Hello my dear comrades in Comrade.

Oh my daze, thank you so much! :D You guys are really the best – I thoroughly enjoyed every review so much that they all made me smile :) It's been kinda stressful lately, smiling is a rare occurrence so I thank you guys so much.

Unfortunately, I am currently working without my lovely Beta, SarahBelikova (please go check out her stories – they are awesome ;)) so be prepared for a few mistakes so any advice or improvements will be much appreciated :)

Anyways...I shall not keep you waiting... xD

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or anything surrounding it (but I do own this plot :D)

RPOV

Have you ever had your heart broken? For me, it was as though my blood was frosting over in glistening crystallization: freezing solid so that each beat became like a stake thrusting into my chest over and over again. And with this ice inhibiting the blood flow, my muscles felt weak and threatened to collapse to the white snowflakes below, like the titanic slowly easing downward to its own demise. This infection spread to my lungs, making it impossible to breathe – the only thing I could do was tremble. And in the seconds that that process took to completion, my eyes bore on Tasha's victorious grin, teasing me like the Devil.

And so, I ran. I am not completely sure to this day how I expected that to help, or where I was going for that matter. I couldn't go home – he would find me there. I had to find someplace else. Tripping and skidding against the cold, iced surface – the only warmth coming from the hot tears that had begun to layer my cheeks, proving protection from the scarring wind that felt like shards of glass against my exposed skin – I kept running, only to hear him call after me:

"Rose!"

I did not want to see him. I did not want whatever half-assed excuse he gave me. Thus, I kept running: darting along the pavement until I reached the park. Flashes of my own memory took me off guard: how we ran from that Nandos after I smashed their glassware; how I kissed him to hide from Lissa; how his lips felt against mine when we-

No!

I yelled at myself, forcing my legs to plough on through the gravel path through the abandoned park. The night was as still as it was cold: the only light throughout the natural landscape came from the city surrounding it, illuminating the paths and grass with a dim glow, tinted blue. The snow continued to fall gently, like ash after a volcano, only this eruption hadn't quite finished yet.

I kept going before I felt a pair of warm hands wrap round my waist. I should've known I wouldn't be able to outrun him, but I was too upset to think logically. "Let me go!" I shouted, kicking and squirming in his grasp.

"Rose, please, just-" I cut him off by breaking free. I stumbled to keep my balance but when I found equilibrium, I turned to him and slapped hard him against his cheek.

"You pig." I spat, mentally ignoring how much my hand now hurt. "You arrogant, self-centred pig." I hissed as he finished wincing over his rapidly reddening cheek. "What? Did you not think that I wouldn't find out about your other girlfriend? Do you think I am that stupid!?"

"No I-she is not my girlfriend." He said, begging for me to believe him.

Fat chance.

I laughed but there was no humour in it, "Oh, forgive me for not believing you whilst she had her hands all over you! But I bet you have a fantastic explanation for that, don't you?" I spat, crossing my hands to stop them slapping him again.

Dimtiri pressed his lips together into a thin line, "Natasha Ozera is my colleague – my partner in business – nothing more."

"Really?" I scoffed.

"Yes!" He exclaimed desperately.

"So you've never slept with her?" I countered, praying that he wouldn't have stooped that low. He hesitated. That bastard hesitated! I laughed humourlessly again, "I knew it."

"It is not what you thin-"

"Then what!?" I yelled, the anger erupting inside of me, masking the fact that my heart was tearing in two.

I could see the anger sparking in Dimitri too, his infamous self-control battling to keep it at bay but I saw it snap. "Fine – I slept with her. She was a meaningless one-night stand that I had before I met you to escape from the pain that it was being me. I didn't even remember it – I was drunk, high, the whole shebang! That was my life. That was what I was like before I met you. It wasn't living, it was just existing. You think you've had it bad!? You are not the only one."

My anger, though still present, was overthrown by grief as the revelation dawned upon me. "That's it isn't it?" my voice was not shouting or harsh, but calm and quiet.

Dimitri unclenched his jaw and looked at me nervously, "That's what?"

"You really don't care." I sneered. "You used me as a distraction from your pathetic, callous life and I fell for it. I fucking fell for it!" I kicked the floor as the anger grew again.

