Thank you so much for all the nice reviews! It means a lot to me! :)

I also want to apologize for the late update. I've been really busy the last couple of days. I'm sorry. But here's the chapter you've all been waiting for and it's extra long. ;)

Fan101 - Thank you very much! There will be a Inna & Rose conversation in the future, but not just yet. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

CHAPTER 10

RPOV

"Pick up, pick up," I muttered to myself as I paced around my room. "Pick up the damn phone!"

Once again, it went straight to voicemail. Angry, I threw my phone onto my bed and cried out in frustration. I'd been trying to call my mom for about half an hour now, but she never picked up. She was probably too busy having a great time with her new boyfriend.

Sighing, I sat down on my bed and put my head in my hands, trying to force back the tears that threatened to spill over. My mother couldn't have chosen a better day to ignore my calls. I wondered if she even remembered today was the day.

I couldn't bring myself to think about it so I got up and took my stuff, propping it into my bag, before making my way to class. I was surprised to see Christian when my class finished. He approached me as soon as I stepped into the hallway.

"Hey. You okay?" he asked quietly.

I gave him a reassuring smile. "Sure." The look on his face told me he didn't believe me and my smile faltered. "I'm fine," I said sighing. "Thanks for asking, though."

He nodded. "You heard from your mom yet?"

I shook my head. "She isn't answering her phone. Probably busy with her boyfriend," I said, voicing my earlier thoughts. "Or she's just ignoring me."

His look turned sympathetic. "She probably didn't see it. I'm sure she'll call you back soon."

I shrugged. "Whatever." My eyes were burning with unshed tears. I quickly blinked them away. "I shouldn't even be complaining about this to you. I mean, you just lost your aunt," I mumbled.

Christian put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Hey, it's okay to be sad. It isn't because your father died four years ago that you can't be sad about it anymore. I mean, he's your father. I get that you're upset-"

"I'm not upset," I protested.

He gave me a knowing look. "You are, Rose. And that is okay. It's completely normal. You were close to him and it's normal you still miss him."

I sniffled and wiped at my eyes. "I guess." Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down. "I should go now. I have to pick up Liam from school."

Christian nodded. "You going to be okay?"

I forced a smile. "Sure. I'm fine now."

He still looked uncertain, but after reassuring him I was okay, we parted ways. I wasn't alone for long, though. As I walked across campus, Adrian joined me.

"Hey Rose," he greeted. I raised my eyebrows at him, surprised. This was one of the few times he called me by my name. "How are you doing?"

I frowned. He never asked me how I was doing. "What do you want, Adrian? I don't have time for-"

He pulled me to a stop and I was surprised to see concern etching his handsome face. "I just wanted to check if you're okay. I know today is, um, a hard day for you."

If I hadn't been surprised already, I was definitely now. "You remember?"

Adrian nodded. "Of course."

Last year, I'd been upset too on this day. Back then, I'd been with Adrian and I'd told him everything about my father. He'd comforted me the whole day. Adrian might not have been the best boyfriend in the world, but that had been really sweet of him. And that he remembered it and wanted to make sure I was okay… Well, that was incredibly thoughtful and sweet.

"I'm okay, Adrian," I said quietly. "Thanks for asking."

"Okay," he said, his voice soft. "If you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me."

I gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

As I walked to Liam's school, I tried calling my mom again, but she never answered. Frustrated, I put my phone away and busied myself with Liam that afternoon. We were playing a parlor game when Inna and Alisa came home from school.

Liam was tired of playing games and wanted to watch TV so I went to sit with Inna and Alisa in the kitchen. They were doing homework so I figured I could study, too.

But I was distracted. I kept thinking about my mom and how she did not answer her phone on the one day I needed her.

I snapped out of my reverie when someone tugged at my arm. I looked up and saw Liam standing next to me.

"Can we go play tag outside?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, but I can't right now," I said. I was not in the mood to play right now. To be honest, I was not in the mood to do anything right now. "But maybe your sisters want to," I added when I saw the disappointment on his face.

