A/N: I don't usually put author's notes at the beginning of a chapter but I thought I should put a warning. I've been pretty careful about using the word 'rape' but it'll come up once or twice in this chapter and there's bit of detail that some of you guys might find graphic or unnecessary. You can skip the chapter all together or just scroll to the new line break. Thanks for all the reviews and PMS and follows! Honestly, for someone who's free time is mostly spent writing, it means a lot.

Honestly, I didn't think Victoria would listen.

Her first reaction of throwing plates and screaming was a little closer to what I'd expected. I thought she'd use every profane word in the book and then make a run for it.

It's what I would have done if I was in her shoes and was cornered like that.

I would have run as far away as my legs would carry me; hide somewhere no one would find me.

Victoria didn't though.

Her biggest fears are being labeled a snitch, ending up on Adrian and Camille's bad side, and reliving her nightmare over and over. She thinks she'll never being able to forget it and move on. Never feeling safe or normal. The worst of the fears are that her family won't ever look at her the same way and she'll always feel alone.

I know this because it's everything I was afraid of.

It's everything I know Lissa is afraid of.

Even with all those fears, Victoria took a chance and didn't run.

It may have taken some convincing—mostly on Yeva's part—but she stayed.

And she listened.

Lissa looks afraid.

I can't say I blame her after seeing how strong and accurate of an arm Victoria has when it comes to throwing.

After I gesture for her to sit beside me across from Victoria, Liss moves hesitantly slow.

There's this quick second where I don't know what to say.

But just as quickly, I realize I know exactly what I can say.

Mostly people say that they can relate to the pain someone is enduring but that usually isn't true. Most people also say that they understand and that everything is going to be alright. Both of these sentiments are also often untrue.

Except this time, Lissa and I can relate.

For several moments, I let the tension in the room ease a bit while I calm my breathing. I anxiously tuck my hair back just as the kitchen door swings closed.

"I'm probably going to end up sounding like some after school special but I hope you'll still give me a chance to say what we came here to say and that you'll listen."

She leans back in her chair with her arms folded tight across her chest. But she give me the slightest of nods so at least she's listening. I glance at Liss who is still a little nervous but she gestures for me to continue speaking. I kind of expected to do all the talking today but Lissa is here for support.

"I'm just going to get straight to the point. No sugar-coating."

This catches her interest in the slightest and she finally flicks her gaze up to meet my own. I'm caught off guard by how her eyes are so much like Dimitri's but then I find comfort in the familiarity of the warm brown of her irises.

"You were raped."

Visibly, both Liss and Victoria flinch the second the word leaves my mouth. I shudder myself. Victoria notices she's not the only one that reacts. For a brief second, she closes her eyes. She clenches her mouth tightly shut, letting the feeling pass before she speaks.

"I wasn't—"

"I told you I wasn't going to sugarcoat anything. You're not going to want to hear most of the things I say."

She clenches her jaw again and takes a deep breath. I'm not sure she even releases it.

I take this as a sign to continue talking. "You didn't think it'd ever happen to you. In fact, you can't believe it did happen to you which is why you're so unwilling to accept that it did."

She won't meet my eyes but it doesn't stop e from giving her my full attention, eye contact included.

"Before high school started, you were afraid you wouldn't fit in. You thought you'd go through high school unnoticed and alone. One day though, miraculously, the popular crowd notices you. It probably started with Camille complimenting something you were wearing or maybe Adrian giving you a wink in the hall. They invite you to join them for lunch one day and before you know it, you feel like you're part of a group, like you have somewhere to belong."

Lissa, having relaxed a bit, decides to speak. "It's overwhelming at first. And intimidating. But you decide you'll do anything to fit in and to stay apart this group. It starts out with small stuff first, a dare here and there, doing a favor for Camille. You're not officially a part of the group but you spend a lot of time doing stuff for them. Some of it is embarrassing, some of it is ridiculous and maybe illegal but you do it. These friends come at a cost and you're willing to pay for it."

"Just like we were," I add. "You're so amazed and awed that this special group is giving you attention that you don't realize they singled you out because they're threatened by you. You're too pretty or too smart or maybe have too much money."

