushed Arielle before she could continue, wiping her face from all the tears that were there. "It's alright, Arielle. I'm glad you finally told me," Maria finally said, her voice somewhat quiet, "I'm so sorry that this had to happen to you, but we'll find a way out of this. Trust me on this. But you've got to tell your grandparents, Arielle. You can't keep this from them forever." She looked at Arielle who looked simply appalled at the idea of even telling her grandparents. "Look, have I ever been wrong when I needed you to trust me? Plus, I'll be there with you when you tell them so you won't feel like you're alone."
Arielle sniffed and gave Maria a small sad smile before hugging her again and continuing to cry. Maria stroked her hair, hands gentle as a caring mother's. "It's alright Arielle, we'll get through this," she said, wanting to reassure her that an end would someday come. I'll protect you until then, Arielle. Until the day I die.
***
Why are people like this? Maria thought, blinking away more tears and failing horribly. The two people she loved most in the world besides her family had been hurt gravely by people they thought they could trust, even though Jonesy was a bit different. She also felt like for both situations, that she was coming in when so much damage had already been done, but still she was determined to make a change to that.
Two people stained by the darkness in their lives, Maria thought as she finally let go of Dimitri, unaware of how long she had held onto him and stared at the sky, eyes closed and tears still escaping. Between the memory and what Dimitri said, she felt like she could cry forever.
She stood up slowly, wiping the tears from her face, her hands clenched into tight fists as she breathed. But I will get rid of their darkness... We all will, Maria thought determinedly as she realized the support system that Arielle and Dimitri had between herself, Kedrick, her family, Arielle's grandparents, and Kedrick's sisters.
And I will make you pay, Jared, Maria thought, never feeling so sure then now. No matter what measures I have to take. Your days of terrorizing my boyfriend are finally coming to an end.
¡Un monstruo!= A monster!>
(So...much...my brain...enjoy x.x)
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:06 pm
♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ
Can you keep a secret?...
Dimitri drew in an uncertain breath as Maria carefully sat him up and turned him to look at her. The dark haired boy still didn't feel like he should look her in the eyes. Her hands where soft on his cheeks as she brushed away his tears, and the gentleness made his throat tighten with emotion. He wanted to believe her, he really did, but somehow, Dimitri couldn't ever imagine being truly safe from Jared. Even when he had moved in with Kedrick, he had always known, in the back of his mind, that he still wasn't safe. The afternoon before the Harvest Dance had proved that, that even if he was no longer living under the same roof, he was still in danger from the man who had ruined his life, and stolen his childhood.
Dimitri felt himself relax slightly as Maria hugged him. He had been preparing for her reaction for so long, and yet somehow, it had still blindsided him. When Dimitri had first met Maria he had begun to fear what she would do if she found out. Dimitri though she would hate him and be revolted by him, by the fact that she had been in close contact with, and even kissed someone so defiled as himself. But slowly, as their relationship grew, he still worried what she would think of him, but it had become less pronounced. Recently, it was not what she would think of him, but what Jared would to do her that made him afraid. And yet still, her completely understand response surprised him.
Dimitri looked over at her slowly, the girl seemed lost in thought, but then again, he had just heaped a lot of disturbing information on her, she needed time to digest it. He was quiet for a few minutes, understanding the need for silence. He tried to let the tension go out of his body, but his till felt stiff, and sick. The boy reached up, brushing the back of his hand across his eyes. Tears still clung to his cheeks and eyelashes, and Dimitri was finding it hard to stop crying. But then he had to remind himself that it was really the first time he had told anyone about his past since he was thirteen. Arielle’s knowing had been a mistake, he hadn’t even been the one to tell her, and yet strangely, he was glad she knew. ’No more lies...’ He though vaguely, a bitter smile touching his lips.
He knew that there where parallels between he and Arielle’s situations, and yet at the same time, they where vastly different. The fact that their tormenter’s names both began with J was a mere coincidence nothing more. That, and the element of sexual abuse was where the similarities ended. Jonsey had been in it for the money, and to fuel his twisted imagination. Jared had simply wanted Dimitri for his own sick sexual pleasure, there was no monetary gain, no one else involved, just himself, and the boy.
Dimitri looked up slowly when Maria stood, the tears still running down her cheeks. Dimitri slowly rose to his feet, feeling like he had to comfort her, but what could he say? That it wasn’t that bad, that he was alright? Those were both lies, it was that bad, and he definitely wasn’t alright, and he had had enough of lying to Maria for a lifetime. And somehow, Dimitri felt that he was too ‘not right,’ that Maria didn’t deserve to be chained to someone like him.
Dimitri looked up, slowly, meeting her eyes for the first time since he had begun speaking. “Maria…” He said softly, his voice still husky, and thick with emotion. “I-I know you want to help…but...th-there’s nothing…there’s nothing you can do that wouldn’t put you in danger. Jared threatened me that I wasn’t allowed to tell you, so you can’t let on that you know, not matter what.” He said, his voice strengthening as he spoke. He had to make sure that she fully understood this. The boy licked his lips, hesitant to say what he was thinking.
