If my friends could sense the change in my mood, nobody mentioned it. After spending an hour and a half locked in the storeroom with Dimitri, I went to class with puffy eyes. Eddie threw me concerned glances and so did Lissa, but it seemed like everyone knew better than to outright ask. Christian even gave me some odd looks but kept to himself.
I caught Dimitri in glances throughout the day but never looked directly at him. I knew better than to look at him because it would just upset me. I had no appetite either, which didn't help with the fact that I felt like I wanted to puke all morning. I managed to get some soup down at lunch, but it wasn't a lot.
"Are you excited for our trip!?" Lissa asked excitedly and I could tell that she was trying to cheer me up.
"Yeah," I said weakly, "But I don't think I'll get anything. I don't have a lot of money and I need to save for when we graduate."
"Nonsense. My treat, you deserve it," Lissa said placing her hand on mine, "Plus, we were invited to an Easter dinner, so you need a dress suitable. The only dress you have is that torn black one from the Equinox dance."
I flinched internally when I thought about that night, the memory of the night flitting across my mind. I looked down at my hand and shrugged. Lissa gave me a small smile when Christian came back to the table, setting down his food. It looked good but the smell hit my nose and I grimaced.
"That doesn't smell right," I complained.
"What do you mean?" Christian asked.
"It smells like the potatoes have gone bad," I said pointing to the scalloped potatoes. Christian lifted the dish and sniffed his food.
"No. It smells fine," he said, "Maybe you're smelling the meatballs on your plate and its mixing funny?"
I shrugged and pushed my plate away from me. "Are you guys coming on the trip?"
"No," Lissa answered, "I thought you and I deserved a girls' trip."
I gave her a small smile. "I think I'm going to head back to my room. I'm really tired," I said getting up from my place. "When were you planning on going?"
"I was thinking maybe tomorrow? With it being Saturday, we won't need to worry so much about classes. We would probably leave around eight."
I nodded. "Okay. I guess I'll see you in a few hours."
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I jolted awake to a loud bang on the door, and I looked at my clock. It was seven-thirty and I pulled myself from my bed, groaning as I went.
I opened the door to find Lissa standing there looking prim and fresh.
"Did you just wake up!?"
I nodded and opened the door further, resting against it. "My stomach feels off."
"Still?" Lissa said stepping into the room. Once she stepped into the room I noticed she wasn't the only one waiting in the hallway, that Dimitri was lingering against the wall in Guardian mode. I stepped back and turned to Lissa who was pulling clothes out of my dresser and setting them on my bed.
"We'll get you something to eat on the way. Maybe your stomach is funny from dinner last night?"
I shrugged. It probably was just upset from dinner, and I wouldn't be surprised by how crappy the food was, to begin with. I got dressed quietly and ran a brush through my hair before deeming myself appropriate to be out and about.
Lissa smiled at me and left my room and I trailed after her.
"You should eat something light if your stomach is upset. Maybe a granola bar or two for now? And then we can get you some of those egg McMuffins you like so much," Lissa said wrapping her arm around me. I gave her a small smile but caught the concerned look on Dimitri's face. It wasn't normal for us to have upset stomachs for this long.
I gave him a small nod of my head to let him know that I was okay and we followed Lissa to the cafeteria where she sweet-talked someone into giving us some granola bars and then we were off to Missoula. I gave Alberta a meek smile when I saw her waiting by the van and I climbed in next to Lissa, curling up on my chair.
Lissa tried to carry on a conversation with me but I ended up falling asleep anyways, curled in the seat awkwardly. When I woke my whole body felt tight and stiff. I climbed out of the car and blinked a few times to wake myself up a bit more. The mall was surprisingly busy for being early in the morning, but Lissa was in her glory. She was excited to be shopping and I tried to soak up her happiness so that she wouldn't be able to see how sad I was on the inside.
I didn't want her to know because I didn't want to acknowledge the pain I felt. I knew why Dimitri did it, and I didn't doubt that he genuinely loved me, but I knew that he was scared, and it scared me that someone would threaten his family like that. If I could hate him or be angry at him, it'd be easier. But this whole thing just made me love him even more.
I let Lissa drag me through store after store, trying on dresses that she picked for me but didn't find anything that looked good. After stopping for a short lunch we got back to it. Lissa had purchased a handful of things for herself in the progression of the day, but I still had anything that she deemed appropriate or that I liked.
