POV: Dimitri
Every nightmare I ever had was about Rose. It always ended with me losing her. I knew that, once I woke up, I'd feel pain, emptiness, longing. I got used to it. I learned how to handle it. That's why I wasn't prepared for what came for me this time. Rose was there, but everything was different.
"I thought you loved me", she whispered with tears in her eyes.
"I do, Roza, of course I do", I said reaching for her.
"No you don't. How could you? How can you claim to love me and betray me like this?"
"Roza what are you talking about?"
"My letter. Did it mean anything to you? My dying wishes that you just cast away and forgot about", she sobbed struggling to free herself from my arms.
"No, I didn't, I tried", I whispered feeling my heart ache at her disappointment and her pain.
"You didn't try hard enough", she exclaimed wiping her head around to stare me down.
"Lissa, I can't be next to her Roza, you need to understand. Your parents they didn't want to speak to me before and now I don't know where they are-"
"Lissa? My parents?", she ranted her eyes blazing, "That's not what I'm talking about!"
"What then?", I asked completely at a lost.
"That-", she whispered moving aside so I can see behind her.
My eyes traveled to a figure that was slumped on the armchair, head handing low, hands dangling over the armrests. I recognized him instantly and before I knew I was moving I was already halfway across the room. I grabbed his chin to pull his head up.
"Adrian?", I asked my voice shaking.
He didn't react, didn't move, I don't think he was even breathing.
"Adrian?", I tried again shaking him roughly.
Few more moments passed, then finally his eyelashes fluttered and he slowly opened his eyes. He looked up at me and smiled, but his smile was twisted somehow, like he was in pain and suffering.
"Adrian are you alright?", I asked letting my eyes travel over his body so I could make sure he wasn't injured.
"No", he coughed out attempting to pull himself up, but failing.
"What's wrong?"
"I trusted you", he whispered, "I thought you would keep me safe. You said you would."
"I did. I am", I stressed searching his face for clues as to what he was talking about.
"You said you would keep me safe", he repeated like he couldn't hear me.
"Adr-", I began saying but my words died on my lips as I noticed something change.
I saw a small smudge on his neck, a red dot. It was barely visible because of how insignificantly small it looked, but in the same time it was like all colors in the room dimmed to let that one color shine brighter than anything else. The tiny red dot began spreading, turning into a line across his neck, like his throat was cut through. He coughed out blood, gurgling and chocking on it in an instant. His eyes glued to my and fear radiated off of them.
"Look at what you did", Rose voiced somewhere behind me.
"Adrian, no", I exclaimed frantically pushing my palm against his neck like that might stop the bleeding.
"You promised", I heard his voice in my head along with Rose's voice that was nearer now.
He was still chocking, gripping my arm tightly, staring at me so much it was like he was burning a hole through my head.
"It's your fault. You should have protected him. I begged you to help him through this", Rose screamed grabbing me by my shoulder to turn me around so I was facing her.
"I, I-"
"You are a liar Dimitri, a liar", she yelled even louder as I turned to Adrian who suddenly became very still, his eyes remaining open, but empty, staring into nothingness.
I couldn't breathe, the pain was so overwhelming.
"A LIAR", she cried out pushing me down so I fell on my back.
"No, no, no", I mumbled as tears formed in my eyes.
"I hate you", she whispered in a deadly tone before pointing at Adrian's lifeless body, "He did too."
"This is what happens to the people around you, this is what you cause, destruction and pain", she continued her voice changing slightly.
It was still her voice, but there was something different, something unfamiliar or rather too familiar.
"You ruin everything you touch."
As soon as I heard those words I felt a chill run through my body. I blinked and as soon as I did another face appeared next to her. One that bore some similarities to Adrian. One that I was staring at the last time I heard those words.
"You are poison", Rose said, or rather she moved her lips, but my father spoke for her.
"You are just like me."
"Wake up!"