"That is not true." He growled.

"Isn't it?" I scoffed again. "I should have known – you are just like all the other corrupt bastards out there who care nothing but for their money. You used me; I offered you my heart and you ripped it up and laughed in my face. You are as cold as ice Dimitri Belikov. You don't care about anythi-"

"Do not tell me how I am feeling." He roared, coming at me and pinning me to the tree behind. Fear peaked in my being and he let go instantly, afraid and in shock. His eyes widened and he started to tremble, looking at his hands as though they were no longer part of his body. "Roz-"

"Don't you dare call me that." I warned, the salty water streaming down my face.

"Rose, please forgive me. I love you. Please, forgive me." He begged and I swear he was seconds away from falling to his knees.

"You love me? How am I meant to believe you?" The truth was I was torn – I wanted, oh I wanted, to believe him; to forgive him. But I couldn't. At least, not right now. My mind was spinning; I was barely thinking straight as it was: I just needed to be alone. I wanted to be alone.

"Please, I will do anything." He pleaded and my heart broke a little more.

"Stay away from me." I whispered and his eyes widened.

"Rose-"

"Dimitri, I don't want to see you." I interrupted and I could see the conflict in his eyes, his beautiful eyes: he was fighting his control. And so was I. I just needed to be alone though, so it took all I had to speak again: "I don't want to see you ever again..."

DPOV

"I don't want to see you ever again..."

The words stung so badly it felt that it would never end; over and over bringing me to the cusp of death but not giving me the release. I watched as she broke away, stumbling slightly before progressing into a weak jog. This time I didn't chase her. This time I stayed, frozen, locked in my watch as the woman I love ran away from me.

And there was nothing I could do about it.

I stood there thinking, if only. If only I had told her sooner. If only I been completely honest. If only I had never met Tasha: lost my job in that instant and broken free from its brutal enslavement. If only.

And yet, this was my hand. Dealt to me with a sly grin and I could no longer bluff my way through. I watched the space where my Roza once was as a lone tear brushed my cheekbone. Turning away, I folded my hand: I could no longer pretend. This devilish gamble, this curse lottery – I had nothing left to bet. My home, my life, my love was gone and only a bitter reality remained. I walked with a shattered heart, each step more painful than the last to the point where it became so unbearable. I needed relief, I needed a cure and, with Rose gone like the warmth of summer in the icy winter that it was, I needed to make the pain go away and I could only think of one thing:

I needed a drink...

C(hristian)POV

"Seriously, Syd. All I am saying is that if you cut down to three, maybe four, a day it wouldn't go unappreciated." Adrian said, gesturing to his girlfriend with a hand that current held a half-drunk scotch between its fingertips.

The response was a scowl as she sassily slammed the till shut. Finding this to be quite the turn on, he winked and she and I simultaneously rolled our eyes.

"What's Sydney gotta cut down on?" I asked, joining the pair by plonking myself next to Adrian at the bar.

"Coffee." He answered before Sydney could even go to open her mouth. I considered it and nodded in agreement which was apparently that all Adrian needed. "See! It is not an unreasonable request."

"Shockingly." I muttered, evidently losing the respect I had just gained. Sydney smirked and before Adrian could say 'watch it, Ozera' the door burst open. An icy wind blasted in, chilling the room, before the door slammed shut and the clonking of heels dug into the wooden floor. I saw both Sydney and Adrian grimace and I frowned as Tasha walked in through the door. She did not look one bit pleased as she stormed her way over to the bar, thundered down next to me and snapped her fingers at Sydney, gesturing for a drink.

"Aunt Tasha, are you okay?" I asked concerned.

She looked at me like I had asked a stupid question, and, to be fair, I had, before grabbing the glass Sydney had just put down and chucking the contents down her throat. "That fucking skank!" I was a little taken back by her choice of vocabulary and raised my eyebrows accordingly. Without even looking over, she continued as though we were all listening. "That bitch ruins absolutely everything and I bet she does it on purpose!" She exclaimed, hitting the counter with her palm.

"Who?" Adrian asked the question we were all wondering. Tasha turned her gaze to meet the three; of us – blue eyes blazing in anger.

