Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent. All credits go to Veronica Roth, except my OCs.
My mother and father are glaring at me, waiting for my response. I wish desperately I could go back in time and push Liam away from me, but I can't.
I run through my repertoire of excuses. Liam forced me to kiss him. Or we weren't actually kissing.
But those are lies. For the first time, I feel trapped by my obligation to tell the truth.
"Father, I am sorry," I tell him respectfully. "Liam had previously broken up with Carrie and so technically he wasn't off-limits."
"LIAR!" my father roars, and slams me against the wall. "You are a liar! You're not my daughter!"
My eyes widen. "Father, please."
"DON'T SPEAK TO ME IN THAT CONDESCENDING TONE!" The walls seem to tremble. "I TRUSTED YOU! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE CANDOR!"
"Father, I'm not lying!" I protest, raising my voice. "I swear, I'm not!"
He's breathing hard. "HOW DARE YOU DISGRACE THE FAMILY LIKE THAT! WE ARE BEING MADE FOOLS OF! JACK KANG IS BLAMING US BECAUSE THAT BOY IS HIS NEPHEW! YOU – RUINED – OUR – FAMILY! YOU – ARE – NOT – WELCOME – IN – THIS – HOME!" With each word, he slams my head against the wall.
He is overreacting. Far overreacting. But I realize that his oldest daughter is supposed to be this charming, truthful, honest, open teenage girl and I am, for once in my life, defying his expectations of me.
I can't take it anymore. My head is burning from the pain and my previous injuries from the Candor kids at the Hub are hurting even worse now.
I shove my father.
Yes, I do. It's the worst thing I can do at this moment, but I don't know what else to do. He falls and then rises swiftly with an even more furious roar, lunging at me, but I dodge it quickly and dart away, opening the door and running outside as fast as I can.
I run for hours, it seems, without knowing where I'm going. My tears fall fast, hard, and unmerciful. My chest is heaving with the effort but I don't care. I have to get away.
I can't stay here any longer. I can't be with my parents. They are furious at me. I have to transfer.
I'm Candor. I won't fit in any other faction. But anything would be better than having to face my parents every day after what I did.
I shoved my father.
I collapse against a wall, sobbing. Looking up, I realize that I'm in the Abnegation sector, but it doesn't matter. I'll find my way home.
"Are you alright?" a kind voice asks. I jerk my head up and see an Abnegation woman standing there with sympathetic eyes, looking at me with deep caring.
I hesitate. "Yes, Mrs. ..."
She smiles fondly. "Call me Natalie."
"Yes, I'm alright, Natalie," I assure her, wiping away my tears.
"Did you do your aptitude test today?" she asks quietly.
I nod slowly. "How did you know?"
"Not a lot of Candor usually start bawling in Abnegation. I thought that maybe something had gone wrong."
"No, I …"
Her eyes widen. "Are you Rebecca?"
Seriously, how the heck did word get around that fast?
I nod once more. "Yes, I'm Rebecca."
"Did your parents get mad at you?" she asks knowingly.
Is she like a magician or something?
I swallow. "Natalie, I …"
"I understand. You don't want to lie about it but you don't want to talk about it either. That's perfectly fine. Would you like to come into my house?"
That's pretty much the last thing I want to do right now, but I'm not going to refuse her. "Sure."
She takes my hand and walks me to a particular house. We enter and sit down at a kitchen table.
There's a slightly awkward silence for a while, until she speaks.
"I have two children," she begins. "One of them transferred to Erudite and the other to Dauntless."
I raise my eyebrows. That must be awful for her.
"Now they are both extremely successful. One is Jeanine Matthews' personal assistant, the other is an initiate trainer. I love them both with all my heart."
I smile.
"No matter what faction you choose tomorrow, your parents will always love you," she tells me. "My husband Andrew took a long time to get over their transferring. But eventually, he began visiting them, and now they are very close. Trust me, your parents will come around."
I sit there, just listening to this incredible woman speak.
"May I ask, what was your aptitude test result?"
"Candor," I whisper.
She nods. "What do you want to choose tomorrow?"
I hesitate. "I don't know."
"Rebecca, if I may. It's going to be hard, facing your parents every single day during Candor initiation. In another faction, it will be easier, trust me. On the other hand, if you really love Candor, then that's what you should choose."
I nod. "Do you recommend a faction?"
"Dauntless," she responds immediately. "It's full of life, full of fun, full of joy and adventure and excitement." She pauses. "I was Dauntless-born."
My eyebrows raise, searching her instinctively to see if she's lying. But she's not.
"The only reason I transferred to Abnegation was to be able to have a relationship with Andrew. I fit right in. It was worth it."
I have a random question and decide to ask it. "What's your daughter's name?"
"Beatrice," she tells me, smiling. "Beatrice Edith Prior."
"Beatrice," I muse. "That's a nice name."
Her smile widens. "When a Candor compliments me or my family, I know that I'm worth something."
I grow serious. "But maybe I'm not Candor."
She leans forward. "You decide who you want to be, Rebecca. Don't let anyone else make that decision for you."
One Hour Later
I wait in front of my house, trying to muster up the courage to go in. I really don't want to face my parents, but I know I have to.
I've made my decision regarding the factions, and I know I have made the right choice. My parents are just going to have to deal with it.
I enter silently, shutting the door behind me with barely any noise. I don't hear any response, so I creep up the stairs and prepare to go into my room.
"Rebecca." My mother's voice echoes throughout the small house.
I freeze and slowly turn around. "Hello, Mother."
"Where have you been?" she demands.
"Getting some air," I respond simply.
"Rebecca, you're going to have to be given sufficient punishment for what you did to your father."
"Not if I choose another faction," I tell her curtly, and go into my room.
My mother's gasp can be heard through the door. I collapse on my bed and begin to cry.
Dauntless. I want Dauntless.
I'm going to leave my family.