I jumped swinging my fist upwards and hitting something hard. I heard a gasp and a shuffling of feet like somebody stumbled, followed by a few curse words. I blinked rapidly my eyes travelling up to crystal blue ones. Evangeline was standing above me her hands in cuffs covering her nose as tears formed in her eyes.
"Wha-?"
"I think you broke my nose", she mumbled moving her hand enough for me to see a small red stream dripping over her lips and chin.
"Shit", I exclaimed jumping to my feet.
I reached out and she jerked back probably a little surprised by my sudden movement, probably more than a little scared too.
"Let me see", I said in a low voice and gently put my hand over hers to lead them away from her face. I examined her nose without touching it so I wouldn't hurt her more then I already have.
"Come with me", I said walking towards the kitchen.
She followed me wordlessly, leaning against a cupboard for support ones we were there. I got a bag of frozen peas and handed them to her. She awkwardly reached out trying to catch them in the best possible way since the cuffs were preventing her from any harsh movements. I took the key ones the bag was out of my hands and unlocked the cuffs. She gave me a small smile in gratitude wincing as her nose moved slightly.
"What the hell were you thinking sneaking up on me?"
"I didn't sneak up. I yelled from the doorway for solid five minutes before I decided to shake you awake. You were having a pretty bad nightmare I think", she mumbled from underneath the bag.
"I was", I confirmed, "I'm sorry I hit you."
"That's okay. I probably had it coming", she chuckled, but there was a dose of sorrow in her eyes.
"What makes you say that?", I questioned leaning away.
"Doesn't matter", she mumbled glancing away.
"So this is becoming a thing", she added letting her eyes travel back to mine.
"What is?"
"Waking each other up from nightmares", she chuckled, "Nice to know we are bonding."
I laughed. I shouldn't have, but I couldn't really help it. I realized know why she and Adrian were friends. They were very much alike.
"Let's take a look at that nose again", I said prompting myself up.
She removed the bag and I was glad to see the bleeding has stopped. I tried touching her as gently as I could. She stood surprisingly still waiting for the final diagnosis.
"I don't think there is anything broken", I announced feeling relief flow through me.
"Yeah", she said crunching her nose up slightly, "But it's going to get swollen."
"You are not wrong there", I admitted, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."
She followed me out of the kitchen and upstairs to the bathroom. The house was almost empty. Older kids were at school, Zoya was with Yeva and Olena taking a walk, my sisters were at work. That left Adrian who was probably comatose in his bed and the two of us. Still I moved around quietly and she did an incredible job at mimicking my movements. From what I've seen so far she was a rather good guardian, she's been trained well.
I found a cloth in one of the drawers and pushed it under the tap to get it wet. I turned around and reached for her, but she took a step back and pierced me with her gaze.
"I can do it", she protested.
"I made this mess, I'll clean it up", I stressed reaching for her chin with the cloth again.
She looked like she might protest again, but then instead she just exhaled heavily before positioning her head so I could get a better angle. I rubbed the blood gingerly off of her skin focusing on the task at hand. I could feel her eyes on me, observing me and it made me feel strange. I couldn't remember the last time I was within this proximity to someone other than Adrian who sometimes had no respect for any personal space whatsoever. I had no idea what she was thinking about, but at some point I noticed her lips twitching a little, like she was trying to suppress a smile. I looked up at her and her eyes suddenly seemed brighter than usual. Maybe it was because this was the first time I actually paid attention, but the blue of her eyes looked quite astonishing paired with her flame like hair. She was a very attractive woman which is why my next words accidentally just tumbled out of my mouth before I could do anything to stop them: "Adrian and you were really only friends?"
"Yeah", she chuckled, "Why do you ask?"
"No reason", I swiftly mumbled trying to back out of a conversation I just started.
"Righttt", she exclaimed smiling wider.
"I just, well you two are really close", I pointed out.
"I guess we are", she admitted before frowning slightly and adding, "Or at least we were. I don't think he is up for being close to me ever again after what I've tried to pull. Or being my friend at all for that matter."
"He'll get over it", I chuckled.
Why the hell was I still talking about this? Why was I being so friendly all of a sudden?
