More than a friend

Ch 18: Memories

RPOV

Stepping out of the jet and onto the grounds of St. Vladimir's Academy brought a rush of memories I thought I'd never look back on. Memories I sworn to never look back on. But I couldn't help it.
Walking through the quad, I remembered the days Lissa and I would skip class to sit out on the benches when the weather was warm to drink beer while laughing and sharing the updates of our lives. Walking past the cafeteria made my stomach groan out in hunger, but also twist with the memory of the entire student body gossiping about one of the many rumours that spread through these halls and gave them the right to use those rumours to target Lissa and I.

Then there was the gym. It seemed like every inch of this place was haunted by both good and bad memories, and the gym had the most ghosts. It's where I spent most of my time. I was either training or in class, and since I hated most of my classes, my only source of joy came from those training sessions. A small portion was because I loved kicking ass but the real reason was my mentor. The mentor who I spent almost every free moment with for almost a year. My mentor who trained me, who believed in me and who made me the badass guardian I am today. My mentor, whom I had a massive crush on and who I eventually fell in love with and who I thought loved me back. Because of that false judgment, the joy I once felt for this place withered away.

Sofia was beyond excited to be here. Despite being extremely tired and sulky after waking her up, she instantly brightened up once she knew where we were. She had begged us to let her visit the academy ever since we told her about it. She even refused to go to normal human school, insisting on wanting to attend here. Christian and I weren't against the idea of her attending St. Vlad's but attending the academy literally gave dhampires only one (respectable) career option, and that was becoming a guardian. With that came an unbelievable amount of responsibility and pressure. Not to mention dangers. I refused to let her grow up feeling forced to have to give up her life protecting and potentially dying for some snobbish royal who would replace her within a day or two. I'm not saying I wasn't happy with where I was. I would just want her to have the option to do other things if she wanted to. It was about having choices.

Alberta was very happy to see us. Even more so when I introduced her to Sophie. She had heard rumors about me being a mother, but since I hadn't said anything directly to her, she didn't believe it. Until now. I promised to chat with her as soon as I could, and since it was already sinking into moroi night, we retired to our respective dorms.
Sophie and I shared a room while Christian got his own. It was a single space with a bed, a small desk facing the corner, and a simple kitchenette space. I was grateful for the bathroom since the thought of walking to the communal bathroom in the middle of the night with Sofia truly exhausted me.
The chicken and rice meal on the flight over was filling enough, and soon both Sofia and I were out cold.

I think it was around three in the moroi night when my sleep broke. Despite the darkened windows' assistance blocking out the light that was surely trying to seep through into the room, my sleeping pattern was still messed up from the sudden change. I peeped over at Sophie, who was still sound asleep next to me. I fell asleep with her in my arms, but now she was sprawled across on the other side of the bed with her one leg hanging off the end.

I got out of bed and started down at her. Her mouth was open, letting out a pool of drool flow onto her pillow. Her dark hair looked like a nest since we were both too tired to brush it out last night. I moved her to the center of the bed and pulled the hair tied off my head and haphazardly tied hers up. She groaned a little and turned over, tucking her arm under her head and curling herself into a ball. I just stared at her and smiled. There were no words I could use to explain how I felt. Despite feeling groggy and awful, I couldn't help but smile at her. My heart felt like it might explode sometimes from how much love I felt from just seeing her and holding her. She made me happy by just existing. She was my everything.