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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.


CHAPTER 2

DPOV

I stayed in the waiting room, pacing the floor, until they came back with Rose. I waited with her on the results of the tests they'd done. Rose was huddled in the corner of the waiting room, staring out in front of her. I tried to talk to her, but she didn't react.

Hours later, the doctors came back with the results. They asked to speak to me in privately. They told me she hadn't been raped, but that they'd found a drug called GHB in her system. Apparently, Rose had also been drinking, which I'd already figured.

"She's lucky you walked into that room at the right moment," the doctor said, glancing at Rose. "Is she sure she doesn't want to file a police report?"

"I'm afraid not. I tried talking to her, but she gets hysterical when I mention the police. She doesn't want anyone to know."

"We're obligated to keep the test results for six months. So if she changes her mind about reporting to the police..."

"I don't think she will," I said, glancing at Rose.

"Well, there's not much we can do, then," he said sighing. "It would be good for her if she talked to a counselor, though."

"I'll tell her," I said.

The doctor gave me a small smile and shook my hand. "Well, good luck and get home safely."

"Thank you, doctor."

I walked back to Rose and sat down next to her. "Hey," I said softly. She didn't react. Clearing my throat, I continued, "So…the test results came in."

Finally, she looked up. "And?" she whispered.

I reached over and squeezed her hand. "You'll be fine. He didn't…"

She looked away and nodded. "I figured. I was still wearing my clothes after all." Wiping at her eyes, she looked back up at me and gave me a watery smile. "It's only thanks to you that I'm… That I haven't been…"

A sob erupted from her throat and I quickly put my arms around her.

"Shh, it's going to be okay," I murmured as she cried into my chest. "You're going to be fine."

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, pulling away from me. "I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine. You've been through a lot," I responded. It was quiet for a while. "You…you could still report him, you know," I said after a few moments. "He drugged you and assaulted you, he tried to rape you… He deserves to be punished."

"I don't want to tell the police," she said. "I don't even know the guy. I've never seen him before." She shook her head and sighed. "I just know his name. Nathan. If that's even his real name."

"But you know what he looks like. And I've seen him too." I'd only seen him briefly, but I guess I could remember him well enough to describe him. "They might not have found much evidence on your clothes, but the police can do a lot with a name and a description."

"No," she said, her voice sharp. "No police. You promised."

"Okay," I said quickly. I realized she wasn't going to change her mind about it. I didn't understand why she didn't want to report him, but it wasn't up to me. I couldn't force her to tell them. "We won't go to the police, then."

"Can you drive me home?" she asked quietly.

"Of course."

It was already morning when we arrived at her house. The drive home had been quiet. Rose had just stared out in front of her, like in the waiting room. I think she was still in shock.

I walked with her to her door. "Are you going to be okay?"

She looked up at me and nodded. "Yes. Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome," I murmured.

I wasn't sure if leaving her all by herself was a good idea, but I was pretty sure she didn't want a stranger to come into her house and stay with her – especially after what happened last night to her.

"Alright then," I said, clearing my throat. "I should probably go now."

She nodded again and I turned away, walking back to my car.

"Wait!" she called out. I stopped and turned back around. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Dimitri," I answered.

She gave me a small smile. "Thank you, Dimitri," she said softly before slipping inside her house.

I stared at the closed door for a few moments. Shaking my head, I turned around and went home. Then I remembered I should probably go to Mama first. Viktoria was probably worried about Rose and I figured I should go over there and tell her Rose would be fine. At least, I hoped so. She might not have been raped, but last night's events must've been traumatic for her.

"Dimka!" Viktoria exclaimed when I walked into the kitchen fifteen minutes later. "Where is Rose? Is she okay?"

Taking a deep breath, I told her about what happened after Ivan had taken her home. Mama was in the kitchen, too. Apparently, Vika had told her about Rose.

"Oh my God," Vika breathed. "Rose got really lucky, then."

"Yes," I agreed.

"Did you go to the police with her?" Mama asked me, a concerned look on her face.

"She doesn't want to," I said sighing. "I tried to convince her, but every time I brought it up she started crying and went hysterical. She doesn't want anyone to know. I think she's ashamed of what happened."

"Poor thing," Mama murmured sympathetically. "And you left her all alone in her house?"

"What was I supposed to do?" I said. "She doesn't even know me. She might've been scared of me, too."

"You saved her," Vika said. "Why would she be scared of you?"

"Because I'm a stranger to her," I said. "She doesn't know me."

It was quiet for a few moments.

I sighed. "Vika, you said she goes to your school, right?" She nodded. "Will you keep an eye on her, then? And maybe try to talk to her? Ask her how she is doing."

"I'll try," she said hesitantly. "But I don't know if I can. She always hangs out with the popular kids and I… Well, I don't belong in that world. So I'm not sure if I can get her alone…"

"Just try, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay. I will."

"And please don't tell anyone about what happened."

"I won't. I promise," Vika said. "But…don't you think someone saw?"

I scoffed. "I don't think so. Everyone was busy getting drunk."

