Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy.
Ch. 4 I want to go with you
I stepped back into the gym after school ended, and looked around.
There was no sign of Dimitri, and my heart sank. No practice meant no seeing Dimitri until tomorrow.
I felt someone cover my eyes and hug me from behind.
"Comrade, is that you?" I asked.
The soft laughter assured me that it was Dimitri. He let go of me, and I turned around to face him.
He definitely looked like he was in a better mood than earlier, although I could tell he was still anxious. A slight crease crossed his forehead, and his dark eyes were worried.
"What had you worried this morning?" I asked, sitting down on the floor. He sat down next to me.
He sighed. "I got a phone call from my family."
I remembered he had told me they lived in a small village in Siberia…but I couldn't remember the name. "What happened?"
"One of my sisters was injured in a car accident," he whispered, staring off at the wall across the gym.
"Oh God," I whispered, reaching out and touching his hand. "Is she alright?"
He sighed. "She received a minor concussion and might have to undergo some surgery."
"Can't you get leave and return home so you can see her?" I asked. I knew how much his family meant to him although he didn't talk about them much.
Dimitri said," Probably…but the school's on high alert after the Strigoi massacres over winter break. It'll be a little harder-"
"Go!" I exclaimed, making him stare at me in amazement. "Family comes first, even before the Moroi."
He knew what I was talking about. All of us training to be guardians have had a motto drilled into us from the time we could talk. They come first. Nothing but keeping the Moroi safe was important.
"But…it means leaving campus for...I don't know how long. A week, at the very least."
"I'm sure we'll have enough guardians," I said, trying to appear more confident than I sounded. "I mean, it is just one guardian that's leaving." Even if it was the most badass guardian around.
He sighed and squeezed my hand. "I'll ask for vacation for a week. I'll miss you, Roza."
I wanted to go with Dimitri but I was pretty sure he'd stop me if I tried. After all, the field experience was coming up soon… "I'll miss you a lot."
Dimitri eyed me suspiciously. "I know that look in your eyes."
"What look?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.
"That look that says you want to come to Russia with me."
Damn. He just knew me that well. "Well…Fine. You're right. I want to come to Russia with you."
Dimitri shook his head. "Absolutely not. You have to stay in school. It's not safe outside the school wards. And you'd be taking a week off from school."
I frowned. "Then why is it safer for just you to travel? Two is better than one."
He gave me a stern look. "No. Furthermore, how would you explain to the school officials why I'm taking you with me? If they let a second person come with me, it would probably be another guardian."
I got up and faced him. I wasn't going to get to see him for a week, so I decided that it would be best for me to leave now. "Well, I hope you'll be able to see your family as soon as you can. I'll see you when you come back."
"Bye," Dimitri murmured, as I exited the gym.
Ugh. I hated it when my reasonable side took over. I stopped near a tree not too far from the gym, and took a deep breath.
If I hadn't been trying to have more self-control, I would've protested and yelled. I would've done whatever necessary to get Dimitri to let me go with him. I did make some protests, but probably not to the same scale that he was expecting.
I made it back to my room and sat down to do my homework. Lissa tried to call me to her through our bond. Rose, can we talk? Her emotions were running a little haywire and all over the place.
"Not now," I muttered to myself as I got out of my dorm and started running to the Moroi dorms.
Lissa was waiting for me in her room. She looked fine, even though I was pretty sure she wasn't.
"Okay, Liss. What's wrong?"
She bit her lip, her jade-green eyes worried. "I don't know what happened to Christian."
Great. Boyfriend drama. "Weren't you with him at lunch?"
She shook her head. "No, and he hasn't texted me either! He always texts me..." She trailed off.
As mean as it was for me to think, I thought she was being a little self-centered. Her boyfriend went missing for a day, and now she was getting frantic.
"Relax, I'm sure he's fine," I soothed, patting her arm. "Maybe he's sick and hasn't gotten a chance to get to the phone."
Lissa's jade green eyes widened. "Oh! You're probably right."
I sighed in my own mind. If only my problems were as easily resolved as hers.
She looked at me in concern. "Rose, are you really okay? You were kind of spacey during lunch."
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, trying to make it look like I was fine. I really longed to blurt out that I wasn't fine because the love of my life would be going back to Russia for a week, and I would miss him a lot.
Lissa got up, and I sensed she wanted to go find Christian, wherever he was. "Well…"
"I'll just get going now," I said, relieved. "I really do need to finish my homework."
She nodded, and we walked out of her dorm together. "See you later, Liss."
"Bye," she answered.
I arrived back in my room a few minutes later, and sat staring out the window. Well, this was going to be a very interesting night-not.
There was a knock on the door. I stood up and opened the door to see Dimitri.
"I'm leaving for the airport now," he said. He was carrying a suitcase, and bundled up warmly.
"Be careful, Comrade," I sighed, giving him a quick cheek kiss.
"I will," he murmured, hugging me tightly. "See you in a week."
He gave me a quick peck on the lips, and he was gone. I sighed and lay down on my bed. Well. This was going to be interesting without him.
There was another knock on the door. Surprised, I stood up and opened it. Adrian was standing there this time. Good God. Men everywhere.
"What do you want?" I grumbled, rubbing my eyes.
"Little dhampir, you look glum," he remarked. "Can I come in?"
I shrugged. "Sure, I guess." I let him in, but left the door open.
"I have something that'll make you happy," Adrian said, standing in the doorway. His eyes followed me as I straightened up my room.
"Does it come in a bottle?" Frankly, I wanted a little alcohol to loosen me up and make me happy for a little bit.
Adrian shook his head. "No. Something that'll make you really happy."
I sighed and tried to think a little harder. I was also a little surprised at how his voice sounded so uneasy when he spoke. "A huge two-pound box of chocolates?"
"No. A two-way plane ticket to Russia."