Rose's Point of View
It had been a week since the bonfire, and the school with still a buzz with the recent attack. The guardians from court had shown up immediately to launch an investigation and found the wards had been staked by humans, allowing the Strigoi to attack. Dimitri had managed to get to Sophia and Ivan in time, but the same couldn't be said for Lissa's guardian. They were quick to send a replacement and we were still trying to adjust to the recent addition of Serena. She was a nice enough girl, but I couldn't help but loathe the way they "replaced" guardians, like they were something instead of someone.
Dimitri and I had shared a moment when I woke up after the attack but since then, I'd gone back to avoiding him. I knew it wasn't completely fair, but being that close to him had stirred up a lot of memories, ones I didn't think I was ready to deal with. Ever since that nightmare about Spokane, I couldn't get Mason off my mind. Everything that had happened that day and all the things that had led up to it, including Tasha. It didn't help matters that she had shown up at Lehigh two days later, eager to check on her nephew.
Tasha was Christian's aunt, and Dimitri's friend, much to her dismay. She'd never made a secret of her feelings for Dimitri and when she showed up at the academy two years, she did so with an offer she never thought he'd refuse. She wanted him to request to be her guardian, and in turn was willing to have children with him. For most male Dhampirs, having kids wasn't really an option, and I knew Dimitri well enough to know he'd always dreamed to be a father. He politely declined her offer, but she didn't go down without a fight. It was a constant source of tension between us all winter break and part of what lead up to the incident in Spokane.
I was still sulking about the memory when I entered the cafeteria to find Lissa. Unfortunately for me, she was sitting with the last person I wanted to see right now.
"Hello Rose." Tasha smiled politely when I approached.
"Tasha." I answered curtly, feeling a little guilty for my tone. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I'm just not having a very good day." I tried to remind myself that Tasha wasn't a bad person. Hell, who could blame her for having the hots for Dimitri? And when she went after him, it's not like she knew we were together, no one did. He was my teacher and I was his student.
"After the week you've had, who could blame you."
For the rest of dinner I tried hard not to focus on the conversation at the table, and until Dimitri walked in I was doing a pretty good job. Of course the moment Tasha noticed him that was all ruined.
"Dimka!" she cried, jumping him and throwing herself into his arms.
Ugh. Dimka. It's such a terrible nickname. I teased him relentlessly about it when I'd first heard it, and I hated it even more coming out of Tasha's mouth.
"Natasha, what are you doing here?" Dimitri asked hugging her back lightly, trying to politely pry himself from her death grip.
"Did you honestly think Strigoi could attack my nephew's school and I wouldn't pass through to check on him? Besides it gives me a good excuse to run into you." She winked, and I had to resist the urge to chuck my dinner roll at her head. As usual Dimitri seemed to read my mind and sent me an amused smirk.
"Well it's nice to see you again, but I actually came in here looking for Rose. Do you have a moment?" He asked unleashing the full effect of his dazzling smile. Damn he doesn't play fair. Any other day I might have been able to resist, but I secretly enjoyed the way Tasha's face fell when he mentioned me, so against my better judgment I joined him outside.
"You've been avoiding me." He accused the moment we were outside the building.
"Maybe." I admitted, looking everywhere but at him.
"Roza…" he said softly, backing me against the wall. "Please don't shut me out. Whatever is going on with you, let me help."
"You can't help Dimitri, there's nothing to help with." I lied, but as usual he saw right through it.
"You can lie to the others Roza, but you could never lie to me. Is this about Spokane?" he asked gently, knowing just mentioning the word might set me off. "What happened to Mason wasn't your fault, I thought you understood that." And just like that my mood shifted.
"I thought I understood a lot of things back then, like your feelings for me. But I was wrong about that too." I spat, jerking my arm away from his grasp. I watched as my words struck him as strongly as any slap, but I couldn't bring myself to feel sorry for him right now. Mason was still dead, and he had still left me, and Tasha was back in our lives and it was still all my fault. So I took advantage of the fact that he was emotionally paralyzed and fled back to my dorm room.
Dimitri's Point of View
I'd never met a more infuriating woman.
