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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

CHAPTER 11

DPOV

I woke up next to Roza early in the morning. She was curled up at my side, still fast asleep. From the few nights I'd spent here, this was the first time I was awake before her. This was probably also going to be the first time she wouldn't be annoyed at me as soon as she awoke. I'd been here for almost a week now and I had to say that a lot had changed in that week.

Though I'd been desperately hoping for it, I hadn't expected Roza to forgive me so soon. I hadn't expected her to take me back yet either. Because, as much as I hated to think about it, she'd built a life here. She'd moved on from the past – that is, until I came barging in – whilst my life had been on hold for six years and I'd had nothing else to think about than my past, which included Roza.

My main goal had been to be with Roza again after I got released, but Rose's main goal had probably been to move on with another guy. So yeah, I was extremely grateful that she had chosen to take me back in such a short time. I would've probably gone nuts if it had taken much longer, being near her but not being able to be with her. But what would've really driven me mad was if she'd been serious with that guy named Luke. Don't go there, Dimitri. Like, ever again. Remember what Rose told you last night? Think about that!

I snapped from my reverie when Rose stirred beside me. I looked at her and a smile broke out on my face. Leaning forward, I kissed her gently on the lips. Slowly, a small smile spread across her face and I knew that she was awake. I leaned back in and pressed my lips against hers again. Finally, she opened her eyes.

"Hi," I whispered, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek.

"Hi," she whispered back.

I looked at her, completely mesmerized, as I stroked her hair. She closed her eyes again and sighed contentedly, which made me smile even more. This reminded me of how it used to be with us, back when we were in high school. I used to spend most weekends at Rose's place and then we'd wake up next to each other just like this…

"This feels like a dream," I murmured.

"I don't know," Rose said with a grin, running her hand down my arm. "This feels pretty real." Then she sighed. "You know what else feels real? Having to get up to go to work."

"You can take a sick day," I suggested. "I'll do the same. Then we can stay in bed all day."

"While that sounds like heaven, I don't think you should be taking any sick days. This is your second day of work. Are you going to slack already?" she said in a teasing voice.

I pouted. "I guess not. Though I still got a couple of hours…"

Rose grimaced. "Wish I could say the same. Can you hand me my phone?"

I rolled over and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. I grabbed mine as well and noticed with a frown that I had three missed calls from Viktoria.

"Ugh, my phone is dead," Rose said with a groan. "Could you please take my charger out of the top drawer?" She gave me a sweet smile. "Do you know what time it is? I don't want to be late."

"It's seven," I answered before reaching into her top drawer. I paused for a second when my eyes fell on something I'd made a long time ago for Roza. "I thought you would've thrown that dreamcatcher out by now."

I glanced back at Rose for a moment and I saw her cheeks redden in embarrassment. It was cute. Seeing how badly I'd hurt her when I'd broken up with her, I hadn't expected her to hold on to it. But she hadn't thrown it away either when I'd broken up with her the first time.

I frowned at the thought. I was a terrible boyfriend. Who would be stupid enough to break up with the girl of his dreams twice? At least I wasn't going to make the same mistake for a third time. I was going to be a better boyfriend from now on – the best kind.

"I – I couldn't just throw it in the trash," Rose stammered at last, unable to meet my gaze. "It's too pretty."

Smiling, I grabbed her charger and handed it to her before planting a firm kiss on her cheek. "I'm glad you kept it. That means you still felt for me – even if it was just a little bit. Right?"

Her cheeks turned a brighter red now. Clearing her throat, she muttered, "Yeah, well, you can shut the drawer now."

I realized it was time to change the subject because she really was mortified. "Apparently Vika has called me a couple of times."

Rose looked back at me. "Really? How come we didn't hear anything?"

"My phone was on silent," I explained.

"Well, call her back," Rose said immediately.

I looked at her in confusion. Her reaction surprised me a little. "Why? I'm not ready to talk to her. Not after everything-"

"Maybe she needs to tell you something," she cut me off urgently. "Something important."

I arched an eyebrow. "What's going on? I thought you were mad at her as well."