"Rose Hathaway. That little whore has stolen my boyfriend." She spat as though disgusted whilst she thrust her arm towards the door where she had arrived.

"Tasha, I-"

"Don't try and defend her, Christian." She interrupted. Whilst I was going to defend her, I was also going to warn Tasha that Abe was in Stan's office next door and I seriously doubted he would take kindly to hearing that his daughter was being called a 'whore'. I could see Sydney and Adrian were following my thinking but Tasha ploughed on with her tale of woe without really giving us an opportunity to speak. "She just comes along a ruins all of my plans. This guy was different. I know I have a bit of a record, but this man was different. He was the one. We were destined but then Rose comes waltzing along, flashing her goods and he is smitten."

"Wait, you aren't talking about Dimitri?" I asked and Tasha's glare pierced my eyes.

"And how do you his name?" she snapped.

"Tasha, Rose has been with Dimitri for a while now." Sydney said biting her lip and Adrian hummed in agreement as his mouth was otherwise occupied with alcohol.

She looked at the three of us like we had spouted extra heads. She blinked before leaning in and 'clarifying' a few details. "Right. Let me clear a few things up for you slightly lacking individuals in the IQ department here: Dimitri Belikov is mine. I have been seeing him every day for the past two months and we have something special." She prodded the table, adding emphasise to the 'special' element of that sentence. I hadn't realised that Rose's Dimitri worked with Tasha but the look on Adrian face said that he did. I suppose, he had trumped Adrian's dad and Nathan Ivashkov is not likely to have kept that one quiet. I almost felt sorry for bloke.

"Tasha, working with someone is not the same is being in a relationship." I pointed out and she chuckled slightly.

"You know, I don't even know why he is so hell bent on doing well in his job; it is not like he is any good." She mused and Adrian sprayed out his scotch, choking on it as he did. Sydney rushed over, concerned and I took his glass away, patting his back to try and stop the choking. It was in one of Lissa's childcare books and it was a pretty safe philosophy to assume that if it worked on Adrian, it would work on a kid. Tasha didn't really seem to be that concerned and I was slightly confused as to why Adrian had responded like that. Glancing over, Tasha took my confusion over Adrian as confusion over her statement, causing her to elaborate, "Did you honestly think that he beat his opponent because of his pitch. Sure, it was alright but the other guy's was much better but Nathan Ivashkov is hardly what I'd call fuckable. I only chose Dimitri so that we would be closer but even that seems to have backfired."

And that's when it dawned upon me.

Rose had told me about Dimtiri's pitch – how had worked his socks off for that job and thought he had earned it because of his skill. Hell, she had pre-rehearsed his pitch with him so many times – she knew it back to front. She and I both knew he wasn't the happiest of people in his line of work but it had meant a great deal to him when he pulled through.

And it was all just for Tasha.

I honestly had never been so ashamed to share the name 'Ozera' with her in my life. Maybe I was biased, but I didn't think that Tasha was really as bad as everyone seemed to believe her be. I mean, she was my aunt who raised me when my parents had died. She couldn't possibly as low and as shallow as everyone thought – it was actually starting to piss me off a little. I wasn't as oblivious as everyone thought either; I could see that she was trying to sway me away from the Inn and, whilst it annoyed me a lot, she was still family. But this, this was different. This was beyond low and right down into plain demonic. I could not believe she had done something like this to anyone.

And then I remembered who else it effected...

"Are you telling me, you put my father out of a job so Dimitri could give you a shot?" Adrian's voice was dangerously low and I was suddenly very concerned that the pub was still open: albeit quiet, but there were still a few lingering customers who were seemingly blissfully unaware of the situation unfolding at the bar.

Tasha stopped swirling her drink to look up at Adrian who was now on the brink of exploding. "Why do you care, I thought you hated him." She spoke like she hadn't stepped in a minefield.

"Why do I care!?" Adrian sprang up and not even Sydney tried to stop him. To be honest, it looked like she wanted to join in. The few customers looked around to see what all the commotion was about and I was too pissed at my aunt to even give them a dirty look. "I care, Natasha, because he is my family. My father. That job was important to him. I may not have agreed but it meant a whole lot to him so I would have supported him with it. Unlike you." He spat but Tasha managed to remain the picture of calm.