“I-I know it’s a lot to take in…and I’m sorry…I’m so sorry for having to hide it from you…you don’t deserve this…and…and I don’t deserve someone like you…” He trailed off at a mere whisper. He knew she would object to this, but it didn’t change what he thought. The idea of Maria being with someone else made him feel sick, but he thought that she deserved better. Jared had destroyed Dimitri’s opinion of himself, and for years the boy had harbored a hatred for himself nearly as deep as his hate for Jared.
“You..you know…somewhere out there, there’s going to be a guy…who’s nice, and smart, and funny,” Dimitri said with a bitter laugh. “And sure, maybe he’s been on a date or two in the past, but he’s kept himself clean…and he’s waited for you….” Dimitri trailed off, and he looked away to hide the shameful tears that slid down his cheeks. “Because I can’t do that for you…” He lowered his head, taking a deep break to try and stop himself before he got wound up again. Dimitri couldn’t remember ever crying so much in such a short amount of time, Jared was the only person who could do this to him.
But more specifically...Can you keep mine?...
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Desirable Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:21 pm
Arielle Shore
When Maria finally felt like she was calm enough, she looked Dimitri in the eye just as he had called her name. She frowned, almost pouted, when Dimitri told her that there was nothing that she could do for him. How could he just give in to Jared like that? How could he even think that she would just let him go to continue living in fear that the next minute, hour, day, or even month Jared would come back and hurt him again. She knew that he was doing this to keep her safe, but at the end of the day, Maria knew he wasn't going to shake her off that easily.
What Dimitri said next was like a punch in the gut for Maria. It sounded like he was breaking up with her, and Maria honestly felt like she was going to break down crying. She didn't believe any of what he said, though it may be true, but she couldn't see herself with anyone else, ever. Once again the memory of the barbeque came back to her, the second time they were alone, the words were in her mind as clear as day.
Again she clenched her hands, balling them into fists. She took deep breaths, knowing she was going to do something she was going to regret, but this time, she wanted to make sure he was clear with where she was at. Without a second thought, her right hand unclenched itself from its position and slapped Dimitri on the top of his head.
"Вы глупый идиот!" Maria said irritably in Russian, knowing she probably surprised Dimitri that she could speak it. "I apologize for hitting you, but I had to get that out of my system after what you just said to me. Even if there was someone like that, he doesn't have my heart. I know you don't like talking like that, so don't try and fool yourself or me that we need to split apart because I'm not letting you go Dimitri. Not when I promised your mother and definitely not when I promised myself that I would make an end to this horrible nightmare."
Maria then gently lifted up Dimitri's face so that he would look at her, whether he wanted to or not. Her stubbornness and fiery determination could be seen as well as the amount of love and devotion she had for him. "I don't care what he threatened to do to me, Dimitri," Maria continued, her voice somewhat hard, "I'm sure that man has a suspicion that I'm onto him and only cowards play dirty. Let him do his worst to me, Dimitri, I dare him to, but no matter how many times he beats me down, I'm going to stand right back up and do what's right. I've got a bone to pick with him and I'm not letting him go until I've done what I needed to do."
With both hands on Dimitri's face, she turned it to the left and the right, a small bitter smile on her face. "I love you, Dimitri. And there's no way anyone is going to scare me away from you," she looked at him in earnest, trying to get him to understand. "My role in life isn't to make you feel unloved or make you feel like you aren't worth something. What I'm here for is to be all the love you ever wanted and more, your girlfriend and your friend, and someone who would lay down their life for you because of how much devotion I have for you."
Maria moved in closer, letting her hands fall and wrapping her arms loosely around his neck, looking up at him. "I don't care if you're "unclean" Dimitri, because that doesn't stop me from loving the person that is you," she said with a gentle smile before leaning in to kiss him as passionately as she could before pulling away and looking him in the eye again. "I'll help you rebuild your confidence and your self worth, because no matter what, I'm going to stay by your side until the day I die. So whether you like it or not, Dimitri Jameson Hunter, you're stuck with little ol' me and I have no intention of ever leaving your side. Not by a long shot."
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 3:58 pm
♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ
Can you keep a secret?...
Dimitri stared anxiously at Maria, he didn't want to hurt her, he just didn't want to anchor her into a relationship that she may regret later. He wanted her to be happy, and he wanted to makes sure that she had every opportunity in the world to find that happiness. Maria looked like she was going to explode. Dimitri had seen Maria with her temper flared before, and Dimitri was afraid of what would come out of her mouth if she did.
But what came out of Maria's mouth made absolutely no sense to Dimitri. It didn't sound like Spanish, and it certainly wasn't English. He ducked his head with a soft yelp, more of surprise then anything. The light smack had hardly hurt, but it had been so surprising that Dimitri had cried out. He reached up, a pitiful expression on his face. He rubbed the top of his head, staring at Maria in wide eyed shock as she ranted out every reason when she wasn't going to let him go.
