3

"What?" I couldn't help my mouth falling open.

"Ibrahim Mazur, your father."

I couldn't believe it. My mother suddenly came back into my life despite not having been there for me for seventeen years and then decided to add another parent to my life. I had spent seventeen years with no parents and now suddenly had two. One I barely knew and only occasionally liked and now one who appeared to be stark raving mad. I studied Abe's outfit and would have, in any other situation, had to refrain from laughing. He wore a bright yellow suit with a dark purple shirt. He also wore a cravat in some awful golden colour that clashed with both the suit and the shirt, but that matched the tacky gold earring that he wore. Sadly though, I couldn't deny that he was my father, he had the same tanned skin as me; it was about as tan a complexion as any Moroi ever had. He also had some kind of ridiculous goatee thing growing on his chin that looked so stupid that, again, under normal conditions I would have found hilarious.

"Uh, listen, old man, I have survived fine without a father for eighteen years, what makes you think that I need one now?"

"Ah, Rosemarie, I couldn't exactly miss your graduation, could I?"

"Why not? You missed ever other significant event in my life."

"That is not Abe's fault, Rosemarie. We agreed when you were born that it would be better if he wasn't involved," my mother said, clearing keen to defend the guy.

"So why the sudden change of heart, old man?" I demanded.

"I'm looking for a new guardian and what better way to pick someone than to see the trials first hand, instead of reading them off some sheet." Abe smiled creepily. "And when I heard that my daughter would be here, well that just made it so much better."

I definitely did not like this guy.

"Well, if you're thinking about some heroic bonding thing where I become my father's guardian, think again. I'm already taken."

"Actually, I wasn't, but great idea. I might have to put in a request." I wasn't entirely sure if the guy was kidding but I really didn't want to find out.

"Don't. Also, most dads don't try to make money out of their kid before they've even met them!"

"Abe?" My mother was even shocked at the news of that. "That was you?"

"Indeed it was," he replied, not even ashamed of himself. "I made a fair bit of money on you, Rose."

"Oh my God." I shook my head in disgust. Had my mother really been in a relationship with this guy, was he actually my father? Ugh.

I couldn't take any more of the guy and walked away.

I found Lissa and pulled her away from some other seniors who had graduated with us earlier that day.

"You'll never guess what?" I said glumly.

"What?"

"My father is here. The creepy old guy is apparently my dad. He's on the lookout for a new guardian and thought he would check out the trials."

"Really? But Rose that's great, now you know who your father is."

"Liss, I was never really that bothered. I have all the family I need in you and Dimitri, and I guess my mom now that she's taking somewhat of an interest in my life."

"Don't be like that, Rose." Lissa scolded me. "You should be happy that you have both of your parents here to see you graduate."

"Sorry." I guess I hadn't thought about how much she would miss her family today. She wanted to do everything to make her family proud and graduating would have made them ridiculously happy.

"Hey, at least your father wasn't a creep who made money out of whether or not you would show up to your trial?"

"That was him?"

"Yeah, he doesn't even know me; he had never seen me before he decided that I was unreliable and troublesome."

"To be fair to him, you do have quite a reputation, Rose." Lissa laughed.

"Lissa, you're supposed to be on my side."

"Do there really have to be sides?"

I was about to reply that there were always sides and that she should always be on mine, but Adrian strolled over.

"Little dhampir, enjoying the party?" Adrian grinned; I could tell that he had been drinking but I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, it was Adrian and this was a party.

"Well, I was," I said huffily.

"Don't do it, Rose, don't say until I came over." Adrian laid a hand on his heart melodramatically.

"I was actually going to say until I met my father."

"What?"

"Yeah, turns out that creepy old guy is my father."

"Rose," Lissa scolded me. "You really shouldn't take about your father like that."

"What's wrong with calling her dad creepy and old, I've called mine worse. But Nathan Ivashkov is a di-"

"Adrian!" Lissa exclaimed.

"What it's true, and if you won't let me say it then you clearly haven't met him or else you'd be agreeing with me!"

I laughed at Adrian's apparent adoration of his father whilst Lissa looked on disapprovingly. I was fully aware that she wished her parents were there to see her, but hers had been kind, loving people, not the kind of parents that Adrian and I had.

"Rose!" I heard Eddie call from across the room. He stood a little way from his parents and looked ridiculously excited.

"Eddie, can you believe we did it?" I gasped, wandering through the crowd of people towards him.

"I can believe I did! You not so much!" Eddie grinned.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, why did people doubt me so much?

"Well, you know, you missed so much and then all the problems in the field experience. I'm actually pretty surprised thy even let you take the trial."

"Eddie?"

"I'm kidding, Rose! Everyone knew that you would do best." He grinned and hugged me.

"For a second there, I wasn't sure. We're guardians now though, it's crazy. I don't feel responsible enough."

"That's because you're not. And this time, I'm not kidding." Eddie's grin widened. He lived teasing me, just as Mason had done. Mason.

"I've matured a lot in the last year, Eddie."

"I know, we all have," Eddie replied, all trace of his teasing gone. "He would have given you a run for your money today though."

"Yeah right, he wouldn't have been half as good as me." I joked but then replied seriously. "I guess he would have been right up there with me, wouldn't he? He should have been here today, I miss him."

"Me too, Rose, me too." Eddie placed a hand on my forearm in comfort. He still didn't know that we hadn't really been a couple, he didn't know that I had seen his ghost. I wasn't sure that tonight was the night to tell him those things.

"Hey, Rose. Guess who's here?" Lissa called excitedly.

I turned around, scanning the room for new guests and saw her. That bitch was standing with Dimitri, laughing and smiling.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"