Disclaimer: I don't own anything Vampire Academy
"And it's all you're fault. And you're going to pay," Aaron threatened as his hand steadied and his gun faced me. My body froze with terror. This is how it's going it to end, I thought. At least I got to say bye to Lissa. And I got to see her get married to the man she loved. A ghost of a smile formed as I thought how Lissa couldn't be in better hands. I hope Dimitri finds someone to be happy with after I'm gone. I don't have a strong belief in God, but in the last few seconds of my life I closed my eyes and prayed that everyone found peace and happiness.
When I opened them, I didn't believe what I saw next. Eddie was out cold on the ground and from my peripheral vision I saw Mia coming out from a bush, hose in hand, as she blasted the water straight into Aaron's chest.
My body reacted on its own as Mason and I jumped him, grabbing the gun. However, his grip hadn't loosened as much as we imagined it would have. Things went from bad to hell in one single move. His grip on the gun had tightened, so when Mason and I grabbed the gun, it went off.
Bang. Bang.
My body froze before I slowly sat up, getting off Aaron and Mason. When I looked down, my hands and stomach were covered in red. I dropped the gun that had found its way into my palm.
Aaron was flat on the ground, his eyes wide open and lifeless, staring up at the sky, a bullet in his chest. My trembling hands flew to my lips. Wait, two shots went off. Where's the other one? I already knew the answer, but didn't want to think about it.
Slowly, my eyes left Aaron's dead body to make a torturous trail to the body next to me.
When I saw him I let out a piercing scream that broke into sobs. I crawled the small distance between us and placed his head on my lap, tears streaming down my face as I ran my hand through his hair. His curly, wild, red hair.
"I''m so sorry," I hoarsely whispered as I looked into his lifeless blue eyes. Eyes that had so much life and humor less than an hour ago. Another sob broke out as my other hand nursed his face. The life already drained, his once freckled face now white and clean like marble. Cold like it too. "I'm so so sorry." I bent down and kissed his forehead. As I came up I closed his eyes.
My hand trailed down to hold his rigid one. I looked down when I felt how sticky and warm his hand was. Fresh tears streaming down, my body racking with sobs, as I found where the bullet hit him. In his stomach. Meaning it wasn't as quick as Aaron's.
"Oh Mason, why did you have to be in front of me?" I asked as I held my best friend's body close to mine.
I don't know how much time passed before I felt someone trying to pull me away from Mason. Instinctively, I clutched on more. It wasn't until I heard his voice that I gave up.
"Roza. Roza," he said from behind me, so much pain and worry in his voice. "You need to get up."
I shook my head and clutched on tighter.
"Roza, please," he pleaded softly, gently shaking me. His voice rising every time he called my name. "Roza. Roza. Roza!"
"What!" I asked, waking up and looking straight into Dimitri's brown eyes filled with worry relief. "What happened?"
"You wouldn't wake up," he said softly, his voice thick with his Russian accent and pain. "You were holding onto to your pillow with a death grip and…"
"And what?" I prompted him.
"You were talking." I gave him a look that asked him to continue. He took a deep breathe and continued. "You kept saying, 'I'm so sorry, Mase.' and 'It's not my blood.'"
I groaned and looked down, messing w my blanket. Well Lissa's blanket since I temporarily moved into her apartment. I felt my bed sink to one side before Dimitri's finger gently lifted my chin, making my look up at him. No doubt with tears in my eyes.
"Hey," he said softly. "It's only been a week and the only time you let yourself grieve was that night. Maybe you just need to let yourself grief properly. And, maybe you need to tell Lissa what happened."
"No," I said abruptly, pulling away and shaking my head. I've agreed to many things this past week. To having a small memorial service for Mason a few days ago, waiting for Lissa to come before doing a funeral service. To moving into Dimitri's apartment, even if I'm staying in his guest room. But one thing I wouldn't agree to was telling Lissa while she was on her honeymoon. Luckily she hasn't called or video chatted with me this past week, so I could pretend behind text message, but I made everyone swear to not say a word until she had been back for a day or two.
Dimitri sighed and shook his head before kissing my forehead. I know he wanted me to come forward, but I couldn't do that to Lissa. As he got up, he said, "I have breakfast ready in the kitchen."
I nodded my head as he walked towards the door. "I just can't," I croaked, knowing he'd hear me. He just nodded his head before leaving. I took a deep breath and pushed my blankets back, getting out of bed to go to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. When I finally walked down I was welcomed by the smell of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. My grumbling stomach gave away my presence.
With his back still to me, Dimitri let out a quiet chuckle. "You're foods already served."
"Thanks," I mumbled as we both sat down to eat.
"I hope you don't plan on wearing that today," Dimitri said casually while he ate. I looked down to what I was wearing. My black boxer shorts and black tank top. I didn't see anything wrong with wearing this around the house for the whole day.
"Um what else would I wear? I don't work today so I'm staying home."
"That's where you're wrong, Roza. We are going out."
A humorless chuckle came out of my lips. "Sure we are, Comrade." I kept my face down so he wouldn't see the hope in my eyes.
"I'm serious. I'm taking you out today. You've been holed up in your room this whole week, only leaving for work. It's time you get out and enjoy the summer weather."
