Hello my darlings! Sorry this took me so long! I've been totally busy, what with my brother falling off his bicycle and breaking his arm and my grandma being sick and in the hospital! Thanks for all of your love though, you guys are the absolute best

I don't own VA and, there's a time-lapse in this chapter! Yay!

I didn't know what love was until I met you.

Chapter 37.

"Kids, Dinner!" Mom's voice rang out and I groaned. I was starving, but the thought of moving a single muscle was torture.

"Well, you guys don't look pleased," Lissa noted. "Aren't you hungry?" Christian and I nodded. We had been video chatting with her for a while, something that had long become routine in this house.

"Yes, but my body hurts, everywhere." I complained. "How the hell am I supposed to make it down the stairs?"

"Liss, care to give me a massage?" Christian asked with a wink. I rolled my eyes and fake gagged. Lissa turned crimson.

"Geez, guys, cut it out! Do that on your own time!" They both chuckled, but I wasn't kidding.

After Lissa had left, she and Christian had pretended that they felt nothing for each other. Quite frankly, watching my best friend and my brother mope around pining away for each other was torture, but I had not gotten involved. After all, it wasn't like I knew anything about relationships, right? I mean the last attempt at trying to make a step in that direction had been an epic fail. Anyway, they weren't officially together, but they did flirt, a lot.

"Will you stop making googly eyes at each other?" I grumbled. "Geez. I'm going to go get washed up for dinner. I'll text you later, Liss." I left them to it knowing that I could trust Christian to shut my laptop down.

…

"So, are you guys still interested in joining the track team?" Mom asked as we sat around the dinner table. I grimaced.

"Ug no way, mom. I ache everywhere, and that's just because of gym." She chuckled at my discomfort and I groaned.

"She's right though, it's hard enough doing those stupid runs she makes me go on with her," Christian complained.

"Seriously? I'm considering dropping all athletic activities and staying in bed all weekend long." I told them.

Christian and I had recently taken up an interest in the athletic side of things at school. We were both pretty excited about joining the track team, but something had possessed us to work out after school with our gym teacher miss Petrov. It was bad on most days, but on Fridays when the last 2 periods of the day were gym coupled with that extra hour and a half after school was just horrible.

"Well, you can't drop everything athletic Rose," Mom said. "You guys are supposed to go hiking with Sophie tomorrow, remember?" Fuck. Why had I agreed to that?

"Oh, don't look so put out now; I'm sure you'll have fun." I doubted it, and if the way Christian was glaring at me, he did, too.

…

Mom was right. The hike had been fun, but my body ached all over again. I forced my legs to work so that I could get out of Sophie's mom's car, and then had to force them to carry me to the porch. Once seated on one of the chairs on our porch, I waved bye to them.

"Next time Rose, please agree to play video games with her brother or something," Christian all but growled as he sank down on the chair beside me.

"She doesn't have a brother, Chris." I pointed out knowing that that wasn't the point he was trying to make.

"Whatever," He grumbled. "I'm going to grab a shower and a nice long nap."

"That actually sounds like a plan," I agreed. We called to mom and dad to let them know that we were home as I closed the front door.

"Did you guys have fun?" Mom asked from the living room. She was curled up beside my dad who was focused on the football game.

"No!" Christian and I said at once as we dragged our exhausted selves up the stairs. Mom's giggles followed us all the way up and only died away when I was behind the closed door of my room.

The rest of the weekend was spent at home with Christian and our parents, no athletics whatsoever. Olena and the girls came over for lunch on Sunday and didn't leave until after dinner. Even though I knew he wasn't going to be there, I couldn't help but look around for Dimitri. It was ridiculous. I hadn't seen him in over a year. The last time I'd seen him had been on my birthday, and that had been when I was turning 13. I was 14 now, and Dimitri hadn't even bothered to show up this year.

Did that sting? Of course, like a bitch. Would I ever admit that to anyone? Not in hell. I was fine on most days, but there were times like when his entire family came over that I really did miss him.

I hated that I did, I mean he hadn't even bothered to reply to that letter I'd sent with Viktoria all those months ago. He never called, never texted, and when he was in town he never dropped by. It was unfathomable. He had said that he liked me, if this was how he treated people he liked well I didn't want to see what his enemies had to endure.

"Wow, what did those fries do to you and remind me to never do it?" I glanced up at Sophie. Her golden brown hair was all over today.

"Oh nothing," I said with a sigh. She and I were good, but I never told her about Dimitri. "I'm just tired is all, and from the looks of things, so are you."

"Yeah, I had that boxing class yesterday." My eyes widened. Sophie was even more athletic than Christian and I were. I could throw a hell of a punch, but Sophie would have you in a headlock in an instant. That wasn't as much fun as throwing a good punch to the face to me, though.

"How did it go?" Christian asked, joining our conversation. Sophie gave us all the details and everyone was enraptured to the very end. We all sat around that table just talking for almost the entire lunch period.

"Wow, shit." Sophie said suddenly. She and I had excused ourselves to go to the bathroom. I glanced away from the mirror only to find her staring at some girl's ass as she walked away.

"Dear god Soph, chill." Sophie glanced away, eyes full of wonder.

"Rose, that's the girl I was telling you about." I didn't have to wrack my brain to remember. She was totally crushing on that girl from the moment she started our school when it reopened.

"She asked me out, you know." I froze.

"She what?" Sophie nodded eagerly. She was lesbian and very proud of it. She didn't care what anyone said either, something I totally admired about her.

"I said yes!" She squealed and I grinned.

"I'm really happy for you," I told her honestly. That grin stayed on her face for the rest of the day.

Lying in bed that night, I realized something. It seemed everyone was in love, everyone but me. Well, that wasn't really true, I mean I was in love; yes I was still convinced that I loved Dimitri. I just wished he would give me some kind of sign as to where we stood. Closing my eyes, I told myself that I was being stupid. I didn't need a sign; I already knew how Dimitri felt. He was probably with some other girl right in that moment.

Awe…poor Rose! So let me know what you thought guys, too big of a time lapse?

Review lovelies and I'll try to do the next chapter sooner ;) also if anyone's worried about Sophie being lesbian and or is uncomfortable with that sort of stuff, don't worry. I'm not going to do any graphic scenes or anything!

XXX

Roza