AN: It has been a great four-day weekend. Here is the last chapter that I will be able to complete, though, until this coming Saturday. As always, thank you for reading and reviewing. I do not own Vampire Academy/Bloodlines or the characters, Richelle Mead does.
I told Mrs. Weathers and as usual, she grumbled about it being a school night and that I better make it quick. Little did she know I was not any happier about having to go.
Chapter 11
When I arrived at Adrian's place, I could see that all of the lights were on. I knocked at the door, but he did not answer. I had truly thought that if something was wrong with Adrian, Jill would know, but now I was beginning to wonder.
Concerned for him, I tried the door handle to see if it was unlocked and it was. I quietly pushed the door open to look inside and what I saw took my breath away. The living room was filled with canvas after canvas.
Every single one was a painting of me. Some were of my entire body, while others were up close. There were even ones with Adrian in them with me. It was overwhelming. There was so much of me on display.
I noticed one painting of us lying on the couch together and another one up-close of us kissing. It was almost as if they were photographs, they looked so real.
I inched into the room and shut the door quietly behind me. Adrian was sitting at an easel working on a painting of my tattoo. I was sure that he was so lost in the moment, that he hadn't heard me come in.
"Adrian," I said softly, just barely above a whisper. I knew he heard me by the way his body tensed, but he did not turn from his work.
I was not sure what else to say. My mind was reeling from all of the emotions inside of me and on display around me. I didn't know why he was doing this. He had been the one to push me away.
"Jill wanted me to come by and check on you. She said that she was unable to sense anything from you and was concerned," I said as steadily as I could.
Without turning around, he simply said, "Tell her I'm fine," but it was the way he said it that tore me apart. I could not begin to describe the emotions that went into it, but I felt a darkness and sadness in his words.
I no longer hid behind Jill's worries, because I was now deeply concerned about him as well. I knew from Rose, that Lissa would suffer from severe mood swings because of spirit and Rose was always concerned about her. I also knew that Rose had always seen those same signs in Adrian.
"I'm worried about you, too," I said trying to keep my emotions in check. I was on the verge of breaking down just from seeing him like this.
He still did not turn around, but I could tell he was trying really hard to put as much reassurance into his voice when he spoke. "I'm fine, Sage, really. Tell Jill not to worry and I will see her on Wednesday at Clarence's."
It was clear he did not want to discuss what was going on and I really wasn't even sure how to approach it. I took a deep breath trying to pull myself together and I saw Adrian relax as he heard me do this. I think he was worried that I would insist on talking. I took his dismissal for what it was and left as quietly as I came, praying to myself that he would really be fine.
When I got back to Amberwood, Jill was waiting anxiously to find out about Adrian.
"Jill, he's fine. He was just working on a project for his art class and he didn't mean to worry you," I said hoping that my reassurance sounded genuine. "He said that he would see you on Wednesday at Clarence's."
"Thank you for checking on him. I know you didn't have to. It means a lot to me," she said clearly convinced by the excuse that I had given her. I could not tell her the truth, because I didn't want to worry her. I also knew from Rose, that she was able to pull the darkness from Lissa when it got bad, but it was at great cost to her. I did not want to see Jill hurt herself like that and I knew Adrian would not want that either.
"Now, you have to tell me all about your date with Trey," she said eagerly. "Where did you go after practice and what did you do? Oh, and did you guys kiss again?"
I didn't want to disappoint her, but as I had thought, I was in no mood to discuss anything after seeing Adrian. I simply told her that it was getting late and I was tired. I promised that if she still wanted to hear all about it, we could talk in the morning. This seemed to curb her questions and I left her to go to my room.
Once lying in bed, thoughts of my date with Trey seemed so far away. All I could think about was Adrian. I hoped he really would be okay. I did not understand what was going on with him and I did not like the fact that it obviously had something to do with me.
This brought tears to my eyes, but I fought back. There was no way I was going to shed another tear over this. I had done my crying and now it was time to start coping. I just hoped that this was just Adrian's way of coping, as well.
I am not sure when I fell asleep, but I know that the only thoughts in my head as I dreamed were of Adrian.
When morning came, I decided that I would try to push Adrian from my thoughts again. I had to believe in the strength that I knew he had and trust that he would pull through whatever side effects that spirit was causing.
I had missed Trey's morning practice to meet up with Jill for breakfast. She had not forgotten about my promise to talk about my date, so I agreed to, as long as we could do it somewhat in private.
We sat at a table out of the way in our building's cafeteria. Eddie, Angeline, and Micah sat at another one close by, but didn't join us. Angeline must have told the guys that we wanted some girl time and I knew she had no interest in joining.
