I swear to God, this took forever to upload! My Microsoft Word is being a pain in my ass and Fanfiction hasn't been making it any easier on me. Ugh. I hope everyone's been able to read chapter 35. It should be viewable for everyone now. If not, then send me a PM and I'll give you a link. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

CHAPTER 36

RPOV

I rang the bell and waited for the front door the open. It was Saturday morning, and although Dimitri and I hadn't made plans for today, I still wanted to see him. Also, Viktoria had asked me to come over so she could tell her mother and her brother about her father. I was kind of feeling nervous about the whole thing. Dimitri never talked about his father, but I knew enough to know that he would be angry after hearing Viktoria's story. And it would be up to me to calm him down and convince him not to do anything stupid.

When Dimitri appeared in the door opening, a look of surprise crossed his face. Other than that, it looked like he'd come straight out of bed. But he looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept a wink last night.

"Good morning," I said cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"Morning," he murmured, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Eleven o'clock," I answered. "Bad timing?"

He looked at me and shook his head, a faint smile playing on his lips. "For you? Never."

I breathed a sigh of relief and walked inside. Gingerly, I kissed his cheek. I didn't know why I was acting so careful around him. He didn't even know yet what was happening. Just act normal.

"You look terrible," I said at last.

He grimaced. "I know. I haven't slept much."

I looked at him with sympathy. "Did they make you work late?"

Dimitri shook his head. "It's not that. I just…couldn't fall asleep, that's all." He wrapped his arm around me and led me to the kitchen.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, noticing the house was too quiet.

"I don't know. I guess they're out," he replied.

"Oh."

"I'm going to get dressed." He kissed the top of my head and murmured, "I'll be right back."

I nodded and took a seat at the kitchen table, fidgeting with my scarf as I waited for him to return. Thankfully, it didn't take too long. When he walked back into the kitchen, he looked a lot better – but still exhausted from the lack of sleep.

"Why are you here?" he asked as he sat down beside me. "Not that I don't want you here," he added hastily, grabbing my hand and squeezing it gently.

"I guess I just wanted to see you," I murmured, looking down at our entwined hands. Looking back up, I added, my voice barely above a whisper, "I miss you."

Dimitri smiled again, this time more genuine. "I miss you too, Roza."

I returned his smile and he leaned in closer to kiss me. I smiled against his lips and when he pulled back, I saw that he was still smiling as well.

"Do you have to go to work today?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not today."

Good. Then we had all the time in the world to give him the bad news. I kind of felt terrible for thinking like this.

"So did you get to talk to my sister?" he asked curiously.

I was about to respond when I heard the front door open again. A few seconds later, Olena and Viktoria came walking through the door with shopping bags.

"Rose, my dear!" Olena exclaimed with a bright smile on her face. "It's been so long since I've seen you. How have you been?"

Dimitri shook his head, exasperated. "It's only been a few days, Mama."

Olena ignored him. "I'm so glad you're here, Rose. Are you staying for lunch?"

I glanced back at Dimitri. "Uh, I don't know. Maybe I should come back another time."

But Dimitri tugged at my hand. "No. Stay." He gave me a small smile. "Please."

Glancing over at Viktoria, I saw her giving me a pointed look. A look that said, Don't leave me here alone! My gaze fell back on Dimitri and I saw that he was eager for me to stay.

"Okay," I said at last. "I'll stay."

Dimitri moved closer and gave me another quick kiss, otherwise his sister would criticize us for making out in public.

I got up from my chair and helped Olena with the groceries. I was kind of waiting for Viktoria to break the news to them, but she was awfully quiet. Had she chickened out? I hoped not, because I already felt weird enough that I was hiding something from Dimitri. I wasn't acting like myself, but I'd noticed he wasn't either. Did something happen at work that he didn't want to tell me? He'd been fine yesterday at school.

When I passed Viktoria, I bumped my elbow against hers. When she looked up at me, I gave her a pointed look.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" I whispered.

She looked scared.

"You're only going to make it worse if you don't tell them," I hissed.

"Fine," she whispered back. "I'll tell them after lunch. I need some food in my stomach before I can do this."

"Me too," I muttered, dreading the upcoming conversation already.

I wondered why her other sisters weren't here. Didn't they have the right to know as well? But maybe it was difficult for them to come over on a whim – seeing as Sonya was in college and Karolina had a baby to take care of. When I asked Viktoria about this, she said two Belikovs were more than enough at a time. The other two would be enlightened later – once everything had settled down here.

"So, umm, guys," Viktoria said, clearing her throat, when everyone had finished their meal. "I need to tell you something. It's…important."

Dimitri went rigid. Olena looked curious. I just looked down, not wanting to see the devastated look on Dimitri's face when he heard the news his father was back in town.

"Alright," Olena said cautiously. "We're listening."

She opened her mouth to speak, but Dimitri interrupted, "You aren't pregnant, are you?"

"Oh my God," Viktoria exclaimed. "You're just as bad as Rose!"

Dimitri glanced over at me, a questioning look on his face.

I shrugged. "I might've asked her the same question."

"No need to worry, brother. I'm not pregnant."

