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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.


CHAPTER 28

DPOV

Knowing Rose would be spending time with Lissa, I headed over to her home after school. The weekend was about to start so I was hoping her parents would still be at home. I knew from Rose they spent a lot of time at the golf course. Seeing as it was Friday, I figured they wouldn't be staying in tonight. So that meant I didn't have time to dwell on the possible problems my visit could cause. I had to act now or else I'd miss my chance.

Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell and waited. And I waited some more. I was just starting to think that they'd already left when the door finally opened and Janine appeared. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw me standing on the porch.

"Rose isn't here," she said briskly, already closing the door.

I put my hand against it and said, "I'm not here for Rose. I'm here to talk to you."

Janine hesitated for the moment, then pulled open the door again. "Why?"

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "Because I want to explain myself."

From somewhere inside the house, I heard her husband calling for her. Her eyes darted away for a brief moment.

"This isn't a good time," she said at last. "You should probably leave now, Dimitri."

"Janine?" Abe's voice was much closer now. "Who's at the door?"

"No one," Janine lied not so smoothly. "Just a salesman-"

Rose's dad finally came into view. When he noticed me, his eyebrows furrowed and he looked at me in anger.

"What are you doing here?! I thought I told you to stay away."

"Please, sir, I just want to talk," I pleaded.

"Get off of my property," Abe exclaimed, pushing his wife back inside. "Or do you want me to call the cops?"

I shook my head. "No, but-"

"Then leave!" Abe cut me off.

What was I thinking? I shouldn't have come. As soon as I wanted to turn away and leave, though, I changed my mind again. No. You promised Roza, Dimitri. Don't give up so soon.

"This is breaking Rose's heart, you know," I said. "She might not want to admit that, but it's the truth. I care a lot about Rose and I hate to see her so sad. Seeing as you are her parents, I'm guessing you don't want her to be sad either."

Janine looked hesitant. "Maybe…maybe we should let him talk, Abe."

"No," Abe answered adamantly.

"If you keep doing this, you're going to lose Rose," I continued. "I know you don't want that. But you also know she can be very stubborn."

Janine snorted. "I wonder who she gets it from," she muttered, glancing up at her husband.

"I don't want to lose Rose either," I admitted. "She means a lot to me. And I know it would mean a lot to her if we could work this out. So please…give me another chance. Let me explain. That's all I'm asking."

They were both silent. Abe crossed his arms.

"You don't have to do it for me. Do it for you daughter," I said. I'm doing this for your daughter, too. Because I love her.

Janine was looking at her husband again, and finally he conceded. Without another word, he turned around. Janine motioned for me to come inside and I followed them to the kitchen, where we sat down at the table. Now that I'd finally convinced them to talk to me, I wasn't sure how to begin. I never expected to get this far.

"So," Abe said, clearing his throat. "Talk."

"Right." I cleared my throat as well. "First, I'd like to apologize for not telling you the truth right away."

"Yeah, yeah," Abe muttered, waving away my apology. "Get on with it."

"Let him finish, Abe," Janine reprimanded him.

Abe sighed, but stayed silent.

"I really am sorry," I said, feeling guilty. "But the only reason I didn't say anything was because I was afraid you'd react the same way everyone else does. I was afraid you'd want Rose to stay away from me and she's my only friend… I didn't want to lose her."

"Well, how did you except us to react to the fact that Rose's boyfriend is a crim-"

Janine cut her husband off. "Abe! Enough! Please." She looked annoyed. "Don't you see this is the reason why the boy didn't dare to tell us the truth?"

Abe grumbled something under his breath. I was glad Janine was on my side – sort of.

"I'm not going to deny any of what you've heard," I said when I was sure Rose's dad wasn't going to interrupt me again. "I did beat up my father and I did get sent to juvie. But the only reason I hurt my father was because he was hurting my family. He was hurting my mother again and again – for years. I needed to stop it before…." I sighed, looking away. "Before it was too late."

When I looked back up, Janine's face softened.

"I didn't do it for kicks," I told them earnestly. "I only wanted to protect my family. But no one believed my story because my father is a big shot lawyer. So I was sent to juvie for a year and when I was released…no one wanted to give me a chance, no one wanted to hear my side of the story. They all think of me the same. You do too now," I added, looking at Rose's father now. "And I don't blame you. I mean, if everyone thinks I'm the bad guy it must be so, right?"

They shifted in their seats, looking uncomfortable now. Abe cleared his throat again.

"Rose had heard about my past when she first got here, but she didn't judge me," I said. "She was the only one willing to give me a chance. And I'll be forever grateful for that because, thanks to her, I feel a lot more positive about life."

