Chapter 33
Dimitri pov
I walked around campus to look for Rose. I couldn't find her anywhere. Where could she be? I thought. Then I got an idea. I went back to the clinic to see if Lissa was still there. Duh, I thought to myself. Of course she is. Her injuries were very serious. I went to Lissa's room to find that Rose wasn't there. Lissa was sleeping and Christian had his eyes closed, sitting in a chair next to her bed. I sighed softly and shut the door without a sound.
I walked back out of the clinic, one of Moroi nurses giving me a 'oh-goody,-you're-back-and-I-just-want-you' look while another nurse was giving me a 'why-are-you-back-again?' look.
I walked to Christian's dorm room where I knew that Rose was staying. I knocked on the door when I got there and got no answer. I wonder where she's at? I thought. I went to her dorm just in case she was there, and I didn't see her. I shrugged and thought to myself, I'll find her later.
I walked into my room and you'll never guess who I found? …
…I had found Rose sitting on my bed, reading one of my western novels. I thought she didn't like those. She had always made fun of me for reading them, but here she was…reading them herself. She looked really into the book, as well.
I stood at the door with my arms crossed over my chest. She didn't realize that someone was at the door until – when I had looked at the clock I had sitting on my nightstand and saw that ten minutes had passed – I closed the door with a little bang.
She flinched and looked up at the door, scared half to death. The look on her face was priceless! If I had a camera, I totally would've taken a picture. The look on her face made me break down in hysterics.
"It's not funny," I heard her mutter.
"You're right," I said, pausing my laughter. "It's hilarious!" I started laughing uncontrollably again.
She was still sitting on my bed, blushing profusely.
It took a few minutes, but I managed to sop laughing and walk over to her, smiling like a buffoon. I took her in my arms and hugged her tightly to me. I felt her smile through my cotton shirt and she hugged me back just as tightly.
"You're gonna be the death of me," I whispered to her. "You know that, right?"
She nodded. "I know."
It was quiet for a few moments before I asked her, "How did you manage to break into my room?"
I felt her smile wider. "I have my ways, Comrade."
"How?" I asked.
She pulled back. She went into her pocket and pulled out a key. They same key I thought I had lost a few weeks ago. "How did you–?"
"I took it out of your pocket while you weren't paying attention," she interrupted.
Thank God I carried a back-up key in my wallet. But her response made me curious. "Why would you want a key to my room?"
She blushed a deep red. "Um…uh…" she stuttered.
"Why?" I wanted a straight-forward answer.
"Um…so I could…um…see you if I wanted to." She looked down, as if she was ashamed of what she did.
I knew she wasn't ashamed, though. I laughed outright.
Rose pov
I hung my head, as if I was ashamed that I had taken his key. I definitely wasn't ashamed to have taken his key, but I wanted to see if he actually had believed that I was ashamed. I don't think he did when I heard him outright laugh. He's been laughing a lot lately and I, personally, loved it. His laugh was my weakness.
I looked up. "Why are you laughing? I thought you'd be mad at me for what I did."
"I'm not mad, Roza," he said. "A little upset, yes. But mad? No. I could never be mad at you."
"But I took your key."
"So?" he asked.
"So?" I repeated.
He smiled. "You could have just asked."
I stared at him like he was some clown that I was too shocked to move (or even see), even though I was scared of them.
He chuckled. "Yes, I just said that."
"You wouldn't give it to me," I said. "You're just teasing me. You wouldn't actually give it to me."
"How do you know that, Roza?" he asked softly.
"Because I know you. You're too responsible and smart to do something like that."
He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. His rested his forehead on mine. "I'm not as responsible and smart as you think I am, Roza." His voice was soft and gentle, talking to me like I was fragile.
I smiled and leaned over and kissed him.