With or Without You - Complete

Chapter 7

Lehigh had proven to be everything Lissa had hoped for, and more. She loved her classes, had made a few casual human friends, and living with Christian full time had proven to be amazing. Celeste was doing well as her daytime Guardian. She was no Rose, but she was attentive yet discreet. While she missed Rose every single day, Lissa couldn't fault Celeste's service. Eddie was also doing a credible job guarding Christian. The same age, and knowing one another from St. Vlad's, it had been a good match. The two had quickly established a way of interacting that suited them both. Not exactly friends, but not servant and master, either.

The only one who didn't seem to be adapting to their new situation was Guardian Belikov. While he was one-hundred percent professional, and the model Guardian, he hadn't embraced their college lifestyle. Part of this was because of his guarding hours; Dimitri had given himself the 6:00 pm to 6:00 am shift—the hours when a Strigoi attack was most likely, and his charges spent part of that time asleep due to the need to run on a human schedule. But even beyond that, Dimitri was a different man than the one he'd been before Rose died. Taciturn, to the point of being reclusive, Dimitri would sit with them for meals, but rarely contributed anything to the conversation. While he'd answer any question put to him, he didn't put forward his thoughts or ideas unless explicitly asked.

Lissa knew he woke in the early afternoon and every day, bar Sunday, would attend the closest Russian Orthodox church. When she asked why he avoided the Sunday service—typically the busiest of the week—he'd explained he preferred solitude, and that the busy weekly service did not suit him. Instead, he'd spend Sunday afternoons doing his washing and other chores to prepare for a new week.

"Tasha noticed we have a long weekend coming up and mentioned she might visit."

Lissa internally groaned hearing Christian's words. They'd only been at Lehigh a few months, yet she had enjoyed the physical and mental space away from Tasha Ozera. Not only was Tasha overbearing, but Liss also had the impression Guardian Belikov would appreciate a bit of distance from Tasha's interest.

"Oh? I think we might already have someone visiting. Adrian said he was thinking of coming and I told him since we had no other plans, he was welcome to." Not strictly the truth, Lissa was sure if she invited the Moroi party boy to their college campus on a long weekend, where parties would be abundant, he'd take her up on the offer.

"Probably for the best. It's a long way to come for just a few days—and if Adrian is here, then we'll be partying, anyway." Lissa could hear relief in her boyfriend's voice. Tasha had looked after him after his parents turned and subsequently been killed, but living at St. Vlad's for so many years found Christian unused to being with his aunt so frequently. A little of her company went a long way.

"Ok. You can let Tasha know we already have a visitor booked, so it's not a good time, and I will check that Adrian still intends to visit."

From her place lining the wall, a silent witness to their conversation, Celeste Matthews suppressed a smile. It was totally obvious something about Tasha Ozera irritated Princess Dragomir, and even Christian seemed to be annoyed by her. Belikov actively avoided Tasha, too, which was sad given at one time they'd counted one another as friends. Still—if it was between Tasha or Adrian visiting, Celeste preferred the latter. The matter was resolved several hours later when the crew met for dinner.

"I called Adrian, and he's coming for the long weekend. He said he had some Spirit things he wanted to work on with me." Lissa was sitting at the dinner table with Christian, Celeste, Eddie, and Dimitri. She was talking to Christian as he was serving up a delicious smelling Chicken Masala, so didn't notice the tightening of Dimitri's jaw.