“Okay,” I say, pulling my phone out of my pocket.
I dial my dad’s number and he answers on the second ring.
“Hey, Katerina,” Dad answers.
“Mum was kidnapped,” I say.
“Yes, I know,” he says. “I’m trying to find her. How do you know?”
“Well, Alik kind of showed up at my school. He told me that Elana and Dimitri broke up, that Elana was kidnapped and Dimitri is working for you. He also told me that Mum left you,” I say. “It didn’t add up to me. I know that Mum would never leave you. Then one of Damon’s bodyguards—.”
“The presidents son?” Dad asks, cutting me off.
“Yeah,” I answer. “Anyway, one of his bodyguards came up to me and told me that his group kidnapped Mum. He said he used to work for you, but that you’re weak now.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “I don’t know his name. But he’s a tall guy. Blonde hair. Brown eyes. He has a perfect American accent and said that you’re the one who taught him how to speak in an American accent.”
“Rafael Ivanov,” Dad says. “He was gone on a mission a few months back and he just disappeared. I thought he was dead.”
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
“Well, first of all, I am going to find your mum. I’m pretty sure she is still in Russia,” Dad says. “Once I find her, I am going to come and take care of Rafael. For now, you and Alik stick together. Stay with that Tristan kid as much as you can. He will take care of you.”
“I know,” I say, smiling. Tristan has taken care of me and protected me a lot since I met him two months ago.
“He loves you,” Dad says. “I can tell that. I also can tell that you love him.”
My face warms.
This is a really embarrassing conversation to have with Tristan sitting right beside me, listening to the whole thing.
“Yeah, Dad. I do,” I say, not denying it.
“Don’t tell him I said so, but I like him,” Dad says. “I plan on giving him a hard time. You are my only daughter, after all.”
“Sure,” I say. “I won’t say a word.”
“Good,” he says. “I’m going to get off here and get back to work finding your mum. I’ll contact you as soon as I find her.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Love you, Katerina.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
The phone call comes to an end, so I stuff my phone back into my pocket and look at Tristan.
“At least we have his real name now,” Tristan says. “I’m going to see what I can find out about Rafael Ivanov.”
“Just be careful,” I say. “I don’t want anything to happen to my mum before my dad can get to her.”
“I always am careful,” he says. “I’m going to be sticking around you more now.”
“Won’t Rafael be suspicious?” I ask.
“I have a reason. Your mom was kidnapped.”
He’s right.
I expect Tristan to start his car and head back to campus, but he doesn’t. He turns to look at me.
“Did you mean what you said?” Tristan asks.
“Which part?”
“That you love me,” he clarifies.
This isn’t awkward at all.
I open my mouth to reply, but words don’t come out. Instead, I nod. Because it’s true. And he should know. Even though it’ll probably make things very awkward for him, since he sees me as just a kid.
“Just, please, don’t let things be weird between us,” I say, once I’m able to use my mouth again. “I know you don’t feel the same.”
“I do, Katerina,” he says. “But we can’t.”
“You do what?” I ask, because I need to know.
Does he feel the same?
“I do love you,” he says.
I smile.
“But we can’t be together.”
I don’t stop smiling. “I know.”
Tristan Thomas loves me.
I don’t care how long I have to wait for him. He will be worth it.
“Why do I feel this way about you?” he asks, as if I could have the answers.
“I have no idea, but I’m glad you do,” I say. “How long, exactly, do I have to wait for us to be together? Are we talking seventeenth birthday? Or eighteenth? Or are you going to wait until graduation? Or until this assignment is over?”
He grins. “You’re serious about waiting for me?”
I nod.
“Even though you know that my longest relationship, which can hardly be called that, only lasted two weeks.”
I nod again. “If we were together for two weeks, it would be the best two weeks of my life.”
Though, I know Tristan and I would last longer than two weeks. If he feels half of what I feel with him, we could be together a lifetime.
I’m not saying that out loud.
“December fifth,” Tristan says.
“December fifth?” I ask.
“Your seventeenth birthday,” he says. “That’s when I’ll reconsider. Seventeen seems better than sixteen. My birthday isn’t until July. Seventeen and twenty one doesn’t seem so far apart, does it?”
I do the math in my head. My birthday is six weeks away.
“Seventeen and twenty one is only four years apart. You’re, like, four and a half years older than me,” I say. “I definitely don’t have a problem with it. Neither does Alik. He thinks it’s silly our age difference is why you won’t date me.”
“There are a lot of reasons why I shouldn’t date you,” Tristan says. “Your age is just a very small part of that.”
“Then why are you going to?” I ask.
“After December fifth,” he reminds me. “And I’m going to because I can’t seem to stay away from you anymore. I don’t know what it is about you.”
“My stunning good looks?” I joke.
“I can’t get over how much you and Alik act alike,” Tristan says, laughing. “I understand you so much more after having just one conversation with him.”
“Alik is awesome.”
“You’re more awesome,” Tristan says.
“So… six weeks,” I say.
