The image was burned into my mind, never to escape. Each time I closed my eyes. Their lips, fused together, their bodies curled around one another. Tears started to drip onto the floor beneath me.
His dark blue eyes filled with guilt as he saw me. I should've seen it coming, how could I have been so stupid? Now I was left to sit alone in the dark hallway and dwell in my own stupidity.
The tears streamed down my face thicker than before. My face was buried in my arms as I lay in a ball in the dim light.
I was alone now, my mother and father, dead, my brother, a traitor. He said he would be my family now; that he loved me, but it was all a lie. Everything he said had to have been a lie. I had no family.
I could almost hear the roar of the chasm the night he had kissed me. The feeling was still fresh in my mind, as if it had happened five minutes ago as opposed to over a year. The electrifying feel ithad left on my lips, on my skin, had that been a lie too?
My heart sank even further. A thousand memories flashed behind my eyes.
Lies, all lies. I told myself, scowling into the darkness. I wept harder. I shouldn't be weeping over him, it was weak of me, but I wasn't sure what else to do. There was nothing I could do. Maybe I was weak, maybe all my strength had come from him. Then he ripped it away from me mercilessly.
Every kiss, every touch, every word between us a lie. Any strength any bravery I had must've been a lie as well. All of it. It had to have been. I was nothing more than a Stiff to him, that's all I ever was, an easy, weak-minded target.
Footsteps sounded throughout the hall, forcing me to stifle my cries. Then a voice, soft and sweet like honey reached my ears with a hesitant whisper, "Tris?"
My heart leapt and I scrambled to sit up, part of me hoped it was him, if not all of me, "I'm here."
A figure came into view, but it wasn't Tobias. Another tear trickled down my cheek. The figure came closer; I started to recognize its features. He bent down in front of me, reading my expression. "Hey, I've been looking for you. You okay?" he asked.
I shook my head, wiping another tear from my cheek. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into him. I placed my head on his chest and sobbed uncontrollably.
He shook his head, "What happened Tris? Who hurt you?" he began looking at my arms and legs for any damage.
"No-No one." I choked, "at least, not physically."
"What do you mean?"
He gave me a puzzled look, and with a heavy sigh, I wiped away the last of my tears and told him what I had seen. He listened intently, his expression changing from worry to disgust. When another tear began to fall, he wiped it away and wrapped his arms around me, enveloping me in his warmth.
"I can't believe he would do that to you. You, of all people."
"It's all my fault." I whisper in a hoarse voice, "I wasn't good enough for him-"
His rough warm hands cupped my chin, forcing me to look into his chocolate brown eyes. "Listen to me- there is nothing wrong with you. You are brave, you are beautiful. You are perfect. You are you. Understand?"
He pressed his lips against mine. A blazing warmth spread through me, like a dull fire. My lips moved with his and the fire grew, burning like the sun.
We separated, and I drew in a deep breath.
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to tell you this," he murmurs softly, "but I love you."
"I love you too, Uri." I say and lean in to kiss him once more.