"Yeah, but I've cooled off by now."

I narrowed my eyes at her suspiciously. "Have you now?"

Rose let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes! But I was mad at you, too, remember? And look at me now, barely a week later."

While that made sense, I still had the feeling Rose knew something I didn't. "Did you talk to her?"

"I might have," she admitted after a beat, avoiding my gaze.

I frowned. "When?"

She looked back up at me. "Does it matter?" She paused, then gave my arm a little nudge. "Come on, she's your sister. You can't stay angry at her forever."

I rolled onto my back and let out a heavy sigh. "I know. But I don't want her to think I'm okay with her doing drugs. She needs to realize that what she's doing is wrong. If me giving her the silent treatment is helping, then I'm going to do just that."

Rose shook her head at me and started to get out of bed. "I'm not saying you can't be angry at her anymore. I'm just saying, go talk to her. You don't even have to talk. Let her do the talking."

I got up as well. "You really do know something that I don't. Am I right?"

She shrugged at me. "You would know as well if you'd talk to her." She grinned at me as she threw my clothes in my direction. I caught them just in time. "And no, I'm not telling you. You need to hear this from your sister."

"Fine," I muttered as I started to get dressed. "I'll drop by her apartment after work."

Rose smiled, satisfied. "Good."

Seeing as Rose was already running late for work, we skipped out on breakfast. I walked her to Mia's flower shop before going my own way. I still had some time left so when my gaze fell on a small bakery a few blocks away from the flower shop, I quickly crossed the street and bought some chocolate muffins before heading back to Rose's work. Rose was organizing some flowers when I walked in and she looked up at me in surprise.

"Well, well, couldn't stay away from me, could you?" she said in a teasing voice. A grin crossed her face. "Seriously, comrade, it's been half an hour."

Mia came walking out of her office at the same time and smiled brightly when she saw me. "Oh, hi, Dimitri! Back so soon?"

I stopped in front of Rose and held out the paper bag. "Thought you might be hungry. Seeing as you haven't had breakfast yet."

Rose looked at the bag curiously. "You bought me food?"

"Chocolate muffins," I answered. "I know you like them."

Her face lit up with a radiant smile as she opened the bag. "You just scored yourself some major points," she said, looking up at me.

"Oh my God, you guys are so cute!" Mia gushed as she hugged the binder she was holding to her chest. We both looked at her and she cleared her throat. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

She left in a hurry, sneaking a few glances over her shoulder before closing her office door.

Rose shook her head, chuckling. "Don't pay attention to her."

"I'm not," I said, holding her gaze.

Rose started blushing. "Thanks for the muffins. That was really sweet of you."

I smiled. "You're welcome, milaya."

She took a step forward and stood on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek before pulling away again. "You should go now. Shop opens in ten and I can't have you distract me."

I nodded. "Duly noted." I started to retreat, but stopped at the door. "I'm working late today and after work I'm visiting my sister as you requested…" She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue. "Or I could come to you after work and go to Vika in the morning," I suggested.

"When do you get off work?" Rose asked.

"Nine," I answered.

"Still plenty of time to see your sister and come over to my place afterwards," she told me with a shrug.

Not the answer I was hoping for, but it was still better than seeing her not at all tonight. She really did want me to see my sister for some reason. It was unfortunate, though, she couldn't fill me in on the why.

"Okay," I said reluctantly. "You'll still be up by the time I'm at your place?"

"I guess we'll find that out later." She gave a small laugh when I started scowling and walked over to me. She opened the door. "Bye now, comrade."

I narrowed my eyes at her playfully. "You can't wait to get rid of me, huh?"

She looked at me innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Leaning in, I sneaked one last kiss from her before leaving for real this time. I headed back to Ivan's apartment so I could take a shower and change before starting work. I was sure he'd be at work, but to my surprise he was lounging on the couch, reading one of my novels.

"This is really boring, you know," he commented, glancing up from the book. "I don't understand how you can read these for hours a day." He sat up and closed the book. "So are you going to make it a habit of not coming home?"

