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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.
CHAPTER 52
DPOV
When we neared Rose's house, I could see the front door was half open. I hadn't left it open. Someone must be inside. Roza. Then, all of a sudden, I heard what sounded like a gunshot. Coming from Rose's house.
My heart nearly stopped.
"Roza," I breathed.
"Shit," Alto muttered, stopping the car abruptly.
I pushed open the door and sprinted to the house, followed by Karp.
"Call for back-up," Karp shouted at Alto. "Dimitri, wait!
"Roza!" I exclaimed, ignoring Karp and pushing my way inside. I stopped short when I took in the scene before me. "Oh God, Roza…"
There she was, curled up on the floor, with her face buried in her knees. She was not alone. Jesse and Nathan were both here. But neither of them was moving. I could hear cries coming from Nathan, though.
"Roza," I said, falling down on my knees next to her. I pushed the hair away from her face. Slowly, she looked up at me, her eyes wide in fear and shock. Her face was dirty with blood. "Roza, are you okay?" I asked frantically. "Please say something. Are you-"
"I'm okay," she whispered. And then she burst into tears.
I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Roza. I'm so, so sorry," I whispered into her hair.
I heard Karp talking into her radio as she assessed the scene, but I couldn't understand what she was saying. I looked back at Jesse, who seemed to be unconscious, and then at Nathan, who was moaning and cursing at the same time. And then…my eyes landed on a gun.
"Did you shoot him?" I asked, looking back at Rose, shocked.
She nodded. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Then she gave me a watery smile. "For a moment, I thought I'd never see you again. I'm so glad you're here."
I kissed her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Roza," I whispered again. "I really am. I'm sorry I left. I swear, I'm never going to leave you again. I promise. You're going to be okay now-"
Just then, Alto exclaimed, "Holy shit! Did someone shoot Nathan in the balls?"
I hadn't heard him come in.
"I did that," Rose said quietly. She glanced at me nervously. "It…it was self-defense."
Karp and Alto both stared at her blankly. Nathan cried out again in pain and Alto glanced down at him, making a face and muttering, "Ouch. That's gotta hurt."
Karp smiled knowingly. "You have good aiming, Rose." Then she checked on Jesse again. "He's still unconscious. Damn it, where is that ambulance?"
I lifted Rose from the floor and carried her outside, away from Nathan's agonizing wails of pain. She wrapped her arms around my neck.
"Did Nathan hurt you?" I asked softly. "Did he touch you?"
"Only a little," Rose said quietly, "but no…he didn't touch me. Thanks to Jesse."
"Oh God, Roza," I sighed, feeling guilty. "I'm so sorry. I came here earlier after I'd gotten that strange text, but I thought no one was here. Everything was dark and – I should have looked around. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. Nathan cut the power and he took my cell phone. He sent the text," Rose answered.
I put her back down when we were outside on the porch. She was trembling so I wrapped my duster around her.
"Where did that gun come from?" I whispered.
"My dad. He bought it for me. Just in case…"
I hesitated. "So…you shot him?" Lowering my voice, I continued, "I know you said it was self-defense, but I kind of have a hard time believing that. Because you shot him in his private parts."
"You're right, it wasn't self-defense," Rose replied. "But I thought he deserved it. Now he isn't a threat to girls any longer."
"That's true," I said, clenching my jaw, thinking back to all the pain he'd put Rose and so many other girls through. "He deserves to be shot in the balls after what he did."
Rose smiled reluctantly and leaned her head against my shoulder. Finally, the back-up came, followed quickly by several ambulances. Janine was with them.
"Oh my God, Rose," she cried, hugging Rose tightly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, Mom," Rose replied. "I'm okay." She looked back at the ambulance. "Is Jesse going to be okay?"
"I don't know, Rose," her mom replied. "Why don't we get you checked out and I'll find out for you?"
"Okay," Rose agreed, following her mother to the ambulance.
I stayed put, giving them some privacy. While Rose got checked out, Janine walked back over to me.