I answered Jill's questions trying to put as much enthusiasm in my answers, as she put into asking them. I was reminded again, about how it didn't seem that I found dating Trey nearly as exciting as Jill found it. It made me wish that I could convince Eddie to let Jill know how he felt.
Of course, I knew he was right about it being awkward to be dating your 'sister', but at least they could maybe have some private moments that no one else would witness, for instance, when we went to Clarence's. They always seemed more open with each other there. I had not realized how hard it must really be on them, having to live this lie.
I had apparently been lost in thought about Eddie and Jill, because Jill was giving me an odd look, as if I missed something she had just said.
"I'm sorry. What were you saying?" I asked trying to get back into the conversation.
"I said, how do you feel about Trey?" Jill replied.
Now I realized why I had probably zoned out. Most of her line of questioning had had answers that were factual. She had not really asked me to express anything personal, but now she was and I did not know what to say.
"Feel about him, um, I don't know. He is fun to be with and he seems to really care for me," I said.
"I get that, but what do you feel. You keep telling me about what you think he feels, but you seem to be avoiding how you feel," she said. She was no longer talking excitedly. She seemed more concerned, than anything.
I felt put on the spot and I had no experience with opening up to others. It was just not something I did. The only time I had ever really opened up was with Adrian and I wasn't ready to do that with anyone else after what had happened with him.
"I guess I like him. I don't really have much experience with dating, so I don't really know what else to say," I said hoping this would be a good enough answer for Jill to drop it.
It seemed to work. I could tell she wasn't pleased with my non-descript answer, but it seemed to satisfy her for now. I hoped she understood that I wasn't trying to be cold, I was just not good at all this emotional stuff.
It was time to get to class, so I was able to avoid any more questions that she might have had. As Eddie and I walked to class, he jokingly asked if I survived our girl time. I think he understood my apprehension to discussing feelings and it was nice to know that I was not alone.
Once in class, Trey instantly paid attention to me. The rest of the day, we spent together. He walked me to my classes, held my hand, and brushed a kiss to my forehead every time we parted ways.
Even though Kristin and Julia had seen us kiss, they had apparently not heard about us dating. As soon as they could corner me, they gave me the same line of questioning that Jill had. My answers came easier with them, since I had already formulated my answers with Jill. When they asked how I felt about Trey, I simply said that I liked him, putting enough emphasis on the 'liked' part to avoid them having any other concerns about whether I really meant it or not.
After school, I received more books to translate and take notes on from Ms. Terwilliger. Luckily, it had seemed that she had run out of spell books. I went to Spencer's to work on them, so that I could spend time with Trey while I did my research, since he had to work that afternoon.
When Wednesday came, so had the blood sample from the Alchemists, I had almost forgotten that I had requested it. I knew that Adrian would be at Clarence's that day and that he would be meeting with Sonya later that evening, so I figured I could give it to him then.
When we arrived at Clarence's that afternoon, though, Adrian was not there.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Adrian had said that he was going to be stopping by later, because he had to stay after class to complete something," said Jill.
"Oh, okay," I said. I had not realized how much I had actually been looking forward to seeing him. I really hoped that he had told Jill the truth about why he would be coming later. I was still worried about the way I had left him the other day.
With Adrian not at Clarence's to occupy me, I was restless and rushed our visit, not wanting to stay in that house any longer than I had to. I gave the blood sample to Dorothy in a sealed padded envelope and asked if she would make sure to give it to Adrian or Sonya when they stopped by.
Even though, I was concerned about Adrian, I decided that I'd rather not be around while they conducted the experiment. Besides, I knew that he and Sonya were fully capable of obtaining the results without my presence.
Since our date, Trey and I had fallen into a routine. I would watch his morning practice and then we would go off to our classes together. After class, I would work on my research wherever he was, whether it was sitting outside while he practiced or at Spencer's while he worked. It had become a comfortable relationship and I had grown fond of it.
Occasionally, we would spend quiet moments together sitting under our tree and share a few stolen kisses, but nothing ever as passionate as what I had shared with Adrian.
I attended the final football game of the season on Friday with Eddie, Jill, Angeline, and Micah. It was the first game I had actually watched Trey play in. He was just as amazing as Angeline had described. I had seen enough football practices now, to follow what was going on. When the game ended, our team was victorious and I knew that they would not have won without Trey.
The weekend passed with me spending more time with Trey. He even joined in with Eddie and the group in a couple of their training sessions. Trey was just as impressive as Micah had been, for a human, when it came to going up against dhampirs.
When I had taken Jill and the gang to Clarence's for her feeding, I dropped them off and met Trey at Spencer's for a cup of coffee. When I returned to pick up everyone, Jill had said that Adrian would not be coming again until later on that evening, so I had missed him again.