Once again the boy could do nothing but stare as her voice became soft, a fierce, and she lifted his face to look her in the eyes. Her words sent a flare of warmth though his body, which still felt cold, and tense. Dimitri could hear truth ringing in her every word, and yet what she was saying scared him, her devotion was frightening, just how far she would go to protect him frightened Dimitri. All he could see was her getting hurt or killed trying to protect him. How would he live with that? How would he ever tell her family if something happened to her?
'It doesn't matter to her?' Dimitri thought in somewhat disbelief. 'It doesn't bother her that he forced me to sleep with him?' Dimitri had been able to wrap his mind around this once with Kedrick, and then again with Arielle, but that was different, they where friends, not a lover...not someone that he would be with until the day he died, although he had no doubts that Kedrick and Arielle would stay with him that long as well. He closed his eyes as she kissed him, the feeling of her soft lips on his seeming to be the most wonderful feeling in the world. As she pulled back, Dimitri forced himself to open his eyes slowly, and there was a note of sadness there, a sadness that had not yet had a chance to fade. He smiled bitterly, reaching up and gently tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. It seemed like such a normal gesture, something he might do on an ordinary day, yet today was so far for ordinary. After so long of being afraid that she'd hate him, and leave him, Dimitri didn't know why he was trying to push her away. It was for her own safety he was sure, if she were no longer so close to him, it would put her out of harms way.
"But I have to keep you safe too..." He said softly, his fingers trailing gently across her cheek before dropping slowly to his side. "I want you to be safe, and happy...and because of what he did to me, I can never be good enough for you." Dimitri lowered his eyes. “I understand what you’re saying, and all I can see is that you’re going to get hurt because of me, and I can’t live with that…” Dimitri forced a small smile. “Besides, If I let anything happen to you, your family would kill me…” He said, and though it was said with a weak attempt at humor, Dimitri had no doubt that he wouldn’t be able to face them if something did happen to her.
Dimitri pulled back a pace, his head lowered, eyes shifting to the ground again. 'But I have no worth...' He thought, knowing that to voice this thought would just cause Maria to scold him again. 'there's nothing their to rebuild...
But more specifically...Can you keep mine?...
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Desirable Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 5:49 pm
Arielle Shore
Maria rolled her eyes at Dimitri's excuses, her arms crossed. A smile flickered into place as Dimitri mentioned that her family would probably kill him if anything bad happened to her. She knew that her family would be upset, but they wouldn't blame him for it. Her family was completely aware of how stubborn she could be, and her mind started relaying the frantic conversation her mother had the night she told them what happened to Arielle and her plan. Even though her father and their men were there, she was still with them were anything could go horribly wrong, which terrified her mother.
She wanted to hold his fingers there, the light sign of affection sending shivers down her spine. She looked at him, trying to find a way to reason with him, wishing he wouldn't seem so down about it. Suddenly the words of the nightmare came back and she felt a cold chill down her spine. It was almost strange for Dimitri to repeat it in some fashion and had she known that Jared had said something around the same lines, part of her might've actually given up and let it go. However, it was too late for Maria to decide to turn back now.
"As much as I admire that you want to keep me safe, Dimitri," Maria said with a gentle sigh, looking over at him even though his focus was now the ground, "I'm not going away. Will my family be worried if something happens to me, yes, they will be, especially my mother. But they'll understand that I would only ever be this stubborn and risky if it's for someone I cared about, and they all know how much I care about you, Dimitri."
"Plus, I could never be fully happy knowing that the person I love is miserable and in constant fear in the back of his mind everyday. I just.. I just couldn't leave you like that," Maria said lamely, now looking at the ground. She didn't want to feel useless or helpless in this kind of situation. "And the last thing I want is to be close to loosing you like with Ari... If I wasn't able to help you, knowing the kind of situation that you're in, I just... I don't think I could live with myself... I don't even think I'd be able to live at all..." The last part was murmured and she was barely sure if Dimitri even heard her say that last bit.
Sometimes I think he and Arielle try and do the same things, Maria thought, pushing her bangs back only for them to fall back into place. "Arielle was the same," Maria started, looking up at the sky again, "Despite what she had gotten herself into, she refused to let me do anything that involved me getting hurt. And when Kedrick was added to the equation, I know she probably did the same thing. But if it hadn't been for Kedrick and I... Arielle would've... Would've been..." Maria could barely finish the sentence, trying to imagine what life would be like had Kedrick not found out about Arielle's secret or the phone call as well as herself. She'd be in some city with some disgusting man who would rape her and make her life miserable all the time, Maria thought grimly, so glad the events hadn't turned out that way.
"But let me tell you this now, Dimitri," Maria continued, her voice sounding normal, so sure, so confident, and with no doubts, "If I wanted a Mr. Perfect in every shape, way, and form, I'd probably be out boyhunting from the guys at my school. You stood out from all the rest because you weren't perfect everywhere. You're human and you have your flaws."
She placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed the top of his head, the part where she smacked him at. "Your life may have been tainted by the harsh, impure, and disgusting things that Jared made you do, but that doesn't mean that you're not good for me. Just look at Arielle and Kedrick. I know Arielle had horrible self-esteem issues ever since Jonesy walked into her life, but she's happy with someone who was able to see past that and love her for what was there. And that's the same with me Dimitri."
Maria ruffled his hair and smiled gently. "Through the lies, deceptions, and darkness that you've lived in, Dimitri, I can see past all that and it doesn't scare me at all," she paused, once again, lifting up Dimitri's face so that they could look at each other. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done to fix some of the damage that you've had to deal with, and whether you believe it or not, there's still something in there, deep down that Jared hasn't even reached." She gently pointed her finger on Dimitri's chest where his heart was.
"It's going to take some time for you to find it and realize it on your own," she said gently, "But until then, I'll be there with you every step of the way to help mend the pain. So I suggest you stop trying to find arguments to try and keep me away and just accept it. I fully know what I'm getting myself into and I don't regret my decision whatsoever." She looked at him, with a wicked Maria-like smile on her face. "You just have to trust me on this, okay?" At this point there was no steering Maria off-course now, especially with her entire aura resonating with or sense of sureness and stubbornness.
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 6:45 pm
♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ
Can you keep a secret?...
Dimitri pulled his eyes up from the ground for what felt like the millionth time, his face still burning with shame. He felt a small, reluctant smile tug at the corner of his mouth as she spoke about her family. Would they really understand? Could then truly ever forgive him if he did something to get Maria hurt? As Maria lowered her eyes, Dimitri strained to hear what she was saying. He absorbed her quiet words as best he cold, a small frown of concern appearing between his eyebrows.
He was glad when her voice picked up it's normal tones, it troubled the dark haired boy to see her looking so distant, and upset. "Flaws and plenty to spare..." He intoned softly, looking up at her uncertainly, looking more ashamed of himself then anything.
The touch on the shoulder and the kiss on the top of the head was comforting, but her words were even more so. Just to know that she still felt comfortable around him, that once the dust had settled, she would be able to look at him and not think about what Jared had done, made him feel secure. As she ruffled his hair and tipped his chin up, Dimitri found his throat becoming tight again, and he swallowed hard. He reached up, gently catching her hand in his as she gently touched the area over his heart. He held her hand there for a moment, taking a deep breath.
He looked up, gently releasing her hand as the spunk re-entered her voice. The girl was determined, he had to give her that, and the way she was taking this whole thing made Dimitri smile. This was the Maria he loved, spunky, stubborn, and headstrong, and she was exactly what he needed. Sometimes, Dimitri needed Kedrick warm, gentle comfort, or Arielle's quiet understanding, but just now, the boy needed nothing more then Maria's determination to help pull him around.
He smiled at the girl, reaching down and taking her hands in his, giving them a gentle squeeze."Alright..." He said softly, finally giving in to Maria's insistence. "I...I know it's a tough place to be stuck in, but please...just for now...don't tell your family..." Dimitri knew it was a lot to ask, but he had his reasons. "When ever the police get involved in stuff like this, then the media will too....And I can't handle that just now...." He said, looking away. Dimitri could just imagine the whispers, and hurtful rumors that would circulate the school. He could practically feel the stares boaring into his head as the school speculated about him. It was something Dimitri wasn't ready to face, just having Maria learn the truth had nearly taken him to pieces, but the whole town knowing overnight? That was too much. "Besides, if you tell your dad, he would get in trouble if he didn't do something about it, and we have no evidence against Jared, so launching an investigation wouldn't do any good anyways...Jared covers his tracks too well..."
The boy hesitated, and then smiled thinly. "And one more thing...When Kedrick and Arielle come to get us, Don't tell them right away where we stayed. If we tell Kedrick just now, he'll panic and completely freak out. Wait till we get to the campsite, then I'll take Kedrick aside and explain to him...you can tell Arielle then...she knows...what Jared did, but only that he did it...none of the details, you can fill her in as much as you want, I'd rather that there not be any more secrets between the four of us..." Dimitri smiled slightly, trying to imagine Kedrick's face when they first came to pick them up. "Until we can fully explain, let's just leave it at 'We found a house and the people where nice enough to let us stay for the night.' Okay?"
Dimitri glanced over, slowly letting her hands slid from his. The lights had come on in the little corner store, and he could see at least two people moving around inside. The sign on the door had been turned over to read 'Open! Please come in.' Dimitri smiled. "Well, it looks like we can go call our ride..." He mused softly.
But more specifically...Can you keep mine?...
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Desirable Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 4:23 am
Arielle Shore
We all have them, Maria was tempted to say back to Dimitri, but she believed that at that point, it was best to keep that inside. She smiled when Dimitri's hand covered her own, still wondering what was going on through that mind of his. As his hand let go, she pulled back, letting her hand fall back and smiled back at the fact that he himself was smiling. I do love it when you smile, she thought warmly.
