More than a friend

Ch 3: Different People

CPOV

After Rose ran out I turned to Lissa, shock written on my face at what I just witnessed. This was not the Lissa I knew and loved. How could she be so inconsiderate of her life long friend who was clearly grieving.
"What the hell was that Lissa?"
"I know I'm just as shocked as you. I can't believe she would put you in danger like that. All for Dimitri. I always had a bad feeling about him," she said shaking her head in disbelief.
"No Lissa. I mean what the hell with you? How could you say those things to her? And for the record, I wanted to go out there and fight with Rose. You know how I feel about offensive magic."
"Yes I do but that doesn't make what happened okay Christian. Rose needs to learn that in life there are consequences for her reckless actions. And to be honest I'm happy Dimitri left her because now she can focus on her true task and that's protecting me."

"I admit Rose is reckless at times but like she said, everything she does is for you. She cares for you Lissa and the one time she decides to live for herself you shun her out and insult her. This isn't like you Lissa. Since when are you the type of person who thinks dhampires as just bodyguards and nothing more? Since when did Rose become so little in your life?" I asked her.

"Why do you care so much about Rose? I thought you would agree with me. You could have been killed out there. I could have been killed. Do I mean nothing to you? "she asked.

"But nothing happened Lissa. I didn't get hurt and neither did you and that's because of Rose."

"Rose, Rose, Rose! Everything is always about her. And since when do you care? I thought you hated her. What's with the sudden change of heart? Are you also falling for the beautiful and wild Rose Hathaway, huh? Just like everyone else. Can't get enough of that attention seeking whore."
"What the fuck Lissa, do you even hear yourself right now? I'm just trying to make you understand, but I can see you are too spoiled and self absorbed to notice anyone else in your life," and with that I too stormed out of her dorm, leaving my girlfriend alone to go and check up on her best friend.

I went to the novice dorm building and checked around for her room. It wasn't hard since there were hardly a lot of female dhampires to fill out the spaces. I quietly knocked on the door. I heard a faint sound of crying beyond the door but no sound of anyone coming towards it.
"Open up Rose. I know you're here." Still no answer.
"I'm not leaving till you open this door....or you know I could just burn it down."
Nothing.
"Please Rose," I begged.
Finally I heard her getting up. When she opened the door her face was streaked with tears and her eyes and nose was red.
"Oh Rosie," I said, drawing her in for a hug. She was clearly sad since she didn't hit me for calling her that.

We stood there for a while as she cried her heart out before I eventually led her to her bed to sit down. She held onto to me like her life depended on it. Like I was the only thing holding the most fearsome and brave guardian together.

"I've lost two of the most important people in my life in one morning. That must be some kind of record," she croaked after she cried herself out.
"It's going to be okay. You're not alone in this."
"I find that hard to believe," she mumbled. It was so different hearing Rose so quite, so distant and broken. I sucked at emotional talk so I stuck to what I knew best.
"Umm, in case you haven't noticed I'm here. Or do I not count as a person to you?" I asked with my usual sarcasm.
"Yeah but you're just here to do Lissa's dirty work."
"I don't think Lissa and I are on speaking terms right now. What I saw today... it made me look at her in a different light. I don't think I like what I saw in the woman I love."

"It was most probably the darkness that went off in her," she tells me. "I felt it before I blocked her off. She's really mad at me and maybe I deserve it..." she covers her face in her hands, silently crying again at her thought of Lissa being mad at her. It made furious to see the type of pain she's going through and knowing Lissa didn't give a damn.
"Even if it is spirit, I feel like I lost the image of a loving and kind Lissa I knew and cared for."
"I feel the same" says Rose.
We didn't say anything for a while. When I peaked at her from the corner of my eye I saw a zombie in the place of what was Rose Hathaway. And it scared the hell out of me. "Rose you can't let this break you. I know it feels like everything has gone to shit but you're really not alone. I'm here, so is Alberta and even though I hate him, Adrian is also here. And we don't want to see you fall because of this," I tell her with earnest. "Please don't give up."
She nods silently, taking everything that I said in. She exhaled forcefully and buries her face in her hands again.

"What are you going to do now?" I ask her.
"I don't know," she says. "I don't know but I need to graduate. I'm not going to let Dimitri or Lissa stop me from getting my promise mark. Maybe after that I can go and live my life free from this world. Until then...I just have to push on."
"Sounds like a plan. If you need anything I'm here for you. So are your other friends." I tell her as I get up to go.
"I know. And Christian ?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."