Hey guys, I am so sorry about the late update but my momma decided to take me to a surprise dentist appointment yesterday. So, I couldn't get it all finished. But it's finished now. Sorry it's a little short, there wasn't much with Dimitri in this chapter so I had to make up a bunch of stuff. Well, I''ll let you get reading!
Hugs and kisses to everyone who reviewed! I love receiving them, and I'd love to see more of them!
Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Later that day, I sent Rose a message telling her that our next two sessions were to be canceled because of the rapidly approaching plans to leave campus. Classes were about to end anyway I told her; taking a break from practice seemed like a reasonable thing.
It was a lame excuse, I know, but I couldn't be around her in the mental state I was in at the moment. I was avoiding her, and I knew she knew the real reason why I didn't want to see her.
I had completely lost it after I left her standing there in the gym. I burst through the doors, not even noticing the harsh cold air biting at my face. I wanted to hit something. Anything. That would have made me feel a little better. Maybe. I shut my eyes tightly and leaned up against the gym's wall. I couldn't get the feeling of her soft lips against mine out of my head, or the way she pressed herself against me. Or the feeling of her hair, or her scent. B'lyad (fuck!). What was wrong with me? What was it about Rose Hathaway that made it so hard to stay in control around her? I growled and punched the wall besides me. God, I needed to get it together.
I made a bee-line to Guardian Housing. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I needed to get the fuck away from the gym. And Rose. I needed to clear my head. I needed to think. But of course, life wouldn't have it.
"Hey, Dimka! You in a rush? Late for a hot date?" I stopped immediately when I heard her voice. And of course she would make a 'date' joke about it. That just brightened my mood. Not.
"Hey Tasha, I'm actually just going back to my room for a few minutes..."
"Oh good, I wanted to talk to you about something..that is if you aren't in a hurry," she said. She was fiddling with whatever was in her hands and was looking down at her feet. She was nervous. I sighed inwardly. I didn't want to be rude, but I really needed to be alone right now.
"No, I'm not in a hurry. What do you need?"
"Well, I wanted to know if you would be my Guardian?" Wow. I think I just stared at her for a few seconds before her words actually sank in. Did Tasha Ozera just ask me to be her Guardian? Yes, you idiot, now say something before she thinks you've gone absolutely crazy.
"Tasha...I don't know what to say..." My head started to swim with all the possibilities that being her Guardian would bring. She is your oldest friend, you know her better than anyone else- how could you not see this coming? I was stupid enough not to know that this was a great opportunity, but there was a large part of my that screamed no. Becoming her Guardian would mean I would live with her. Away from Rose. What if Tasha wanted to have children? Would I be able to go through with that? While being in love with someone else?
"You don't have to say anything right away, I just wanted you to know that the offer stands." She said, smiling up at me. I was about a foot and a half taller than her and yet I still felt like she was the one looming over me. Of course she would ask me that, why wouldn't she? It's not like I have enough to stress over already. No, kissing the student that I'm in love with wasn't enough, I guess. "Alright, well I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing. Just think about it, okay?" She said, turning around to leave. I raked my hand through my hair, about ready to pull it all out. These women were going to drive me fucking insane.
I sighed and turned around, heading to my room again. Honestly, I didn't know what I was going to do with the Rose issue and now I had to deal with the Tasha issue, too? I was almost to my room when I pulled out my phone and called Alberta. I could barely make sense of what was going on in my head, how could I be alert and patrol campus?
The phone rang twice. "Guardian Petrova."
"Hello Alberta, it's Dimitri. I need a sick day. I'm not fully in it today." I told her. I hated taking sick days. Absolutely despised them. And she knew it.
"Are you sure, Dimitri? This isn't like you. Is everything alright?" Her voice was a little softer than usual and I knew it was because she was genuinely concerned. I don't think I had ever taken a sick day while here at St. Vlad's. This must be a shocker for her. Some one was winning a bet today.
"Yeah. I don't know what's up. I think I just need to rest for a while. I should be better tomorrow."
"Alright, thank you for calling me. We'll have someone cover your shift for you. Do you need someone to cover Rose's training after school?" She asked.
"No, I've got that under control. I will see you tomorrow. Bye, Alberta."