I glanced over at them. Alisa nodded, enthusiastic, and Inna looked unsure. Her siblings looked at her pleadingly and, eventually, they won her over. I watched them chase each other in the garden for a while and then returned to the kitchen to order pizza.

It was Thursday so that meant Dimitri wouldn't be home until later tonight, because he went to the gym on Thursdays with Ivan. That also meant I had to feed the kids and since I didn't have any cooking skills I always ordered pizza, which the kids loved.

Later that night, when I'd put the kids to bed, I tried calling my mom again. I must've called her about twenty times now and I was surprised she hadn't even noticed. Or maybe she really was ignoring me. That was a depressing thought.

"Come on," I muttered. "Pick up the damn phone, Mom."

She didn't.

"Damn it!" I cried.

I wanted to smash my phone against the wall, but I stopped myself just in time. I didn't want to wake the kids and I didn't want to have to buy a new phone just because I couldn't control my temper. So instead, I just cursed again and again.

I didn't realize I was crying until, suddenly, a voice said, "Roza, what's wrong? Are you – are you crying?"

I froze and looked up. Dimitri was standing in the doorway, his sports bag next to him on the floor. He looked at me, concerned.

"Roza?" he said hesitantly.

Fuck.

DPOV

I was in a good mood when I drove back home from the gym. I didn't know why, but it might have something to do with the fact I would be seeing Rose and that I would be able to talk to her, even if it was just for a few minutes.

My mood plummeted, though, when I arrived home and found Rose in the living room. Crying. She was sitting on the couch, her face buried in her hands and her shoulders shaking. Something must be terribly wrong if she was crying. I'd never actually seen her sad. Grumpy, yes, but this sad? No. Never.

Seeing her like this… It was breaking my heart.

I swallowed heavily and said, "Roza, what's wrong? Are you – are you crying?"

I mentally slapped myself. What a dumb question. Of course she was crying!

Startled, she glanced up at me, her eyes wide.

"Roza?" I said after several moments of silence.

Another moment passed and then she stood up, averting her eyes from me. "The kids are in their beds, asleep," she said in a monotone voice. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She walked past me, but I grabbed her by her hand and pulled her to a stop.

"Roza, what's wrong?" I asked, worried.

"Nothing," she said, still not looking at me.

"It doesn't look like nothing," I protested. "You…you were crying."

"It's nothing," she repeated. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I should go."

"No, wait," I pleaded, grabbing her by the hand again. "I can't let you leave when you're this upset. Please tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help you."

Hesitantly, she looked up at me. Her eyes were red-rimmed and watery. Even after crying, she still looked beautiful.

"That's kind of you, Dimitri, but you can't help me. It's…" She sighed. "I really should go now. I'm sorry…for this."

"No, I'm not letting you go," I said firmly. "Whatever it is that's wrong, you can tell me." She glanced back at me. "You can trust me, Roza," I said in a softer voice.

"I know I can," she responded softly, "but I don't want to burden you with my problems. You've already got enough going on in your life without me-"

"You're not burdening me," I interrupted gently. She didn't say anything. "I'm worried."

Rose bit her lip. "Well…"

I tugged at her hand and led her back to the couch. I went to fetch her a glass of water and offered it to her. She smiled at me gratefully before taking a sip. I sat down next to her and waited until she was ready to tell me what was bothering her.

Rose took another deep breath before saying quietly, "Four years ago, my father died of cancer."

I stiffened. I hadn't expected anything like this.

She looked up at me, horrified. "Shit," she muttered, misinterpreting my reaction. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything. I mean, your wife just passed away and here I am talking about my father who's been dead for several years."

"No, it's okay," I said quickly. She looked on the verge of crying again and that was the last thing I wanted. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze and said, "I'm here to listen."