"I have supported my family." She sneered smugly. "10 grand." She reminded us and I felt even sicker.

Adrian seemed more enraged by this. "Money does not make the world go round." He snapped bitterly, "If anything, it only corrupts - we all have seen how you subtly manipulate Christian into leaving this place to come and join your pathetic world. You care for no-one but yourself and all you can do is cause hurt and misery because that is what money and 'power' does to a person. I should know – my family are experts at it. Hell, we basically wrote the book. But you know what, if you want to fuck up yours and Christian's lives, feel free, I am done being nice to you." And with one last glug, he stormed out the Inn, slamming the door as he did. It was always dangerous to get Adrian properly angry; as a kid, he had been treated for a mental condition and it sometimes leaked back through in particularly passionate moments of anger. Some people disliked Adrian's care-free attitude, but it was far better than the alternative.

"Adrian!" Sydney called out and upon seeing the crowd of surprised and sniggering faces she glowered. "Hey, mind your own business." She chastised, getting angry in the only way Sydney knew how, before running after Adrian.

All of sudden, I was left alone with the woman who raised me, but I could barely recognise her. She snorted at Adrian's breakdown and resumed her drink like nothing had happened, like she didn't have a care in the world. How could she do that? How could she be that low?

"Do you really have no idea what you have done?" I asked, looking at her through a frown as I tried to locate the woman I once knew.

She glanced over emotionlessly, "I haven't done anything. This is all Rose."

"No." I stated, "Rose has nothing to do with this. This is on you." I said, swivelling my legs round the bar stool.

"Where are you going!?" She asked as I rose to my feet.

I looked back at her and resisted yelling. In compromise, I settled on exasperation, "Tasha, I am going back to my job and then I am going to my home – to Lissa and my unborn child – because I need to think and you need to grow up."

"I need to grow up!" she mocked.

"Yes, you have ruined Nathan's life, pissed off Adrian, manipulated Dimitri and seem to have acquired this..." I paused to think of the appropriate word, "...vendetta against Rose because she apparently 'stole' your man. If you can't see that that is wrong, then you definitely need help." I made to leave but spun round again to ask what had been on my mind throughout, "What happened to you Tasha?"

She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "Nothing – I haven't changed."

"Really?" I asked in complete disbelief.

"Really." She quipped. She put her glass down and tried to reach for my hand. Pulling it away she retreated her advance but spoke all the same, "Can't you see – this is all Rose. If she hadn't gotten in my way..." she trailed off, becoming lost in thought. Her pupils dilated and her gaze turned distant as she pondered over her thoughts.

I widened my eyes, but upon realising she was not going to continue, I shook my head exasperated. "You are delusional." She didn't even respond and I looked over at her, assessing every detail before closing my eyes and turning away and walking back into the kitchen, leaving Tasha at the bar where she remained, slowly swirling her drink, in deep contemplation...

Oh, what is she up to now!? Poor Adrian :( And Dimitri! Oh, what have I done? :3

Sorry for the argumentative nature of this chapter but if you could put your pitchforks down for a moment, we aren't quite done yet ;) Still more to come :D I'm aware I have made Tasha slightly unrealistically nuts but for the purposes of this story, we'll roll with it xD I know I need to look back and edit (especially some of the earlier chapters) but I kinda want to finish this story before Christmas – it's nearly a year old, can you believe!? I don't want to rush it, but I literally have so many ideas for other stories and my head is on the brink of explosion xD

Also, writing for Christian is hard. I never really appreciated it, but it is hard. I think it is going to be a one-time event because he is a quite a complex and layered character – hard to get in the head of. Like Rose, he has this outward bravado but his inner workings are a little more twisted and dark and it's just difficult to follow his thought process. He is somewhat a Byronic Hero (those reading Bronte ;)) but not quite, if that makes sense, which makes it tricky. I spent about a day re-reading his parts and still can't seem to get it right xD Alas, I don't think I'll be doing a Chrissa story anytime soon xD

Anyway, wishing you all the best (and please leave a review :D)
Mariarty