We Are Shadows

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

DPOV

"Dimitri! Stop, just stop" Roman shouted and he very rarely shouts. "I've had it up to here with your incessant complaining" putting his hand above his head to illustrate.

"Listen Roman....."

"No Dimitri, you listen. You have done nothing but complain about Rose since you got here" he shot at me. "You say she doesn't listen, that she doesn't work hard enough or take things seriously. Well Dimitri you are the only one that doesn't think so. Lana and Lydia have no problem with her. She may need a little push on subjects she doesn't like but she gets everything done. When she isn't in class with them or doing homework she is a permanent fixture in that gym even during the night. So Dimitri what really is the problem?"

"She isn't like that with me" I said but it wasn't as vehement. "She is argumentative."

"She is probably reacting to you" Roman said and I bristled slightly. "I've been told by herself and others that she has a tendency to get defensive when she is constantly criticised which causes her to retaliate in kind."

"Has she been here complaining about me?" I shot out.

"No she hasn't" he said exasperatedly.

"Why was she here yesterday, if not to complain?" I pushed.

"Actually Dimitri she was going to ask me how she could get you to talk to her" Roman said.

"Yeah right" I said with scepticism

"It's true Dimitri" he answered. "She is under the impression that you hate her and when I went to see her she thought it was to tell her to leave here."

"I don't hate her but maybe she should leave here" I muttered.

"Dimitri, I have always considered you as a sensible person who is not blinded by prejudice or one to walk away from someone in need but right now it's like I don't even know you, so I ask again Dimitri, what is the real problem you have with Rose?"

I know that Rose unnerves me but I can't be so blinkered that I would take that out on her; can I? Roman was waiting for an answer and I grasped at the first thing that popped into my head.

"She could find out about me and you know how dangerous that would be" I said. "I'm surprised you put me at risk Roman."

"Have you had your eyes shut for the last month Dimitri?" he asked with annoyance. "You never used to be so unobservant."

"What do you mean?" I queried.

"Or dumb" he muttered. "If you actually talked to Rose instead of criticising and if you paid attention rather than finding fault you wouldn't say I had put you at risk."

"I still don't get what you mean Roman?" I replied.

"It is her story to tell and I told her the same about you" he stated. "But what I will say is that young woman has gone through hell and you are adding to it. Grow up Dimitri and act your age not a bratty teenager. Now if you don't mind I have work to do" and he pointed towards his office door.

I stood there staring at him for a moment then turned on my heel and left. Roman has never treated me like that before. Have I really been like, what did he say, a 'bratty teenager'? I looked back at my actions since arriving at St Basil's a month ago and had to conclude that yes I had been acting like a complete prick. I have never acted that way even as a teenager so why was I now? Oh come on Dimitri you know perfectly well why and it isn't for the excuse you keep telling Roman about. Yes discovery was a big concern but it wasn't the real reason I was out of sorts. The big problem was Rose. From the moment I set eyes on her something inside me woke up. It was like a recognition, a meeting of old friends but more than that; it scared me. Instead of embracing the feeling and finding out why, I tried to ignore it so much so I began actively pushing away and in the process turned into an absolute asshole. I had found fault in anything I could to keep Rose at arm's length but the truth was that there wasn't much to fault her on and contrary to Roman's statement, I wasn't blind. Rose's abilities were just another thing that I tried to deny to myself. Her being like me was a little too close for comfort. It raised questions that I had never wanted to answer. Why was I, or should I say we, enhanced like we were? When it was just me I could pass it off as a one-off freak occurrence but two with exactly the same attributes calls out for investigation and I don't know if I'm ready to go down that rabbit hole. Furthermore was Rose? If we started digging it could open us up to Moroi scrutiny. Maybe Rose already had? From what Roman said I get the impression that Rose had already experienced that. If that was the case I can only imagine what sort of hell she had been through. I really should have made the effort to find out.