Soul Bound

Chapter 38

DPOV

A week has passed. Adrian has become a pain to deal with. I wondered if the darkness had something to do with it. He was all over the place. One moment happy and living on top of the world, the next outright depression. I wanted to help, I just didn't know how yet. Luckily Adrian had found the liquor cabinet and learned just how strong real Russian Vodka was.

There had been no change with Rose. I didn't know what to do anymore. I tried everything. She still barely talked. I was reminded about the words my grandmother had spoken. I just didn't know what she meant by them.

Something needed to change. If I thought that all Rose would need was time I wouldn't push. I wouldn't expect anything from her. But that wasn't it. She was hiding. She wasn't confronting her fears. That had never been Rose. As a matter of fact I could count the times Rose had been truly afraid on one hand.

She just sat in the sun all day and clung to me all night. Not that I didn't enjoy that, but whenever I wanted to talk about it, or even anything from her old life. Her mother, Lissa, anything, she would shut down. I had read up on traumatic experiences and dealing with them. But no psychology book covered coming back from being an evil undead monster. And so far nothing had seemed to remotely help. I was getting desperate. I could see the old Rose underneath the surface. Sometimes she would emerge, but it was almost as if she didn't want to come out again. That resembling her old self was a bad thing.

I had two people I cared about and had no idea how to help either of them. It was frustrating to say the least. I felt useless. We couldn't stay here forever. Adrian would eventually go back to the US. We needed something done, but I was powerless. What good is my bloodmaster seven title now? I couldn't save Rose back at the Academy and I had no idea how to help her now. And I had been nothing but a burden to Adrian. He had put his life on hold to save me. He had saved my life bonding him to me, because I had been reckless and he had saved Rose where I couldn't. And I couldn't even take his darkness because I feared I might go insane. Rose had taken the darkness willingly for Lissa. She had been a lot stronger than me.

We sat around the breakfast table and it was busy. With the babies and three more people in the house it was crowded. Rose seemed to like Paul though and Paul seemed to like Rose, I wondered if I had competition? But the interactions of Rose with Paul was very illustrative of her current state. It was called regression, I had read that much in those otherwise useless books. People will regress to a younger self because life was easier then. Only impulse and response mattered. But Rose needed to go back to being an adult. Well the eighteen year old, reckless, passionate girl.

"Oh come on Sonya, you totally borrowed my top without asking and now it is all stretched out and ruined." Viktoria whined. Was her voice always so shrill?

"Are you saying I have bigger boobs than you do, Viktoria?" My sister smirked.

Ah the endless bickering of my sisters. It was familiar, in a way I had missed it. A warmth spread through me, remembering all those times I still lived at home and my sisters would bicker. If you didn't take my father into account. I had had a very happy childhood, one I was reminded off ever since I stepped through the front door.

"No, you have ginormous shoulders and quite a bit of baby weight." Viktoria countered.

Oh this wasn't going to end well. They kept bickering like that back and forth. The volume of their voices increasing with passing seconds.

My eldest sister sat down next to me, her morning coffee in hand.

"You know, sometimes I am jealous. They only fight with each other but not with me. You always fight most with the one you love. I am actually surprised Viktoria hasn't been picking more fights with you. She adores you."