"Rose."
I stretched and opened my eyes, seeing Dimitri looking at me. His intense, dark brown eyes were full of worry. I sat up.
"What's wrong?"
"Strigoi. They're here. We have to leave." Dimitri replied, his guardian calmness taking over.
"What about Lissa? We can't leave her!" I exclaimed. He was insane for thinking that I would leave her. I've always learned that they come first.
"We have to leave now. Lissa will be safe. I promise, but we need to leave." His calm now becoming desperate.
"Are you sure? Because recently you've been forgetting that they come first."
"Roza, why are you always so hard on me? We need to leave. I will pick you up and drag you out if I have to." Dimitri replied. I never could resist that nickname.
"Fine….I'll go…" I grumbled, glaring at him. I stood up and saw that he had put every piece of furniture in the room up against the door. I realized that we had no choice to jump out the window. Great. Whoopee. Dimitri opened the window and jumped, leaving me in the room alone. Suddenly, something slammed into the door behind me. Not hard enough to break through the furniture, but it splintered the door. I could see it clearly now. The Strigoi. She had blonde hair that went past her shoulders, and green eyes, ringed with red. I froze.
"Rose! Jump!" Dimitri yelled from the ground below. I couldn't jump. He had lied to me. My best friend wasn't safe. She was a Strigoi. Despite my conflicting emotions, I jumped, just in time to see Lissa toss the dresser away from the door, and lunge at me.
I landed harder than I thought I would, and pain shot up my left leg. "Damn it!" I grimaced, taking off after Dimitri, who was running full speed towards the center of town. Thank God it was daytime. Lissa, or any Strigoi for that matter, couldn't follow us. We still had to leave, though.
We ran in between houses, cutting across yards and driveways, until I called for a break. We stopped at the nearest gas station and sat, panting, behind the building. "Rose, are you okay?" Dimitri gasped, looking over at me.
"God dammit, Dimitri! Of course I'm not okay! You lied to me and my best friend turned Strigoi! On top of that, my foot feels like it's broken, because you blocked all of our other escape routes!" I spat at him. I saw his defenses go down a little and his face turn red. Surprised that I could make him cower just a little, I continued. "Just because you love me doesn't mean you give Moroi up to protect me." He slumped in defeat.
"Roza, I tried. She was already Strigoi when I found out! The only thing I could do was protect you! If I had told you the truth, you would have stayed!" Dimitri pleaded with me. I scowled at him. Instead of yelling some more, I leaned in. Our lips met, and we both relaxed into each other. I pulled away.
"How's that for an answer?" I asked, smiling sweetly at him.
"Not what I was expecting, but it will do." Dimitri replied, taking my hand and walking me towards the front of the building.
"What can I say? I'm full of surprises." Dimitri stopped and knelt at my feet on the cement, taking a small velvet box out from his pocket.
"And so am I." He said, opening the box, which held a glittering ring. "Rosemarie Hathaway, will you marry me?"