Here's the first chapter of the sequel: Unexpected Life. I'm so sorry it took so long, but I just got my computer back today. It's all fixed now. Yay! Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

CHAPTER 1

RPOV

Today was the day. The day Dimitri would be released from the hospital. A week ago, he got stabbed by my ex-boyfriend, Jesse. He ran off afterwards, the coward. The police has been searching for him for a week now, but they still haven't found him. I wondered where he was. I mean, he couldn't be that far, right? Wherever he was, the police would find him soon. At least, I hoped they would. I didn't like it that he was still out there somewhere. I didn't want him to hurt Dimitri again. So far there hadn't been any sightings of him and I didn't get any calls or notes so I guess we were safe at the moment.

I was looking forward to seeing Dimitri again. I hadn't been able to see him much this past week. Thanks to my mom. Last week, she'd finally found out the truth. I think she already had her suspicions, because I'd been so upset about what had happened to Dimitri, but she just didn't want to believe there was more going on between Dimitri and me. Until she saw it with her own eyes when she'd barged into Dimitri's room in the hospital. I remembered that day very clearly and I think Dimitri did, too.

"Rose, I want an answer. Now!" Mom yelled. "And you better make sure it's a good one!"

I took a deep breath and said, "I'm in love with Dimitri."

Her eyes almost bulged out. "You're in love with him?"

I nodded. "Yes, Mom. I love him." It felt good to finally say this. Somehow, it was a relief to finally be able to tell her how I felt about Dimitri. "And he loves me too."

My mom looked over at Dimitri and then back at me. "Is this some kind of sick joke?" she snapped.

"No," I said quietly, looking down at my hands in my lap. "It's not a joke. It's true."

"You can't be serious, Rose! He's your teacher for God's sake!" she exclaimed.

"He was," I said. "He's not my teacher anymore."

Mom started pacing the floor, her hands behind her back, and said, "Please tell me this happened after your graduation."

I glanced at Dimitri and he squeezed my hand. "Umm, no," I said at last.

She stopped pacing the floor and turned to us again, her eyes blazing. Unconsciously, I moved closer to Dimitri.

"What? You were already…" She briefly closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Slowly, she exhaled and looked at us again. "Don't tell me there was something going on between the two of you when he was still your teacher?"

"Well… Actually-"

"Rosemarie Hathaway!" she yelled. I cringed. "How could you-"

"I didn't mean for it to happen, Mom," I said. "It just did!"

"Sure!" Mom said sarcastically. "It just happened. Right." She looked at Dimitri and pointed at him. "How could you do that? How could you just use my daughter? I trusted you!"

"It's not like that, Janine," Dimitri said calmly. I couldn't believe he could stay so composed when she was yelling at him. "I'm sorry if I betrayed your trust, but I love your daughter. More than anything else in the world. I would never use her."

"It doesn't matter if you love her – which I highly doubt," she scoffed. "It doesn't matter what your feelings are for her. You were her teacher and you were supposed to stay professional. Even if she wanted it to be more, you should have told her no and treated her like all the other students."

"Believe me, I've tried to stay away from her. I knew I couldn't get involved with her because she was my student," Dimitri said. "But I loved her and I just couldn't stay away."

"Maybe you should've tried a little harder," she snapped.

"Mom!" I protested.

She ignored me. "So when did this start?" she asked. "How long has this been going on?"

I glanced down again and mumbled, "A couple of months."

"What? A couple of months?" she exclaimed.

It surprised me that nobody had walked in yet to ask my mom to keep her voice down. I mean, we were still in a hospital and there were probably lots of patients here who needed to rest.

"Yes," I said.

"And about how many months are we talking here?" Mom said as she put her hands on her hips.

Well, if you started counting from the day we shared our first kiss… "About six months," I replied.

Mom was speechless for a second as she stared at me. "Six months?" she said at last. "This has been going on for six months?!"

"Yes," I said again. "Well, officially five months."

"Officially?" Mom repeated. "Then what was going on when it was unofficial?"

I shrugged. "Nothing much. We tried to stay away from each other. But that obviously didn't work."

She snorted and threw her hands up in the air. "Obviously!"