Mama turned to look at Viktoria. "You aren't going out again," she said firmly. "No more parties."

Vika looked outraged. "Mama!"

"What happened to that Rose girl could have easily happened to you, too!" Mama said. "I mean it, Viktoria. No more parties until that man is caught! I don't want you to go out when it's not safe."

Viktoria scowled. "Ugh, Mama! That's just stupid. That guy has probably left by now and if he's smart, he won't be coming back. He probably doesn't even live in the neighborhood."

"That doesn't matter!" Mama said firmly. "No more parties. End of discussion."

"That's so unfair!"

And with that, she stomped out of the kitchen.

"I agree with you, Mama," I said. "It's better if she stays away from those parties until…it's safe."

She sighed. "Yes. But will it ever be safe? This man wo attacked Rose might be gone, but there are probably tons of other men who have the same intentions…"

"I know," I muttered. Sighing, I glanced at my watch. I was exhausted after being up all night, but, unfortunately, I had work to do and couldn't crawl into my bed yet. "I'm late for work. I should go."

She nodded. "Alright. Have a nice day, Dimka."

I hugged her goodbye and then left for work, my mind still on Rose.

RPOV

After Dimitri had dropped me off, I spent the rest of the day in my bed. I was afraid to go to sleep, but after a few hours, I couldn't fight it off anymore. I woke a few hours later, screaming, thinking Nathan was here again, touching me. But it had only been a dream.

It wasn't just a dream, I told myself, tears stinging my eyes. It actually happened.

And whenever I closed my eyes, I was reliving it. The doctor had told me I could experience some memory loss, but so far I could remember everything. Some things were vague, but I remembered how I'd been feeling dizzy and lightheaded. How Nathan had dragged me up to that bedroom and pushed me down on the bed, how I'd tried to fight him off but I hadn't been able to move a muscle… How darkness had started to come over me.

But I'd forced myself to open my eyes and then I'd felt how Dimitri had pulled Nathan off of me. I realized how lucky I'd been. I didn't even want to think about what would have happened if Dimitri hadn't shown up.

That evening, I got a call from Lissa.

"Why did you bail on me last night?" she screeched into the phone. "You just disappeared!"

Wow, I'm not even getting a hello…

"I'm sorry, Liss," I said, my voice a little hoarse. Clearing my throat, I continued, "I…was tired and couldn't find you so I just went home."

"So you just left? What about me? I was all alone," she complained.

I doubted she'd been alone. "I thought Christian was with you," I said. "He was there, too, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, but I came with you. And then you just left."

Right. If only she knew…

"I told you, I couldn't find you," I lied. "I'm sorry."

She huffed.

"I don't really see what the problem is," I said, angry and hurt. "You knew I didn't want to go to that stupid party, but I came along anyway. For you. But you went dancing and that is fine – honestly, I don't mind. And hey, you didn't try to find me either. If you were truly all alone, like you're saying, you would have tried to find me. You could've texted or called. But you didn't."

"But Rose-"

"And if it really bothered you, then you wouldn't have waited this long to call me," I cut her off. "I don't feel like talking right now so I'll just see you Monday at school, okay?"

Before she could utter another word, I disconnected. Lissa was my best friend and I loved her, but sometimes she could be really selfish.

I didn't hear from her for the rest of the weekend, but when I arrived at school Monday morning, she came running towards me and flung her arms around me.

"Oh my God, Rose," she said. "I'm so sorry! I totally forgot… God, I'm so stupid."

I frowned. "Forgot what?"

"That last Friday night…" She looked uncomfortable. "Mason has been dead for a year now," she finished in whisper. "Of course you didn't want to go to that party. Because of him. I'm so sorry, Rose."

I glanced away. "It's fine," I murmured. "Don't worry about it."

I wasn't going to tell her that Mason wasn't the reason I didn't want to go to the party. I just hadn't felt like going to the party. But if I had to be completely honest, Mason might have been a part of the reason. We'd met in high school and he'd been my best friend ever since. That is, until he died. And even though people told me it hadn't been my fault, I still felt like it was. I felt like I could've prevented it from happening.

We'd gone to a party together and we'd gotten pretty drunk that night. We'd danced and everything had been fine. Right up until the moment he kissed me. I'd pushed him away, shocked, and we'd gotten into a fight. Mason had driven off, furious and drunk.

And he'd crashed into another car. He died before the paramedics arrived. Later, Eddie told me that Mason had always had feelings for me but that he was too scared to tell me.

And ever since that night, I'd blamed myself. If I hadn't gotten mad, if I had stopped him from driving away drunk…he would still be alive. After that night, I'd also vowed to never drink again. But, obviously, I'd failed at that. And look where it got me... Karma is a bitch.

"Rose, are you okay?" Lissa asked, looking worried.

"Um, yeah," I said, looking up at her. I forced a smile. "I'm fine. Let's go to class."

We walked together into the building in silence. When we went to our lockers after first period, Adrian, another friend of ours, joined us.

"Hey Rose! What's up?" he said, slinging his arm around my shoulder. I flinched a little and he frowned. "What's wrong? Why are you looking like that? Did someone die or what?"