"Thank you for calling me," she said, sitting down next to me.
"I'm sorry," I said guiltily. "I promised to keep her safe and… I failed. I should have never left her alone. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault, Dimitri," Janine said sighing. "Rose wanted to stay home alone. You know her, she's stubborn."
"Still. I shouldn't have left her," I muttered. "Then this wouldn't have happened."
"Stop blaming yourself," Janine said. "Rose is okay-"
"She got hurt."
"Yes, but she will be fine," Janine said firmly. "She is going to be okay, Dimitri. That's the only thing that matters."
"Are you sure about that? That's she's going to be okay?" I asked, worried. "Rose said Nathan didn't touch her, but he definitely hurt her. Did you see all the cuts and bruises?"
"I saw," Janine answered quietly. "And trust me, I want to kill that bastard for hurting my baby girl, but…" She smiled a little. "I think Rose handled him pretty well on her own."
I smiled, too. "I guess so."
"You should be proud of her, Dimitri," Janine said. "I certainly am."
I nodded. Me too.
"Come on," Janine said, getting up. "Rose will be wondering where you went."
I followed Janine to the ambulance. The paramedics told us that she had a mild concussion and that she needed to go to the hospital for more tests. They also said she might have to spend the night at the hospital for observation.
"Where's Jesse?" Rose asked when we were about to leave for the hospital. "Is he at the hospital yet?"
"Yes, honey," Janine answered, stroking her hair. "Don't worry, he'll live." She kissed Rose on the top of her head. "We'll be right behind you, okay?"
We walked back to my car and followed the ambulance back to the hospital. I was still beating myself up for what had happened to Rose while we waited for her to come back. When the tests were finally finished it was already past midnight. Aside from the concussion and the bruises, everything seemed to be alright with her. Relief washed over me and I felt like crying.
If something had happened, if Nathan had touched her… I don't know what I would have done, then, but probably something worse than shooting him in his private parts. Though I could imagine that was already pretty awful. But he deserved it. And so much more.
I stayed in the waiting room, brooding about what could have happened to her tonight if Jesse hadn't been there, while Janine visited Rose. She came back half an hour later and said, "Rose has been asking for you."
"Oh. Is she… Isn't it too late? Shouldn't she get some sleep?"
"She wants to see you now," Janine replied.
"Okay," I said, a little nervous.
I knocked on the door, then popped my head inside. "Hey."
Rose smiled at me. "Comrade!"
I walked inside. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. They gave me something for my headache." She sat up in bed and winced. "Ouch…"
"Maybe you should just lie back down," I told her.
"Nah, it's fine."
I sat down in the seat next to her bed. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."
"I'll be fine, comrade," she said, waving my worries away. "Where have you been? I've asked to see you, like, a hundred times."
"I'm sorry," I said. "I just thought…" I sighed, shaking my head. "I'm sorry."
"Please don't tell me you're still feeling guilty," Rose said, scowling at me.
I didn't reply.
"Comrade," she chastised. "Stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault."
"I shouldn't have left you," I muttered.
"I made you leave, Dimitri," Rose said firmly. "I wanted to be alone. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine."
"I promised I'd keep you safe, Roza," I said quietly, "and I didn't."
"Don't be so glum," Rose said. "Everything's okay. Nathan's going to jail. You should be happy about that."
"I am glad that he's going back to jail, but at what cost? He hurt you again, Rose. Who knows what would have happened if-"
"Stop worrying, comrade. Jesse was there-"
I shot out of my seat. "I should have been there!" I exclaimed. I was so angry at myself for leaving her today. She'd gotten hurt because of me. "I should have been there to protect you! Not Jesse!"
"Comrade, it's okay. You didn't know."
"I was there, Roza. I was there and I left because I thought Nathan had taken you someplace else. I should have checked-"
"Dimitri, stop!" Rose shouted.
Startled, I shut my mouth.