I looked up at her, tears in my eyes. "I'm sorry, Mom," I said softly. "But I can't help the way I feel about him."

Mom turned to Dimitri again. "You should've told her to stay away from you! You should've been the responsible one! But instead you practically encouraged her to-"

"Mom, that's not true!" I interrupted. "He told me it was better to stay apart, but I didn't want to give up. I-"

"Stop interrupting me, Rosemarie!"

"Please don't yell at Rose," Dimitri said. "It's not her fault. If it's anyone's fault, then it's mine." I wanted to say something, but he shook his head slightly. When he was sure I wouldn't interrupt him, he continued, "You are right, Janine. I should've been the responsible one. I should've told her nothing could happen between us. I did tell her that, but it hurt her. I hated myself for that. For hurting her. And I was only hurting myself, too. In the end, I decided I loved her too much to let her go."

Hearing him say that… Wow. I had tears in my eyes because of this. My mom, on the other hand, looked as impassive as always. We would get no sympathy from her.

"I don't get it," Mom said sighing. "How could you be in love with Rose?"

I raised my eyebrows and said indignantly, "Excuse me, am I not loveable or what?"

"I don't mean it like that, Rose," she said. "Of course you are. But… You're a teenager and he is-"

"I'm an adult!"

Mom glared at me and I realized I'd interrupted her again. Woops.

"You weren't an adult when this…relationship started," she countered.

"Does it matter? I'm an adult now."

"Rose, of course it matters!" she said. "You're having a relationship with your teacher for months now. You were seventeen when it started. Don't you realize Dimitri could get in trouble for that?"

"Not if you won't tell anyone," I said defiantly.

Dimitri squeezed my hand. "Stay calm, Roza," he murmured in my ear.

Mom saw this small interaction and she glared at him. "How far has this relationship gone?"

"Mom," I said, startled by this question. "That's private."

Once again, she ignored me. "How far did it go? Was it just meeting in secret at school or…or did you meet somewhere else?"

"Well, Rose usually came over to my apartment," Dimitri responded.

"Your apartment?" she said. "And when did that happen? I mean, she barely had time to go anywhere, because she was spending so much time with-" She cut herself off and gasped. "You were never with Lissa, were you?" I looked away guiltily. "Every time you told me you were going to Lissa, you were going to him instead! Right?"

I nodded. "Yes. Well, most of the times. Sometimes I really was with Lissa."

Mom took in a deep breath. "Don't tell me you were also with him when you were supposedly having a sleepover with Lissa!"

"Mom…"

"Rose," she said warningly. "Did you or did you not spend the night at his apartment?"

I sighed and admitted, "Yes."

"I can't believe this!" she shouted. "You lied to my face every time!"

"I'm sorry, Mom," I said and I really was sorry. "It was the only way I could see him."

"Well, be happy you did," she snapped, "because you're not seeing him again!"

I jumped off the bed. "What?"

"You heard me," she said. "I don't want you to see him again."

"Mom, you can't do that," I cried. "I love him. You can't keep me away from him."

"Don't tell me what I can or can't do," she said. "Put on your jacket. We're leaving."

"Mom, no!" I exclaimed. I turned to Dimitri. "Dimitri, I-"

"Calm down, Roza," he said. "Everything will be fine. I promise you, it'll be all fine."

"But-"

"Just do what your mom says, okay?" he said, squeezing my hand again.

Mom grabbed my other hand and dragged me toward the door. "Let's go," she said. She turned to Dimitri and said, "If you ever come near her again, I'll file a complaint."

And then she pushed me out of the door, away from Dimitri.

I'd stood there in the doorway, trying to convince my mom to not do this to me, but she'd turned away from me and had made her way to Dimitri. For a moment, I'd been afraid she'd punch him, but she'd just picked up the book from his bedside table and chucked it against the wall in sheer frustration and anger. Right then, several nurses had finally come in to ask what was going on. It surely had taken them a long time to hear all the commotion going on in his room.

When we'd come home that day, I'd done some yelling, too. Not because she'd made a scene at the hospital, but for forbidding me to see Dimitri.