"Bye Dimitri, feel better." Click. Well, that was taken care of. I couldn't believe I had taken a sick day to figure out my women problems. Who does that? You, obviously. I groaned and stepped inside my room. What was I going to do all day? Lay in bed and think? Ugh. Great. Better than I thought.
I threw my duster on the chair across from my bed and looked in the mirror. What am I going to do? I have so many issues right now. I'm in love with my student. I kissed her today. I could get fired if anyone found out. She's under age. Tasha asked me to be her Guardian. Which would mean I'd have to move away from Rose. Which brings me back to the student I'm in love with.
I couldn't let what happened with Rose happen again. That was never supposed to happen. If I didn't address it, it could probably happen again. Not that you would mind. Admit it, you liked it. It was better than you ever could have imagined. Just imagine what it would be like to- I stopped that thought process. I didn't need to go there. I couldn't. If I did, I could never look at Rose the same way again- and I already saw her in a way that was inappropriate for a mentor.
The rest of the day was spent laying on my bed, trying to decide whether or not to take Tasha's offer. I was flipping between the pros and cons of being her Guardian when my phone rang. I sighed at sat up, reaching into my pocket to answer it.
"Belikov," I said into the phone.
"Dimka! Don't sound so sad. I have something to cheer you up." Came across the line. Tasha. I suppressed another sigh. Why couldn't people just leave me alone right now? I had shit to deal with.
"Tasha, hey. What's up?"
"I am inviting you to a Christmas Brunch in the west parlor tomorrow!"
"Oh. I didn't even realize it was Christmas Eve. I would love to come. What time do you want me there?" I asked, I couldn't believe it. I had gone completely insane and forgotten it was the day before Christmas.
"Eleven o'clock is when everyone is arriving. Food is served at eleven thirty."
"Yeah, I'll be there. See you then, Tasha."
"Okay, see you then! Hey, I heard you took a sick day today. Are okay? Must be pretty serious if you called in and asked for the day off. I can't even remember the last time you took a sick day." She mused. I could hear the smile in her voice and I knew she was teasing, but wasn't in the mood for it.
"Yeah, I just wasn't myself today. I'll be better tomorrow. Bye, Tasha."
"Bye, Dimitri," she chirped and hung up. I sighed loudly and fell onto my back.
XxXxXxX
I woke up the next morning and took a shower, getting ready for Tasha's brunch. I took a shower and got dressed, grabbing a dark blue sweater and my regular jeans. I was going to have to do laundry soon. Yay, my favorite activity.
I arrived to brunch ten minutes after eleven, not really worried that I was late. Tasha wouldn't mind. I had grabbed the small box off the counter before I left and now I was trying to find Tasha to give her her present.
I found her in the middle of a group of people that I vaguely remembered meeting. They all nodded their heads at me as I approached, acknowledging my presence.
"Dimka, you made it. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten. You feeling better?" she asked, turning towards me, a bubbly drink in her hand.
"I'm only ten minutes late. You know you should be worried when it's fifteen. Come on, now." I said with a laugh. It was only slightly awkward talking with her, but then again, nothing was really awkward with Tasha. She was one of those people who could make any awkward moment better.
Tasha threw her head back and laughed, "You're right, I'm sorry for doubting you, haha."
"Dimitri, long time no see." I turned to my right and saw Alec Ozera, Tasha's older brother.
"Alec, it's been too long." I said, smiling and extending my hand to shake his. I had been friends with Alec before I met Tasha.
"Hey did you know Robert and Sheila are having another baby? It's five for them, now. Talk about a handful. Man, one baby is plenty, haha." He said. Robert was Alec and Tasha's cousin, who I had also known before Tasha.
"Five?" I asked in surprise. "I hadn't heard that." Tasha nodded at this.
"It's insane. I swear, I don't think his wife's had more than six months off between kids. She's short, too-so she just gets wider and wider."
"When I first met him, he swore he didn't even want kids." I said, remembering when I had first met Robert and we were at a party. Kids were all over the place, running around and just being kids. He had been so annoyed by it he's sworn he was never having a kid. I guess things changed.