"You're too happy even though you're not a part of their group and they can't understand why because they're not completely happy themselves."

Victoria scoffs. "Whatever. They never seem unhappy to me. And really? They're 'threatened' by me? I'm not exactly a model, bringing in straight A's, or rolling in dough."

"You're beautiful," I point out like it's obvious which it should be.

It's a soft subtle beauty but it is there. Her eyes are large and oval-shaped, a nice light gentle brown. Her hair—wavy where mine is straight—is almost as long as my own. And her skin is a flawless light tan.

"Camille doesn't like competition and Adrian thinks he has the only right to date the school's beautiful girls. It also doesn't help that you were probably quiet, reserved when you first started high school because you were still kind of mourning over Ivan and your father and worried about and missed your brother," I guessed, hoping the time frame was about right and using what Dimitri had told me about his last confrontation with Victoria.

By the look of surprise on Victoria's face I'd say I guess right. Lissa, catching on, spoke next. "Not only were you beautiful but you were an easy target. They saw you were weak, easy to take in and persuade. And you went with it because you were hoping, against your gut feeling and all the instincts screaming in your body, that these people genuinely wanted to be your friend."

Victoria softens just a little.

I hate to say it, but I have to. "Now here comes the scary part."

She tenses, visibly, but tries to hide it and doesn't say anything.

I wish I didn't have to say it. I wish I wasn't the one to remind her but someone has to. She has to be able to admit that something horrible happened to her. She has to deal with it the same way I am and the same way Lissa is.

I wish we could just be three teenage girls in high school with regular problems but unfortunately, most wishes don't come true.

"Adrian had never directly singled you out before. He'd glance at you now and then, made sure you knew he was going out of his way to talk to you. Maybe he'd even wrap his arm around you in public to make sure other people saw you two together. He wouldn't really do anything special though because in his head, simply being next him, is special. You don't really see how big of an ego he has until it's too late."

The breath Victoria's been holding the entire time we've talked slowly releases itself. She's trying to calm down, to not think about it but there's no avoiding it.

"You went to his house. He invited you to one of his private parties." Lissa does the talking here because she knows more of the details of Victoria's attack. Anything to hit a nerve and get Victoria to react in some way that isn't denial.

The more Lissa talks though, the more it sounds like my attack.

"You were scared to go alone but if you didn't go, you were more afraid of being an outcast from the group. You knew about Rose reporting Adrian and you knew there was some truth to the rumor flying around because Camille outright admitted it."

Liss suddenly stopped. She'd probably done the same thing. Put herself in a situation alone with Adrian even though she had a feeling something was of about him. Her voice cracked, ready to spill over tears but she held herself together.

"But you went away," I finished for Lissa. "You had a little fun at first, made sure you weren't really completely alone with Adrian. Somehow though, throughout the night, Jesse and Ralph kept pushing drinks into your hand. Maybe even Camille and her friends handed you a few drinks. Adrian didn't though. He was careful about that. So that anyone at the party who was sober enough would say that Adrian never gave you a drink and you drank willingly."

There's a pause before Victoria speaks, her voice kind of horse from disuse. "Makes it seem like it's your fault," she murmurs so low I barely hear her. Lissa looks like she wants to reach out and offer a hug or a pat on the hand to comfort Victoria but thinks better of it.

"It's not your fault though. Those people—Adrian, Camille, Jesse, Ralph, Meredith, and Avery—they have serious issues and they need help. Meredith and Avery are victims too but it is up to them to step away from Camille long enough to realize they need help," I offer as comforting words.

It's too early to tell if they helped.

"The worst part of it all is the nightmares. Sometimes they're so bad you think you'll never sleep again. You try to keep your eyes open all the time and never be in the dark because when you close them your senses are in overdrive. All you see is his face inches from yours, you feel the calluses on his hands and the weight of him on top of you. You taste blood on your tongue from biting down against the pain, your throat hurts from struggling to scream, your arms and thighs ache from where he's pressing down on you. The only thing you hear is your muffled scream and you telling yourself that it'll all be over soon. You hear the music from the party where you know there are people nearby that can help you but there's a tiny part of you that knows no one is coming."

