Then, his hand moved toward my stomach... and, I felt like I was being torn in half.
I let out a piercing scream, and Lissa flinched. She placed her hand, gently, on my stomach, and I felt her healing me. I let out a breath, and it didn't hurt me. Dimitri still looked worried. He opened his mouth, but Lissa cut him off.
"Dimitri, Janine, I think Rose has torn some tissue, and I've never dealt with that before. So, I don't know if it'll stay healed. Can you please leave for a moment?" she was so polite all the time
They hesitated, but left the room. Lissa turned to me, worry written all over her face. It took me a moment to realize I couldn't see into her head. The bond wasn't gone again, but it was burned out or something. I wasn't sure. Lissa took my hand, and looked me in the eye.
"Rose, are you okay?"
"I am now. Thank you. Are you okay?" I teased
"Rose, do you remember when you were pregnant with Erik, and he tore one of your muscles?"
"Yeah, but that was a year and a half ago, Liss. I've healed"
"What if you haven't? You need to go to the doctor, Rose"
"No. I have to protect you"
She let go of my hand, and groaned. She began pacing around the room. "At least, tell Dimitri"
"He'll say the same thing, Lissa. And, I don't want him to worry"
She sighed, and walked out of the room. I can't believe she doesn't understand. Protecting her is a necessity. Besides, I'm fine. I'm healed. And, if I wasn't before, I am now. Dimitri soon came in, holding Erik, and I prayed Lissa didn't tell him. By the look on his face, I can see she had. He sat down next to me on the bed, and put Erik in my arms. I sat up, rocking Erik in my arms. He looked up at me, and smiled. I kissed his forehead, and he giggled.
"Rose," Dimitri whispered, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was going to, Dimi. Lissa shouldn't have told you"
"Um, Lissa didn't tell me. I was kind of listening at the door. Don't look at me like that! You've done that plenty of times"
I laughed, and leaned my head against Dimitri's shoulder. I sighed. This would be a perfect moment if we were back home, away from all the Strigoi drama. But, I knew we would never be free of Strigoi. Just like we would never be able to be full-time parents. Thinking about that made my chest twist. I want to be a good parent, but I also want to be a good guardian. Everyday, every single day, I worried about this. I, obviously, wanted Erik to be a guardian, but I don't know how to juggle parenthood and being a guardian.
There was a knock at the door, and told whoever it was to come in. It was Sydney. She had a cut along her arm, and I wondered why she didn't have Adrian heal it. She walked toward the bed, a frown on her face.
"Eddie and I went to check out the scene," she wrapped her arms around herself. "and Susan's... gone. We couldn't find her body anywhere. So, we think she might be--"
"Don't finish" I said "How much of a mess is there?"
"Enough to attract authorities. We should probably get going"
I nodded my head, and stood up. I grabbed Erik, holding him close to me. I grabbed his diaper bag, and announced the news to everyone. We didn't really get a chance to unpack, so we left pretty quickly. As we walked through the lobby, Lissa and I held our kids close to us, not wanting them to see the horrific scene. We made it outside, glad to see sunlight. The sun had just peeked up from the horizon, casting eough light to incinerate a Strigoi.
We reached the car, and I paused. Erik had started tugging on my shirt, a worried look on his face. I couldn't tell what was wrong, but it made me question our surroundings. I gave Erik to Dimitri, and scoped out the parking lot. My footsteps were light, and barely made any sound. I came to the corner, listening for anything on the other side. Nothing. I started to round the corner, but was pulled back by my hair. I let out a scream as pain rushed through me. As soon as that scream left my mouth, a hand covered it. The touch wasn't cold, but it wasn't familiar either.
Whatever it was, it had my arms pinned behind my back, guiding me to the other side of the building. I panicked as my stake dropped. I heard footsteps behind me, and, somehow, I knew it was Dimitri. But, I was thrown to the ground, once Dimitri's footsteps became louder. My head hit the cement, and more pain rushed through me. I looked up at my captor. He was human. And, he had a sword in his hand. Something about this seemed familiar, but I couldn't remember.
The metal gleamed, and it swooshed down toward me. My instincts kicked in, and I rolled away. I shot up, and kicked his arm. The sword flew out of his hand, and I went to grab it. But, my hero got it first. Dimitri. He held the sword at my captors throat, and pushed me behind his back.
"Are you a Warrior of Light?" Dimitri hissed
"No" he paled. "I-I am part of a hidden human society... The Holy Ones"
Dimitri pressed the sword against the side of his neck. It drew blood. "Dimitri, put the sword down"
"Why?" he asked me
I gnored him, and looked at my opponent in the eye. "What's your name?"
"Brayden" Dimitri answered
I turned to him in disbelief. He knew this guy?! How? Was he another victim or something? I started to ask Dimitri these questions, but was cut off by a new voice. One filled with shock and hurt. Sydney. Her features betrayed her. As tough as she made her words sound, the hurt was clearly visible.