“Six weeks and one day,” he clarifies. “If you add today.”
“Todays almost over.” I point to the clock on the screen of his car. It’s says 9:02 p.m. “Are you sure you want to wait that long?”
“No,” he says. “But I need to.”
I nod like I understand, but I don’t.
I hate the idea of waiting.
But I’d wait a lot longer than six weeks to be with him.
I’m not sure how or when it happened, but I’m head over heels in love with Tristan. And I like it. A lot.
NINE
First love.
Rafael has been staying annoyingly close to me whenever I’m around Damon. I think he’s worried that I told Tristan. But Tristan is reacting normally. Well, for the most part. I’ve noticed him tense up, but he won’t do anything to jeopardize me or my mum.
“Do you know a girl named Vanessa?” Alik asks, as he sits down at the table at lunch.
He’s not asking anybody in particular.
“Vanessa Lee?” Savannah asks him.
Alik shrugs. “I don’t know her last name. She’s a senior.”
“She’s the only senior named Vanessa,” Savannah says.
“Tell me about her,” Alik says. “She’s hot.”
I roll my eyes at his hot comment.
“She’s a good girl,” Kaiden says. “Super nice.”
“Vanessa lived the first twelve years of her life in South Korea, where her dad is from,” Savannah says. “They moved here, where her mom is from, then. Her mom is white. Her dad is Korean. They’re really rich. Her dad is the CEO of some big Korean company. She’s smart. Never dated anybody before, or ever been interested from what I’ve seen. She’s really focused on school and trying to get into a good college.”
“You can’t date her,�
�� I tell Alik. “She’s never had a boyfriend. You’re going to break her heart.”
“I like her,” Alik says to me.
“Enough to date her longer than a few days?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know yet.”
“Then don’t date her until you know,” I say.
“Fine. Whatever, Kat. I promise I’ll try not to break her heart on purpose,” he says.
I guess that will have to do for now.
“Katerina, did you talk to Alik about what your dad said on the phone last night?” Tristan asks.
“No,” I answer. “Alik, we need to talk alone. It’s about Mu… ugh… my mum.”
Because Alik isn’t supposed to be my brother here. He’s just supposed to be my friend.
“Okay,” Alik says, getting up from the table.
Tristan gets up too.
“You can finish your food,” Rafael tells Tristan. “I’ll go with them.”
“It’s okay,” Tristan says, his jaw tense. “Because of everything that’s going on with her mom being kidnapped, I’d rather stay with her myself. You stay here with Damon. He’s your first priority anyway.”
“Of course,” Rafael says, clearly not happy about being told to stay here.
“Actually, I’d like to hear this,” Damon says, standing up. “It’s probably important for all my bodyguards to hear it anyway. It’ll mean for protection for Katerina.”
“What’s going on?” Savannah asks.
I look over and see Savannah, Kaiden and Madox all looking curiously at us. I look at Tristan, hoping he will have an explanation for them.
“Katerina’s father is… an important man in Russia,” Tristan explains, without explaining too much.
“Right,” Kaiden says, looking between Tristan, Alik and me. “So why does Tristan know so much?”
“I’m her bodyguard,” Tristan answers. “But you can’t tell anybody. I’m here undercover.”
“I thought you guys were dating,” Madox says, clearly confused.
“They are,” Damon says, frowning.
“No we’re not,” I say.
“Not yet,” Tristan says.
Damon rolls his eyes. “Whatever. They’re basically dating.”
“And what about Alik?” Savannah asks.
“I’m her brother,” Alik answers, putting his arm around me.
I push his arm off. “Nobody else knows and I certainly don’t want people think we’re dating.”
Savannah laughs. “People already think that. I heard about what he did at the soccer field. Now it makes sense.”
I groan.
Seriously, people think bad things about me at this school.
“Did you think I was dating Alik?” I ask.
“I thought maybe he was an ex-boyfriend or something,” she says.
“Come on, Kat,” Alik says. “Let people think what they want. If they talk bad about you, I’ll do good on my threat. Besides, I want to hear about your conversation with Dad.”
“Okay, you’re right,” I say.
We all walk out of the cafeteria. People have always watched Damon, but now I get the feeling he isn’t the only one who is being watched. Apparently people think I’m dating my brother. Of course, they don’t know he’s my brother, but it’s still weird. I make sure and stand with plenty of room between us.
“So, your brother calls you Kat,” Damon says, walking beside me.
“All my brothers call me Kat,” I say. “My brother Eduard started it when we were little, because he couldn’t say Katerina.”
“Should I call you Kat?” he asks.
“Only Alik and Dimitri are allowed to call me that,” I answer.
“And Raslan,” Alik says.
“Who is Raslan?” he asks.
“Kat’s first love,” Alik answers. “He was Eduard’s best friend.”
“First love?” Tristan asks.
“We’re not talking about this right now,” I say, as we step outside of the building.
Actually, I would prefer to never talk about this again.