Dimitri was still tense. "Then what is it? Are you finally going to tell us why you've been acting strange?"

"I haven't been acting strange," Viktoria countered.

"But you haven't been yourself either," Olena commented. "What's wrong, Vika? You know you can tell us anything. If it's not about a pregnancy-"

She let out a sigh. "Ugh, I wish."

Dimitri's eyes almost bugged out. "Excuse me?"

"That's just meant as an expression!" she said, rolling her eyes. "I don't really want to be pregnant, idiot. I'm just saying that being pregnant would be less of a problem than the actual problem."

"What could be worse than-"

"Shut up!" Viktoria exclaimed, cutting Dimitri off. "Let me say what I have to say."

"I'm sorry," Dimitri mumbled reluctantly.

He really was short-tempered today – so not like himself. And this news wouldn't make his mood any better. Oh boy.

Glancing over at him, I took his hand in mine and squeezed it gently. He looked up at me and I gave him a small smile.

"Do you know what's wrong?" he asked me softly, confused.

I gave a small nod. "She told me yesterday. After school." I squeezed his hand again. "Just hear her out, comrade. This really is important."

He hesitated, but then nodded. "Okay."

Viktoria took a deep breath. She glanced at me and I gave her an encouraging smile as I kept holding Dimitri's hand in mine, hoping it would keep him calm when she told them.

"So, umm, Dad's back," Viktoria said at last, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, not daring to look at either of them.

I cleared my throat. "And?"

She looked at me, clearly frustrated with me. "And…he's been calling the house for a while now. So far I've managed to answer his calls so you guys wouldn't have to deal with him. But he's getting angry because I won't let him talk to you." She directed those last words to her mother, who sat frozen in her seat. I could only imagine how she must feel right now. "He's also been saying nasty things about Dimitri. I think…" Viktoria took another deep breath. She was fighting back her tears now. "I think he's going to pay us a visit soon."

To my surprise, Dimitri said nothing. He looked very pale, though.

"So now you know why I've been acting weird. I just didn't want you guys to find out because then you'd worry," Viktoria continued.

Olena was almost in tears. "You should have told us anyway, Vika."

"I'm really sorry, Mama," Viktoria whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I guess I just wanted to protect you from him. Like Dimitri has."

Olena finally burst out into tears. "You shouldn't have to protect me. Neither of you. You're my children. I should be the one to protect you!" She got up from her chair and pulled Viktoria into her arms. "I'm sorry I didn't realize there was something going on with you. I just thought it was something innocent. I thought you might have a boyfriend."

"I wish," Viktoria sobbed into her mother's neck.

I looked at Dimitri. His grip on my hand had tightened and he still looked very pale. Also, he was trembling now.

"Dimitri, are you okay?" I asked softly. "You haven't said anything yet."

Dimitri released my hand and let out a breath. "I have something to say as well," he said, his voice shaking.

Oh no. This couldn't be good.

When Dimitri had everyone's attention, he continued, "He's already here. He…" He hesitated. "He paid me a visit after work."

"What?" Olena gasped, clasping her hand over her mouth. "Did he hurt you?"

Dimitri shook his head quickly. "No. He was just trying to get under my skin. He was making threats, like usual." He paused. "And he's been following me, and probably you too, Vika." He looked at me with sorrow. "He knows about you as well, Rose."

My heart nearly stopped when he said that. Well, fuck.

Olena started crying harder and Viktoria hugged her fiercely. "It's going to be okay, Mama," she murmured, though she was weeping as well. "He can't hurt us."

Dimitri scoffed. "He can and he will."

"Dimitri, don't say that," I said, shocked.

"You don't know him, Rose. You don't know what he's capable of." Dimitri jumped up from his chair and I flinched at the tone of his voice. The calmness was completely gone. His face had grown hard and there was a lot of anger in his eyes. Anger and frustration. "And he knows I won't be able to do anything about it. He knows I can't hurt him. If I do, I'll be sent back to juvie. If I'm back in there, I won't be able to protect my family at all!"

And with that, he ran off. A few seconds later, I heard the front door slam shut.

"No, Dimka, come back!" Olena cried.

"I'll get him back here," I said determinedly, already making my way out the door.

When I was outside, he was already out of sight. The car was still parked in front of the house, though, so he couldn't have gone far. I had a feeling where he was heading, though. I ran as quickly as possible to my destination and once again I told myself I really had to do something about my condition. This was the second time in two days I'd had to run like this.

When I arrived at the park, I saw Dimitri immediately. Even though it was Saturday, there weren't a lot of people around. The few that were stopped and stared at Dimitri as he kept hitting the tree in front of him. I sprinted the last few feet and shouted at the people who were staring, "Hey, don't you have anything else to do? Leave him the fuck alone!"

They quickly scurried off, each on their own way. I stopped next to Dimitri, who'd only stopped for a moment to look at me before hitting that damn tree again. His hands were bloody.

"I know you're angry, but I think you're really hurting that tree," I said loudly, trying to interrupt his cursing. It was in Russian, though, so I wasn't certain if he was cursing but it sure sounded like it. "It's an unfair fight, seeing the tree can't hurt you back. Besides, your hands are bloody enough as it is so you might want to stop that. We've got an English paper to write for next week. I can imagine you need your hands for that."

