It was late afternoon in June,when the call came that would forever change her life.
Tris Prior sat in her dining room,writing a letter to her mother. Natalie was old and too frail to use a phone,fingers made useless by arthitis. Letters were more mangable,but just barely.
Splotches of sunlight sprinkled the hardwood floor of their WI home. They'd bought it three years ago,and kept it well maintained. It was an accomplishment,one that neither had taken lightly.
She went and sat down on the couch in the living room,feeling a strong mixture of hopelessness and frustration.
Tobias,her husband,had been missing for three days,without a word. He'd left for his job as a security guard and had never come home. Simple as that.
All their friends had been looking for him,a concentrated effort that she appreciated. Zeke,his best friend,had driven around for hours the previous two nights before he'd switched to pounding the pavement,searching up and down alleyways. This was tearing him apart as badly as it was her.
Suddenly,the phone rang noisily. She jumped and grabbed the phone,quickly answering it.
"Beatrice Prior?" A voice inquired.
"Yes?"She breathlessly answered.
"Please come down to the precient on 67th and School. We've got an unidentified body matching your husband's description that we believe to be him,but we still need you to confirm it."
Tears began to form behind her eyes,before she wiped them away. There was still the slight chance that it could not be him. This was the mantra that she repeated to herself as she hurriedly got ready.
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Inside the morgue it was cold,colder than winter. Death hung in the air,thick and heavy,like an oppressive weight. Nervously she wiped her palms on her jean shorts.
The medical examiner led her over to a table with a single white sheet. The shape of a body could just barely be made out under it. She gulped,and closed her eyes for a brief second.
Slowly,the sheet was pulled back. Underneath it lay her Tobias,eyes closed,like he was sleeping. Skin as white as snow.
Rainbow bruises stood stark against his skin,large and scattered across his torso. His right eye was swollen,and a cut with dried blood surronding it was on his chin. In the middle of his chest was a deep gash,deeper than she'd ever seen.
"What-what happened?" She requested,gaze fixed on the medicial examiner.
A tall woman grabbed a clipboard from a nearby table and began reading off of it.
"Gash across the torso,multiple bruises,along with a concussion." The woman stated,gesturing to the injuries as she read them. Her dark eyes held sympathy,sympathy that Tris appreciated.
She wanted to deny it,wanted to say it wasn't true,until brilliant red and orange caught her eye. His fire tattoo. The first one he'd ever gotten done.
Tears began to form in her eyes,but she pushed them away,unwilling to succumb. Tris nodded,confirming that it was indeed Tobias Eaton who lay dead on the table. nodded as well before she requested that Tris go upstairs for a prelimenary interview.
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Thick white lines spiderwebbed across the smooth black tabletop. Silently,she counted them,and then counted the tiles on the floor and then the cracks on the walls. Anything other than thinking about the truth.
Suddenly,the wooden door opened and two men strolled in. One was tall and skinny,with blonde hair and tanned skin. The other was portly and short,with fire-engine hair.
"Beatrice Prior ?" Tall-and-Skinny asked,a file tucked underneath his arm.
She nodded her head once
"I'm Detective Kincaid, and this is Detective Jones" He told her,motioning to his partner.
Again she nodded.
"Okay. When was the last time you saw your husband" He questioned,sitting down at the table. Jones did the same,both staring at her intently.
"Um,about three days ago,right before he left for his job,as a security guard. He worked for AMTA." Tris answered and swiped her sleeve under her nose.
Jones made a notation in his notebook.
"Did he have any enemies?"
She considered it for a moment before answering,
"Yes. Eric Slytherin. During training,Tobias always outranked him,which fried Eric. It was well-known that the two never got along."
Tris considered her answer before adding,
"Max Grunwell,too. Their boss. He kept offering Tobias a mangament job,which Tobias refused to take. He wouldn't have done anything himself,nessecarily,but he definitely would've looked the other way if Eric had."
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It wasn't until she arrived home that reality fully smacked her in the face. Seven years. Her partner of seven years and best friend of 21,dead. Just like that.
She crumpled onto the couch,and buried her face into a throw pillow,sobbing till she finally fell asleep from exhaustion.
Darkness enclosed the house,when she awoke. Groggily,she pushed herself up and rubbed at her eyes,confused by their puffiness. Then,faster than a riptide,it all came rushing back.
Blindly she reached for her iPhone,which rested on the end table. Without looking,she dialed a familar number,muttering out a few words before hanging up.
Within 5 minutes,a knock sounded on the front door. Tris pulled herself up,and fell into Christina's arms as soon as the door was opened. Christina simply held her without saying anything,though tears formed in her eyes as well.
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Christina
Soon after my arrivial,Tris fell asleep,tears still falling. Gently,I laid her down on the couch,unwilling to put her in their room. That was cruel beyond words.
Jesus. I sat down on the recliner and rubbed my hands over my face,shock coursing through me. How could Four just be gone?
Silently I walked into the kitchen,while dialing my fiance. He needed to be here,if not for anything more than support. Plus I'd feel better if he was in my line of sight.
20 minutes after I called,his black Lincoln pulled smoothly down the street. A sigh of relief escaped me at seeing him jog up the stairs,sadness apparent in his face. The minute he opened the door,I fell into him,much as Tris had done with me a half hour before.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I promise I will finish this story.