"Please stop." She closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm exhausted and I don't want to argue with you. So please…stop beating yourself up over it. I'm not blaming you so you shouldn't blame yourself either. You went to the police, you did everything you could… It's over, Dimitri. It's finally over." She looked like she was going to cry. "So will you stop it now and hold me?" she pleaded.
Oh God, I didn't want to make her cry. "Of course," I said quickly.
She moved to the other side of the bed so I could lie down next to her. Carefully, trying my best not to hurt her, I wrapped my arms around her and held her.
"Thank you," Rose murmured, smiling softly.
"I'm sorry," I whispered one last time, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"Enough," she muttered.
"Okay."
She snuggled closer to me. "I'm glad you're here."
"Me too," I murmured. "Are you sure this is okay, though? I'm not hurting you?"
"No, you'd be hurting me if you left," she said. "So don't leave, okay?"
"I'll do whatever you want me to, Roza," I promised.
With the pain medication they'd given Rose, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep. As promised, I stayed with her all night. It surprised me that none of the doctors tried to shoo me away, but I think I had Janine to thank for that.
In the early morning, a very upset Abe arrived. He barged into the room, frantic. Janine followed him inside, trying to calm him down before he woke Rose. But it was already too late for that.
"Ugh, please don't yell," Rose croaked out, opening her eyes. She blinked a couple of times, taking in her surroundings. "Hello, Dad," she said, giving him a pained smile.
"Rose, are you okay?" he asked, rushing forward. "Are you in much pain? Do I need to call the doctor? I'm sorry I'm late. I took the first flight-"
"Dad, calm down," Rose said. Even though she'd slept through the night, she still looked exhausted. "I'm fine."
"You're not fine!" Abe exclaimed in outrage. "You're in the hospital for God's sake!"
"They're going to do a few more tests and then she's free to leave," Janine spoke up as she put her hand on Abe's arm in a soothing gesture.
"I want to see Jesse before I leave," Rose said.
"Jesse?" Abe said, confused. "What's Jesse doing here?"
"He got hurt, too," Rose said. Then she grinned. "But you should see Nathan. Between all of us, he's in the worst shape."
Before Abe could ask more, Rose's doctor came in and asked us to leave the room so he could check her out.
"What the hell happened?" Abe demanded when we were out in the hall. He glared at me. "Where were you?"
"I was working," I answered. "Like Rose told me to. I didn't realize something was wrong until I got that strange text."
"What strange text?" Abe asked.
"I got a text from Rose, saying she was okay, but from the way it was written… I just knew Rose hadn't send it," I explained. "I went to the house and everything was dark, there were no signs of a struggle, so I thought Nathan must've taken her somewhere. So I went to the police… I didn't even think to check every room in the house first. I – I panicked. I'm sorry."
Janine came to my defense. "It wasn't his fault, Abe," she said quickly. "Nathan was sending you texts, too, and you didn't even think that it might be someone else. But Dimitri realized that the texts weren't coming from Rose. And he alerted the police."
"I suppose you're right," Abe said begrudgingly. "But…what happened? Rose said something about Jesse being hurt. And Nathan… What happened to him?"
"We don't know the whole story," Janine responded. "But apparently someone gave Rose a gun-" Now she was glaring at Abe, who looked away guiltily "-and she shot Nathan in his, um, private parts."
Abe's eyes widened in shock, but then he smiled proudly. "That's my girl."
"Now we're on the subject…" Janine said slowly. "Why didn't you tell me you bought a gun?"
"For Rose's safety," Abe said quickly. "And as it turns out, it came in handy."
"Are you crazy?" Janine hissed. "Who buys a gun for his own daughter-"
"It's not for her. It's mine. I said she could use it in case something happened," Abe interrupted. "And something did happen! So I'm glad she thought of the gun."
Janine crossed her arms, a disapproving look on her face as she glared at her husband.
"Don't give me that look," Abe said. "I've got a license for the gun. It's all good."