I gave him a funny look. "Are you my mother?" Before he could reply, I asked, "Shouldn't you be at work?"

Ivan raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you my mother?" he returned.

I rolled my eyes.

"I've got the day off," he said at last, grinning. "My weekend started last night." He got up from the couch and walked over to the fridge. "Were you with Rose last night?"

I cut him a look as I made my way to the bathroom. "Don't start again."

His grin widened. "So you were with Rose last night. Again." He shook his head, chuckling. "Do you even still live here?"

I paused at the door. Most of the time I slept at Rose's place, even when she'd still been mad at me, but what about now? Now that we were back together? I guess I couldn't stay over at her place all the time. Not that I didn't want that, but I didn't want to be pushy either.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to live here a little bit longer," I told him.

"What, my couch is better than Rose's bed?" he said jokingly.

"No," I answered, smiling reluctantly. "But I shouldn't be there all the time. It's too soon." For Rose maybe, but not for you, a voice inside my head whispered. "Shut up," I muttered to myself, shaking my head.

"Hmm?" Ivan said, finally opening the refrigerator and taking out a water bottle.

"Nothing," I said quickly.

"Alright," he said with a shrug. "I'm going to go for a run." He started for the door. "Oh, and don't forget! I still want to meet Rose."

"How could I ever forget?" I said dryly. "You remind me every day."

After showering and changing into fresh clothes, I went off to work. Throughout the day, Viktoria called me a few times, but never when I was on my break. I didn't feel like calling back, seeing as I was going to visit her after work.

One of the waitresses attempted a conversation with me, but I'd excused myself, telling her my break was over. I wasn't interested in making friends or getting to know my colleagues because that meant they would get to know me and I didn't want any of them to know about my past. I wanted to keep that between my boss and me. I was sure that if word got out somehow, problems would arise as well and it would only end in my resignation, which I couldn't afford right now. I was lucky enough to have found a job so soon so I was not going to screw it up. I'd keep to myself and work hard so that I could stop crashing on Ivan's couch – not that I've slept there often since my arrival – and rent my own apartment.

When I got off work, I hurried over to Viktoria's place. On my way over, I was thinking that I could really use a bike. It'd be cheaper than taking the bus. When I finally made it to her apartment, I knocked a couple of times on the door, hoping that Vika was home. It was Friday night after all. Maybe my sister was out with the rest of her junkie friends. The thought darkened my mood. To my relief, the door opened a few moments later.

"Oh, hey," Viktoria said, sounding surprised. "I didn't expect you."

"Yeah, well, you've been calling me all day so I guess you have something to tell me," I said brusquely. I was still mad at her and I was damn well going to let her know that.

Viktoria stepped aside to let me in. I glanced at her and noticed that she looked awful. Her face was pale and she was sweating, like, a lot. It was probably from the drug withdrawal.

"Hey, Dimitri."

I stopped in my tracks as I looked up at Andre. He was zipping up a large suitcase. I turned around and looked back at my sister again. "What's going on? Are you going somewhere?"

There was a sharp note of concern in my voice that I was sure she must've heard because she gave me a small smile. "Don't worry, Dimka. I'm not going far."

I arched a questioning eyebrow. "Then what's the suitcase for?"

"I'll leave you two alone for a moment," Andre said, clearing his throat.

When he'd left the room, Viktoria cleared her throat and said, "I'm leaving for a while. I've decided to go to rehab after all. But before I do that, I need to see Mama. She has the right to know what's been going on in my life." She looked down at the floor. "It's probably going to hurt her, but I can't keep lying to her anymore."

I was in shock. Did I hear that right? She was going to rehab? She was going to better her life? "Vika, what… What changed your mind?"

She shrugged. "I guess I finally realized that drugs and alcohol aren't going to make the pain go away. And…" She paused, the smallest of smiles covering her face. "I had a good talk with Rose last night."

I blinked in surprise. Rose? That's when realization dawned on me. So that's why she kept badgering me about seeing Viktoria. She already knew.

"If there's anyone who knows what I'm going through, it's got to be her, right?" Viktoria said. "I mean, remember how much drugs they pumped through her body when she was hospitalized?"

