Chapter 31: Freedom at Last
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.
So a whole day of being alone with Adrian (a dream come true for some) and a nightmare for others!!! Which will it be for Rose? Enjoy! Also just to let you all know. I have finally come up with a Strigoi idea. Not sure if it's any good, but as I write I will surely find out. Shout outs to everyone who reviewed my last chapter! You guys are awesome. It thrills me to know people are reading. =)
RPOV
I met Adrian at the car port at 9am sharp. I wasn't even late like usual. If only Dimitri were here to see it I thought wistfully. Even though I was annoyed with him I still missed him a lot. Adrian was already there waiting for me. I had to admit he looked kind of hot in his khacki pants and his lime green polo shirt. He was wearing a long coat despite the somewhat nice weather to shield his Moroi skin from the sun. He also wore dark sunglasses and a baseball hat that covered his tousled brown locks.
"See something you like Little Dhampir?" he asked with a cheeky grin.
"Shut up Adrian." I rolled my eyes at his cocky attitude.
As the guardians opened the gate for me and I stepped outside the wards I could feel the ghosts swirling around me. I had to maintain control so they wouldn't overpower me. I had practiced putting up my blocks ever since that awful plane ride back from court after Victor's trial. I'd become very good at it and even more so recently with having been outside the wards for nearly a week.
Adrian was right. I felt free as a bird as we left the safety of the Academy and walked to the waiting black Porsche. I raised my eyebrows at the car. " Is that your car?" I asked in awe.
"One of them." He replied. He held out the keys to me.
"Wanna drive?" he asked with a big smile.
"What?" I asked.
"I said do you want to drive?"
"You'd let me drive your car?" I squeaked. "Sure why not? You do know how to drive don't you?" he asked.
"Yes." I said matter of factly. I'd never actually been given driving instruction, but when Lissa and I were on the run for two years I'd driven many times through many states.
"I don't actually have a license though." I admitted in defeat.
"Stupid Kirova wouldn't allow me to get one."
"You don't need one." He said sure of himself.
"And why is that?" I asked.
"Happy Birthday." He replied handing me a card.
I looked at him curiously as I opened the card.
It read: Happy 18th Birthday Kizim! Sorry I cannot be there to celebrate with you. Here is something I thought every 18 year old girl would want. Use it with care and don't tell your mother it was I who gave it to you. See you very soon.
All my love,
Baba
I reached into the envelope and found a State of Montana drivers license with my picture, birth date and everything already on it. It looked really authentic.
"Woah!" I exclaimed. "Thank You ABE!!"
"I thought you'd be pleased." Said Adrian.
"Where did you get this?" I asked. The card had no stamp or postmark on it.
"He slipped it to me before we left Baia. He had it made while we were at the Belikov's."
"Wow it really pays to have a mobster for a father." I laughed.
We got into the car. It felt really good to be independent for once. I always had to rely on a Guardian to drive me somewhere and then there was worrying about Lissa and everything else.
Today was going to be fun I thought as we sped down the highway towards Missoula. Adrian even let me play the music I liked unlike Dimitri who played his dumb 80's crap. He even refrained from smoking while we were in the car. He's really turning out to be one of the best friends I've ever had.
The ride was pleasant enough. Adrian was actually quite interesting to talk to. He knew a lot about different things so he could talk about almost anything. Of course Viktoria was a hot topic of conversation. I listened halfheartedly as he chattered excitedly about how much he liked her and how he couldn't wait to visit her and how he hoped to get her to transferred to the Royal Court after she graduated from St. Basils. He rambled on for a while and I nodded at appropriate intervals. It was good to see him happy.
When we ran out of interesting conversation he started up a game of I spy. He was super fun. I can't for the life of me remember why I disliked him when I first met him.
When we arrived at the mall it was around noon.
"So where do you want to go first?" he asked me.
"I don't know where do you think we should go?" I didn't want him to get bored.
"It's your day Little Dhampir you lead the way."
Before we left the parking lot I was sure to check that my stake was holstered properly in its sheath. You never could be too careful. Strigoi attacks were unlikely in a mall during the day, but still I wanted to be prepared. Dimitri had made sure that Eddie and I had real stakes on us all the time since the attack.