I take a deep breath. I wonder how much of this is similar to my attack but by the water look in Victoria's eyes I can tell some part of this is true. Three girls that have lived the same nightmare.

"And the worst of it is the smell: his cologne, the cloves he smokes and the beer. The most vivid of it all to me is the beer," I tell her, remembering. "The scary part is his smile. Not only because he's smiling through the entire ordeal but you realize it's the first time you've really seen him smile. And when it's all over, you think you'll never be clean again, never feel the same. You feel broken and alone and you just want to hide."

"I wanted to run to my parents," Lissa tells us, tugging her long hair over one shoulder. "I wanted them to be normal, caring, loving and affectionate parents and to just hug me. But they weren't home and I was alone. I realize the only people I had in my life that would make me feel safe and cared like that were André and Rose. Andre's dead and after I told Rose what had happened, I pushed her away when she was only trying to protect me."

"The same way I bet you wish your brother had somehow protected you," I guess.

I can tell that definitely hit a nerve because her eyes immediately meet my own. She stares me down for a few long moments.

"I'm not trying to get into your family business," I tell her honestly. "But dealing with your problems with Dimitri is the start to dealing with everything else. We're just trying to help because we need your help. We can protect each other if you'll let us."

She may not realize it, but her gaze softens a bit.

"You're mad at your bother. I get it. A part of me is mad at my mother and at Lissa. I'm trying to forgive both of them though, Lissa especially since she's pregnant."

At this, Victoria's eyes widen. She flicks her gaze to the green sweatshirt Lissa borrowed from me where Lissa's stomach is. Obviously she's not showing yet but it's there. Victoria looks to Lissa's face for confirmation as if I might be lying.

Lissa nods. "It's true."

I thought Victoria might have questions or say something but she doesn't say anything.

"I'm just trying to help Liss through this and protect her. The same way we're trying to protect you. The same way your family is trying to protect you. The best way I can think to do that is by pressing charges and hope that a trial will end all of this. You're mad and that's more than understandable. You think your family is looking at you differently but they're just worried. They're trying to deal with this just like you are. It sucks, but they need to deal with this too," I murmur, thinking of my mother.

"It's not going to be easy, forgiving your brother when you're so mad at him. Especially when you kind of expected him of all people to protect you or at least to know how to immediately deal with this even though you push him away. But you have to realize that it's different when the victim is someone you know. Especially when it's your sister."

Lissa was once like a sister to me. I'm not sure if it's the same thing as being blood related but the intentions were the same and there's that saying that family is more than just blood. I'd just been trying to protect her. The same way I'm sure Victoria's siblings wished they'd protected her. The same way I'm trying to protect and help Victoria now.

I don't know if Lissa and I will ever be the same but that's a situation we'll deal with once we know if Victoria will help us. After all, whether we like it or not we're in this situation together.

I have to say one thing for Victoria: she inherited her brother's trademark ability to visibly hide her emotions. Whatever she's feeling isn't reflected in her eyes anymore or on her face. She's sitting so still I think she's stopped breathing again.

I expect her to simply stand up and leave or maybe start throwing more kitchen ware and yelling again.

It's completely quiet.

We can hear the rest of her family in the next room but in the kitchen there's nothing but silence. Lissa glances at me worriedly. She's probably concerned about the possibility of dishes being thrown again too.

I gave her the best reassuring look I can manage.

I'm worried Victoria won't say anything.

"Victoria..."

She finally moves, leaning forward on her elbows, and running her hands through her hair. She releases a long slow breath and stares down at the table.

"I just...I need a moment."

"Ok. We understand. Things aren't okay now and they probably won't be for a long time. We just need you to know that you're not alone. You have your family of course but you also have us, two girls who can honestly relate to what you're going through."

She nods, her hair falling in front of her face.

Lissa and I take that as our cue to leave. Just as we reach the kitchen door, Victoria speaks.