If I was not mistaken, there was pride in Janine's eyes. "Well, Rose has always been protective of her friends."

"She's one of a kind," Abe admitted.

"I don't really care about what people think of me, but I care about what you think of me because you're Rose's parents and Rose is very important to me."

Janine nodded. "We can see that."

"I just want you to know that I'd never hurt Rose," I said honestly. "I'm not a violent person. I just… All I wanted was to protect my family. If you want me to go into details, then I will, but I'd rather not because it's painful," I admitted.

"Of course, we understand," Janine said immediately. "You don't have to share anything you don't want to."

I was relieved to hear that. I really didn't want to relive that horrible time of my life. I'd rather put it all behind me and never think about it again. But that was impossible, of course. It did help to think about it as little as possible.

"Thank you," I answered.

"Will you excuse us for a moment, Dimitri?" Janine asked as she stood. She sounded very formal. "Abe and I need to talk this through. We'll be back shortly."

Abe looked surprised to hear that, but followed his wife anyway into the living room. I let out a breath and almost sagged in relief. Thank God. It's done. Now the only thing I could do was wait until they returned. Suddenly, I heard their voices rise from the other room. There was definitely a discussion going on. I tried not to listen, but it was hard because they were shouting.

"We should give him another chance, Abe!" I heard Rose's mother shouting. "I think it took a lot of courage to tell us the truth. He deserves a second chance."

"I don't know, Janine. He beat up his own father! Who's to say he won't snap again? Who's to say Rose won't be there when he does?"

"We're only driving our daughter away if we continue this," Janine shot back. "Besides, us forbidding them to see each other… It's not working. They're both going to the same school. We can't control what happens there! They'll still see each other. So I believe there really is no point in keeping them apart."

That was true. No matter what they'd decide, I'd still be able to see Rose at school. It wasn't the same, but it was better than nothing. And we'd probably find a way to see each other outside of school as well. I really didn't want to sneak around with her, but if I had to I would. There was no way I'd stop seeing Roza.

"And I honestly believe that Dimitri loves Rose," Janine continued. "I can see it in the way he talks about her. I believe he wouldn't hurt her."

"Young love ends as quickly as it begins," Abe returned.

"Do you remember what it's like to be young and in love?" When there was no response, Janine went on, "I'm telling you, Abe, nothing good will come from this if we try to keep them apart. We should give him a chance. I mean, don't you feel a little bit bad for him? No one ever gave him a chance after what happened with his father… Except Rose. We should do the same, Abe. We should be more like Rose."

"Of course I feel bad for the boy," Abe responded. "If it's true…and I'm… I'm inclined to believe it's true…then it's awful what happened to his family, what happened to him…" He cut himself off and there was silence for a few moments. "But I'm thinking of Rose now. I want to keep her safe. She's our only daughter, Janine."

"And that's why we need to give Dimitri a chance," Janine said, her voice softening. I had to prick up my ears now to hear her. "She won't forgive us if we try to keep her away from him. We'll still keep an eye on them, though. Just to make sure."

Stop eavesdropping, Dimitri. It's not polite. I shook my head and tried to focus on something else. I took out my phone to see if Rose had texted me. She hadn't. She was probably having fun with Lissa, which was good.

At last, Janine and Abe returned to the kitchen. Nervous, I looked at them in anticipation as they sat back down across from me.

"We've decided to give you another chance," Janine said after a few moments.

"But if something happens to Rose – anything at all – even if you just said something stupid and made her cry," Abe warned, "you're gone. I don't want you to see her ever again. Do you understand that?"

I nodded. "I promise. Nothing will happen to Rose. I won't hurt her."

"Then we won't stop you from seeing her," Janine concluded. "Now that we've come to an agreement, would you like to stay for dinner? It'll give us a chance to get to know each other better."

"Sure," I said immediately, relieved and happy. "I'd love to."

Janine smiled. "Let me call Rose. I'm sure she'll be delighted to see you."

RPOV

When my mom called me an hour after school had ended, I was less than excited to hear that I was expected at home. Now they were even limiting my time with Lissa. For the life of me, I could not understand why.

"I need to go," I sighed.

Lissa gave me a sympathetic look. "Text me if you need me."

I mustered up a smile. "I will. Thanks."

I rode my bike home, thinking how much I dreaded to spend the whole weekend with my parents. I suppressed a sigh as I walked into the hallway, closing the front door behind me.

"I'm home," I called out.

There was no response so I walked to the kitchen, where I stopped short. I blinked a couple of times, wondering if I was hallucinating. But no, there he was sitting at my kitchen table. Dimitri.