"You can't do this to me, Mom," I yelled as I flung myself onto the couch. "You can't do this! I love him and he loves me too!"

"Do you honestly believe that?" Mom snorted. "He's just taking advantage of you!"

"He's not!" I exclaimed. "You don't know him like I do! If you would just give him a chance-"

"Give him a chance?" she said, outraged. "He doesn't deserve a chance! You were his student, Rose! No matter what his feelings are, he should've stayed away from you. He'd better be glad I'm not filing a complaint. Yet."

"He doesn't deserve that," I said, my voice trembling. "After everything he's done for me… He saved me so many times. And this is how you want to thank him? He doesn't deserve this."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, frowning.

A tear slipped down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away. "You want to know what happened the night Dimitri got stabbed? You want to know the truth?"

"Yes, of course I do!" she said.

"Fine then! I'll tell you!" I said.

Mom sat down on the other couch and said, "Well, start talking then."

I took a deep breath and told her everything there was to know about Jesse and what he'd done to me over the past year. I told her how Jesse would follow me around and sometimes even hurt me. I told her how Dimitri had helped me out every time. I told her about the notes, the calls,… I told her everything. I didn't leave anything out. I even told her I had to break up with Dimitri because Jesse had threatened to give her a picture of us.

As I talked, she listened intently without interrupting me. She seemed to have calmed down, which I was glad for. I kind of started to have a headache from all the yelling.

Her eyes widened when I told her about last week, the night that it all happened, and she clasped her hand over her mouth. She actually had tears in her eyes when I finished.

"He protected me," I said. "Because he loves me. He was there for me every time I needed him. And I needed him so much this past year. I don't know how I would've gotten through everything if I'd never had him to help me."

Mom was crying now. "Why'd you never tell me this?" she said. "Why did you never tell me Jesse was threatening you? Stalking you? Didn't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you," I said.

"Then why did you go to him?" she asked. "Why did you tell your problems to a stranger instead of me?"

"Because he'd seen it with his own eyes," I said. "He'd seen how Jesse really was. If I told you… You might not have believed me."

"Of course I would have believed you! You're my daughter!"

"Yes, but you liked Jesse. You thought he was perfect," I said sadly. "I didn't think you would believe me. And like I said, it was easier to tell Dimitri, because he knew how Jesse really was."

Mom sighed. "I can't believe Jesse did all those things. He didn't seem to be that type of person at all." She wiped at her eyes and said, "And he wanted to take you with him that night?"

I nodded. "At least, that's what he said. If Dimitri hadn't been there…"

Mom didn't say anything. She just stared down at her hands, folded in her lap. I got up and sat down next to her on the other couch. I took her hands in mine and she looked up at me.

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in," I said. "And I get where you're coming from… That you don't want me to see Dimitri anymore. I get it. He's older than me and he was my teacher. But… we love each other and… I don't think I can live without him, to be honest," I admitted. "You might find this strange, but I got to know him this past year. I got to really know him, what kind of person he is, and I fell in love with him. I couldn't help it. I mean, he's sweet, funny, caring…" I probably shouldn't mention how hot he was. I guess she already knew that. She looked away and I hesitated for a second, but then continued, "If you… If you'd give him a chance, I know you'd like him too."

She looked at me again. "I don't know, Rose. It's... I don't want to see you get hurt."

Didn't she just hear me talk about Dimitri and what he's like? "I won't get hurt," I said. "He won't hurt me. I know he won't."

"I don't know," she repeated.

"Please, Mom," I pleaded. "Give him a chance. Just one chance."

It was silent for a long time as I let my mom think. At last, she looked up at me again and said, "I guess… I could try." I started to smile, but she quickly added, "Don't expect too much. I said I would try. That doesn't mean I think this is okay."

"I know. I'm just glad you're going to try," I said.

"And I'm not happy that you lied to me," she said gruffly. "About Dimitri. About Jesse. About everything."

"I know and I'm sorry about that," I said, "but I had no other choice. You would have definitely reported Dimitri if I'd told you this sooner."

"You got that right," she muttered.

"So now that you will give him a chance – I mean, you will try – you won't report him anymore? You won't tell Mikhail or anyone else that we've been together for five months now?"