Lissa shot him a glare. "Adrian!"

Realization dawned on his face. "Oh." He removed his arm from my shoulders and looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, Rose. I guess I forgot…"

"It's fine. I'm fine," I said curtly, moving away from him. "Don't worry."

I noticed Eddie standing at his locker. He looked sad. He'd been sad for a year now.

"I'll see you after class," I muttered to Lissa and Adrian.

I walked over to Eddie and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey," I said, offering him a smile. Eddie had been Mason's best friend since childhood. He'd taken Mason's death pretty hard and I knew he felt guilty too. He'd also been at that party, he'd seen Mason and me fight and he'd let Mason drive away. I didn't blame him, though. "How are you holding up?"

Eddie looked up and gave me a small smile. "I'm holding up okay, I guess. You?"

"Same," I said with a shrug.

Eddie and I had never really been friends. That changed, though, when Mason died. Lissa and the rest of the gang had never been friends with Mason so it was not like I could talk to them about it. So I'd turned to Eddie, knowing that he was having a hard time as well. It probably was even harder for him because Mason had been his only true friend.

I'd invited him a couple of times to hang out with me and my friends, but he said he didn't feel comfortable hanging out with my group of friends. They were too different from him, he'd said.

Eddie and I walked in a comfortable silence to class. Suddenly, Eddie stopped walking to wave at someone. I looked up and turned around to see who he was waving at. My eyes widened in shock when I saw it was Viktoria Belikova. When her gaze turned to me, I quickly looked away, uncomfortable.

"You're friends with Viktoria?" I asked as we rounded a corner.

Eddie shrugged. "Yeah. We hang out sometimes."

"Oh."

I hoped she wouldn't tell Eddie what had happened last Friday night. He would be so angry if he found out. Ever since Mason had died, he'd become very protective of me. If he heard that I'd been assaulted, he would go mad. And then he'd blame himself for not being there to protect me that night. I couldn't do that to him. He was better off not knowing.

The rest of the day, I focused extra hard on my classes so I wouldn't have to think about what had happened on Friday night. It was all still fresh in my memory and sometimes I wished I couldn't remember any of it.

"Hey."

Startled, I looked up and was surprised to see Viktoria walking next to me. Classes were over and the hallways were crowded with students. She glanced around to see if anyone was in earshot before asking, "I was wondering if we could talk for a bit?"

I already knew what this was about and I'd figured this would happen, but that didn't mean I was looking forward to it. "Umm, sure. Let's go somewhere private."

We walked around the halls until we found an empty bathroom. I followed Viktoria inside and closed the door behind me. It was quiet for several minutes as we looked at each other.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about this with me," Viktoria started hesitantly, "but I just want to make sure you're okay." More silence. "So are you…okay?"

"Yes," I replied at last, my voice barely a whisper. Clearing my throat, I added in a louder voice, "But I wouldn't be if your brother hadn't been there. And you too, I guess. You also helped me. So thank you for that."

Viktoria nodded. "Yeah, my brother's worried about you. He asked me to check on you, you know. He would've done it himself, but he thought that might be a bad idea since you don't really know him."

I gave her a small smile. "I appreciate that, but I'm fine." I think, I added silently. I hope. "But please thank him for me." I cleared my throat again, feeling uncomfortable again. "Will you…will you tell anyone?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh no. Of course not." She smiled at me reassuringly. "Don't worry about that. I won't tell anyone and my brother won't either."

I smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she answered. Glancing around the bathroom, she said, "I should probably go. You probably want to get home, too." She started for the door. Before opening it, she looked at me. "If you ever want to talk, you can always come to me."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you," I said.

She smiled and then walked out. I stayed behind for a minute, taking a few deep breaths to calm down, and then left the bathroom.

The school grounds were deserted by now and it was eerily quiet. I felt a little uneasy and quickened my pace. I'd just walked through the gate when I heard a voice call my name. It came from across the street. I looked up and saw Jesse and Ralf leaning against a wall. There was another guy with them, but I couldn't see his face; his hoodie was covering it.

"Hey Rose!" Jesse called again. They started walking over to us and the strange guy followed after them. "How come you're still here? You want to hang with us for a while?"

Jesse and Ralf were in my year and they were both idiots. I didn't like them and tried to stay away from them as much as possible, seeing as they liked to gossip like fishwives. If anyone would be spreading rumors around school, it would be them.

"No thanks, I have to go home," I said politely.

Jesse laughed. "What? Do you have a curfew now?"

"Come meet our friend," Ralf said.

I glanced at the stranger again. He stood behind his two buddies, but when he saw me looking at him, he stepped forward and pulled his hoodie down so I could see his face clearly. I gasped and stepped back immediately, almost stumbling over my own feet.

It was Nathan.


I'm sorry I made Lissa a little bitchy in this story, but I just don't like her :P I know Rose is supposed to be strong and a total badass, but she's just been assaulted so it's normal she's a little fragile right now. But don't worry, she'll be back to her strong self! ;)

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. I'll try to update again as soon as possible. Have a nice day/evening! :)