"I'm not sure he will. But I don't blame him. He already forgave me ones for screwing up, two times is too much", she said cutting my pondering short.
"Screwing up?", words kept tumbling out of my mouth as curiosity struck.
"Long story", she breathed out her face showing that now she was the one who was trying to back out.
I let it slide, finishing what I was doing and throwing the cloth away.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it", I said crossing my arms on my chest.
"No really", she prompted fixing her eyes on mine, "Thank you."
"Alight, you are welcome", I chuckled glancing towards the door.
"Back to the basement I recon?", she offered shifting a bit.
After a brief pause I asked: "Are you going to try to run away again?"
"No. I'm not suicidal my friend", she laughed though there was a dose of seriousness in her tone.
"If so, I guess you can join me for a meal", I said deciding to go out on the limb with her.
Maybe it was because my dreams still haunted me, maybe I was just tired of playing the bad cop, or it was because I felt for her, she was in a very dire situation that wasn't showing signs of getting any better, but I just wanted to do something nice and simple for a change, like having a normal meal without having to worry about every move she made. I hoped I wasn't making a mistake, but the truth was right now I didn't even care if I did. I was just exhausted.
"Sounds good", she simply responded.
We sat in silence for a long time, just simply eating and sipping coffee. After a while she cleared her throat and said: "So what's your story?"
"What do you mean?", I asked leaning back into my chair.
"I've been in your house for a while now and I don't know the first thing about you aside from the things I was told."
"What were you told?"
"Basically, that you were marvelous at your job, very withdrawn though, that you had a charge, then worked in the academy, then became a Strigoi, then returned to being a Dhampir, after which you winded up being a fugitive with one of your students only to be a fugitive again with Adrian."
"That's pretty much all there is", I chuckled setting my eyes on the table.
"Bull", she exclaimed dragging my attention to her.
"Fair! I'll tell you what, I'll tell you something about myself and you tell me something about yourself. Deal?"
"Deal. So you were born here?", she asked prompting her head on her hands while she rested her elbows on the table.
"Born and raised. I went to school here and lived here until I moved to start working for the academy. What about you?"
"Born and raised in Ohio where I went to Alder. I moved to California after I graduated, worked for the Conta's and then came to Court to join the team that-", she cut herself of.
"The team that's hunting us", I finished.
She shifted uncomfortably, so I quickly added: "Conta's? So you had a charge?"
"No", she chuckled bitterly, "I was more like a security personal. I wasn't guarding one person in particular. It was more like protecting the plants in their huge garden from stray animals."
"Seriously?", I asked in disbelief.
"You sound surprised."
"I am", I admitted, "You seemed to be rather skilled. It's strange to me that you didn't get recruited straight away."
"Yeah, well, I messed up my finals so all the hard work I've done before that sort of just went down the drain."
"Why did you mess up your finals?"
"I-", she started saying her eyes traveling away from the table and over my shoulder, "I was going through some stuff."
I nodded knowingly, glancing down to her neck where the neckless with two letters lay. She followed my gaze and smiled, but the pain she was feeling was evident in her eyes.
"I lost someone around that time", she confirmed suddenly looking much older then she really was.
"Losing a friend is never easy", I mumbled, "Rose was-, she was a good friend."
Evangeline fixed her eyes on mine challenging me with them: "You weren't just friends."
"What makes you say that?", I asked trying to keep the panic out of my voice.
"Because I can see your pain and I know that kind of pain. I've seen it before, for a while I thought I felt it too. It's not the kind of pain you feel when you lose a good friend, or even a boyfriend or girlfriend. It's the kind of pain you feel when you lose the love of your life. The person you can't live without."
Her words surprised me. Not because she could see right through me, but because I didn't really expect such serious and wise words from someone her age. I'd expect them from someone with a long lifetime of experience.
"Well, I'm still breathing", I pointed out leaning on the table as well.
"That doesn't make you alive."
I was speechless for a few moments before finally managing to produce a light chuckle: "Strong words."