She sighed. "I guess I won't." Then she frowned. "Wait. What did you tell Mikhail? Did you lie to him?"

"Not about everything," I said. "Just about Dimitri and me. I told him last week was our first date. If he knew that we'd been together when I was still in high school… Dimitri would get in trouble for that, right?"

"Probably," Mom said. "But I don't think they're worrying about that now. Their focus is on catching Jesse."

"You won't tell them, will you?" I asked again.

She smirked. "No, I won't. They didn't want to tell me what was going on. So I won't tell them anything either."

I sighed in relief. "Okay. Thanks."

I wanted to get up and go to my room, but my mom grabbed my wrist and pulled me down on the couch again.

"Wait a minute," she said. "I want to lay some rules down."

Oh no. Here it comes.

"No more lies," she said. "No more keeping things a secret. And no more going out on your own. I want someone to be with you at all times. In case Jesse comes back," she added when she saw the look on my face. "I won't leave you alone until Jesse's caught."

"Okay," I said quietly.

"Good."

She let go of me and I got up and went to the bathroom for a much needed shower.

Even though I didn't really like the last rule, I guess it was better if I wasn't alone now. In case Jesse would come back for me or whatever his plans were for me. I really hoped they'd catch him soon.

Sighing, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and after checking one last time into the mirror, I turned to leave the bathroom. Mom was in the living room, taking her things before she went to the station.

"Mom, can you bring me to the hospital on your way to work?" I asked.

She hadn't wanted me to go back there until yesterday. I'd been allowed to see him for about an hour and then she'd come to take me back home. When I'd been there, I hadn't really had a chance to tell him about my conversation with my mom, because his family had been there too. And apparently, he'd told them the truth about us, too.

Luckily, they hadn't reacted the way my mom did, like yelling and throwing books against the wall, but they'd been shocked and a little apprehensive when they heard the whole story about Jesse and me.

Yesterday, I'd also met Dimitri's grandmother, Yeva, and Sonya's husband, Ethan. I'd seen them briefly that first night in the hospital, but we hadn't been introduced yet. Ethan seemed nice enough. But Yeva… She was a little strange and kind of scary. She kept talking to me in Russian, even though she knew I didn't understand a thing of it. She also glared a lot. I guess she didn't like me very much.

Mom snapped me out of my reverie.

"I guess," she said, not so enthusiastic. She still had a hard time dealing with this. And it's not like I didn't understand. It's not nothing to find out that your daughter's ex-boyfriend stabbed her current boyfriend and former teacher, and that this ex-boyfriend stalked her for months. And the fact that the police still hadn't found him didn't make this easier. It was like he'd disappeared from the face of earth.

"But I want you home for dinner," she continued. "I'll come and pick you up."

"Okay," I said. It was better than nothing. I was already happy I was allowed to see him.

"Let's go, then," she said.

We headed outside, to the car. It was silent as she drove me to the hospital. When she dropped me off, I got out of the car, but didn't close the door yet.

"Have you already thought about it?"

"Yes," she answered.

"And?" I asked, curious.

She hesitated. "I don't know," she said at last, biting her lip.

"Mom, this is the only way if you want to get to know him," I said.

She sighed. "Fine."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes." She seemed annoyed, but at least she said yes.

"Thank you!" I said smiling. "Thank you so much. You won't regret it. I promise!"

"I hope so," she muttered.

"When?" I asked. "When are we-"

"Tomorrow night?" she suggested. "I have the night off, then."

"Okay, I'll ask him."

She nodded and said, "I'll see you tonight. Bye."

I closed the door and she drove off. Still smiling, I went inside and made my way toward Dimitri's room. After a week of begging, I'd finally convinced her to let Dimitri come over for dinner. And so soon! I really hoped he was available tomorrow night. I wanted my mother to get along with him. I wanted her to see how nice he was. I really hoped dinner would go well. But regardless of how it would go, it was bound to be a very interesting night. That was for sure.

That's it for the first chapter. You liked it? Did you expect Janine's reaction to be like this?

Please leave a review and let me know what you think. :)

Have a nice day/evening! ^^