They started arguing so I made my retreat to the waiting room. A few minutes later, Karp and some police officer I didn't know arrived. She said she needed Rose's statement. Alto was taking Jesse's statement right now. Apparently, he'd gained consciousness a few hours ago. She couldn't tell me much about Nathan, only that he'd been transferred to a different hospital, where he was being heavily guarded. He'd be going back to jail as soon as his doctor discharged him from the hospital. Finally some good news.
When the doctor finished up with Rose, Karp and the officer left to talk to her. I sat back in my seat and waited until I was allowed to see Rose again. I hadn't slept a wink last night, too worried about Rose to sleep, and was exhausted. I could barely keep my eyes open. I didn't want to go to sleep, though. I had to stay awake so I could see Rose as soon as Karp had left. We hadn't had a real chance to talk yet since last night.
"You look exhausted."
Startled, I looked up and saw Janine. She gave me a small smile and sat down next to me.
"Have you slept at all?" she asked.
I shook my head.
"You can sleep now," she said softly. "It's okay-"
"No, I can't. I want to be awake so I can see Rose when Karp leaves."
"That'll take another while," Janine said. "So why don't you just close your eyes and get some rest? I'll wake you up as soon as Karp's done with Rose." I hesitated and she urged, "Just close your eyes and sleep. I promise I'll wake you up when it's time."
"Thank you," I mumbled
She smiled again and got up. Sighing, I closed my eyes and let myself drift to sleep.
RPOV
I was glad when the doctor finally discharged me. I really wanted to go home, lie down on the couch and never get up again. But first, I needed to see Jesse. I needed to know that he was okay.
But before my parents would let me see him they wanted to hear the whole story. And so did Dimitri. He was still feeling guilty about everything that had happened last night, even though I'd assured him plenty of times that I didn't blame him for what had happened. Seriously, I was the only one to blame here. I was the one who'd persisted on staying alone.
Although I'd been terrified last night, a good thing had come out of it. Nathan would go back to jail and he would stay there until his trial. And although I'd had Jesse's help, I did defend myself last night. And yes, I know, I had a weapon to defend myself with, but still… I saw last night as a victory. I won. Nathan was going back to jail and I could finally leave it all behind. I could move on. At last.
"I know I've told you this before, but you're very brave, Roza. You truly are," Dimitri told me when I'd finished, an admiring look on his face. "And I'm so, so glad Jesse was there to help you. We should thank him."
I nodded. "Now that it's all over and I'm allowed to get out of the house again, you could start teaching me again."
Dimitri looked confused. "Teach you what?"
"How to defend myself. I want to get better, Dimitri," I told him. "You've helped me a great deal so far, but I want to be better. Last night, I had to use a gun to stop Nathan. Next time – and I pray to God I never have to defend myself again, but you never know – I want to do it without having to use a weapon."
"Alright," Dimitri agreed, squeezing my hand.
When I got to Jesse's room, he was awake. I was a little bit shocked when I saw him. His face was swollen and he was covered in bruises. He must be in a lot of pain.
"Hey," I said softly, stepping forward.
He gave me a pained smile. "Hey," he croaked out. "How are you doing?"
"I should ask you that question," I said, stopping in front of his bed. "You look terrible."
He grimaced. "Thanks."
I gave him a small smile. "No, thank you. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't showed up."
"It's okay," he said with a shrug. "He's ruined enough lives, including mine. It was about time I stepped up."
"I heard about your father," I said hesitantly. "Is he going to be okay?"
"The doctors said he should be fine," Jesse replied. Then he shook his head, grimacing again. "I can't believe Nathan drugged him."
"Well, Karp told me he's going back to jail and that he won't be released anytime soon," I told him.
"Good. He deserves it," Jesse muttered.
There was a knock on the door and Dimitri walked in, followed by my parents. They were here to thank Jesse, too. Jesse looked more embarrassed than anything about all the gratitude he was getting, but he deserved nothing less. He saved my life after all.
We left the hospital after visiting Jesse. I didn't know why, but I dreaded to go back home. After what happened there last night… I guess I just didn't want to see the mess Nathan had made. I didn't want to come in and be reminded what had played out there last night.
