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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.


CHAPTER 4

RPOV

"Ugh! What am I doing wrong?" I exclaimed, frustrated.

"Nothing," Dimitri said simply.

"Then why can't I freaking hit you?"

I'd been taking self-defense lessons with Dimitri for over a week now. After school, I would go over to the gym immediately and then we'd practice for about an hour. The first couple of lessons he'd thought me the basic self-defense moves and how to fight back effectively if someone attacked me.

Of course, it was all theory at first – which was boring because I already knew which were the most effective body parts to hit. I just didn't know yet how to do it without getting beaten up myself in the process. But Dimitri said it was necessary for me to know so I listened carefully. I got more excited when we started practicing the moves he'd showed me. After I'd mastered the moves, he let me practice on him. But the more we practiced, the more frustrated I got. No matter what I tried, I never managed to get a hit on him.

"You aren't doing anything wrong, Rose," Dimitri said, walking over to me where I was leaning against the wall, my arms crossed. "You just started. I've been doing it for years. Trust me, you will learn. You just need to practice more. And you need to focus."

"I am focused," I replied, still sulking. "It's just not fair. You're so tall and I'm… I'm a dwarf compared to you. It's not a fair fight!"

Dimitri laughed and it lifted my heart a little. When we'd started with our lessons, Dimitri never smiled or laughed; he was always so serious during practice, he was like a whole different person. I was always happy when I was able to make him crack a smile.

"I'm glad you find this so amusing, comrade," I said, glaring at him playfully.

He glared back at me when he heard the nickname. I made it up a few days ago and he'd disliked it from the start. I actually though it fit him, with him being from Russia.

"Actually, my height could work in your advantage," Dimitri said, ignoring my comment. "It's easier to punch up than to punch down. And it's harder for a tall person to protect their legs. You could kick them easily. And if you're fighting a tall person in close quarters, they'll be restricted because of their height. "

"Huh," I said. "That makes sense."

Dimitri smiled. "See. Being tall has its disadvantages too."

"So are you going to teach me how to kick someone in the nuts next time?" I asked eagerly.

"I'm pretty sure you already know how to do that," Dimitri said, still smiling.

I shrugged, trying to hide a grin. "Maybe."

Silence fell and then, slowly, his smile disappeared and he asked, "So do you still have…nightmares?"

"Sometimes," I admitted.

Ever since I'd been assaulted, I had nightmares of what happened to me that night, of what might happen to me next time Nathan visited me. But no matter what I dreamed, Nathan was always in it, laughing wickedly, telling me there was no place to hide from him.

I shivered involuntarily. Thinking about the nightmares gave me goose bumps. Sighing, I sat down and leaned back against the wall.

"It's really hard sometimes. I have to lie to my friends and family and pretend like nothing's wrong. But I barely sleep, I barely dare to leave the house and when I do, I'm paranoid that Nathan might be following me."

Dimitri sat down next to me and looked at me sympathetically. "I know it's hard. And I'm really sorry you have to go through this."

I looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "You're the only one I can talk to about this. Well, you and Viktoria…"

I'd been hanging out with her at school a couple of times this past week, much to Lissa's outrage. She couldn't understand why I'd want to be friends with another girl while I had her to hang out with. I didn't get why she was so upset about it. I mean, she had Christian after all and she was constantly hanging around him. It was not like I was leaving her on her own.

"I'm always here for you if you need me," Dimitri said softly. He reached for my hand and squeezed it gently. "You can count on me."

"Thank you," I murmured. "I really appreciate all you've done for me. I owe you."

"Don't worry about it," he answered. "Just promise me you'll call me immediately if Nathan shows up again."

"I will," I promised.

It was quiet for a moment and then Dimitri asked quietly, "Can I ask you something?"

I looked at him and nodded.

"Why'd you drink so much that night?"

His question caught me off guard. "Who says I don't always drink that much?" I retorted at last. "And how do you know how much I'd been drinking?"

"I don't know. You don't seem like the type," he said with a shrug. "When I talked to the doctor, he told me you had drunk a lot of alcohol… Why?"

"I actually am the type to drink much. Well, I was," I admitted. Clearing my throat, I said, "I used to drink a lot at parties. All my friends did. But, um, last year…something happened."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Dimitri said gently when he saw the hesitation in my eyes.