She gently squeezed back in return and looked up at him as she listened to what he had to say. She frowned lightly at the aspect of not telling her family, but she could understand why. I hope he's not thinking my family will shun him or anything nonsensical like that, Maria thought before Dimitri explained that he didn't want the police or media involved, and after having to deal with that for Arielle's predicament, she honestly wasn't looking pleased at having that done again. Again, she frowned at the aspect that they had no evidence to go against Jared and it wasn't even humanly possible to just stumble across it overnight. The only way to get evidence is to catch him in the act, Maria thought, trying to figure out exactly how, But that means...
Maria didn't finish the thought, partially not being able to stomach what her calculating mind was going to suggest. Instead, she brought her focus back to what Dimitri was now saying about telling Arielle and Kedrick about where they were. It made sense not to tell them then but to wait a little, until they were safe. She nodded and was quiet again, slipping back into her thoughts, starting to formulate a plan.
This is probably by far the worst idea I've had, Maria thought, already brooding what it was, Yet... It's the only way that we can get him... Oh Dimitri's going to hate me for this so much...
Maria barely heard him mention anything about calling their ride, the feeling of guilt creeping into her stomach. She was glad she had let go of her hands because she was sure she was going to cling to his like a life line. "I think...," she started slowly before shaking her head, "I know a way we can get evidence on Jared, but my brothers have to be in on this because they have the supplies I need."
She knew Dimitri was going to be a bit confused with what she was saying, and she was starting to feel nauseous as the words built up in her head before she could get them out. "We're going to catch him in the act, but... And I'm so sorry to say this Dimitri, I really am, but you have to deal with Jared just a little bit longer." She looked him in the eyes for just a few seconds before looking away, angry that she couldn't think of anything safer for him, but what were the odds that she was going to get Jared to do what he did with Dimitri to another unwilling boy.
"I'm sorry, Dimitri," Maria apologized feebly, not even sure how her voice sounded right now, "I don't want to this any more than you want to deal with this anymore, especially after the promise I made... I wish it wasn't the only solution, but... It's the most realistic I can think of at this point." Now it was her turn to be afraid to look at him, ashamed of herself. She felt like dirt, like she was leading Dimitri back into the slaughter and she honestly wanted to cry again.
She turned away from him, holding the tears in. At this point Maria was waiting for the protests, for him to say 'I hate you', because why wouldn't he at this point. The mood had been able to lighten up because of her and now because of her it probably went right back downhill again. "I'm probably the worst girlfriend ever," Maria muttered to herself, something that should've stayed in her head but ended up being heard nonetheless. There was no denying just how awful she felt right then and there.
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 6:52 am
♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ
Can you keep a secret?...
Dimitri faltered slightly as he finished talking, seeing that Maria was frowning, looking uncomfortable. He knew that the idea of not telling her family bothered her, but it was for a reason, and it wasn't like they were lying to Kedrick and Arielle, just making sure that they would be calm enough to understand before they told them. 'It must be something else then...' Dimitri thought with a slight frown. "What are you thinking Maria?'
The boy blinked in surprise when she announced that she had an idea, someway to convict Jared. His cheeks flushed with eagerness, Maria's plans where usually pretty effective. The eagerness ebbed slightly though as she mentioned that her brothers would have to know as well. He wasn't sure what he thought of this, he had only really meant Maria's brothers once, and the thought of someone he was largely unfamiliar with knowing his past made him feel uncomfortable.
Maria's next words hit him like a punch in the gut, and he stepped back in shock, white-faced, looking sick again. Already, sweat had broken out of the boys forehead and his hands trembled by his sides. "no...." He said hoarsely, his voice weak and ringing with terror. "no....no, I-I-I can't" He shook his head, looking lost in his own thoughts, not even seeing Maria anymore, just seeing in his mind what it would be like to have to go back to that.
He looked up at her slowly, his eyes bright with tears. "Maria....I can't do that...." But his voice was weak, and pleading, desperate, not angry. He looked like a someone sentenced to death, a boy pleading for his life. And in a way, he was. Around the time Dimitri was thirteen, shortly before he had met Kedrick, Dimitri had struggled with major suicidal tendencies...it wasn't particularly a secret, just something he wasn't proud of. He had divulged this to Kedrick about three years back, telling him that if Jared ever hurt him again, he would try to kill himself.
Dimitri wasn't sure now if he actually would or not, but he knew that the desire would be there. It was a place Dimitri had been stuck in for a long time, and he didn't want to have to got back to that almost as much as he didn't want to go back to Jared.
When Maria murmured that she was probably the worst girlfriend ever, it shook Dimitri out of his panic. He blinked rapidly, looking up at her. "No Maria..." He said softly, stepping back towards her and taking her face in his hands. "No...you're not, I know you're trying to help and it's a good idea, it really is...it would probably work, but...." He swallowed stiffly. "I can't. Physically, mentally, emotionally, I can't do it." Dimitri eyes flicked down for a moment. 'If I did, I'd end up doing something that I'd never live to regret...'