"What kind of dinner is this anyway?" I asked as I flipped through the racks.
"It's at Court. It's kind of like the Conta dinner, but more exclusive. Royals, high up Moroi, I think the Head Guardian will be there as well. So, we need something conservative, but something you still like," Lissa said moving through the dresses.
I flipped through more dresses and stopped on one that I thought was pretty. "What about this?" I asked pulling it off the rack. Lissa looked up from what she was looking at and smiled.
"That is perfect!" she squealed, "You have to try it on."
I took it to the changing room and put it on, deciding that I didn't want to look at anything else. It was lilac with a lace overlay. It had short sleeves that rested just off my shoulders. I was pretty and feminine, while still sort of my style. There was a satin belt that tied into a bow or a knot around my waist. I opened the curtain to show Lissa. She squealed and clapped, demanding that I let her buy it.
I changed and came back out with the dress, giving it to the woman at the counter. I followed Lissa around as she pulled out other things for me that she liked, adding them to the counter.
"Are you eventually going to tell me what's wrong?" Lissa brought up while she was trying on shoes at the next store, sticking her leg out to the side to view them better.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you came into class yesterday with puffy eyes, messed up hair and what looked like a little hickey in the making on your shoulder. So? What happened?"
I sat down on the plush couch beside her, ignoring the side eye I got from the saleswoman. Who would have thought you'd get such bad service from a store that charges hundreds of dollars for a pair of shoes? The cheapest thing in here was a scarf and it was a hundred dollars.
"I don't know how to explain it."
"Try," she said, "Or I'll make you try on shoes here."
I rolled my eyes and picked at my nails. "I was seeing someone, and it ended yesterday."
Lissa fumbled with the shoe in her hand and looked at me bug-eyed. "WHAT?!"
I sighed and shrugged.
"No. You can't say something like that and then clam up! Who was it!?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why?!"
I looked at her and gave her the partial truth. "I was seeing someone older. A Guardian, if I say anything else I could get in trouble, or him," I said before looking around the room to see how close the Guardians were. Alberta wasn't far off, giving the appearance of looking at purses, but if you paid attention, you could tell that she was watching us.
"Rose," Lissa said softly, turning her full attention to me, "You can tell me the truth. Honestly. I won't tell anyone."
I toyed with my Nazar and weighed the options. "Dimitri."
I didn't think Lissa's eye could get any bigger and I watched her mouth work for a few moments before she gave a sharp jerk of her head. "How the hell did I not figure that out?"
I scoffed humourlessly. "We were really careful. Until some guy caught us."
"What did he do?"
"He threatened Dimitri's family. Said that Dimitri had to break all connections with me, permanently. So even after graduation if we wanted to get back together, we couldn't. He said that he would be watching," I explained, taking one of the boxes from her as she put the shoes she wanted to the side.
"That's ridiculous! Who was it?! They can't do that!"
"I don't know, he didn't tell me who it was. But it scared him. I told him I couldn't ask him to choose between me and his family. I love him too much for that," I said with a shrug, standing up and carrying boxes up to the counter.
Lissa's jaw was set and the tops of her cheeks were pink. "I'll find out who it is."
"Liss," I said, "Please don't I don't want to make it worse."
Lissa didn't say anything as she paid for her shoes, taking the bag from the sales lady without another word.
"That aside, why the makings of a hickey?"
I blushed and brushed my hand over my shoulder. "I guess break up sex was a good idea in the moment?"
Lissa's mouth dropped and a smile looked like it was going to break her face. "WHAT?!"
I shushed her, looking over my shoulder again to make sure nobody could hear us.
"How often were you two?"
"Only twice. The first time was the night of the attack, and then yesterday," I whispered. Lissa looked bewildered and she linked her arm through mine. Lissa whispered me more questions in my ear as we walked through the mall. At one point I told her that I couldn't talk about it anymore because it was starting to upset me. Lissa was sympathetic and pulled me in for a tight hug.
"Regardless, we'll figure something out. I won't let someone come between the two of you or threaten his family. I won't tolerate that," Lissa whispered in my ear. I squeezed her back as I tried to fight the tight feeling in my throat and chest. Lissa kissed my cheek and pulled me into another store, saying that I needed a necklace for the dinner to go with my dress. I shrugged but went with her, not really looking at the jewellery. I was more consumed with looking around. I really just wanted to sit down, to be honest. I felt so off. I felt tired and warm, but just off, like my head was fuzzy.