"No, I want to," I said quickly. "I trust you."

It may be strange because I'd only known Dimitri less than two weeks, but I did trust him. I trusted him with my life. And he'd promised he would always be there for me. I knew I could tell him.

Taking a deep breath, I started, "Last year, my best friend Mason and I went to this party and we got pretty drunk. One moment, we were dancing and the next…" I swallowed heavily. "He kissed me. Apparently, he had feelings for me for a long time. I hadn't known. Anyway, I didn't feel the same way about him so I pushed him away and we started arguing. In the end, he ran off and jumped into his car. I tried to stop him, but he just drove off." Tears stung in my eyes as I thought back to the memory. "And the next morning, I got a call from Eddie that Mason died in a car accident."

"Oh Rose, I'm sorry," Dimitri said quietly, looking at me with sympathy.

"I feel like it's my fault it happened, you know," I said, trying not to cry. "He was so drunk when he got inside that car." My voice wavered and I furiously wiped at my eyes, willing myself not to cry. "I should have never let him leave."

"Rose, you can't blame yourself for what happened to your friend," Dimitri said, his voice firm but gentle at the same time. "It's not your fault. You tried to stop him-"

"I didn't try hard enough because I was mad at him," I cried. "If I'd loved him back, he would still be here."

Dimitri sighed and, much to my surprise, pulled me into a hug. I buried my face in his chest and cried as he wrapped his arms around me tightly, murmuring soothing words into my ear.

"I swore I would never drink again after that night. But then last week… Mason's been dead for a year now and I… I just wanted to forget for a while." Taking a deep breath, I pulled away slightly and looked at him. "I should've never gotten drunk. I even let Nathan get me my drink! How stupid could I be?" I shook my head in disbelief. I really had been stupid. "It's all my fault it happened."

"Rose, you have to stop blaming yourself," Dimitri said. "Fine, it wasn't smart to let him fetch you your drink, but even if you'd gone yourself, he would've found other ways to…" He fell silent and looked away.

"He would've find other ways to get me to that bedroom," I finished for him, my face darkening.

Dimitri sighed. "Please don't beat yourself up about it. He wasn't able to get what he wanted and he never will," he said firmly.

"Yeah, because if he ever tries something again, I'll be able to kick his ass," I said, trying to lighten the mood in the room.

Dimitri smiled warmly. "Yes. And I'll be there, too, to kick his ass if you want me to," he added jokingly.

I smiled. "I'm going to hold you to that one, comrade."

Dimitri chuckled. He got up and held out his hand for me. I took it and he helped me up. He walked me back to the women's locker room and then said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Rose."

"See ya," I said, giving him a smile. "And thanks…for everything."

He smiled back. "No problem."

I watched him walk away and then walked into the changing room. When I walked back out twenty minutes later, I saw Dimitri talking to Tasha in the lobby. Tasha was smiling brightly at him and batting her eyelashes. I wondered if she had a crush on him. The way she always acted around him made me think she liked him more than a friend or a boss. Could Dimitri feel the same way about her?

When I walked past them, Dimitri looked up from his conversation with Tasha and smiled. So many smiles I'm getting from him today, I thought happily.

"Bye Rose. Get home safe."

I smiled at him. "Will do."

Tasha watched me with a small frown on her face, glancing back to Dimitri before turning her gaze back on me. I offered her a smile before hurrying out of the door.

"Rose, where have you been?" Startled, I looked up as I let the door fall closed behind me. Dad stood in the hallway, frowning. "School let out hours ago."

"I, um… I was at Lissa's," I lied quickly.

If he knew I was taking a self-defense class, he'd want to know why and I couldn't tell him what had happened to me. He would freak out and, honestly, I was too ashamed to tell him and my mom. I didn't want them to ever find out.

"Oh okay," he said, his frown turning into a smile. "How's she doing? We haven't seen her in a while here."

"Um, she's fine," I said, avoiding his gaze. "She's been hanging out with Christian a lot lately."

"You mean Christian Ozera? The kid next door?" he asked as he followed me into the kitchen. "Are they an item?"

I shrugged. "Yeah."

He stroked his goatee. "Hmm. I see," he said, his dark eyes staring into mine.