He sighed softly, touching his forehead to hers, his eyes closed, willing her to understand what he was feeling. There was bitterness, and anger as the memories of Jared moved though his mind,a flash of the suffocating, suicidal depression that had gripped him a few years back, but underlying it all was a terror and a fear so deep that words couldn't do it justice. But a face fit that fear, Jared's face.
But more specifically...Can you keep mine?...
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Desirable Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 8:06 am
Arielle Shore
Maria never had felt so awful before in her life just having to hear the sound of Dimitri's voice from what she suggested. She couldn't even believe that her mind could come up with such an idea. Her head lowered down as she continued to stare at the ground. She knew he couldn't do it. She didn't want him to do it, but why did it seem like it was the only option she had right now?
There has to be another way! Maria shouted desperately in her mind. I can't do this to him! I just can't!
Maria could barely bring herself to look at him, but she could already tell that he probably looked horrified, even his voice had that sound to it. Had Maria known about Dimitri's past suicidal tendencies, she would've been more racked with guilt than she presently felt at that moment. Of all the possible things to come up with, I bring up the solution that we least want, she thought bitterly, already sensing that her frustration was raising in level.
She was forced to look up at him as he lifted her face up this time. She saw the tears, the fear, and the pain and as much as she wanted to look away from it, she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was almost like she was making herself aware of what she was getting him into and what that meant for both herself and Dimitri.
Her eyes glanced at the ground, taking in Dimitri's words, knowing how true he was. She felt his forehead against her own and she felt like she was going to start crying again. Instead, she pushed him away, which she was surprised to have done and stared off somewhere, her hands clenched tightly.
"I know you can't," Maria said harshly, her frustration slowly seeping out, "But if there was another way, then I wouldn't put your life in danger again, Dimitri!" She shuddered at how her voice rose and she breathed, her body shaking. "I'll think of something, Dimitri... I won't... I can't... I just..."
She paused, trying to form her thoughts properly because at that point they were a mess. She slowly looked back at him and sighed. "Just go and call them, Dimitri," Maria finally said, "I'll sit out here and wait."
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 8:34 am
♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ
Can you keep a secret?...
Dimitri felt a surge of hurt as Maria pushed him away and he stepped back a pace. He understood that she was frustrated, and hurt, and probably dealing with just as much mental strain as he was. Maria's harsh voice seemed to echo inside his head. He hated to see her like this, upset, and angry, and all because of him...
Dimitri watched as Maria composed herself, but she still looked upset. The boy pinched his lips together in a tight line. "No." He said firmly, taking her shoulders in a surprisingly strong grip. "Not until we resolve this, if we leave the problem like it is now it won't get any batter. We'll get picked up by Kedrick and Arielle and you and I won't hardly be able to talk to each other for the rest of the trip, so lets just sort it all out right now." His voiced carried a note of authority that Maria hadn't heard there before. Usually, Dimitri was more of a follower then a leader, but he knew that the situation wouldn't get any better if they let the tension hang like this.
He sighed and let his hands slid from her shoulders. "I know it's upsetting, and I know you want to help...I'm sure you'll be able to...but I'm not asking you to come up with a plan just now..." He said, his voice encouraging, and gentle, hoping to bring her back around to a more 'Maria-like' mood. "I'll be alright for now...I don't plan on going back in that house anytime soon, so for now, let's try and keep living like we normally have. We'll go to school, we'll hang out, we'll spend time with Kedrick and Arielle...and once I've had some time to recover from this....then maybe we can talk about your plan, okay?" He asked gently.
The dark haired boy smiled sadly, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I'm sorry, for....for panicking on you...I'm pretty tightly wound just now...." Dimitri knew that Maria would understand this, after all he had just spent an entire fourteen hours with Jared, and that was enough to wind anyone up. Well...anyone who knew about Jared at least. An outside would think Jared to be calm, collected, and friendly. There was an air of intelligence about him that even a vague acquaintance would pick up on. But Dimitri of course knew better, in fact, he knew better then anyone the cruel, sadistic man that lingered under Jared's many masks and personalities. He hesitated, looking at her with concern. "Are we okay now?" He asked, touching her shoulder hesitantly.
Dimitri hated that thought that Maria might be angry at him because of his reaction to her suggestion. He knew that in a few months, he might have a level enough head to think about the idea. Of course, it would still scare him, and he still wouldn't want to do it, but he could at least look at it rationally and think though weather getting hurt one more time was worth putting Jared away forever.
The sun was getting higher now and it warmed the back of Dimitri's neck and the warmth was comforting. With the heat of the sun, water was beginning to evaporate from the trees and off of the black top. Steam rose from the trees in a low hanging cloud, making the air feel heavy, and wet. But by mid day, Dimitri knew that all the water would have burned off, and the day would be hot. Hopefully, if things here didn't take too much longer to resolve, they would be back with Kedrick and Arielle with in the hour.
