Note: I don't own the Divergent series. I wrote this story because no one has ever written about what Marcus felt about beating his son. This story is mainly an attempt at playing the devil's advocate (I'm going to explain why Marcus keeps saying, "This is for your own good.")
"Dad! Please stop!" seven-year-old Tobias screamed. He was curled up on the floor, crying and bleeding.
Marcus grabbed Tobias by the hair and made him stand up. He slapped his son in the face and shouted, "Don't you dare asking for mercy, you cowardly piece of shit!"
"But Daddy, I-" Tobias voice died when he noticed Marcus was taking his belt off.
"Face the wall."
Tobias didn't budge.
Marcus hit him and yelled, "This is for your own good. Obey!"
Tobias obeyed his father. Marcus beat him with the belt for ten minutes afterwards, making Tobias lose consciousness.
When Marcus was done, he carried Tobias. He went inside Tobias' room and put his son in his bed. He stared at him - his face was peaceful, given he was unconscious. Marcus had intentionally knocked his son out so he wouldn't feel the pain for too long.
Marcus went downstairs. His wife, Evelyn, was sitting at the table, weeping.
"Evelyn, will you please stop crying like a fucking bitch?" Marcus asked with a grimace.
"Why do you do it, Marcus?" Evelyn asked, trying to keep herself from sobbing. "He's your baby. He's the little boy you used to carry in your arms, the little boy you saved when bullies beat him up. Don't you remember? He's your son, Marcus!"
"Shut up. You have no clues."
"I want to! I want to know!"
Marcus took his head in his hands for a few seconds, then looked at Evelyn. "This one time, Evelyn. This one time I'll talk to you about Tobias."
Evelyn calmed down and stopped sobbing.
Marcus sat down and took a deep breath. "They're gonna kill him, Evelyn. He's a Divergent."
"What makes you say that?"
"I'm a Divergent myself. I know it when I see one. Especially when it's my son. Everything about his behavior shows he's divergent. He helps you whenever he can, he gets the best grades in science, he speaks frankly, he doesn't fight with boys his age."
"Even though he knows much about violence."
Marcus grimaced and kept explaining,""And he's brave enough to disobey me."
"I don't see your point, Marcus."
"Tobias must act like an abnegation. But that's against his personality, and if I don't ... do this to him, he'll act like a Divergent, and they'll kill him."
"But what if he becomes rebellious when he grows up?"
"He'll go away to another faction and will manage to act like the people of that faction so that they can accept him."
"What if he kills you, Marcus?"
"Who cares? The only people who will suspect him will be the Erudites, and they won't give a fuck, trust me. They've always wanted me dead. Your son will be okay. My plan is foolproof."
"You hate yourself for hitting him, don't you? That's why you always empty an entire Scotch bottle after whipping him?"
Marcus looked away. "Oh shut the fuck up. Only girls hate themselves. Where's the Scotch bottle, by the way?"
"There isn't anymore left."
Marcus clenched his fists.
"You don't have to force yourself to beat him, you know? You could explain him what you just told me and go back to the time when he knew you loved him. To the time when you were his only friend."
"I can't, Eve. I don't want him forgiving me. I don't want to be the pathetic hypocrite who tells him 'I love you' when I have been beating the shit out of him for years, and I don't want him to be a merciful saint. You understand? It's too late. There's no going back."
Evelyn didn't say anything.
"I'm going upstairs," Marcus said.
He went to Tobias' room and sat on his son's bed. Tobias was still unconscious. Marcus ran a hand through his son's hair. "Eve is right," he thought. "I fucking hate myself for beating him. I'm such a fool. For his own good. For his own good or for this fucking society's own good?" All he could do now was sit next to him and wait to see how everything would turn out. He wondered which way would be the best.
He felt awful. He felt guilty and whenever he would realize how bad he felt, he would be disgusted. It was his fault. Had he found another way to save his son, he wouldn't be this way. And he had a strange feeling. Usually people said, "My head knows it, but my heart doesn't feel it's true. I should listen to my head." Well his feelings were at the opposite. His heart knew it was the wrong thing to do, but his head told him to do otherwise. Because it was more logical. "As if one could speak of logic when it comes to human beings," Marcus thought bitterly.
He looked at his son one more time, and went out of his room. One day he'd feel glad about he did. One day his son would be safe and sound. And happy.
That's what his head loved to dream of while his heart knew it was wrong.
Fucking logic.
Note: Again, I'm playing the devil's advocate here, so please consider it before starting to comment. But do review. The whole point of submitting that story was to see how you readers would react to such a cynical story. Tell me if you want any more of this story.