Chapter II
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My name is not Veronica, I am not a Roth, or a dream crusher (for the most part). I am a thirteen year old girl who enjoys reading and writing fanfics. So yeah, I obviously do not own the Divergent trilogy.
"Beatrice, darling, could you possibly start breakfast?"
Darn. Today it is my turn to make breakfast, and as selfish as it sounds, I wish that it weren't my turn. In my house we always rotate shifts on making meals. Last night my Father made dinner, my Mother made lunch, and Caleb made breakfast. It's not so much that I absolutely detest cooking, as it is that I am simply not in the mood to do any work this morning. Besides, I'm supposed to meet Susan, Tobias, and Robert out in front of the Black's home. I grab all of my books for school, and quickly throw some eggs onto a pan, and prepare the oatmeal that we have every morning. I must have been going too quickly, because it's not long before I hear my Mother say,
"Beatrice, in a hurry, are we this morning? Do you have plans before school that neither your Father or I are aware of?" Whoops.
"Sorry, Mom." I really am, but I need to cut this as short as possible.
"That's alright. Don't you have a test in Faction History today?" Darn…yes. Yes I do. Let's see…ummm…I think I may remember a few things from that class. Or at least, I hope that I do.
"Mmm hmm," I reply while stirring the pot which contains the oatmeal. Simple answers are accepted in Abnegation, and you are never questioned about what you say. To doubt another person or to question them would be selfish.
"That's what I thought. You'll be fine. You listen to the instructor in class, don't you?" Well, at least that is one positive Abnegation quality. We always listen to those around us- any other action, like everything else in our lives, would be selfish.
"Yes, Mom." I reply respectfully, as always. This life can be a little boring. Always be respectful, Beatrice, always use your manners, Beatrice, never even think about your needs, Beatrice. Always the same boring answers, always the same people. It's like living in a colony of ants. Beautiful, but with downsides. Always the same. Never different. Never changing.
"Well, you'll be fine then. Here, let me have that pot, Beatrice. I'll finish breakfast, you go attend to your friends." Whoops. I hadn't noticed that the oatmeal was getting a little…overdone. Thank God, she's a life saver.
"Thank you, Mom." I shout as I make my way towards the entryway.
"See you later, Beatrice. And please, don't yell."
I practically run out the door after I grab my bag. After reaching the sidewalk, I run over to Susan's to wait for everyone else. It appears that I am a bit early, but only by a few minutes. I sit and stare at my feet, which are covered in the same shoes that they've been covered with since I was a small child. In a larger size now, of course, but still the exact same design and fit. Susan comes out in the same dress that I am wearing, the same dress that every Abnegation girl my age is wearing.
"Hello, Beatrice! Has your morning been fair? Do you need any help with that bag of yours? It looks rather heavy." Yep, that's Susan for you, a typical Abnegation, just like Caleb. I probably should have asked to carry her bag too…
"No, thank you, Susan. Would you like me to assist you with your bag?" I ask as sincerely as possible, secretly hoping the answer is "no".
"Thank you, Beatrice, but I couldn't burden you with my school bag like that." Ah, the ever-formal reply. But that's all there ever really is, in an Abnegation neighborhood.
Susan and I wait in comfortable silence for the others to arrive. One by one they file in, one after the other. First Robert, at about 7:04, and then Caleb, at about 7:09. The only one not at our school group meeting was Tobias, and I was pretty sure that I knew why. He doesn't come to school on days after he's been beaten. And it's not just that, many times he can't even make it to the door, because he's been locked in the closet. I already know my plans for after school. They're the same plans that I have every day that Tobias doesn't make it to school for some "unknown" reason. I will go to his house first, before even stepping into my doorway. The most troubling part about this is trying to come up with a reason to not wait for Tobias at the bus stop. It's difficult coming up with a reason for knowing that Tobias isn't just late, but that he's not coming at all, and I now that because…well, I know that because of whatever excuse I use for knowing that on that particular day. So, I guess it's time to begin brainstorming. Alright, he could have broken his leg, and I could have been with him. But the others would want proof, and that would require a cast, which Tobias neither has, nor could get his hands on. I've used "he has the flu" a lot, so that one is a little overused. Wait…I have it. Volunteer work in the Amity compound. I haven't used that one in a while, and it would make sense that I would know that, because he probably would have told me. That should cover him for today if I need it, because like I said, Abnegation aren't typically very curious people. I can only hope that he's coming to school tomorrow. Also known as "I hope he's not in the closet again".
Right on que, Robert asks, "Beatrice, do you know if Tobias is arriving at school at any time during the day?" I begin to reply with a simple answer, for I'm trying not to lie to anyone if I can avoid it. I may not be Candor, but it is still considered, yes, I am saying this again, selfish.
"No, Tobias will not be present today, and we best not wait for him to show up if we plan to get to school on time." Short and simple, and a little snappy. I didn't mean for it to come out that way.
"Yes, I suppose you would be correct, Beatrice. Come along, everyone. Does anyone need assistance with anything? Beatrice, here, let me take your bag." I hand over my bag, even though I don't want to.
"Thank you, Robert," I reply as politely as possible, though I can still hear the shortness in my voice.
"It's my pleasure, Beatrice." Robert looks at me with a kind smile. This kind of behavior was customary in Abnegation. But for Robert, it was his way of flirting a bit. Robert did seem to like me. Not as much as Caleb and Susan, I felt that they would eventually marry, but to some degree. I however, did not return those feelings. Robert was a friend to me, and nothing more. He was more my "adopted" brother than anything. Caleb and Susan are continuously flirting, well, the Abnegation kind, which is quite different than any other faction's version of "love" or "courtship" or whatever else they had.