People said I looked a lot like him, which I supposed was true. I had the same dark hair. The only difference was that mine was long and wavy. I'd inherited his dark eyes too. He was tall, though, and I was short like my mom. It was about the only thing I'd inherited from her – that and my stubbornness.

"What?" I asked, a little uncomfortable.

"Now I know why you've been hanging around here so much these past few weeks. And from the look on your face, I can see you're not too happy that she's dating the Ozera boy. Because now she has to divide her attention and you can't spend all your time with her anymore."

"Wait, you think I'm jealous?" I said, outraged.

He smirked. "Only a little."

"I don't care if she's with Christian. I have other friends, too," I defended. "I don't need to hang out with her all the time."

He shrugged. "Alright then. Don't get so worked up, kid," he said in a teasing voice. Clearing his throat, he said, "Anyway, I have to leave for work." He walked over to me and kissed the top of my head. "See you tomorrow, Rose."

"Bye," I mumbled. Sighing, I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and made my way to my room to get some homework done.

DPOV

"So, what's going on with that girl?"

I'd been staring after Rose and hadn't heard what Tasha had said. "I'm sorry, what?" I said, turning my gaze back to her.

"That girl," Tasha said, pointing at Rose's retreating form. "What's up with her? She's been here every day since she came in here to sign up for the self-defense class. Only, she isn't going to the class."

"Yeah, I'm teaching her how to defend herself," I said distractedly. "I'm giving her private lessons."

"Why?" she asked. "I mean, I remember that she asked for private lessons, but I thought you were going to put her in the class anyway. Because normally you don't give private lessons."

"No, she wants private lessons so I'm giving her private lessons," I said.

"Do you know her?" Tasha asked curiously. "I mean, did you know her before she came in last week? It seemed like you two knew each other. I thought it was odd when she just ran off like that when she first saw you."

"Yeah, I already knew her before she came in," I answered, wondering why she was asking all these questions.

"Oh," was Tasha's response.

Before she could ask me how I knew Rose, I said, "I still have to do some paperwork. If you need me, you know where to find me."

I walked back to my office and closed the door behind me, relieved to be alone for a while. Tasha was a nice person, but she could really drive me crazy sometimes with all her questions.

As I sat behind my desk, I tried to do the paperwork I'd used as an excuse to get away from Tasha, but all I could think about was my earlier conversation with Rose. I felt really bad for her. She'd been through a lot this past year, with her friend's death and then getting drugged and assaulted. It worried me that the guy who tried to rape her was still in town. What worried me even more was that he contacted her and threatened her and that he might show up again.

I wished I could convince Rose to go to the police, but she was so stubborn. I'd never met anyone before as stubborn as she was. I wondered what had got her so scared that she was convinced she couldn't tell the police. I knew she felt ashamed of what had happened, even though I'd told her a hundred times she had no reason to feel that way, that the blame wasn't on her.

I hoped she would at least call me if Nathan ever tried to contact her again. I realized she was the kind of girl that liked to handle her problems all by herself – she was strong and I admired that – but sometimes it was better to confide in someone, like one of her friends.

But instead, she'd chosen me. Don't get me wrong, I was glad that she trusted me, but I thought it was a little strange that she didn't seem to want to tell her closest friends about what had happened to her. I thought they might be able to help her better than I could. Still, I'd help her as best as I could and I'd be there for her whenever she needed me.

Staring at my phone, I hesitated but then reached for it and sent a text to Rose. Did you get home safely?

I drummed my fingers against my desk as I waited impatiently for her reply. After five long, agonizing minutes I got a reply.

Yes. Don't worry, comrade. If something happens, you're the first to know. ;)

I sighed in relief. I didn't know why I was so worried about Rose. I mean, I'd had more women come here for a self-defense class after they'd been assaulted. Rose was definitely not the first, but why did I care so much when it came to her?

It's probably because I saw it happen to her, I thought. And now I spend an hour a day with her, trying to help her out and be there for her.

She was no longer a stranger to me; she was a friend to me – sort of. It was normal that I cared about what happened to her. It was normal that I wanted her to be safe.

Right?


I hope you liked this chapter. I'll try to update the next one by the end of the week. ;)

Have a nice day/evening! :)