Hey guys! So I was thinking, and I've been wanting to do this story for a while now, and even though I just started a new story, and people seem to like it, I don't really know where it's going. But I'm going to give this one a shot, and I want to know which one is better. Okay, here's the summary.
When Tobias lost Tris, it was like he lost a part of himself. His best friend hates him, and her best friend fills in as his. They help mend each other, but they can only fix so much. Until, that is, one day, a woman from Tobias' past shows up at his front door, sixteen years after Tris' death, and she brings a surprise with her.
That's all I wanted for both summaries, so it's purposely vague, although I'm sure you can figure out who one woman is, *wink wink*.
Sixteen Years
Chapter 1: Reunited
(sixteen years ago)
All I'm doing is standing still.
Tris can't be dead; she just can't. I can still see her, full of life. Her bright golden hair and bold blue eyes. I can feel her hand pressed in mine, so soft and warm. But the feeling fades, like she's slipping right before my eyes.
And all I'm doing is standing still.
I can feel the life going out of me, my body succumbing to the pressure building inside me, aching to be set free. My vision goes blurry, my body numb, and I can faintly hear Christina crying, but it's blurred, like my head has been submerged in water. I feel the tears, I feel the pain, and all that's going through my head is,
She's gone. She's dead.
And all I want is one more glance, one more word, one more kiss. Just. One. More.
(sixteen years later)
"No!" I shoot up in my bed, the trauma still haunting me from so many years ago. I can tell I've been crying, seeing as I still am, when Christina bursts in my room.
She immediately sits down on my bed, rubbing my back soothingly.
"I know, Tobias. I know." She says quietly, while violent sobs rack my body. I hate this; I hate feeling so weak. So I pull it all back in, and I am suddenly silent.
"You've got to stop doing that, Tobias. Crying doesn't make you weak. You can't just hold in all of the pain and wish that it'll all go away." Christina scolds me.
"You think that me doing this is just because I don't want to seem weak?" I stand up, yelling. "I don't want to do this anymore! I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night, sixteen years after the love of my life died! I hate that I'm still doing this, and I hate that she's gone."
She doesn't flinch. She just sits there and lets me yell. "But I can't do anything about her being dead, so there's no point in crying over it anymore." I say to her, in my calm, but deadly voice. "That is why I don't cry. It's pointless. She's gone. She's dead. ANd there's nothing I can do about it."
She looks up at me, a thin coat of tears on her eyes. "You know what today is, don't you?"
I run my fingers through my hair. "It's been sixteen years, Christina. This is always the worst day of each of those years, and each year it gets a little better."
I lie to her on purpose. Although it has gotten easier, because I'm starting to forget what she looked like. And thinking about losing her isn't as bad, because I don't remember. But that's the worst part. I'm forgetting what she looked like. I have nothing to hold onto her anymore; except for her death, and the anniversary of her death is getting worse by each year that I am changing because she isn't with me anymore.
She lightly chuckles, despite the mood. "That's a lie, and you know it."
I sigh deeply, and check the time. 2:37. "Did I wake you up?"
"What do you think?" Her face is slightly wrinkled, from years of constant frowning and crying. This night is always the worst for all of us. It's also the only night of the year that we are all together, despite the fact that Zeke hasn't forgiven me for Uriah's death. And I don't blame him. We decided a long time ago to be civil, because we work together, but he wants no part in friendship. Again, I don't blame him.
But on this day, we all have a small memorial for Tris and Uriah. It's the one time where we grieve together. I realized a long time ago that only four of us had made it out to the new city alive. Zeke, Shauna, Christina, and me. Zeke and Shauna got married, and they adopted kids since Shauna was paralyzed. Christina married some guy named Harry and had two kids, a boy and a girl, respectively named Beatrice and Uriah.
Me, I haven't dated since Tris. Sure, I've gone on a couple of first dates, but all of them didn't last after dinner. That was a couple years ago, when I thought I got over Tris' death. I realized then that I would never get over her death, and I didn't want to fall in love again ㅡ though I would never.
Of course, Caleb and Cara made it out, but I don't keep in touch with them after she died. From the sparse letters I've received they married and had a girl named Bea.
"Tobias." Christina's hand rests on my shoulder, bringing me from my thoughts.
"Sorry." I say quietly.
"I understand." She says. "Well, I better get going before Harry wakes up and wonders where I am."
I nod.
I hear my front door shut and close, and that's when I let the tears flow freely.
The next morning I woke up late, around 1:30. My eyes open slowly, and they feel heavy and stiff from crying.
I rub the sleep out of my eyes, and stand up to stretch. I go to the kitchen, and make myself a cup of coffee and toast. I silently eat and drink, while I stare at the white kitchen wall.
There's a knock at my door, and I get up to open the door.
"Hey," Christina greets me.
"Hi." I say.
"Someone wants to say hi, too." She smiles, and shifts to reveal her daughter.
I lift her up by the shoulders, her dark blond hair swinging. "Hey Bumblebee." I straighten her out and make a farting noise on her stomach.
"Toby!" She giggles.
I set her down, and she runs over to the pad and crayons I keep for her on my table. Her hair and tan skin she gets from Harry, and she has Christina's brown eyes.
"I thought we should talk." Christina says.
I nod, and pull her out of earshot.
"I think we should tell Beatrice where she got her name; Uriah too." She whispers.
"What?" I whisper-yell.
"I know she's a little young for it, but she's almost eight, and Uriah's nine, and I want to tell them about who they're named after."
"Christina, that's crazy. And especially since today's the anniversary of their death. Don't you think we should wait for a few months so it's not overwhelming? And did you even talk to Zeke about this?' I ask.
"Not yet. And what does it matter if we wait a few months? Besides, it's overwhelming whenever you do it." She argues.
"But shouldn't we wait till she's older and she understands how important this is? She'll probably just laugh about it." I say.
"Tobias, Tris is dead." She says bluntly.
"Don't you think I know that?" I practically scream.
"Mommy?" Beatrice looks at Christina and I with fearful eyes.
"Sorry, baby. We didn't mean to scare you." She goes over to her and rubs her back.
"Yeah, I'm sorry too." I say.
"I think I should go," Christina says, grabbing Beatrice's small hand and gently tugging her to stand up.
"And by the way," She says. She leans and whispers so only I can hear, "I wanted you to tell her."
I don't say anything as she walks out of my apartment, and closes the door behind her with a small slam.
I exhale sharply, roughly running my fingers through my hair, and interlocking my fingers together around the back of my neck. I stand there for a while.
There's a couple of knocks on the door, and I stomp over to open it.
"Christina, I don't wantㅡ" I'm cut short when I look at the woman in front of me.
It's not Christina. She looks older, her once short hair now longer, but her eyes are the same. There's a girl behind her, too.
"Tris?" I whisper.
I'm sure everyone saw that coming. I mean, who wouldn't? But there's a surprise for you, and I'm also guessing that now that you've read the chapter you know that, too.
I was hoping that this was longer, but I like the way it turned out. I also need some help deciding to either make the city have the faction system again or not. I think I know what I want to do, but if no one wants the factions, then I won't put them in. But if no one comments on it, I'll do what I want anyway.
Okay, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!