"I'm most certainly -"
"Going to go. Even if I have to drag you out and take you." He got up and took his dish to the sink, effectively leaving no room for disagreement. Sometimes he was as stubborn as me, if not more, and, surprisingly, I liked that about him. Love that actually.
Going out and doing something different doesn't sound bad, actually it sounds like something I need to do, but I shouldn't be able to. Mason's dead because of me. He can never go out and enjoy summer because of me. Oh god, here we go again. This past week has a big ass roller coaster. Just when I think I've let it all out and have come to terms with what happened that night, something sucks me right back in and I get buried in guilt. I know Dimitri wants me to go back to who I used to be, and I would love to go back to that, but this guilt is so heavy and deep that I don't know how to get past it. I try distracting myself with the repetitiveness of work, but that's a distraction that only last for a while before I come back to bed and it all hits me again. Going out sounds nice and perfect. Maybe I can forget about everything focus on being with Dimitri, and the happiness that swells in my heart when I'm around him, especially when I'm in his arms. Maybe for a few hours I can focus on how I feel about him, of how much of a constant and stability he's become for me. That night I was given two choices. To move back in with my parents or move into Dimitri's spare room in his apartment temporarily so he can keep an eye on me and make sure I'm ok. He was willing to put his life on hold for me, and I love him for that. Wait, no, I mean I love that he was willing to do that. That's why I picked him over my dad. That's why I think that Ambrose might be right and I feel something more than I let myself think. I just wish I knew if he felt the same way too.
"Can I at least know where we're going?"
"Nope. Dress for the weather, like shorts, tank top, swimsuit, that sort of thing. Please."
"Gee thanks for the advise," I grumbled as I made my way back to my room.
"We're leaving in an hour," he called from his room.
Two days earlier…
"Ivan, I seriously don't know what to do?" I said as I plopped down on his couch.
"Sometimes, D, there isn't anything you can do."
"There's got to be something. It's like she's on autopilot."
"She just lost one of her best friends. Did you honestly think she'd bounce back and act like everything's ok?" he asked as he handed me a beer.
"No," I grumbled.
"Remember, we're talking about the death of someone she loved and cared about. Not a break-up. A death, Dimitri. Rose saw her best friend die and she's not letting herself grieve properly. She's shutting down her emotions and basically turning into a robot."
"I need to do something. She won't open up to me and she won't see any of her friends. It's a miracle she moved in with me."
"Maybe you need to stop getting her to open up about that night and remind her that life still moves on."
"What do you mean?" Anything that could bring back my Roza is worth trying.
"Well, trying to get her to talk about Mason's death and open up those bottled emotion is just going make her relive the past and she might never be able to get back from it. Why not instead do something to remind her that she needs to go back to living life and be who she used to be. Show her that life goes on, and while neither that night nor Mason will be forgotten, she has to move on and honor his memory the right way."
I sat there, staring at my best friend dumbfounded. Where the fuck did that come from? I could have said something stupid in an attempt to lighten the mood, but instead I bit my tongue.
I let out a deep sigh and said, "You weren't there, Ivan. You didn't see her watch her best friend die in front of her. You didn't try to bring her back from whatever hole she had gone into when she realized he was dead. You didn't hold her until she cried herself to sleep ridden with guilt. And you didn't wake up to her being closed off and robotic."
"Yea, you're right, but maybe because I wasn't there, I have an unbiased perspective that makes my advise more sound. Look, Dimitri, maybe you're right and I'm wrong. But would it hurt to try my idea?"
"No, I guess not," I mumbled, my mind already reeling with ideas.
"So," he drew out with a familiar amusement glint in his eyes. "How's it like living with her?"
"It's…hard…but well amazing too," I said thoughtfully before rambling. "I mean I wish it would have happened under different circumstances, but I love waking up in the morning and making her breakfast. I just wish it wasn't so gloomy. Plus, I don't get why she's didn't want to go back home. Wouldn't you want the comfort of your parents after something like that? At least her father's comfort, since she has a better relationship with a rock than she does with her mother."
"I dunno, man, but here's a better question," Ivan said meticulously, leaning forward so his elbows are on his knees. "When are you going to tell her?"
"Tell her what?" I asked as I finished the rest of my beer. He gave me a pointed look telling me I'm not fooling anyone. "I can't tell her now. She's not ready for that."
"Dimitri, she's never going to be ready. This might be what she needs to snap out of it."
"No. What she needs is to stop blaming herself. She needs to remember that life goes on, like you said, and I know exactly how I'm going to do that."
I get up from the couch and head for the door. Behind me I hear Ivan say, "What happens when she finds out before you tell her?" I couldn't hear whatever else he said because I slammed the door shut.
A/N: So..yea...I killed Mason...sorry!Moment of honesty everyone. Since I've written the first chapter, I've known Mason wouldn't make it to the finale, but I also did this because it was to help with character progression for Rose and Dimitri, and it would strengthen their relationship. I'M SORRY!
So what could Ivan be possibly talking about? What secrets is Dimitri keeping from Rose? Leave me a review and tell me what you think.
Also, what do you think Dimitri is going to do? Where is he going to take her?
I wanna hear what you guys think :):)
Leave me a review to get me through the week please! Have a good week :)