Alright, here's another chapter! Oh, and this certain moment will be split into different parts, so hopefully I can have more in depth moments. :) Also, a lovely reviewer mentioned to me that Viktoria is a year younger than Rose. Rose is 7, so now Viktoria is 6. Sorry for the confusion, it was a bit difficult to get the Belikov sisters ages right. And I messed it up twice! Ugh!

Anyway, Vampire Academy and its characters to not belong to me! Enjoy the chapter!

Dimitri's father had come home. It was the strangest reunion I had ever seen, even though I hadn't seen much for being only seven years old. It had been on a day like any other. I was home from school and Mom was off doing work, as always. She was in the FBI, and she was a workaholic. If she wasn't at work, she was either doing research or working at the gym. She was a great fighter, but what she did for her actual job, I had no idea. I always just got the 'classified' excuse.

Anyway, I was busy watching television, with my forgotten homework spread out in front of me. I, unfortunately, got distracted easily, especially with the television. It was a cartoon of some sort, one that was so strange that I couldn't understand it, yet it was mesmerizing as well.

I heard a quick knocking at the door, and it had snapped me out of my daze. I jumped up to my feet and ran over to open the door. It was Olena, Mom's best friend. She looked like she had rushed over here, but she look excited as well. "Hi Olena." I answered happily. She was like a second mom to me.

"Hello Rose. Is your mother here?" She asked, peering through the hallway as if my mom would just pop out. I just shook my head. "No, she's at work. Why?"

Olena looked back down at me. "Oh, I just have some wonderful news! My husband has returned!" She announced jubilantly. She clearly wanted to share the news very badly, and I supposed I was good enough for her. Though, I was curious about who her husband was. I had never heard why he left, just that he did. The girls didn't talk about it much, but Dimitri always made his point about how angry he was that his dad left. I wondered how he would be dealing with this.
"Can I meet him?" I asked. It's not like I was doing anything at home, even if I should be.

But Olena just shook her head. "No, I need you to tell your mother to come over when she gets home, so just wait until then. But I'm sure you'll like him, he loves kids." She beamed, messing with my hair. "I'll see you later, Lopushka ."

And with that, she left. I was a bit thrown off by how she acting, she was like a kid. Whoever this guy was, he must be something big to make her act so happy.

Sadly, I returned to my homework, turning off the tv so I could get it done, and hopefully, Mom would get home soon so we could leave. But, of course, by the time I finished my homework and got done watching another tv show, that was when she showed up.

She was on her cell phone, for something with work, but I tried to get her attention to tell her news. She was clearly irritated that I was bothering her. Putting a hand over the receiver, she hissed at me "What is it, Rose?"

"Olena's husband has come back. She wanted us to come over when you got home from work." I thought my mom would start acting as happy as Olena had, but her eyes narrowed like she was angry. She muttered back into the phone that she had to leave, and ushered me instantly into the car. I knew better than to try talking to her when she was angry. At least, I did when I wasn't angry at her myself, then all rules went out the window.

We were at the Belikov's house within a few moments, and I just followed my mother who was marching toward the door. She knocked impatiently, and tapped her foot as we waited for the door to open. It was Olena, who grinned the moment she saw us. "Oh good! I'm glad you're both here! Come inside!" She moved to the side to let us in, completely clueless to how angry my mom was.

Their house was about the same size as ours, a normal one, but it was filled with a bunch of things from Russia. It was probably the most unique house in the neighborhood. But I stopped looking around once Viktoria bounced up to greet me. "Hi Rose!" She waved and I grinned back. Viktoria was probably the closest thing I had to a best friend, since we were only a year apart and our moms were so close.

"You have to meet my dad!" She said excitedly, tugging me into their living room. I stopped when I got in there though. He was sitting on the couch, chatting with Sonya and Karolina who were sitting by him. He was tall and he had the same brown hair that all of the Belikov's had. Although, he did seem intimidating with his deep voice and just how manly he looked, none of his daughters or Olena notice. That's when I remembered that Dimitri wasn't there. "Where's Dimitri?" I asked Viktoria, not really wanting to meet the big man, though I saw his gray eyes flash over to me once I spoke.

"Oh, he's upstairs in his room. He won't come." She frowned, though that was it. She was probably used to how anti-social he was, like we all were. But I figured it as a great excuse to get away. "I'll go see him then." Viktoria shrugged, and went to join her sisters and her father.

I climbed up the stairs, heading towards Dimitri's room. I had been here enough when I played with the girls to know which one was his. And, instead of knocking, I slowly pushed open the door. "Dimitri?" I asked, peering into the room.

He was sitting at his desk, a textbook open, and papers spread out across the desk. He glanced up at me. He looked annoyed, but I think he was also relieved I wasn't someone from his family as well. "What is it, Rose?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

I stepped in the room, shutting the door behind me. "I was just wondering where you were. And I didn't really want to be downstairs."

He chuckled, a bit darkly. "Well then, that makes two of us. What do you think of my father?" He hissed the last word, clearly angry that he had come back.

I wrapped my arms around myself. "I don't know, I haven't talked to him. But, I don't really want to. He's...scary."

Dimitri nodded, agreeing with my answer. "You're right on that one, Rose. He is scary. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who sees that. As you could probably tell, my sisters and my mother are all blind."

I shifted a little bit. "So then, why did he come back?" The question had been on my tongue, and I was very curious to know.

Sighing, Dimitri stood up to walk toward me, and leaned down to see me face to face. "That's the question, isn't it? He told us that he was an idiot, and didn't know what he had here. And, of course, they accept him with open arms. But you know what I think? I think he either had nowhere else to go or he wanted an ego boost. Either way, he's a liar." He walked back over to his bed, and sat down on it, shaking his head

I gulped. Seeing Dimitri like this, maybe it was better that I never did find my own father. He could be like Dimitri's. But I couldn't think of that now. "Well, maybe he'll leave soon. He's just visiting, right?"

The look that Dimitri gave me had me answer my own question. "He's staying?" Dimitri nodded, and laid down on his bed, clearly depressed about it.

Remembering that my mom was angry at Olena, maybe there was some hope that he wouldn't be. But I didn't want to say anything about it until I knew for sure. "I'm sorry. Maybe something will happen to get him to leave." Dimitri didn't look at me, so I figured I should leave. I opened the door and left him to his brooding. Little did we both know, something actually would happen, but it was nowhere near good and it did not make his father leave.

I bet you guys might see where this is going, and that's fine because I semi-trying to go along with the book series. And if you think Dimitri is anywhere near emo now, just wait, it'll get better. Anyway, please review! I love reading every single one you guys leave! Thanks!

-Kayla Malinn