She wiped at her eyes. "Well… I've been trying to call my mom all day, but she doesn't answer her phone. I would've liked to talk to her today, you know… My mom and I aren't really close, but I know my dad would've wanted… He would've wanted us to try-"

She choked on her words and I started rubbing her back soothingly, hoping she would calm down enough to be able to talk.

"It's like she doesn't care," Rose cried. "My dad did everything for us. But then he got sick and…when he died, only a couple of months later she already had a new boyfriend. And now she's always traveling around with him. She's never got time for me. Even on this day…" Tears were brimming in her eyes. "I just wanted to talk to her, but it's like she's ignoring me. It's like she doesn't care that he's dead."

I didn't know her mother, but from the sound of it, it didn't seem like she was the best mother in the world. I found it hard to believe, though, that she would ignore her own daughter. Maybe she was having a hard time, too. Maybe that was why she wasn't calling her back.

Carefully, I voiced my thoughts to Rose. "Maybe she wants to talk to you, but she's afraid. Maybe she's having a hard time, too."

Rose shook her head. "I don't think so," she sniffled. "She didn't seem too sad when he died."

A tear escaped the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away. I felt so bad for her and I desperately wanted to help her, but I couldn't. All I could do, was comfort her.

"Come here, Roza," I said, pulling her into my arms. She buried her face in my chest and cried quietly. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. "I'm so sorry."

When her sobs had quieted down, she pulled away slightly and looked up at me. "God, I'm sorry. This is so embarrassing," she mumbled. "I didn't want to… I mean, you obviously are having a hard time right now with your wife just passed away…" She shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," I said gently. "It's fine. Really."

She pulled out of my arms completely and sat up straight, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry if I ruined your shirt."

"You didn't. It's fine," I said, waving her apology away.

We were quiet for a while and I wondered what was going on in her head. She was obviously still upset about her father's death and her mother ignoring her, but I think the worst was over now. I think crying, letting it all out, had made her feel slightly better.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Rose asked quietly.

"Um, sure," I said, suddenly a little nervous.

"When I first came here," Rose started hesitantly, "I couldn't help but notice there aren't any pictures of you…and Tasha." Oh shit. "And you're not wearing your wedding ring anymore. Is it… Is it too painful for you?"

Hmm, how was I going to explain this one without coming off as a jerk? Especially after what she'd just told me about her mom not caring that her father was dead.

I shifted a little, uncomfortable. "It's complicated," I said, not looking at her.

Her eyes widened slightly. "I shouldn't have asked, huh? Of course I shouldn't have. I mean, that's personal and it's-"

"No, it's okay," I interrupted. "You asked me if you could and I said yes. It's just… Well, I don't want you to hate me when I tell you," I admitted.

Rose looked at me, dumbfounded. "Why would I hate you?

I averted my eyes from her and took a deep breath. "I never really loved Tasha. At least, not as a husband should."

Rose looked even more surprised than a few moments ago. "W-what do you mean?"

"Tasha and I were friends – well, sort of – before we got married," I explained. "One night we got drunk at a party and, well, one thing led to another. A few weeks later she found out she was pregnant. I was only seventeen, but I knew I had to do the right thing. I couldn't just abandon her and the baby so I… I married her. I told myself I would learn to love her and that it would all be okay, but…"

"But that never happened?" she guessed.

I nodded. "I tried, though. I knew she had feelings for me, but I just couldn't… I just couldn't return it. Things were better for a while when Inna was born. I still didn't love her like I should, but it was better. That didn't last long, though. A few months after Alisa was born, Tasha and I started fighting more and more. She blamed me for a lot of things, like, I wasn't trying hard enough."

Rose gave me a small, sympathetic smile. Her eyes were filled with compassion. That would probably change when I'd finished my story.

"In the end, Tasha suggested we should try for another baby. She thought it would make things better. She might not think I was doing my best trying to love her, but I really was and I wanted to make her happy so I agreed. Besides, I'd always wanted a big family and since I was – well, I don't know how else to say it – stuck with Tasha for the rest of my life, I figured why not?But a year after Liam was born, things started to get bad again. And it was even worse than before."