It was like one step forward and two steps back with Rose. I honestly thought we were making progress after the attack. Not only had she almost kissed me, she'd opened up to me in the hospital and even let me hold her through the night. I wanted nothing more than to sleep with her in my arms, but the moment was too precious to waste, so I spent the whole night watching her sleep, trying to memorize every part of her, and the way she felt wrapped in my arms. It had been so long since she'd let me hold her like that, and who knew if she'd ever let it happen again.
Of course when I woke up the next morning, she was as closed off as that first day all over again. I'd spent the last week trying to give her space, give her time to grieve, but enough was enough. I loved her and it was about time she knew it.
I had this whole speech planned out in my head, but the moment I walked into the cafeteria and saw Tasha it was all shot to hell. Rose despised Tasha, and her constant flirting didn't help matters. Despite my numerous efforts to convince her otherwise, Tasha seemed relentless in her quest to be mine.
I was still standing there in shock from Rose's verbal slap when I heard Lissa approach from behind me.
"Don't just stand there, go after her." She urged with a gentle push.
"You didn't hear what she said Lissa; she doesn't want to see me." It broke my heart to say the words even though I knew they were true.
"I didn't need to hear her Dimitri, I hear her every night. She wakes crying for you in the middle of the night, she's just too stubborn to admit it. Now go after her. I'll hang out at Christians and give you some privacy."
When I arrived outside Rose's door, I could make out the faint sound of someone crying on the other side. I felt my heart wrench at the knowledge that she was suffering, and quickly began to knock on the door. I was desperate to get into that room, and taking that painfully stubborn woman into my arms.
"Dimitri?" she sniffled when she swung the door open. True to my word I pushed my way into the room and wrapped her tightly in my arms. The action only seemed to spur another round of tears and I picked her up bridal style and carried her over to the bed. I'm not sure how long we sat there holding one another, but eventually her sobs began to subside.
"I'm so sorry Dimitri, I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
"Shhh, don't apologize Milaya, you have nothing to apologize for." I reassured her, stroking her hair, and breathing in the heavenly scent of jasmine.
"I just feel so overwhelmed." She admitted, twisting absently at a loose string on the edge of her shirt. "Ever since the attack, I can't stop thinking about Mason. And then Tasha showed up reminding me of what led me to lead Mason on in the first place. And of course the last time something like this happened, I had Eric and Rhea but now they're gone too. Everyone I love always leaves me." I could feel her chest heave slightly as another round of sobs racked her body.
"I'm so sorry Roza, so so sorry. I wish there was something I could do, something I could say to make it better." I hated to see her in so much pain, and hearing her mention Eric and Rhea only reminded me that she had suffered even more loss since Spokane.
"Your being here helps" she whispered, pulling her face back from the crook of my neck to look at me. Her beautiful brown eyes were rimmed in red, but even with a tear stained face she was breathtaking. She was staring at me so earnestly, all the love and affection I felt for her reflected back in her own eyes. In that moment I wanted nothing more than to kiss her, so that's exactly what I did.
I gently cradled her face in my hands, pressing my lips against hers in the lightest touch. I wasn't sure if kissing her was what she wanted, but when she snaked her arms around my neck, I knew she wanted more. Eager to please her I deepened the kiss, licking across her bottom lip asking for entrance. Without hesitation she opened up and I let out a soft moan when my tongue entered her mouth and she pulled my face impossibly closer by my hair. She tasted exactly like I remembered, and I had the sensation of coming home. Kissing Rose was like nothing I could ever dream of on my own, and it reminded me of all the reasons why I could never want any woman but her.
As the kissing intensified, she changed her position on my lap until she was straddling me, and let out her own soft moan when she felt my manhood press against her. I wanted to take her right here and now in this bedroom, but Roza deserved so much more than that. After everything I had put her through, I this to be special, to love her properly and worship her body like the goddess she was. With great effort I managed to pull back, pressing my forehead against hers.
"God I've missed you Roza."
"I've missed you too Comrade."
We weren't back to where we were, but as Rose fell asleep in my arms that night, I knew at least it was a start.