"I'll think about it. I promise. I just...I just need some time," she says with a shaky breath.

Her promise may not sound like much but it actually means a lot. It gives me a little more hope that maybe, one day, things won't seem so bad.

"I'm going to go inside," Lissa says as Dimitri walks us to my front door. His grandmother and sisters offered to make us an early dinner while they waited worriedly for Victoria to come back home but Lissa and I thought they'd need some time as a family to talk things over and what they'd say to Olena.

After assuring them that we'd be fine on our own, Dimitri said he'd drive us home.

"Do you think Victoria will be alright?" I ask after Lissa is inside the house and I hear the water running.

I'd felt pretty confident that everything Lissa and I had said had gotten through to her but when they told us that she left I started worrying that maybe we'd pushed her too far. What if she decided she couldn't deal with this and did something stupid? What if she went running to Adrian and Camille?

Whatever strength and confidence I had while talking to Victoria was gone. Now I sounded uncertain about it all.

Dimitri leaned back against the rail of my front porch while I stood in front of him so that we'd be close to eye level. He tossed my words over in his head for a few moments. "I think that you and Lissa have done everything you can to assure her she's not alone. Whether or not she decides to help with the case is up to her. It won't be your fault of she doesn't," he says, finishing with a sad tone.

"It won't be yours either," I remind him. "She's mad now but if she's anything like the rest of you Belikovs, I'm guessing she's pretty strong, she's a natural-born fighter, and she knows right from wrong. She's just confused. And hurting. There's a lot of hurting."

Dimitri meets my eyes with the same intensity that Victoria did and immediately I feel comforted, glad to have him back in the immediate circle of my life even if he wasn't gone for very long.

"Mental or physical?"

I start to say mental but physically there was a lot of pain too. I still have parts of my body that ache when I lie down or move. Or breathe for that matter.

"Both."

He nods slowly while staring off. Probably trying to imagine. Considering he was shot in the leg and lost his best friend because of his father, I'd say he has some idea of pain. But something tells me this is different.

"I feel like we really have a chance now," I tell him. I'm trying to keep the mood hopeful. Not dwell on the awfulness of it all. "At least she's thinking about everything. It's a step up from denial."

"I'll take what I can get." He smiles gently. I realize how exhausted he looks: unshaven face and tired eyes but he still somehow looks good. As tired as his eyes are, they're still warm, bright, and hopeful—and staring directly at me.

"I appreciate everything you've done, Rose. You know that right?"

"Of course," I answer quickly.

"I'm just sorry it's taken me this long to tell you."

"It's okay. I'm just glad things are back to...as close to normal as possible," I laugh nervously.

He grins. "Me too."

It's such a relief having Dimitri back that a bit of the tension in my body relaxes and let out a breathy laugh. Dimitri stands and I think he's moving to leave. Instead though, he steps forward and slowly, carefully, wraps his arms around me in a big hug as if I'm fragile and might break.

There was a pause right before he hugged me, as if he was thinking about the consequences of being so close to me again. I can't say I blamed him but I'm glad he hugged me. It was weird at first. My body's still getting use to feeling of having people so close to me and touching. But it felt nice. And warm.

And it helps that Dimitri is over six feet and can make anyone feel safe.

Eventually, I hug him back.

My arms are shaking the entire time and I'm expecting him to pull away and run. But he just holds me. My mother should have let me hold her like this, as long as I wanted to. Lissa's parents should've been around to hold Liss like this.

Dimitri should be with his family waiting for Victoria so that they can all hold her like this.

"You should hold Victoria like this," I say, not realizing there's suddenly no filter between my brain and my mouth.

Dimitri pulls away a second after I speak to look me in the face.

"It's just a hug but it's one of those hugs that convinces a girl who everything is alright. Even if it isn't."

Lissa and I were both bundled up in blankets on my couch holding cups of hot chocolate.

"What did Alto say?" she asks after I hang up the phone.

I called him to fill him in on everything that happened today.

"He said he hopes she'll decide to help and that he's still looking for a prosecutor. All we have to do now is wait and make sure to keep quiet and away from the media."