"The strongest", she joked her freckled nose jumping slightly as a grin spread over her face.
We were doing it again. Being too close to each other. Close enough so I could count every freckle she had. And like back upstairs it made me feel strange, not pleasant, but not entirely uncomfortable either.
"So much for light chitchat", she mumbled to herself, without moving an inch.
"Right", I responded not moving either.
We were paralyzed like that, until a third voice came from the door.
"Aren't you two cozy?"
POV: Adrian
I was still rubbing my eyes and yawning when I strolled into the kitchen. My sleepiness slipped away upon registering the scene I walked into. Evangeline and Dimitri were sitting opposite from one another, but they were leaning over the table leaving too little space between them. If I didn't know any better I'd say they were two people flirting their asses of, but I knew Dimitri was too tense to even consider something like that. Regardless, their proximity confused me and the fact that neither of them registered that I've joined them was even stranger.
"Aren't you two cozy?", I exclaimed announcing my presence.
They both jumped up like I just poured a bucket of cold water over their heads, their eyes fixing on me. For a minute I could have sworn I saw Dimitri even blushing slightly. It's also when I noticed Evangeline's nose was swollen and a bit purplish.
"What happened to you?", I asked frowning.
She looked at me in surprise, probably because it's the first time I talked directly to her in days, but she quickly recovered and simply answered: "Dimitri punched me."
I glanced at Dimitri raising my eyebrow questioningly so he added: "It was an accident."
"Right, uh, I'm not sure it's a good idea to live you two kids unsupervised", I joked grabbing some coffee and joining them.
I noticed Eva's hands were free of cuffs, but I decided to avoid commenting it. I didn't really have the energy to act like an asshole today, since last night's drinking has left me a bit hangover and feeling slightly different after the things Dimitri and I talked about. Obviously, both of them decided to just roll with it and continued whatever they were talking about earlier.
"Any siblings?", Dimitri said glancing at Eva.
"None. Must be nice though, having plenty", she responded sipping her coffee.
"No, not really", he chuckled.
"What are we doing?", I interrupted.
"Chitchatting, lightly", she responded underlining her last word.
At that Dimitri laughed and I got a feeling I missed something. I was guessing I didn't really want to know. Maybe Dimitri was brooding and growing his hero hair most of the time, but he was still a guy. A guy that was talking to a very hot chick all alone before I came in. It was safe to say my insides made a back-flips at the thought of them "chitchatting". I was certain Dimitri wasn't going anywhere with it, but I still couldn't help, but to stare him down with an unspoken warning that I wasn't liking this at all. He obviously didn't get the message since he frowned upon my expression.
I got up snatching the cigarettes from my pocket and used the opportunity while I was passing Dimitri by to murmur through a laugh: "What is it with you and younger women?"
Even though I turned around and I couldn't see his face anymore I could feel him staring after me. I also heard him muttering a couple of nasty words in Russian, words I now understood since I managed to pick up a few things about the language so far.
"What did he mean by that?", I heard Eva asking in confusion.
I didn't hear his answer, but I knew he would brush my words off one way or the other. I just grinned to myself knowing I got him good this time.
Alright, that's it. This turned out to be a longer chapter then initially planned, but well I just tried to make it into a whole thing rather than stop at the part where Adrian walks in.
I get that you guys might start panicking about Evangeline and Dimitri, so I'll just say, Adrian was exaggerating in his head (or not?) when it comes to the current situation. Anyhow, the point was to show that Dimitri is easing up around Eva and easing up about everything else overall. I think I might have overplayed the "being tense all the time" card so I figured I could give the guy a break.
I hope you guys liked the chapter and that you are not going to burn me alive for insinuating there might be some chemistry between those two! Review if you want, let me know what you think!
Until next time, T!
P.S. Since Adrian mentioned his school only ones and I had no real info from the books to go on, I've decided to place it in Ohio since it was close to Pennsylvania (Court), plus I've done some research on the name Alder and winded up with Jonathan Alder (first white settler in Ohio according to Wikipedia) so I IMPROVISED!