Moving Objects

Chapter 25

"I found a way to bring you back!"

"Yes, for you! I didn't want this! To be plagued by my nightmares and by what I did to those people. You should have just killed me when you had the opportunity. Instead, you hesitated!"

I huffed and crossed my arms. I was getting tired of walking on eggshells. "I get that what happened to you was difficult. I understand that what you went through was traumatizing, but you can't let it hold you back. You have got to stand up for yourself and work towards being a Guardian again," I exclaimed, leaning against the side of the counter. Dimitri shook his head and pinned me in place with his eyes.

"You have no idea what I went through!" Dimitri yelled, slamming his fist down on the table. I flinched at his outburst, but figured that we were finally getting somewhere. If yelling would help him, then I'd let him. But only for so long.

"No, I don't know exactly what you went through," I countered, "But I saw what you had become. I was there in that alleyway, remember! I remember what you were capable of, but that is not who you are now! You were not really you!"

Dimitri chuckled humorlessly under his breath. "Don't pretend like that was so hard for you! I remember the way you reacted to me that night!"

My cheeks flushed heavily at his accusation and I felt ashamed of myself. I looked down at the floor and blinked back tears. He made me sound like a bloodwhore, and I didn't like it. I sniffed and looked back at him, wanting nothing more than to punch him, so I kept my hands tight under my arms.

"That was out of line," I hissed. Dimitri's face was almost unreadable.

"I don't think I can do this anymore."

A horrible feeling settled in my gut. "What do you mean?"

"This. Us. I don't think I can do this."

I gritted my teeth and tried to take a calming breathing. "If you think that I'm going to let you walk away because you don't know how to handle your grief, you have another thing coming. I love you, Dimitri. I'm not going to walk away because you're going through some shit."

"Love fades, ours will too."

I flinched again and let my arms drop, a tear slipping down my cheek. I would have been better off if he had slapped me. We stood there silently, his chest heaving with his breathing while I stood across from him, shaking in anger and hurt. I nodded my head and walked into the bedroom, grabbing my gym bag and keys before striding past him. He grabbed my wrist and spun me around.

"Rose," he said, but I pulled away from him.

"I believe you've said enough for one night," I spat, striding to the door and slamming it shut. If I didn't know any better I could have sworn that the door cracked.

I stomped down the hall, groaning as a head of bronze hair headed towards me. Adrian had a smile on his face but it faltered when he saw my expression.

"Woah, what's wrong, little dhampir?"

"Don't want to talk about it," I snapped as I brushed by him, but he backtracked and walked in time with me.

"Your aura is all over the place. What happened? Was it Belikov?"

I threw him a nasty glare as I ran down the stairs, needing to get away from everyone.

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I don't know how long I was at the gym for, but eventually I dragged my tired and worn body home. As I walked closer, I started to feel dread creeping in. Dimitri's words had cut like a knife straight to my heart. It was like losing him all over again. I crept into the bedroom quietly, hoping to not wake him as I changed into shorts and a shirt. Walking in, I noticed his duffle bag on the floor, his things still in it.