I nodded. Rose had had a lot of withdrawal symptoms, but she'd pushed through. She was a fighter.

"She never threw it in my face, though," Viktoria said wistfully. "She never punished me for not being able to fight the urge like she had back then."

"But I'm sure she's very proud of you now," I said softly. My anger had dissipated from the moment she'd told me she was going to rehab. All I felt right now was relief. My sister was going to be okay. "And so am I."

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "I'm really sorry, Dimka."

I nodded. Stepping forward, I pulled her into my arms. "I know."

She hugged me tight. "I hope you can forgive me one day."

I kissed the top of her head. "Of course, Vika. I'm sorry too. I didn't handle the situation as I should have. You're my sister." She was crying softly into my chest as she clung to me. I felt bad that I'd been so hard on her. "We're family. We'll always be family, no matter what happens."

Viktoria pulled back from the hug to look at me. Her cheeks were wit with tears. "You promise?"

"I promise," I said sincerely. I gave her a small smile. "Do you want me to go with you? For support?"

"That's okay, Dimka," she said, shaking her head. "You're needed here. Besides, Andre has taken some time off of work to come with me. He'll take care of me."

"Okay," I agreed reluctantly. I'd rather go with her, but what was I going to do about work? I was pretty sure it wouldn't help me if I already started asking for leave of absence. "You'll call me, though?"

She smiled through her tears. "Of course. I'll be going to rehab in the city so I'll let you know when I get back here. Then you can come and visit me."

"Alright," I said. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning," she responded.

I nodded. "Okay… Good luck."

"Thanks, brother."

I hugged her again and then started for the door. "Give Andre my best. And please let him take care of you."

"I will," she vowed, following me to the door.

After saying my goodbyes, I slowly walked towards Rose's apartment. I felt sad and happy at the same time. Sad because I wouldn't see my sister often anymore, but happy because she finally decided that her life was worth living. I texted Ivan that I probably wouldn't make it back tonight so that more of his questions could be avoided in the morning.

When I finally made it to Rose's apartment, I doubted she was still awake. But she buzzed me in and opened the front door.

"Hey," she said softly.

I gave her a sad smile, then walked inside the apartment and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around me and held me close.

"Thank you," I whispered, burying my face in her neck. I was so incredibly grateful for having her in my life. I was so grateful that because of her talk with Viktoria, my sister was going to rehab now.

We stood there for a while, holding each other, until I finally pulled back to look at her. I had to admit she didn't look too well. She was pale, but not as pale as my sister had been.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I've got a major headache," she answered, shuffling further into the apartment. Everything was dark. "It started in the afternoon so Mia sent me home." She shrugged it off when she saw the worried expression on my face. "It's okay. I have these on a regular basis."

Now I was confused. What was she talking about?

"I've been having them since the car accident," she explained.

"Roza, why-" I cut myself off. I'd wanted to ask her why she'd never told me this, but that would be a foolish question. I was the reason she hadn't told me. Because I'd broken up with her and banished her from my life for six years.

"I just have to sleep it off," she said with a sigh.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked.

She hesitated for a split second. "No, it's okay. You can stay. But only to sleep, okay? I really need quiet right now."

I nodded in understanding. Even though there were still a couple of questions running through my head, I knew that it was best to wait with those until she felt better. "Of course."

I followed Rose to her bedroom and undressed quickly before crawling into bed next to her. I almost wrapped my arms around her, but hesitated because I wasn't sure if she wanted to be touched right now. But then she whispered, "It's okay."

Carefully, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her back to my chest. I knew that I should let her rest now, but I couldn't help but ask, "Are you going to be okay?"

I felt her search for my hand and she squeezed it gently. "I'll be fine in the morning. Good night, comrade."

I wasn't really reassured – not until my questions were answered. But that would have to wait until tomorrow. So instead, I pressed a kiss to her shoulder and closed my eyes. "Good night, Roza."

That was it for this chapter. I hope you liked it. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts! Next chapter Rose and Ivan will finally meet. How's that going to go? ;p Have a great day/evening! :)