But more specifically...Can you keep mine?...
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Desirable Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 1:40 pm
Arielle Shore
Maria was about to argue back, but somewhere in the back of her mind, there was a voice telling her to shut up. She was surprised not only by the strong grip that Dimitri had on her shoulder but how firm his voice sounded. She listened to him, like a child being scolded by their parent, which was exactly how his current tone reminded her of. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and shame, and she knew just how true he was, knowing that she would spend most of the time being moody about it.
She looked at him as his hands slid away from her shoulders. Now she felt like he was trying to make her feel better about the situation and she tried to smile, but she just couldn't do it. All she could do was take his words in and nod her head numbly, currently afraid of what would actually come out of her mouth. Even her mind was at a blank right now.
Maria pushed some of her hair back and paused midway when he apologized. Why was he apologizing to her about reacting in a basically typical reaction to what he had to deal with. If anything, she should be the one apologizing for snapping at him just because she couldn't think of anything better. She let her hand fall slowly, her fingers twitching before they balled up and lightly punched him on the shoulder, a light smile appearing on her face.
"I'm sorry too, Dimitri," Maria said with a sigh, her hand falling back to her side. "I shouldn't have snapped at you, regardless. I was just angry mostly with myself that I couldn't think of anything better than what I suggested, but you're right. Now's not the time to think about that, we've got the rest of the week to enjoy and go on with our merry selves. But I'm not going to stop thinking of a solution, Dimitri. I'll come up with something foolproof and that'll work accordingly to how I planned it out."
There was a light toss of her hair as she giggled, her attitude already rebounding to what Dimitri loved to see. She poked his nose and grinned brightly. "Now everything's alright," she concluded, grabbing his hand and already dragging him to the doors of the corner store. "But let's rest this aside and take care of the next thing on our agenda. We've got a ride to call for."
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:54 am
♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ҝәɖʁϊϲҝ Ś. Śűѿą & Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟ Dimitri couldn't help a small smile as Maria lightly punched his shoulder, it was a good sign. He listened closely to words nodding his head in understanding. Dimitri didn't want Maria to feel bad for her suggestion. The thought that she was still going to think of a plan was simultaneously comforting, and disturbing. Dimitri could still picture her getting hurt somehow because she tried to help him, and yet it was nice to know that there could be an end in sight.
When Maria's attitude rebounded to what it usually was, Dimitri smile widened. He gripped her hand tightly as she took his, pulling him to the door of the small corner store. He nodded his head in agreement. "Right," The boy said with a grin, pulling open the door.
As the two of them stepped into the air conditioned interior of the building, Dimitri really got the sense that they where almost there. Just a quick phone call, and Kedrick and Arielle would be on there way. Of course, there was still the matter of explaining to the two of them what really happened, but he had a few minutes to worry about that.
The store was clean, and well kept, the shelves of good organized to a fault. Behind the counter was a man with a round stomach, nearly no hair on the top of his head and a thick white mustache, the man was obviously the owner of the store. Standing nearby was a spindly young man, probably 19 by the looks of him. He had a frock of ginger hair, and a surplus of freckles, he was the obvious trainee. The older man looked over at the boy, giving him a slight nod as though to give him permission to take care of their first two visitors for the day. The boy smiled, and stepped over to them, setting aside the broom he had been holding. "g-good morning," He said, with the slight hesitance of someone who hadn't been on the job very long. "Can I help you at all this morning?"
Dimitri smiled to the put the gangly young man at ease, even though the trainee was a year or two his senior, Dimitri didn't want to make his job hard on him. "Actually, yes...we um....we need to you a phone actually."
The young man blinked in surprise, and nodded quickly. "R-right, of course." He said, and then, on second though, looked back at the man behind the counter for confirmation. The man smiled, though it was nearly hidden behind his immensely thick mustache and nodded once. The boy looked back at Dimitri. "The phone's in the back, follow me." He said, motioning for him to follow.
Dimitri murmured his thanks, and looked over his shoulder at Maria for a moment. "Hey Maria," He called quietly. "Why don't you pick out something for us to eat while we wait. I'll make the call. Oh, here." He dug in his pocket. Dimitri had taken three crumpled dollar bill out of his pocket when his mother had washed the clothing last night, but he had replaced it earlier that morning. The three dollars would be enough to buy something small. Besides, Dimitri thought that it would be rude to ask to use the phone without buying something even if it was small.
The ginger hair assistant lead Dimitri into a small back room the was stacked with boxes of merchandise ready to be put of the shelves. Dimitri didn't particularly like the idea of being in this small room with another guy, particularly one even a little older then him, but he swallowed the thought. This guy was clearly harmless. He was gangly, with a friendly smile and Dimitri knew that he didn't have to be nervous around him. But even so, the past day he had spent with Jared had heightened his sense of fear when it came to other guys. The boy reached over Dimitri's shoulder, pointing to a small end table in one corner of the small back room, on it, sat a small telephone. "There it is." He said, backing up a pace towards the door. "I'll um...I'll let you make your call." He said.