"Really, Brayden? Wow. And, to think you really liked me" she let out a harsh laugh
"I did!" Brayden exclaimed "It was before I knew what you were"
"The Alchemists are on your side! That doesn't make any sense--!"
He laughed. "We both know I'm not talking about Alchemists! You and your unholy witch cult!"
My eyes widened. And, before I knew it, Sydney was charging at him. "I'm not one of them!" she shrieked. That shriek caused Adrian to come see what was happening, and boy did he looked pissed off when he saw Brayden.
I grabbed Sydney by the arm, tugging her away from him. Dimitri was going to do what he needed to do, and she shouldn't be around to stop him. Or help him. I'm not sure which she would pick. Adrian certainly wanted to help, but that wouldn't have good results. So, I had to drag the two of them away from the scene. When we got back to the car, I saw Christian holding my squirming son in his arms. Everyone got into the car, except me and Erik. I took Erik off of Christian, so that he could put Andre in his seat.
I leaned against the car, holding Erik close to me. I pressed a kiss to the top of his little head. Dimitri was back in five minutes or so, and I took a quick look around. The sun kept rising, and couldn't help but wish that we were back on a vampire schedule. Dimitri kissed my forehead, and took Erik out of my arms. I climbed into the passenger's seat, and and leaned my head against the cold glass window, thinking about Erik. As usual.
I could've died twice in the last four hours. I couldn't die. I had Erik. I don't want him growing up without a mother. Or father. My thoughts shifted to Dimitri. Thinking of him dying made me want to cry. I almost feel guilty for bringing a child into this kind of world.
"Ready?" Dimitri asked me
I turned toward him, and smiled. "Of course, comrade"
Two months later
I woke up, hitting the shit out of the stupid alarm. Yet, it wouldn't shut the fuck up.
Beep, beep, beep, beep!
I shot up, and slammed my fist into the hotel alarm clocking, breaking it. I felt a little bit of pain, but it wasn't that bad. My only coherent thought was, now we owe the hotel thirty dollars. Dimitri, on the other hand, was more concerned my anger than anything.
"Not a word" I hissed.He held his hands up in surrender. I put my palm to my forehead, groaning. "I'm sorry, Dimi. I'm just... really tired"
He arched his eyebrow. "You slept for twelve hours, Roza"
I glanced at the broken clock. I was really hoping I hadn't slept that long! I shot out of bed, and went into the living room, where everyone was eating breakfast. Luckily, we haven't run into any Strigoi lately. So, we've been able to relax more. We were now in southwest Florida, seeing as the worst of the heat was gone. And, trust me, I loved the view. The beaches were amazing, and the palm trees were still beautiful towards the end of fall. Erik seemed to enjoy the beach. He loved the water. Like me. Lissa used to joke around, when we were younger, that if I was Moroi, my element would be water.
"Hey, Rosie" Christian joked. In my mind, I walked over there and hit him. But, in reality, I stuck my tongue out at him
"Rose, can I talk to you?" Lissa asked
"Sure"
We walked outside, and I immediately welcomed the warm temperature. We were on the fourth floor, so we pressed the elevator button, and waited for it to come. It dinged, and the doors slid open. I loved the elevator. The walls were mirrors, and the floor was gleaming metal. Since there weren't any Strigoi attacks, we decided to go to a better hotel. It was a Hilton near Cocoa Beach. Beautiful. If I had to give one word to describe it, that was it: Beautiful. The doors opened once more, and Lissa guided me toward the business lounge. There was hardly ever anyone in there. I mean, if you're coming on a vacation to a beautiful resort, work is the last thing you want.
She sat down in the leather chair, and I plopped down on the floor. "Stand up, Rose. I feel like I'm about to read a book to Andre" she joked. I stood up, and told her to continue. "Rose, what's up with you lately?" before I could say a word, she jumped into the explanation. "You've been so tired lately, and I know it's not just because you're working too hard. Not to mentionthe mood swings. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're pregnant"
I laughed. "You know what the doctor said, Liss. So, don't even suggest that"
"Will you make sure? For me?"
I stayed quiet, not sure if I should agree to it. After a few moments, I answered. "Fine"
******
I put the test on the counter, panicking a little. The more evidence Lissa crammed into my head, the more I thought of the possibility. Damn her. And, now I realized that Salinda had more than one. That could happen to me, also. I stepped out of the bathroom, and put on my guardian mask. I walked into the living room, sitting down with the others. I saw Sydney standing in the kitchen, downing a bottle of water. I went into the kitchen, and stood by her. She seemed nervous.
"You okay?" I asked
"Yes--"
Eddie's voice cut her off. Sending all of us in shock. "Who's pregnant?!"