"What do you think of this?" Lissa asked, pointing at a bracelet and earring set. I glanced at it and gave a weak nod.
"It's cute," I said swallowing roughly. My chest was feeling tight again and I took a glance around to see who the closest Guardian was, but found that Dimitri was the closest. I looked again and found Alberta, turning to go towards her. Something was really wrong.
"Alberta!"
Alberta looked up, and a few other Guardians in the store looked up too, but I stalled to a stop and swayed. My vision swayed too, and it sounded like I was underwater when the woman standing a few feet away from me spoke. I blinked and felt myself fall, already out of it when I hit the floor.
A few seconds after I went down I was looking up at Lissa and a sales lady leaning over me, Alberta and Dimitri behind them. I blinked and sat up, Lissa already fussing over me.
"I'm fine, Liss."
"You're not fine! You fainted!"
I brushed it off but still felt a bit of tightness in my chest. I gave Alberta a small nod of reassurance, but she didn't look happy. We ended up cutting the rest of our trip short, Lissa was too worried about me to shop anymore. We all piled back into the car and I leaned back in my seat, tapping my fingers against the armrest.
I glanced up and found a pair of brown eyes watching me in the rear-view mirror. I flinched the slightest bit under his gaze and looked away.
Great.
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Dr. Olendzki insisted on doing blood work and I sat patiently in the chair. Alberta stayed because she was the Head Guardian and I had fainted only feet from her, Dimitri stated that he wanted to know that his student was okay. I rolled my eyes but eventually let her do it, even let her take my blood pressure.
"What?" I asked when she frowned.
"How are you feeling? Did your chest hurt before you fainted? Or lightheaded?"
"Yeah, a little," I said, "I felt a little sick this morning."
Dr. Olendzki nodded and moved her stethoscope to my chest, telling me to take a deep breath as she listened to my lungs and my heart. I glanced at Alberta with knitted brows, while Alberta kept her face guarded. There was a ping from the tablet on the counter and Dr. Olendzki pulled the earpieces out and rested them around her neck as she picked up the tablet.
"Guardian Belikov, can you please step out of the room?" Dr. Olendzki asked. Dimitri stood there for a moment before giving a sharp nod and stepping out of the room.
"Rose. I need you to be honest with me," Dr. Olendzki said pulling the rolling stool towards me. I nodded, not exactly sure where she was going with this.
"When was your last period?"
I furrowed my brows and I thought about it for a moment. "I think a few weeks ago?"
"And was it normal? Or was it lighter?"
I shrugged. "It was lighter, not really there. Why?"
Dr. Olendzki sighed and nodded her head. "Are you sexually active?"
I blushed and glanced at Alberta, who still had an impassive look on her face.
"Yes. Once before the attack and yesterday," I said. I mean, technically it was before the attack. I didn't need to tell anyone it was the night of. It would be too easy to come to a conclusion that would be bad for all of us.
Alberta let out a sigh of a breath and let go of her rigid posture. I looked from Alberta to Dr. Olendzki.
"But he was a Dhampir," I added.
"Are you positive?"
"I think I would know who I had sex with," I said shortly, and Dr. Olendzki gave me a sympathetic look. I looked at Alberta.
"You can put that thought out of your heads," I said standing up and moving away from them, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Your blood work doesn't lie," she said, extending the tablet out to me. I looked at it and then up at her before taking it. There was a list of codes and numbers.
"What do all of these mean?"
"This," Dr. Olendzki said pointing at one in particular that said positive next to it along with one other, "is your hCG level. It's the marker for pregnancy. You are in fact, pregnant."
I shook my head and thrust it back into her hands. "That is impossible!"
Alberta left her spot against the wall and rested her hand on my shoulder. "Rose. Did someone-"
"No!" I exclaimed, "I've only been with one person, and he is a Dhampir. The test is wrong!"
The two women looked at me with sympathy but I was angry. I picked up my jacket and stormed out of the room, not caring that the door banged against the wall as I went. I heard my name called after me, but I didn't want to hear any more bullshit.
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Before you all scream "this troupe has been done before", trust me, I have a plan for this and in my opinion, it's pretty awesome.
Let me know what you think! Just don't come at me lol.