Lissa sighs and leans back against the couch. "Great. Waiting. My favorite thing to do."

"It's not exactly my favorite activity either but now everything depends on Victoria and whether we ever find a lawyer."

"True," she nods, closing her eyes.

"Besides, between the two of us, you were always the patient one," I remind her.

We laugh at first, remember all the times my impatience lead to crazy but good times. "Yeah," Lissa says calming down. "but since a pregnancy requires nine to ten months of waiting, it's not exactly my favorite now."

Today's been a long day, tiring, exhausting, and full of terrible memories that I'm certain we'd rather not relive but I have to ask. I set my cup on the table and turn to face Liss, tucking my foot under me.

"So, does that mean you're keeping the baby?"

It had been on my mind for the past few days since I'd brought it up during our dinner with Christian.

Without opening her eyes, Lissa quickly answered, "I have to."

For a second I'm so confused by her words that it takes me a moment to respond. "Wait, what? Liss—"

She sits up quickly—too quickly—and holds her hand to her forehead, groaning. "Whoa."

"Are you alright?"

"I moved too fast. Dizziness. Nausea. It'll pass."

I give her a while to recover. I didn't think being attacked could get any worse. I was wrong. Being pregnant and dealing with the fall out is definitely worse. At least—looking at Lissa—it looks that way.

She finally takes a deep breath and leans back onto the couch again.

"How far along did Dr. Belikov say you were?"

Lissa sighs. "A month and a half. Which means about eight more months of this." Before I start to remind her that we'd been talking about whether she's keeping the baby, she speaks. "I can't get rid of this baby."

"Is this because you're Catholic?"

The last time I remembered Lissa being in a church was for Andre's funeral.

Lissa laughs dryly. "If I was such a devote Catholic I'd still be a virgin," she points out, reminding me she'd lost her virginity to some guy during our freshman year. She sits herself up—slowly this time—and readjusts herself on the couch. "I'm seventeen years old, I don't have a job, my parents pretty much abandon me, I'm in the middle of a legal case, and I'm pregnant. I have nothing to offer this kid but—"

"But the affection that your parents don't give you," I filled in.

"Exactly," she says softly, her green eyes staring off into a very interesting spot on the coffee table. "The circumstances surrounding its conception are horrible," she continues sounding formal. Suddenly, she sounds like the old Lissa, the Lissa that used formal diction when she was nervous, even in kindergarten. "But...I couldn't do that. I couldn't..." She starts crying silently. I reach out to hold her hand and offer some sort of support. "I don't know. I think about keeping it and telling myself I have to keep it because it'd be wrong to have an abortion but then I think about the rest of my life and this kid's life if I do keep it and it's horrible."

I realize this is one of those times where a very Dimitri-like hug would come in handy. Even though we haven't been friends in months, I hug Liss and she cries.

I don't know what Lissa is going to do, if Victoria's going to help us, if this entire case is going to work out in our favor.

But I do know that no matter what, I'll make sure neither of them ever feels alone.

Sometime all you can do is offer a hug and hope for the best.

A/N: A long chapter to make up for my lack of updating. I hope you guys liked it. I also thought you guys would like to hear that I have plenty of Rose/Dimitri moments planned (and already written) for the next few chapters. I don't think they've had a lot of time together the last few chapters(as some of you have gone out of your way to tell me). And honestly, who doesn't love Rose/Dimitri moments!

It was actually pretty hard writing this chapter for two reasons:

1) I have a serious fanfic/vampire academy addiction which has resulted in multiple unfinished stories that I've started

2) I am trying (struggling) to rewrite and/or finish ALL of these stories because I hate leaving things undone

So, I hope you guys understand why it takes me so long to update: sever writers block while trying to juggle multiple stories to bear with me!

Oh (almost forgot) recently, a friend of mine read Twelve Months of the Year and suggested I do a few short drabbles, kind of like an epilogue and I kind of already started writing them. Just a thought. Lemma know what you guys think or if i should just let it go and finish the stories already up here.

Bright side: I'm on summer vacation so I have no excuse not to update :)