Catch Me If You Can (Naughty Cinderella - Vampire)

34 - Finale Part 2

I realized that my finale for this book was inconclusive. There was no love, no tears, no happiness, sadness... Hopefully, this will wrap things up!

**

"I'm sorry, what did you just say to me?" I asked Dmitri, stunned.

"You're a vampire," he said, letting his arms down, still grinning.

My head was spinning. Vampire? No, it can't be! That's not true!

I'm a human!

A troubled expression crossed Dmitri's face as he studied me with his brows furrowed.

"Scarlet..." He started, walking closer to me.

I took a step back, not wanting him anywhere near me.

Hurt, he stopped moving closer to me and looked down, long lashes casting a shadow across his angled cheekbones. We stood there in silence, me fuming while he stood silently a few feet in front of me.

"You look... breath taking in that dress," he finally said, looking up and shoving his hands inside his pockets. He looked vulnerble.

I looked at the dress. I'd actually forgotten that I was wearing it in all the confusion.

I formed a thin line with my lips, not sure how to respond. "Did you buy it?" I asked quietly. He nodded. "Thank you," I said, feeling myself blush.

He started to come towards me but I held a hand out, again. I wasn't going to let him get close to me with compliments.

"How did you find out about it?" I asked, curious.

His brows furrowed and then he smiled. "Veronica showed me."

Something was nagging at the back of my head but I couldn't remember what it was.

"What do you mean I'm a vampire?" I asked again, my voice as low as a whisper. I wasn't sure he could hear me but of course with his vampire hearing he did.

"You got shot," He said.

"When?" I asked, shocked.

Dmitri didn't answer. He quickly came to me and when I tried to move away he grabbed my hands with force and pulled me towards him.

"Close your eyes," he whispered.

I obeyed.

Slowly, I could feel Dmitri entering my mind.

I shut my eyes tight when all of a sudden an explosion of images entered my mind.

I got it. It was one of his memories. It played in my head.

Veronica, on the roof, with a gun pointed at our hearts. At my heart. Her rant that she killed Chelsea.

She talked about how she hurt her brother just because he continued to fall in love with humans. My being here only made her angrier.

And then my body hitting the roof's floor and the bullet pierced my chest, and a loud yell from Dmitri as Veronica leapt off the roof and onto another building. Ash chased her and that was that.

Dmitri let go of my hands and the connection was broken. I managed to gasp as I opened my eyes.

"No.. no, no.... I remember it now," I said, remembering the pain of getting shot. Of being betrayed. My own memories now rushed back.

"It was either let you die or turn you into.. one of us," Dmitri said, eyes wide, awaiting acceptance from me. He looked so vulnerable, again. "You were going to die, this is hard for both of us, you know," his voice shaking as he said this.

My thoughts were reeling. "The last time we had a real conversation... you said you wanted nothing to do with me anymore."

Dmitri stared at me cooly, sizing me up. "When I said that, I hadn't known that in a couple of days you'd be dying in front of my own eyes, because of me."

"You should have let me die," I said, tears suddenly streaming down my face. I turned away in disgust as his face contorted in anger.

"Scarlet!" He yelled, grabbing my shoulders, "Why the hell would you say that?"

Choking on my tears, I pushed him away and stumbled. He attempted to catch me but I pushed his arms away.

"When I was human, you wouldn't let me visit my family at all. Now you've turned me into one of you and I can't see them ever!" I said, struggling to pronounce each word as I cried.

Dmitri didn't respond. He looked down and about the room.

After I'd dealt with my cries, I now had a few remaining tears drying on my face.

He finally sighed. "Every vampire one of us in this world, including Austin, wanted you to live. We are your family. And that's what mattered at the moment."

His stern and conclusive voice frightened me.

"You had no right!" I yelled at him, shrill.

"Scarlet, when you see someone you are close to dying, you don't think about what they want. If they mean anything to you, if they loved life, you do anything to cherish their life and bring them back. That was my only goal. You deserve to live after everything you've been through," Dmitri said.

"You expect me to be happy without my mother and my father?" I asked, shocked.

"I do it pretty well..." Dmitri said.

"What do you mean?"

"My father left me when my mom had me. She realized Veronica and I were twins and couldn't take it."

Shocked, I found myself at a loss for words. "I'm so sorry, Dmitri. How come you never told me this before?" I asked.

"You never asked me about him" Dmitri said.

I sighed. "But just because you don't have a father doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to see mine," I say, crossing my arms.

"No, it doesn't. Which is why I'm letting you go," He said, and began to take steps away from me.

"Go where..." I asked, confused.

"You can go back to your family."

I gasped. Was he serious!? "You're joking, right! You let me go after you've turned me into a vampire? What the hell!"

"Would you rather stay with us?" Dmitri asked, raising a dark eyebrow.

I turned away, not being able to look at him straight. So much was going on... It was almost too much to handle.

"Scarlet?"

I ignored him. My mind was reeling. I loved my family, but I hadn't seen them in forever. I created a new family in this vampire world, with all my new vampire friends. I now had two families, and I wanted to keep them both. I didn't want to get rid of them. But... I love my parents. Now I needed to know if there was any love for me in the vampire world.

"Scarlet, whats on your mind? Talk to me!" Dmitri said, worry lacing his voice. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked down at me. I looked up. What I saw amazed me. 

A man with dark hair and pale skin was staring down at me. His eyes shone with a light brighter than anything else and instead of their usual, sinister brown, they were hazel. The crease between his two eyebrows meant that he was trying to understand the situation presented to him. The openness that was in his body posture was not there when I first met him. He was different. He was a changed person. He was caring. He was...

"I love you, Dmitri," I said, words slowly tumbling out of my mouth as I drew his face closer to mine. 

His eyebrows furrowed once again, then unfurrowed. His eyes brightened with amazement and he smiled. "I love you too, Scarlet."

Grinning, I closed off the distance between our faces and our lips met. The immediate electric shock that coursed through our lips amazed me and only made me want more. I pulled away after a while, to reassure that what was happening was real. It was.

He was mine.