"What happened?" Rose asked softly.

I sighed. "Tasha started neglecting the children. She would always do things with Inna, like take her out and buy her some ice cream or something, but Alisa and Liam… It was like they didn't exist anymore. I told her she should treat them equally. From that moment on, she started paying more attention to them, but it was still not the same as with Inna." I recalled how Tasha had given Inna special treats and expensive stuff while Alisa and Liam got nothing.

"Inna was always her favorite and she made sure everyone knew it," I said. "I don't think Tasha realized how this made Alisa and Liam feel." I let out another sigh. "Tasha also got extremely mad when something didn't go her way. I had to make a lot of sacrifices in order to try and make her happy. For example, I wanted to teach informatics and I'd been offered to do the job, but she wanted me to take on another job so I could be home more often to spend time with her. I did what she asked because I didn't want her to take out her anger on the kids. But still, it was not good enough for her." Nothing I did had been good enough for her.

I cleared my throat and continued, "Anyway, we pretended everything was fine when the kids were around. I didn't want them to know that we were fighting, but I knew we couldn't keep going on like this either."

Rose bit her lip. "So…what did you do?"

"I thought about divorcing her," I admitted, "but I couldn't do that to the kids. But then Moira – Christian's mom – came to me one night and told me something about Tasha."

"What?" Rose asked carefully.

"I'd always thought that it was bad luck, her getting pregnant that night when we got drunk," I said. "But then Moira told me it had been her plan all along."

I sighed, remembering that one awful night when Moira had told me everything. She'd known for a longer time, but Tasha had asked her to keep it a secret. But seeing how bad things were going, had made Moira change her mind. She was the only one who'd noticed that things weren't going well between us.

"I know it's partly my fault. I shouldn't have slept with her. If I'd been sober I wouldn't have, but, well, I wasn't," I muttered. Plus, back then I'd been young and foolish. "I hadn't used protection because Tasha assured me she was on birth control. But she wasn't. She lied to me that night. It was a long shot, but she did get pregnant. Like she'd hoped she would. Tasha knew me well enough to know I would do the right thing and marry her. And, apparently, that's what she'd wanted from the beginning."

Rose let out a small gasp.

"I didn't believe Moira at first. I mean, it's crazy, right?" I said. Rose nodded, her eyes wide in shock. "But when I confronted Tasha, she admitted it was all true."

"Oh my God," Rose whispered. She reached out and grabbed my hand, lacing her fingers with mine as she gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Dimitri, that's…awful. I'm so sorry."

I looked down at our joined hands and couldn't help the small smile slowly spreading across my face. It disappeared quickly, though, when I thought of Tasha again.

"I decided I couldn't stay with her any longer. I told her I wanted a divorce. She got mad as hell, of course, and then left." I swallowed heavily and looked up at Rose. "She never came back."

"Was it…was it the night she died? In the car crash?" Rose asked hesitantly.

I nodded. "She was on her way home, but she was drunk." I shook my head slightly and sighed. "She'd been drinking a lot lately. Probably because things were going so bad between us. But that night she drank more than usual and… she crashed into a tree."

"Oh, Dimitri…"

"I feel like it's my fault…that it happened," I admitted, not looking at her. I couldn't bear to see the compassion written all over her face anymore. I didn't deserve it. "I might not have loved her, but she was the mother of my kids. I never wanted this to happen to her. I keep thinking that if I hadn't told her I wanted a divorce she would still be alive. Or if I'd tried a little harder…"

"Dimitri, what happened to her is not your fault," Rose said firmly. "She was in the wrong. Not you. You had every right to be angry with her. She practically tricked you into marrying her and the way she behaved during your marriage-"

"I know, but maybe I could've-"

"No. Stop blaming yourself," she interrupted gently. "It isn't your fault. What happened is horrible, but it isn't your fault. She should've been responsible and not have driven while drunk."

