Hi, everyone! Chapter 11 is finally here. I apologize for the delay but my awesome Beta has been busy and I didn't get the chapter back till few hours ago. I will reply to all your reviews shortly too.

A big thank you to Kessafan for beta'ing the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and its characters. I just like playing with them!

Chapter 11 – Shot In The Dark

I couldn't sleep at all that night. I finally gave up at 3 am and decided to get a coffee. I felt like going for a run but I couldn't just leave Eric like that, and I didn't have it in me to wake up Lisa and Christian. It turned out it wasn't necessary, I suddenly felt a presence behind me in the kitchen and almost jumped out of my skin; the kettle covering up the noise of footsteps I would have otherwise heard.

"Sorry, Rose, I didn't mean to startle you." Lisa's voice made me relax instantly.

"It's alright Liss, I wasn't really paying attention. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't wake me up, Rose. Adrian rang me earlier and didn't believe I didn't know where you were, so he kept on sending text messages after I forwarded all calls to voice mail."

"Oh, Lisa, why didn't you wake me up? You should have told me!"

"I thought you were asleep; I figured you needed as much rest as possible after the way you looked when you arrived today..." Lisa trails off. "You know you are welcome to stay as long as you want, no questions asked. And I'll be here when you are ready to talk about it. Just call Adrian, he's worried sick."

"About that... I think we better sit down. I have to tell you what's going on, so you know what you're getting yourself into; do you want a drink?"

Five minutes later we are sitting in the living room and I can't help but fidget; I'm suddenly lost for words and don't know where to start.

"Rose, it's fine if you don't want to talk about it." Lisa smiles at me.

"It's not that Liss. It's just that I don't know how to explain it all..." I look down at my feet, take a deep breath and just blurt out... "Adrian and I had a fight because I've been talking to, or rather emailing Dimitri."

Lisa jumps up at Dimitri's name, and then looks at me like I've gone insane: "Dimitri... as in Dimitri Belikov? I thought you didn't know where he was. You told me you stopped keeping tabs on him a long time ago. Why did you look for him?"

"Here's the thing: I didn't. He found me and he wants to know why I disappeared and cut all ties to him and you guys and I just couldn't say no. So we've been talking about the past and I started having all those flashbacks in my dreams. Do you remember how I used to talk in my sleep? Well, it's happening again and Adrian heard me." I can't help the blush creeping up my face. "That is how the fight happened. We were both angry, he said some really hurtful things and I lost it. I finally told him I know about him cheating, then I needed to get away to clear my head and I called you." I tell her all the details she wants to know and then try to judge her reaction.

Lisa is quiet for a minute, then looks at me with pity. "So what are you going to do now, and what can I do to help you? Oh, and I've got so many questions, you better get ready for a sleepless night!" Lisa grins and I feel a bit better.

"Well... don't want you to do anything. You know it won't be easy to get a divorce because you and I both know Adrian won't give up without a fight. He'll try and stall with marriage counselling and all that first and then try to threaten me he'll take Eric from me. My best bet it to go back and go through the counselling, then file for divorce. The thing he hasn't considered yet is that there was a reason I wanted to get married back home. I'm sure my old man wouldn't mind coming out of retirement to help me out."

"Are you sure you can go back to him and play happy families? How are you going to cope? I know you have changed, Rose, but I don't think you have changed that much."

"Let me worry about that. If I could fake my boyfriend's death and keep everything else secret for thirteen years, I'm pretty sure I can handle Adrian." I smile bitterly.

"And that brings me back to all the questions I have," Lisa looks at me with curiosity burning in her green eyes and I know it will be hard to escape the interrogation. "So what's the deal with Dimitri? And do you know where he is? Are you going to get back with him? Do you know anything about Tasha?" Lisa's all of a sudden hyper and almost bouncing on the sofa.

"Wow, Liss, hold your horses! I am not getting back with Dimitri, I don't know where he is; I don't even know what name he uses nowadays. And Tasha... well, I don't know where she is but Dimitri does; they've got two boys together. I hope that answers your questions well enough for now." I would have laughed at Lisa's shocked expression if it wasn't for that little pang of jealousy and regret in my heart. She jumps and starts going on about how Christian will be thrilled about having nephews and seeing his aunt again... I don't want to dampen her mood but I know I have to stop her now.

"Lisa, stop! You can't tell Christian anything about it. I don't even know where they are and I'm not sure if it's safe to talk to or see them. You and I both know that Adrian will be snooping around now; if he finds out where they are it will give him what he needs to turn me into his puppet. Let me figure it all out first and make sure it's safe for all of us." I see the disappointment in her eyes and then understanding sets in.

"Sorry, Rose, I wasn't thinking; you're absolutely right."

"It's okay, Lisa, that's why I've always been the brains in all our plots," I grin and she smiles back. "Now, I need to ask you a favour: would you mind keeping an eye on Eric while I go for a run? I need to clear my head and think some details through."

"No problems but I have a few more questions first." I can see the wheels spinning in her head, "Why haven't you tracked down Dimitri yet? You're an IT security consultant and you have your own company, so forgive me if I find it hard to believe you can't find him?"

"As I said, first of all, I'm not sure it's safe for me to know where he is and second, Adrian was right: if I knew where he was and who he was, I would want to meet up with him. Adrian was right about something else too; I never stopped loving him or wishing I could change the past. I know Dimitri feels the same way, and then what about Tasha and their kids? What about everyone else? I can't ruin so many people's lives because of a desperate attempt to fix the wrongs I have made in the past. The other thing I know is that when Dimitri knows everything he'll never want to talk to me again"

"Rose, for once in your life you need to stop worrying about everyone else and put yourself first. If he is as miserable as you are, how is this right? Do you want to spend the rest of your life this way? You took his choice away from him thirteen years ago and look where you both are today. All I'm saying is... please, don't this to yourself or Dimitri. You are like two halves of the same, you can't be whole without him and I'm sure it's the same for him. There will always be something lacking in your life without him because no one else can give you what you need. I have never met two people with the same bond between you. Just think about it, please? Even if it feels like you're taking a shot in the dark, you owe it to yourself and Dimitri."

"I will, Liss. It's just too much to deal with at the moment. Just let me clear my head first." I turn around to put my running gear on but Lisa's words are still playing in my head.

Yes, Lisa, it feels like a shot in the dark.

Everything in my life feels like a shot in the dark right now and what is one more of those?

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I keep dropping hints to what has happened and what is going to happen and I can't wait to see if anyone has started picking up on the whole deal...

Review and let me know what you think!