Tasha's eyes widened excitedly. "I know! I can't believe it. You should see him now. He just melts around them. I can't even understand them half the time. I swear, he speaks more baby than English." The group all burst into laughter in agreement. I couldn't help the smile on my face. I could just imagine what he would say if he heard us all talking about him like this.
"Well...children do that to people." I said.
"I can't imagine it happening to you," she laughed. "You're always so stoic. Of course...I suppose you'd be doing baby talk in Russian, so no one would ever know." I laughed at that, mostly because it was probably true.
After that we ate and opened presents. Tasha gave hers out first and she handed me a small wrapped box. "Merry Christmas, Dimka." she said and smiled, moving on to give the next person their gift. Rose had been invited and was sitting three people down from me. I hadn't spoken to her since the kiss and all I really wanted to do was avoid her at all costs. I didn't need a scene, and knowing her; she would cause a scene.
I slowly unwrapped the gift Tasha gave me and was surprised when I found a clothing box. She bought me clothes? There was a forest green t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. I held them up and looked at them, they should fit. I refolded them and put them back in the box. I couldn't help myself. I had to glance over at Rose. She just finished opening her gist and was holding up a beautiful red silk dress. I remember Tasha being excited about her present for Rose and now I knew why. The dress was really nice and had small embroidered flowers along the bottom and side. Rose would look gorgeous in it. Stop it. Don't think about that kind of thing. You shouldn't be thinking about Rose in a red silk dress. She. Is. Your. Student. I scowled and looked away. Ugh, this was harder than I thought it was going to be.
After Tasha was finished everyone else started dishing out their gifts. I got a few Western novels that I already had and a few 80's CD's. Alec had just gotten me a Barns&Noble gift card and one of the other Guardians had given me one hundred dollars in cash. It was a pretty good haul.
Somewhere in the middle of the gift-giving craziness, I sneaked another look over at Rose. She was opening a small jewelery box from Lissa. Rose held up what looked like a small rosary. It's a chotki, stupid. Moroi give them to whoever guard their family.
"What the..." Rose looked completely lost. She was never a religious person and was probably wondering what the hell she was holding. "Are you trying to convert me?" Yeah, leave it to Rose to make a religious joke out of this situation. I saw Lissa's eyes flash with amusement as she spoke.
"Flip it over," she said. Rose flipped it over and looked up at her in confusion.
'It's a family heirloom," she explained. "One of my dad's good friends has been saving boxes of his stuff. This was in it. It belonged to my great-grandmother's Guardian."
Rose looked up at Lissa, now understanding what it was for. "Liss..."
"Well, I certainly can't keep it. It's meant for a Guardian. My Guardian."
"You know," Rose teased, "there's a good probability I'll get kicked out of school before I can become your Guardian."
"Well, then you can give it back." Everyone near them laughed and Tasha was about to say something, when she stopped and looked up at the door.
"Janine!" Rose's mother stood there, looking stiff and impassive. Yeah, this was a recipe for disaster.
"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I had business to take care of."
After the initial 'hello's' to Janine, they started talking about some fight she was in. I gathered my things and went to leave. I needed to get out of here. I was having some issues concerning the chotki Lissa had given Rose. If Lissa was that serious about having Rose be her Guardian, that would mean Rose and I would be partners. Would I be able to handle that? Could I throw myself in front of Lissa if Rose was in danger as well? These thoughts swam in my head the whole walk to my room.
When I finally plopped down onto my bed, I had made my decision.
I was going to be Tasha Ozera's Guardian.
Ooohh, cliffy? Haha yeah I suck. Well we all know how it ends up, but I just thought that it would make the story a little bit more interesting if there was little bit more drama haha. Yeah, I rock and suck at the same time! Well, I will be starting the new chapter right after I post this, but no promises when it will come out. All I can say is that it will be out some time in the next few days. I might even finish it today, who knows.
Oh, and there was one Russian word in the chapter... I'm pretty sure it was right, but not completely. So if anyone knows Russian and can tell me, let me know!
So... what did you think? Please tell me, I'm dying to know! Just press that little button at the bottom of the page. I just wanna say thanks to everyone who takes the time to drop me a review. You honestly don't know how much it makes my day. Even if it's a hate review, I would rather know your opinion!
Till next time,
~Brittany1224