"You didn't have to follow me," Dimitri said, glaring at me. At least, he'd stopped hitting that poor tree. "You should go home."

I crossed my arms. "No way I'm leaving you here."

He stared at me, his breathing hard. He still looked pissed. "God, Rose! Sometimes you're so infuriating! Just leave me alone!"

I had to admit I was feeling a little hurt, but I knew that this was because of his dad. I'd never seen him so angry, though. I wondered what his dad had said to him last night.

"Go home," he repeated, his jaw clenched. "I don't want you to see me like this."

"Are you afraid I can't handle you when you're angry?" I said calmly. "Or are you afraid that I think you'd be capable of hurting me after what I just witnessed?"

He looked away.

"You're my best friend, Dimitri, and I'm not leaving you," I said firmly. Taking a step forward, I put my arms around him. He struggled against me, wanting to push me away, but I kept my ground. At last, he stopped fighting. "I'm not leaving you," I said again, my voice soft and soothing.

Slowly, Dimitri wrapped his arms around me and I felt him pull me closer to him. He buried his face in my neck and murmured over and over again, "I'm sorry, Roza. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Shh, it's okay," I murmured. "We're okay."

"I didn't mean to scare you," he said in a muffled voice, his voice cracking. "I'm so sorry."

"You didn't scare me." I pulled back from the hug so I could look at him. "But I was worried for a moment." When I saw the look on his face, I added hastily, "Not for me. For your hands." I looked down at them. "They look bad."

He shrugged. "It doesn't hurt."

I sat down on the grass, not caring if my pants got dirty, and pulled him down next to me. Dimitri was still shaking, but at least he'd calmed down somewhat.

"You're right. I was afraid you'd think I'd hurt you." He finally looked up at me and there were tears in his eyes. "But I would never hurt you. I knew I was going to lose my temper so I had to get away from the house. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I understand that you're angry and frustrated, but this is not the way to deal with that," I said, my voice gentle.

He sighed. "I know." He buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe he's back. I can't believe he's been calling Vika all this time and I had no idea. I feel terrible."

I scooted closer to him and put my arm around him. "No one realized what was going on with your sister. It isn't your fault."

"Then why do I feel like it is? I should've known."

All I could do was hug him, hoping it would make him feel better. "I'm so sorry, Dimitri. You don't deserve this."

He snorted. "Maybe I do."

I frowned at him. "No, you don't. And neither does your family."

Dimitri let out another frustrated sigh. "What am I going to do now? Sooner or later, he'll confront Mama and I probably won't be there." He looked at me, desperate. "I won't be able to protect her."

"Maybe he just came back to torment you. Now that he has done that, he might leave," I said, although I realized I was being stupid.

"No. He said I wouldn't be able to protect my family for much longer," he muttered darkly. "He's planning something."

"Maybe we should go to the police," I suggested.

"The police believed my father and they arrested me. They're not going to believe me all of a sudden."

I let out a sigh. "Well, this sucks."

Dimitri laughed humorlessly. "You could say that."

A silence fell.

"Well, whatever happens," I said after a while, leaning my head against his shoulder, "I'll always be here for you."

He shook his head. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea."

I looked up at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

He looked at me in anguish. "He doesn't just know about you, Rose. He knows what you look like. He knows where you live." Even though his hands must hurt like hell, he grabbed mine in his. "You have to be very careful now. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Why would your father hurt me?" I asked. I was kind of getting scared now. Should I be worried about my safety?

"Because he knows it would hurt me," Dimitri answered. "If he finds out how much I really care about you…that I'm in love with you… You won't be safe anymore."

"Dimitri, you're scaring me," I said, my eyes wide.

Dimitri's expression was grim. "I don't want to scare you, Roza, but my father is capable of anything."

I believed Dimitri. I might not know much about his father, but I knew enough that made me believe that he was a dangerous man. But still… I wouldn't let him keep us apart. I refused to let him scare me away from my boyfriend.

I took a deep breath, making a decision. "Then we'll face him together. Like I said before, I'm not leaving you. We're in this together."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't blame you if you want to get out," Dimitri said. "Maybe that's better. It'd be safer and I'd feel better knowing you're-"

I cut him off with a kiss. "I'm sure, Dimitri. I'm not going anywhere."

He leaned in for another kiss and murmured against my lips, "I love you, Roza."

I put my hand on his cheek and smiled. "I love you too, comrade." Glancing back down at his hands, I said, "I think we should go back. Your mother is freaking out. Besides, we need to clean you up. You might need stitches."

"I'll be fine. It doesn't hurt," he said, waving away my worries. "But you're right. We should probably go back now."

I got up and helped Dimitri up as well. He winced a little when I grabbed his hand.

"You don't feel any pain, huh?" I snorted. I shook my head, smiling. "Come on, comrade. Let's get you home."

So...the drama's back again! I hope you liked the chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Hopefully, you'll get an alert from Fanfiction this time ;)

Have a nice week! :)