"Can I stay at Dimitri's for a while?" I asked my parents when they parked the car in the driveway. "Only for a couple of days," I added quickly. "I just… I don't want to see…"
Dad looked unsure, but Mom replied immediately, "Of course you can stay with Dimitri."
I gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks." Then I looked at Dimitri. "If that's okay with you, at least."
"Sure, Roza," he replied swiftly, kissing my cheek. "You can stay as long as you want."
"Rose! Rose!"
All of us turned around in surprise when Christian came running out of his house, towards us. I got out of the car and met him halfway.
"What happened?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide. "When we came back home last night, there were cops here and they told me you were in the hospital and – are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Christian," I said, caught off guard when he hugged me tightly.
"What happened?" he asked again. "Was it Nathan? Did he try to hurt you again?" Then an outraged look crossed his face. "Did he hurt you?"
"Um, it's kind of a long story," I said, biting my lip.
Mom cleared her throat. "Why don't we pack up some of your stuff while you tell Christian?"
I nodded and my parents started retreating to the house. Dimitri kissed the top of my head before following them inside.
I glanced back at Christian, who still looked anxious to hear what had happened. I sat down on the sidewalk and patted the spot next to me.
"I'm alright, Christian," I assured him before I got started. "I really am. But yes, Nathan was here and he did try to hurt me…"
He remained silent as I told him what had happened last night. The expressions on his face varied as I continued. Shock, anger, disgust, and at last relief.
"God, Rose, that must've been awful!" Christian said, shaking his head. "Thank God Jesse was there! I don't really like him, but that was…well, brave. It sucks that he didn't come a little bit sooner, though."
I shrugged. "We got out safely and that's all that matters, really."
Christian nodded in agreement. "That's true."
We were both silent for a while, letting everything sink in, and then Christian suddenly burst out in laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"I'm really sorry, I don't mean to laugh because what happened is horrible, but," he said, trying to contain his laughter, "you shot him in the nuts! I can't believe you did that!" He grinned at me. "Oh man…that must've hurt like hell."
I smiled reluctantly. "Karp told me he was wailing like a baby when they brought him into the ER."
"He finally got what he deserved," Christian snickered. He sobered up and a scowl formed on his face. "Hell, in my eyes he deserves to die for what he's done." He hesitated, but then said, "Why didn't you?"
"What?" I asked.
"Kill him," Christian said. "After everything he's put you through… You could have easily said that it was self-defense and they would have believed you."
"I don't want him dead," I answered. "That's the easy way out. I want him to suffer. I want to see him punished. I want him to rot in jail for the rest of his life."
"Hmm. I guess you're right," he agreed after a pause.
I glanced over my shoulder when I heard the front door open and close. Dimitri walked towards us with my backpack slung over his shoulder.
"Will I see you at school?" Christian asked as we both got up from the sidewalk.
I smiled at him. "Definitely."
Christian smiled back and hugged me. "Take care, Rose," he murmured before walking back to his house.
"You okay, Roza?" Dimitri asked as he walked up to me.
I nodded, unable to respond. There were actual tears in my eyes. "I'm so relieved that this is all over I might cry."
"It's okay to cry, Roza," Dimitri said softly. "You've been through a lot."
I gave him another nod as more tears built up in my eyes.
"Come here."
Dimitri put my backpack down and put his arms around me. I took a few deep breaths, trying my best not to break down, but failed miserably. Oh, what the hell does it matter if I cry? I thought to myself. Dimitri's right. It's okay to cry. I've been through so much so I'm entitled to this. I need to stop bottling it all up and let it go so I can move on…
So I allowed myself to cry while Dimitri held me and comforted me. And as I cried, I let it sink in – really sink in – that it was finally over.
I was free at last.
The end! :D
Just kidding :P There are still two more chapters left! So how do you feel about this chapter? I really think Nathan deserved to be shot there so I just had to write it down :p
Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Have a nice week! :)
