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Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

CHAPTER 21

RPOV

"You know what I was just thinking about?" I said.

Dimitri glanced over at me. "What?"

"That Ivan probably has brought a dozen girls to that lake house and had sex with them in the bedroom," I said, scrunching up my nose. "And we slept there."

"We did more than that," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "And not just in the bedroom."

I slapped his arm playfully, but couldn't help a smile. Dimitri cleared his throat and continued, "Anyway, I'm pretty sure he's changed the sheets the last time he was there."

He parked his car in the parking lot and then looked at me again. Leaning in, he kissed me gently on the lips. "You want me to walk you to your room?" he asked.

"You still got some time?" I asked.

He glanced down at his watch and nodded. "I'm picking the kids up in about half an hour."

I smiled. "Alright then."

Hand in hand, we walked to my dorm and up the stairs to my room.

"See you tomorrow?" Dimitri asked, wrapping his arms around my waist before pulling me close for another kiss.

I smiled against his lips and nodded. "Yeah."

He smiled too and kissed me again. "Good. I can't wait to-"

"What the fuck?!"

Startled, Dimitri and I both looked up. I let out a gasp when I saw Christian standing in the hallway, just a few feet away from us. His mouth was hanging wide open as he stared at us. His look of surprise changed quickly, though, into a look of anger.

"Christian," I started, not really knowing what to say.

"What's this?" Christian said, looking from me to Dimitri. "Why were you just-" He cut himself off and frowned. "I thought you were away for the weekend."

"Yeah, I just got back."

Christian clenched his jaw and looked at Dimitri. "I see."

"Christian, it's not what it looks like…"

His eyes flashed in anger. "Don't lie to me, Rose! Were you with him this weekend?"

I looked down guiltily.

"I can't believe this!" he exclaimed. "Avery was right all along."

My head snapped up and I looked at him in disbelief. Avery told him? When? I opened my mouth to say something, but Christian cut me off.

"Yes, she told me! I wouldn't believe it at first, but I guess she was right after all," he spat. "I can't believe this, you're my best friend!"

"Christian, calm down," Dimitri said in his calm voice. "Let's talk about this and-"

"No!" Christian almost yelled. "I don't want to talk about it. How could you do this?!" This question was directed to Dimitri. "What about aunt Tasha? Have you already forgotten about her? And what about your kids? How do you think they'll feel when they find out about this?"

Dimitri and I were both quiet.

"How long has this been going on?" Christian asked.

"Christian…" I said, looking at him pleadingly.

"How long?" he demanded.

"Since Christmas," Dimitri answered, still as calm as ever.

"Were you ever going to tell me, Rose?!" Christian said angrily.

"Of course! I was just waiting for the right moment. I didn't want to upset you. I-"

He snorted. "Right."

"Please, Christian," I pleaded. "Just hear us out."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood right now," he snapped. "Good night."

He turned around and stalked off. I called out for him, but he ignored my pleas.

"He needs some time," Dimitri said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

I sighed. "I don't know. He was really mad."

"I'm sorry, Roza," he said, pulling me to his chest.

I wrapped my arms around him and closed my eyes, forcing back my tears. "It's not your fault. I should've told him sooner."

I tried calling Christian the rest of the night, but he kept ignoring my calls. I even called Lissa and she told me Christian didn't feel like talking and that I should try again tomorrow. I could hear her sympathy for me in her voice.

I felt horrible about what happened, but there wasn't anything I could do right now. I would find Christian tomorrow and talk to him then. At least, if he was ready to talk.

I didn't even have the energy to yell at Avery when she came home later that night. I didn't have to, though. From the look on my face, she could already guess what had happened.

"Oh, I take it Christian didn't take the news so well?" she said. "I'm so sorry, Rose. It just slipped out."

"Don't talk," I said sharply. "Just…" I let out a sigh. "Just leave me alone."

The next day, I didn't see Christian. I ran into Lissa, though, and she told me he was still angry. I already figured so.

"Do you know where he is right now?" I asked.

"He's in class," she responded. "And… I don't think he's ready to talk yet," she added hesitantly.

I nodded and sighed. "Okay. Thanks."

I turned around, but Lissa put her hand on my arm and stopped me. "Rose?"

I looked back up at her. "Yeah?"

"He'll come around, you know," she said, giving me a small smile. "He's just a little bit upset right now. And he feels kind of betrayed. He had to hear it from your roommate instead of you. He'd wish you would've told him and that you hadn't lied about it."

"I know I should've just told him, but I…" I let out another sigh. "I guess I'm a coward."

Lissa gave me a sympathetic smile. "Don't be so hard on yourself. I don't know you that well, but I know that you would never want to hurt Christian."

"Yeah, but I did," I muttered.

"Don't worry so much," she said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure he'll come around. Just give him some time."

"Thanks, Lissa," I said, giving her a genuine smile.

I followed her advice and left Christian alone the entire week. Not seeing him every day was weird and it kind of made me sad, too. But I waited patiently, telling myself that Christian would come to me if he wanted to talk. Dimitri had also tried to contact Christian, but he was also being ignored.