"Well, her parents think it's my fault," I said sadly. They didn't talk to me anymore. They wouldn't even talk to the kids anymore, even though it was obviously not their fault.

"Well, they're wrong," Rose said stubbornly. "You can't feel guilty about this, Dimitri. You could've done things differently regarding your marriage, but everyone makes mistakes – Tasha did too. The accident…. It wasn't your fault. Tasha chose to drink that night. And that choice… Well, it cost her her life. You are not to blame for that."

I still didn't want to look at her. "The kids don't know… They don't know I wanted to divorce her. And… I don't want them to find out. It's already bad enough they lost their mother. If they knew…"

"I won't tell them," Rose promised.

Finally, I looked up at her. "Thank you," I said, giving her a grateful smile. She returned my smile and let go of my hands. I wish she hadn't. "No one knows about this, except for Ivan. And, well, you," I added, looking at her.

"I won't tell anyone," she vowed. "I promise."

"I know," I murmured. I let out a sigh. "Everyone thinks that I was this loving husband and now they're pitying me. They all feel bad that I lost my wife. But I… I don't deserve their compassion. If they knew the truth, if they knew I'm not the loving husband they all thought I was, they wouldn't-"

"Dimitri, you did what you could," Rose interrupted, her voice firm. "You tried. But sometimes…" She sighed. "Sometimes it just doesn't work, no matter how hard you try. You can't force yourself to love someone."

The look in her eyes was so sincere, it was clear that she meant what she said. I was relieved. Relieved she understood. Relieved that she wasn't looking at me like I was some horrible person, like Tasha's parents had looked at me.

"Besides… You had every right to want to divorce her," she added.

I gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Roza. And not just for this, but also for listening."

She smiled back. "Well, you listened to me too. And you even let me ruin your shirt," she added, half laughing. "Sorry again."

I chuckled. "It's fine. You didn't ruin it."

"I did! There's mascara on it. My face is probably smudged with mascara too," she said frowning as she rubbed her fingers under her eyes.

I was still smiling. "No, you look beautiful."

She blushed. I looked away, a little embarrassed. I hoped I hadn't overstepped my boundaries by telling her this.

"I probably should go home," Rose said after a few moments. "It's getting late."

I glanced at my watch. It was nearly ten o'clock. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to keep you h-"

"It's okay," she interrupted gently. "It was nice…talking to you. I feel better now."

"Me too," I admitted. She got up and put on her jacket. I followed her to the front door. "You going to be okay walking home alone?" I didn't like her going home alone in the dark, but, sadly, I couldn't go with her. I couldn't leave my kids here on their own. Especially not at night. "Do you want me to call Christian? Maybe he can-"

"I'll be fine, comrade. Thanks, though."

I nodded. "Are we…are we okay?" I asked hesitantly. "You don't think differently of me now, do you?"

Rose smiled. "Of course not. I still think you're an amazing man and a wonderful father. Your kids are very lucky to have you as a father."

Now I was blushing. "Roza…"

She cleared her throat. "I should go now. Good night, Dimitri," she murmured.

To my surprise and delight, she leaned in and kissed my cheek. I gaped at her as she walked away, my heart hammering in my chest.

"Rose, wait," I called, taking a few steps forwards. She turned around, giving me a questioning look. "You're still coming this Saturday, right? For Alisa's birthday?"

She smiled. "Sure. I'll be there."

She started walking again and, smiling, I turned around and went back inside. I walked upstairs, checking on my kids. They were all fast asleep, luckily. If there was anything I was grateful for in my life, it was them. I loved them so, so much. I wouldn't want to trade my family for anything in the world. I might not have been the best husband in the world, but I would try to be the best father to my kids.

OK, so what do you think about Tasha now? How do you feel about Dimitri? Was he right to want to divorce her? It was kind of a sad chapter, but, I promise, next chapter will be much happier. And for the people wondering when Rose and Dimitri are going to kiss, it will be in a few chapters ;)

Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Have a nice day/evening! :)