We walked around for a while pointing out interesting people and funny looking outfits. I really wanted to get into the shopping mood, but my heart just wasn't in it. I was having fun and all, but I couldn't deny the part of me who wished I was here with Dimitri instead. I found myself wondering if we would even have anything resembling a normal date let alone a normal relationship. I highly doubted it.
Adrian I'm sure noticed my sullen mood, but was nice enough not to bring it up.
"I didn't get you a birthday present so I thought you'd like to pick out your own." He said as we walked into one of my favorite Boutiques. "Maybe a dress or something." He suggested.
"You don't have to do that Adrian." I said. "Seriously I don't need anything."
"Nonsense Little Dhampir it isn't about what you need it's about what you want. That is the point of a birthday present . Am I wrong?"
"I guess not." I agreed reluctantly. It wasn't the same shopping without Lissa either. Even if I was on duty and I couldn't try things on I would still rather her be here with me.
"So let's go make you try stuff on." He said pulling me into the middle of the store. Well I might as well take advantage of having time to actually shop while I've got it I thought as I allowed him to drag me into Christian Louboutin.
I grabbed a few cute dresses and some shoes I thought were nice and tried on a few things. After trying on numerous items I decided on a short satiny dress. It was dark pink on the top with two roses ( I know how cliche) and black on the bottom it had gathers and feel a few inches short of my knees. I brought the dress out of the dressing room and handed it to Adrian. (pic on profile)
"What do you think?" I asked.
"You'd look gorgeous in a potato sack." He said. "It's beautiful Rose."
"Yea it's pretty, but It isn't like I need a dress or anything right now. Maybe I can wear it for graduation or something." I said.
"Or somewhere fancy." He replied.
Uh oh! Something was up! I tried to slip into Lissa's head for a minute, but oh gross she was with Sparky and wait were they in Adrian's apartment??? There were decorations everywhere. Oh no! I knew she was up to something and Adrian was in on it.
"Okay I'll get it." I replied. "Oh well at least if they were planning a party I'd have something cute to wear." I wondered if I should tell Adrian that Lissa and Christian were getting it on on his livingroom couch. I snickered softly.
"What about shoes?" he asked.
"I have a pair of black ones that will go really well with it at home."
"Okay then let's go get food." He said. He paid for the dress and we walked down to the food court. He probably suggested getting food because he could hear my stomach growling from a mile away. I got two pieces of Sbarro's pizza. It was so good and I wolfed it down quickly. Adrian had a cheeseburger and picked at his fries.
"Hey if you're not going to finish those. I will." I joked.
He pushed his plate over to me. "What's mine is yours Little Dhampir."
"Thanks." I said reaching for the fries.
After we'd eaten Adrian said he needed to look in the video game store which I found really boring, but it was over quick. He said he didn't see anything new that he liked.
"Hey can we hit one more store?" I asked.
"Anywhere you want." He replied .
"Victoria's Secret." I responded.
A look came across his face and then was gone just as quickly as it had come. If I'm not mistaken he was about to make a crude comment about me in sexy lingere in his bed or something, but he didn't. Wow he's really changed. I thought.
"Lead the way." He said.
While I was in the store I could see Adrian texting like crazy. Probably to Viktoria. I thought with a smile. I was glad that he had found someone. He was a great guy and he truly deserved it.
After I bought some things I knew Dimitri would like to rip off of me we decided it was best to head home. It was a long day or should I say night because this was when I was supposed to be sleeping. I looked at the clock on the dash of the car it was almost 7pm nearly wake-up time for Vampires.
Adrian let me drive home as well. It felt good to have someone around that trusted me to do normal things like go shopping and driving for myself. I love Dimitri with all my heart and I really feel that he is my soul mate, but he needs to cut the apron strings and soon or I'll go crazy.
We stopped at a gas station when we were almost home so I could use the bathroom and Adrian could smoke. As I was exiting the ladies room I got sucked into Lissa's head. Oh man this was so not good! I thought as I watched what was happening through her eyes.
Uh oh! What do you think Lissa is seeing? Guess right and I'll tell you! Review and Adrian will take you shopping with his Gold Card!!