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As we walk into the door of the school, I look around to see the differently dressed faction members. The blue Erudites, the red and yellow Amity kids, the black and white clothed Candors, the grey covered Abnegation teens, and the black-covered Dauntless members. I envy the Dauntless members. A very un-Abnegation-like move. I run down the halls and into my first class of the day. Faction History.
I step into the classroom door and sit down at my desk, which is placed directly in between Patricia Ottua and Nathanial Ruttagunda. Although all of the factions can attend all of the available schools, each faction learns in their own classroom. I don't have any classes with Tobias, he's two years ahead of me, but I am interested in what his teachers probably think of all of his absences. Mr. Sparta walked in, and with him, a rush of dread. Even the Abnegation hate tests, I mean, honestly, the Erudite are the only ones who don't mind those.
"Alright, class everyone appears to be here today. Yes, Miss Haime, I mean you. Pull out a pencil, an eraser if you feel necessary, and clear your desks. I would say cheating is not permitted, but you are my Abnegation class, so I have a feeling you won't need to be told that. I will pass out the assessments now."
Oh God.
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I am pretty much positive that I bombed that test, but the rest of the day way pretty easy. Oh well, I have more important things to think about. Tobias.
I ran over to his home and stood next to the tree right across from his window that I typically jumped from to get into the house. I began to climb, clinging onto the thickest branches and avoiding the short, thin branches to the best of my ability. The key phrase there was "to the best of my ability". I slipped up a few times, but ended up catching myself before I fell too far. After about seven minutes, I had made my way up, and was close enough to the window to begin to open it up. Tobias always leaves his window open, and it makes it easier to open the window if you've done it about 150 times. I tapped on the window once, twice, and then three times, and finally lifted his old window. It's a little rusty, but I can still get it open if I push hard enough. The problem isn't the rust making it difficult to open the window. It's the age of the window making the window loud when I open it, and possibly telling Marcus that there is someone in his home.
When I climb into the window, the first thing I hear is my name spoken in a scratchy voice.
"Beatrice?" I turn around, afraid that the hoarse voice belongs to Marcus, but thankfully I see Tobias, laying on his bed. His shirt is stuck to his chest. Sections of his bed are red. Blood red. My assumptions were correct. By the state of his wounds I would say he was beaten around dinner last night. I run over to him and carefully wrap my arms around him, trying not to touch any of his new wounds or opened up scars, but apparently I wasn't careful enough, because about a second after I wrap my arms around him, I hear a loud groan, and I take that as a hint to get started on treating him.
I slowly ease off his shirt, avoiding the patches where the blood is the thickest, and peeling off parts that are sticking to his skin carefully. I hear a muffled scream coming from the pillow.
"I know this h-hurts," I stutter out, "but you are going to have to w-wait until I am far enough in this process to be able to give you the p-painkillers. You know the drill." I get a moan in reply, and get down to business. Once his shirt has been removed I take out a washcloth from his closet and lock the door. I use the sink in the restroom that connects to his bedroom to wet the cloth, the same cloth that I always use for Tobias' cuts. I take the pain medication from the first aid kit and hand it to him. He takes it and mumbles back a small,
"Thanks, Beatrice."
"Don't thank me yet." I'm serious. I'm not a doctor. He could still get an infection, I'm just here to try to prolong that infection, if that were to set in. Hopefully it won't. I slowly apply the cloth to his skin, rubbing softly, while kneeling next to Tobias, whispering encouraging things as I try to clean up the blood on his back. I always do his back first, and then his chest. Once I have mopped up most of the blood on his back, I start questioning him.
"About how often does he check on you?" I ask as I rub the washcloth across one of the larger scars on his upper back. Talking to him serves as a distraction for Tobias, and a source of information for me.
"I would say, maybe once a day, right after he gets home from work. Which was about three hours ago." Alright, I'm safe for now. I start on the next opened up scar.
"How often are you being fed?" I'm pretty sure that I know this answer.
"Umm, he'll probably provide dinner on Thursday night. I'm on my own tonight, though." Good to know that I was right.
"Could I sneak you out of the house without him noticing?"
"Probably. He would only notice if I was gone if I just so happened to still be missing tomorrow night."
"Alright. You can stay with Caleb and I tonight. No arguments." He didn't argue.
I then wiped the blood off of his chest. Most of the blood here was just blood that ran over from his back, but there were a few scrapes here and there. Once that was cleaned up I took the tan bandages out of the kit and wrapped them around his ribcage and his lower back. He groaned a couple of times, and I knew that the medication was wearing off. After the bandages were in place I sat down with him and looked at him. Sometimes, I swear you can see right through him.
"Stop. Stop feeling guilty. This is not your fault. You are staying over. You are not staying here and bleeding out in the middle of the night." I could still see the guilt and the embarrassment over being helpless in his eyes.
"Beatrice, I couldn't even make it over to your door."
"With my help, you most certainly could." At this, he gave up, realizing that I was far too stubborn to ever let him get his way.
I lean down and drape his arm over my shoulders, and I put my arm around his waist. It's difficult helping him out of the window and down the tree, because he's so much taller than I am, but we've done this quite a few times, so that makes it a little easier. We clear the tree and make our way towards my home, where everyone is asleep already. I hadn't noticed how long that I had been gone, but the clocks all read 10:00 when I reached home. Abnegation curfew is quite early. I sneak Tobias upstairs without saying a word and open my bedroom door. I lay out a blanket on the floor and take one of my pillows off of my bed. I have to practically force Tobias to take the bed and to let me take the floor, but eventually, like everything else that evening, it works out.
Right before I fall asleep, I hear Tobias whisper,
"God, Beatrice, what in the world would I do without you?" I laugh a little and reply,
"Your life would probably be less hectic, but also a lot quieter."
"Mmm. I agree."