Most evenings, I would lie in bed thinking about Adrian and how he was doing. I had not seen him since that night and I was beginning to wonder if he was avoiding me.
The following week was the week of Thanksgiving and the day before Thanksgiving was tryouts for volleyball. It was also, supposed to be a feeding day.
"I'm not sure when I will be able to squeeze in taking you to Clarence's," I told Jill. "I can't miss tryouts or Miss Carson will kill me."
"Don't worry. It's not a problem. Last time we were at Clarence's, he invited us to Thanksgiving dinner, so I can just wait until tomorrow for my feeding," Jill said. She had failed to mention that part to me when I had picked her up. Either that or I was too consumed with thinking about Adrian that I didn't pay attention to her.
"Okay, great. I'm glad we could work this out. I'm so nervous about tryouts. Trey has been helping me practice in his off time, but I don't know if I am good enough. It is not like athletics is something that Alchemists excel in," I rambled.
"Don't worry. You will do fine. I have seen you during PE. You are amazing. Besides, we are going to be right there cheering you on," she said reassuringly. Of course, I wasn't really sure I wanted an audience, but at least they would be in my corner.
"Thanks, I just hope I don't trip and fall or something equally embarrassing," I said.
She just smiled. "Sydney, have a little faith. I know you will do great." I have to admit I found it a little ironic that a vampire was telling me to have faith. I had to smile at that.
Later that afternoon, I met up with everyone outside the gym for tryouts. Kristin and Julia showed up to support me as well.
"Don't worry, girl," Julia said. "You will do great. If Miss Carson was that adamant on having you come, then I'm sure you already made the team."
I appreciated the additional support, but I wasn't as confident about my skills once I saw how many girls showed up for tryouts. They all left me to go find seats in the stands and I waited in line with the rest of the girls until my name was called.
Trey had taken a front row seat to cheer me on. I was glad to see his face. I had gotten used to having him as a constant in my life and I felt more confident when he was there.
During the tryouts, I performed amazing saves and showed off some of my better skills, like spiking the ball. Trey and I had been practicing that a lot. When tryouts were done, I was fairly confident that I had made the team. Miss Carson said that the team roster would be posted after Thanksgiving and I had to admit that I was filled with anticipation at having to wait.
"I told you, you would do great," Trey said as he lifted me off the ground in a hug and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. I could see Jill behind us, excited about the public display of affection between us. I blushed a little from the kiss. We really had never shared a kiss when others were around.
"Thanks," I said backing away from Trey a little when he set me down. I could feel all of them watching us. I was glad when Angeline broke the awkward silence.
"Yeah, you weren't that bad actually," she said as if it was a total shock. My black eye had finally healed and I knew she was still itching for a rematch, to test my strengths. I had managed to put it off, saying that I needed to get ready for these tryouts. I was really hoping that she did not decide to take a swing now that they were done.
I think Jill could sense my concern regarding Angeline. "Hey guys, why don't we leave Trey and Sydney alone to celebrate her victory. I'm sure she made the team, whether it has been posted or not yet," she said as she pulled Eddie and Angeline away.
"Yeah, you guys go celebrate," Eddie said in a suggestive way, with a smirk on his face. I could not believe the way he had just said that and I knew my face had turned bright red.
Eddie, Micah, Jill, and Angeline walked off together and I could have swore I saw Jill whispering stuff to Eddie and giggling about it as she looked back at us. I was going to have a serious talk with the both of them later.
I turned to Trey a little nervous about what he would think of their comments and departure. He looked a little apprehensive, too. "So, do you want to go celebrate?" he asked and I could tell he wasn't exactly sure what he might be implying by asking that.
I hoped he just meant spending time together and nothing more physical than that. "That sounds fine," I said with a little apprehension. "We could go to a movie," I added.
He seemed to relax at that. I think he felt the same way about being put on the spot, in such a way to suggest more than just spending time together. "Yeah, that sounds great. There is a new movie showing at the theater by Spencer's. I'll wait here while you go get changed," he said with relief.
I showered, changed, and met him back outside the gym. At the movies, we were back to the comfortable way that we had been. He put his arm around me or held my hand. When we got back to school that evening, I received the usual gentle kiss goodnight.
Just like always, though, I fell asleep dreaming about Adrian. I was beginning to wonder if I should be concerned, but I brushed it off. I was with Trey and when I was with him, I was truly with him. It was just my dreams that I gave to Adrian and as long as it was nothing more than that, it was fine.
Somehow, I think my mind knew that I was lying to myself, but as an Alchemist, I could be very convincing, even if it was just winning the mental battle in my head.
I hope it didn't seem too rushed. I felt like I needed to move forward at least a week, so that I wasn't doing a daily play by play. I hope that it flowed okay. Please read and review. :)