"W-what are you doing here?" I stammered. "How did you get in?"

"Your parents let me in," he answered, smiling.

I frowned. "But…"

Just then, my mother walked into the kitchen. "Ah, there you are. How would you like grilled chicken for dinner tonight?" She glanced at Dimitri. "What about you, Dimitri?"

"That's fine by me," he answered.

I swallowed. "I'm confused. What's happening right now?"

Dimitri walked over to me, his smile widening. Why was he smiling? Why was he even here? Why was my mom not yelling at him?

"We had a good talk," Mom explained. "Your dad and I decided we should give Dimitri a second chance. As long as you two don't keep any secrets, there shouldn't be a problem."

I was too shocked to respond. When Dimitri's hand found mine, I glanced up at him, my eyes wide. "Is…is this true? Did you…did you talk to my parents?"

"I told you I would," he said.

Finally, everything started to sink in and I found myself beaming at him. I really, really wanted to kiss him right now, but my mom was looking at us.

"Well, don't just stand there. Go up to your room and talk or watch some TV," Mom said, an amused expression on her face. "I'll call you down for dinner in a bit."

"Where's Dad?" I asked, still processing everything. My mind was a jumble right now.

"He's showering," she responded.

I nodded, then led Dimitri out of the kitchen. We were quiet as we walked up the stairs. But as soon as I'd closed the door to my room, I let out a loud squeal and jumped into my boyfriend's arms. Dimitri laughed and wrapped his arms around me.

"You're the best, comrade!" I exclaimed, kissing him hard.

He grinned at me. "I know, right?"

I laughed and kissed him again and again and again. If I'd known the reason why Mom wanted me back home, I would have biked a lot faster.

"Oh, I love you! I love you!" I said, barely able to contain my excitement, as I held him tight.

Dimitri put me back on my feet, but kept his arms wrapped around me.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to talk to my parents?" I asked.

"I didn't want to disappoint you if I didn't succeed," he answered.

I shook my head at him, still smiling. "You're amazing, comrade."

He looked pleased with himself – as he should be. "I'm relieved to hear you're happy."

"Of course I'm happy!"

"Your dad wasn't so thrilled, though, so don't get too excited," he warned.

"He'll warm up to you," I told him. "He did it once. He can do it again."

"I hope so."

We lay in each other's arm in silence, enjoying each other's company, until dinner was ready. I didn't want to move at first, but Dimitri told me to get out of bed before one of my parents stormed inside to see why we were stalling. The thought of my dad walking into my room when we were lying in my bed – even though we were both clothed – scared me a little so I got up immediately and rushed downstairs with Dimitri in tow.

Dinner was a little bit awkward, but at least my parents were trying to converse with Dimitri. I was actually surprised by how hard Mom tried to keep the conversation up and going. I bet she felt a little guilty. Dad, however, didn't say much. All he did was grunt from time to time. I could tell that it would take some time for him to thaw again. But for today, I was happy that they'd let him back inside the house. I was happy they'd finally realized that Dimitri wasn't the bad guy.

"Thank you for staying for dinner," I said as I walked Dimitri to the front door.

He smiled. "I think you should thank your parents. They invited me to stay."

"Well, I'll thank them as well," I said, returning his smile.

Dimitri sighed. "I should probably leave now. I don't want to overstay my welcome."

I nodded. I think that if Dimitri and I disappeared back into my room, my dad would have a fit. Best not to push our luck tonight.

"Good night, comrade," I said softly, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Good night, Roza."

I watched him walk to his bike and waved at him until he disappeared into the darkness. Locking the front door, I walked back to the kitchen where my parents were doing the dishes.

"Thank you, guys," I murmured.

"Hmm? I didn't quite catch that," Dad said, cupping his ear.

"Thank you," I said, louder this time, as I cut him a look. "This really means a lot to me."

"We know, Rose," Mom said smiling.

I was about to retreat when Dad called, "Next time, don't close the door to your bedroom when you're there with Dimitri."

I refrained myself from speaking my mind. "Okay, Dad," I forced out before walking up the stairs.

I hoped he'd forget about his stupid rule soon. Because that's what it was: it was plain stupid. As if Dimitri wouldn't dare to hurt me with the door open. As if those few inches mattered. Besides, he wasn't going to hurt me and I think Dad knew that now, but he just wanted to punish us for a little while longer. And I knew that if I said anything about it, it might ruin everything again.


Yay, Rose's parents finally caved in. Was about time, don't you think? ;) I hope you liked this chapter. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts! Have a nice day/evening! :)