Dimitri nodded his thanks as the young man left the room. Breathing a soft sigh, Dimitri picked up the phone. He didn't even need to think of the number, he had called Kedrick so many times that his instinct did the work. Dimitri bit him lip uncertainly as the phone rang.Though Maria and Dimitri had been up for some time already, it was still early in the morning, and Kedrick was still asleep. He lay of his side, the sleeping bag tangled around his feet. Even sleeping, the boys face was lined with worry, making him look ten years older then he should. It had been a full twenty four hours since they had been separated, and Kedrick and Arielle had searched, and waited a searched again. The atmosphere had been tense with worry.
Suddenly, Kedrick was vaguely aware of a buzzing sound. He frowned, cracking his eyes open and searching for the source of the noise. Suddenly, he realized it was his phone, and he bolted upright, snatching it up and holding it to his ear. "Hello," He said breathlessly, waiting tensely to heard the voice on the other end. Dimitri smiled as he heard Kedrick voice and was suddenly fully aware of how much he had missed him. "Hey Kedrick, it's Dimitri I-" But he got no further. Kedrick cut him off. "Dimitri! Is it really you? Where are you? What happened? Is Maria with you? Is she okay, is she hurt? Are you hurt did-" Now it was Dimitri turn to interrupt. "Kedrick!" He said loudly, cutting off the flow of worried questions. "Kedrick, we're fine, we're both fine, but it's a long story." He said gently, his tone lowering a little bit. "We're at that little corner store that we passed coming in right now. We need you and Arielle to come pick us up." Kedrick nodded quickly. "Right." He said, already on his feet and pulling on his shoes. "We'll be right over, hold tight, I love you." Dimitri smiled fondly. "Love you too, see you soon." Dimitri hung up on his friend, replaced the receiver and turned to leave the small back room, meeting back up outside with Maria. Kedrick jammed his phone in his pocket and unzipped the tent, running to Arielle's tent shaking the fame to get her attention. "Arielle! Arielle! Wake up, I know where they are! Hurry up, come with me!"  
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Desirable Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:58 am
Arielle Shore
Maria happily welcomed the air conditioning, even though it was just warming up outside. She couldn't wait to get back to Kedrick and Arielle and wondered how they managed to deal with last night. She wasn't sure about Kedrick's sleeping, but she was familiar with Arielle's sleeping habits when she was worried, meaning most likely her friend had barely slept at all. Soon chica, soon, Maria thought, her eyes glancing around at what was in the store.
This place is not that bad looking, Maria thought, still looking around until her eyes landed on the older man and his young trainee. The younger man seemed fairly nervous for being first thing in the morning, but then again, she couldn't blame him completely. She didn't have anything to say when questions were asked since Dimitri seemed to be handling it well, as well as the fact that he knew Kedrick's number by heart.
She looked at him as he called her name and told her to look out for something that the two of them could snack on. She was about to ask him how in the world they were going to be able to purchase it when he pulled out three dollars and handed her the money. She nodded and watched him follow after the young man, part of her not wanting to leave him. I guess all that paranoia's still in my system, Maria thought with a silent chuckle before going to the snacks to see what she and Dimitri could agree on. "Thank goodness these kinds of places are cheap in their prices," Maria muttered to herself happily.
Maria couldn't have been more right about Arielle's sleeping. The poor girl, after saying goodnight to Kedrick, had barely been able to sleep peacefully until about two hours past midnight. She had been calm enough to try and keep Kedrick out of control, but the more they waited for their friends to return, the more anxious and worried she became.
What made things worse were the problematic dreams she had because of her worries and fears. In the end, she decided to give up on sleeping and laid awake in her sleeping bag, trying to calm her thoughts down so that she could finally rest.
She didn't know when she went back asleep, but she was awoken by a buzzing noise. Thinking that it was Maria, she hurriedly opened her eyes and looked at the message, only to frown gently that it hadn't been her, but instead it was an unknown number. Arielle looked at it curiously, wondering if someone had gotten the number. She opened the message and read it, her back running cold in fear. Before she had time to analyze the message, she could hear Kedrick shaking on the outside of her tent and telling her to wake up and that he knew where they were.
"I-I'm coming!" Arielle answered, getting out of her sleeping back and fixed her hair quickly before coming out, putting the phone in her pocket. She would look at that message another time. Or just leave it be, she thought, her mind already dreading what the message could mean.
Once she was out, she looked at Kedrick who looked so excited now and smiled at him, going over to kiss his cheek. "And good morning to you too, Kedrick," Arielle said with a gentle smile. "So, where are they? How did you find out?"
(Wooo~ Next stage for Arielle =w=. Finally thought I give a bit of a hint of my plan~)
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