"I really blew it," I said sighing. I was lounging on the couch with Dimitri. The kids had already gone to bed so we could talk freely now. "He's never going to forgive me."

"Of course he will," Dimitri said soothingly as he stroked my hair. "He just needs more time."

"It's been a week!" I said.

Dimitri gave me a sympathetic smile and kissed my forehead. "I know, Roza. But you can't give up hope. You're his best friend. He will forgive you."

I let out another sigh and rested my head against Dimitri's shoulder. "I hope so. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him."

"Do you regret it?" Dimitri asked quietly after a few moments. I shifted and gave him a questioning look. "Do you regret us getting together?"

"No! Of course not," I said, quick but firm. I moved closer to him and held his face in my hands so he couldn't look away from me. "I don't regret us getting together. I love you, Dimitri."

"I love you too, Roza," he said softly. His lips met mine in a gentle kiss.

"I should go home," I murmured. "It's getting late."

Dimitri nodded. "I wish you could stay here," he said sighing. "I hate to see you leave."

I gave him a small smile. "I'll be back before you know it, comrade," I said, making a half-hearted joke.

He smiled and leaned in for another kiss. "Good night, Roza."

"Night, comrade," I murmured before leaving.

As I walked back to campus, my mind wandered off to Christian again. I really hoped he would forgive me. Or that he'd at least let me explain.

When I finally arrived at my dorm room, a surprise was waiting for me. A surprise in the form of my best friend.

"Christian?" I said as I approached him hesitantly.

His head snapped up and he quickly got up from the floor. He'd been sitting against the wall near my door.

"Hey," he said stiffly.

"Hey," I said, giving him a careful smile. "You…you want to talk?"

"Yes," he answered, clearing his throat.

"Wanna go inside?"

He nodded and I opened the door. Luckily, Avery was nowhere to be seen. I hoped she'd stay away for a few more hours.

We stood in my room, both awkward, for a few moments. I couldn't bear the silence anymore so, at last, I said, "I'm sorry, Christian. I should've told you."

"Why didn't you?" he asked.

"Because…" I hesitated. "Because I was afraid of what you'd say. I was afraid you wouldn't approve. And I didn't want to upset you because, you know, Dimitri was married to your aunt."

His eyes briefly flashed in anger when I mentioned Dimitri.

"I really am sorry," I said honestly.

"Do you like him?" Christian asked.

I bit my lip. "I love him."

He stared at me in disbelief. "You love him?"

I nodded. "He loves me too," I said quietly.

He scowled. "That's not possible."

That made me angry. "Why not?"

"Because he's supposed to love my aunt! She hasn't been dead for even a year and he's already hooking up with other people – he's hooking up with you."

"He's not hooking up with me! He loves me!" I said firmly. Christian snorted and I sighed. "Look, I understand this is hard for you. I mean, she was your aunt and I get why you're upset, but… Dimitri moved on-"

"Clearly," Christian muttered.

"Don't you want him to be happy? Don't you want me to be happy?" I asked.

"He's got three kids, Rose! He's way older than you!" he exclaimed. "How can he make you happy?"

"He does!" I said, my voice trembling. I didn't like fighting with Christian. I hated it. I didn't want him to be mad at me. "He makes me happy. He really does. And it doesn't matter to me that he's already got kids."

"How can it not matter?" Christian shouted angrily.

"Because I love him!" I shouted back, losing my temper at last.

"You don't honestly believe he loves you back, right?!" Christian said. "He's just using you."

"How could you say that? You know Dimitri isn't like that."

"Apparently I don't know who he is at all," he snapped, "because this is the last thing I'd expected him to do. I thought he'd show a little bit more respect to my aunt."

"You know, your aunt wasn't perfect," I blurted out. "In fact, she was a bitch to Dimitri. It's a wonder he stayed with her all those years!"

"What?" Christian said, clearly stunned.

"Yeah, that's right," I said, crossing my arms. "Tasha practically tricked Dimitri into marrying her. She never treated Dimitri like she should have treated a husband while Dimitri tried to do everything to make her happy."

"You're lying!" Christian yelled. "Aunt Tasha wouldn't do that!"

"If you think I'm lying, then why don't you go ask your mother?" I said vehemently. "Dimitri said she knows everything. And she's the one who's told Dimitri the truth about your aunt."

Christian opened his mouth again, no doubt to yell at me again, but then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It was obviously a mistake to come here tonight," he said at last, his voice calm again. "I'm going now."

I sighed, realizing I shouldn't have told him the truth about his aunt – at least not like this. "Christian, I'm sorry."

"Whatever," he muttered, storming out of the door.

"Christian, wait!" I called.

But he'd already left. I let out another sigh and went back inside, closing the door behind me. I had the feeling I had really fucked it up this time and that it would take a lot to make this right again. That is, if Christian ever wanted to talk to me again.

So Christian finally knows. Do you think he'll forgive Rose or will he stay angry at her for this? Do you think he'll talk to his mother and ask her about Tasha?

Hope you liked the chapter. Please leave a review and have a nice day/evening! :)