I haven’t seen Raslan since Eduard’s funeral. That’s when I told him that I never wanted to see him again, and I meant it. Raslan was Eduard’s best friend and seeing him again would bring back too many painful memories. Maybe someday I will get the nerve to see him.
“Raslan,” Tristan says. “Wasn’t he in the accident with…”
I cut him off. “So, we’re here to talk about what Dad said.”
“Yeah. Has he found mum?” Alik asks.
I tell them all about the conversation I had with Dad, leaving out the part of telling him about Rafael. I hate having this conversation with Rafael standing there, but I don’t exactly have a choice.
I just hope Damon is safe having him as a bodyguard. I will feel better about the whole thing once he’s gone. Which will hopefully be soon.
Drive.
“Who is Raslan?” Tristan asks that afternoon when we’re hanging out after school. I’m finishing up some homework.
When you’re in high school, homework stops for nothing—not even terrorism.
“Eduard’s best friend,” I answer, hoping that he doesn’t continue this conversation. It doesn’t hurt as bad as it used to, but I still don’t want to talk about it. It brings up too many memories. Some good, but I can’t help but think about the night Eduard died.
“You were in love with him?”
I put down my pencil and look at him. “Look, Eduard and I were best friends. We always had been. So naturally, Raslan was one of my best friends too. We always hung out. I might have had a crush on him when we were kids, but that’s it. We never dated or anything like that, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Are you still friends?” Tristan asks.
“Why? Are you jealous?”
“No,” he answers. “I’m just curious about him.”
I sigh. “Everybody assumed we would end up together. I had a crush on him since I was ten, but he never noticed me. I was just his best friend’s little sister. After the accident Raslan tried to talk to me, but I refused. He approached me at the funeral and I told him I never wanted to see him again. That’s it.”
“So you haven’t talked to him since your brother’s funeral?” he asks.
“No.”
“You should talk to him.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Can you imagine how he feels? He didn’t just lose Eduard, but he lost you too,” Tristan says. “You two must have been close.”
“We were.”
And I miss him.
“You don’t still have a crush on him though, right?”
I laugh. “No. It was just that. A crush. I think I only liked him because Eduard didn’t want me to.”
“Good,” he says.
“I’ll contact him when I’m ready,” I say. “But I’m not ready yet.”
“Okay.”
“So, have you figured out how to fire Rafael?” I ask.
“Not yet.”
“Is it safe for Damon to be around him?”
“Damon isn’t his target,” Tristan answer. “You are. Actually, Damon seems to be safer than you are right now.”
“Damon says he usually doesn’t have so many bodyguards,” I say.
“Yeah, his dad got him more this year because of you,” Tristan says. “When you first came here, we weren’t sure which side you would be on. I never thought you’d be clueless to it all.”
“Really?”
He nods. “But now that we know you’re safe, we realize that you are the target. And since you and Damon are friends, his dad doesn’t want lessen security just yet.”
“His dad knows we’re friends?”
“Yeah.”
“And he’s okay with it?” I ask.
“I guess,” Tristan answers. “I don’t think he’s thrilled by the idea, but Damon doesn’t make friends easily. He tends to be a loner. I think his dad is just glad he’s made a friend, even if it is the daughter
of a Russian terrorist.”
“Do you think Damon will want to be my friend again? Since I broke his heart.”
“If friendship is all you have to offer, I think Damon will take what he can get,” Tristan says. “I would be the same way. You’re an amazing person.”
“I feel really bad,” I say. “The things the kids are saying about me… maybe they’re right. But I didn’t mean to break his heart.”
“I know you didn’t mean to,” he says. “You really liked him.”
But the problem is, the whole time I was supposed to be getting to know Damon, I was falling in love with Tristan.
“Not enough,” I say. “I wish I would’ve realized my feelings for you sooner.”
“That was probably my fault,” he says. “I pushed you away. Sorry about that.”
“I guess I understand why you did. Americans are weird about age differences, I guess,” I say.
“Are Russians not?”
I shrug. “Maybe. If I was older than you, this wouldn’t work out.”
He laughs. “Isn’t that double standard?”
“Maybe. But guys are more immature than girls,” I say.
“True. You probably wouldn’t have liked me when I was sixteen,” he says. “Before my p… never mind.”
“What were you going to say?” I ask.
“Nothing.” He stands up. “Are you almost done with your homework?”
“I’m done,” I say, closing the book in front of me. “I was going to try and study in math, but I really just don’t want to.”
“You never study,” he says. “I’m surprised you have such good grades.”
I shrug. “Did you get good grades in high school?”
“Yeah,” Tristan answers. “I went to school in Switzerland.”
“Switzerland?” I ask.
“It was a… special school. All my siblings went there.”
“How many siblings do you have?”
He clears his throat. “Two sisters. One older, one younger. Three brothers. Two older, one younger.”
“Wow,” I say. “And one of your older brothers you said died when you were my age, right?”
Tristan abruptly changes the subject. “Do you want to get Russian food tonight? I bet Alik would like to go.”
Fame (New Hope Academy Book 3) Page 7
