Life in Dauntless
Chapter 8: Encounter
It has been two days since I found out I'm pregnant. I left the hospital yesterday, able to go home. My brothers and sister kept asking me questions like 'why are you living here and not in the dorm?', 'why are you stuttering?' etc. but my parents just told them to leave me alone. I spent the majority of the day in my bedroom, not really doing anything, just trying to block out the world. I only left my room at meal times and whenever I needed a drink, or pain meds for the scar on my chest. The scar on my head doesn't really hurt, it isn't deep. The pain from being raped is gone. Well, the physical pain at least, well apart from the bruises, I don't think the emotional pain ever will.
Today I go back to training, I don't want to, but at the same time I also don't want to go through training for much longer. I know what happens. I know what I have to go through. It's better to just get it over with though. Right? It's like taking off a plaster, you take it off fast to feel less pain. The pain is gone within an instant.
I get dressed into some loose, black jogging bottoms and a black jumper. I tie my hair into a ponytail and don't bother with any make-up. I put on my combat boots and leave my room.
I walk into the kitchen and find my dad in there, standing over the stove making French toast. Mine and my mum's favourite.
I sit at the breakfast table, on the chair closest to the wall so my back is against it. I tuck my knees into my chest and watch him cook. He looks over at me with a small smile.
"Hey, sorry about your brothers and sister, they shouldn't have been asking you questions like that." He says as he puts two slices of French toast on a plate and puts it on the table in front of me, with a knife and fork. There is jam and chocolate spread and stuff on the table ready for us to eat.
"I-I-it's f-f-fine."
"No, it's not. Anyway, how are you feeling today?" He asks as I spread some chocolate spread onto my breakfast.
I shrug my shoulders because honestly, I don't know how I feel. I don't know how I feel because there are a mixture of emotions bubbling inside of me. I'm scared, terrified, shocked, heartbroken, I feel alone even though I know I'm not. There are more emotions bubbling up inside of me as well.
"You know, no matter what happens, your mum and I will always be here for you. We love you, Hope, and we always will."
I just nod because I don't know what to say, I also don't feel like talking, well, stuttering.
I eat my breakfast and as I do my dad makes me a glass of orange juice before going back to cooking. My mum, my brothers and sister come into the room as my dad and I continue doing what we are doing. I notice my mum no longer has a baby bump and think about how really it is my fault that Chloe gave her the serum. My brothers and sisters talk about what they're doing at school today and what they are going to do after school. My mum and dad talk about something or rather, I don't know what because I can't hear over my siblings talking.
Ten minutes before training starts I stand up and leave the apartment after stuttering out a quick goodbye and hugging my parents.
As I walk to the training room I think. I think about everything that has happened since training began. I think about Aaron asking me out. Chloe fighting me and stabbing me. Aaron raping me. My mum losing her baby. Me being three days pregnant.
I just think.
I enter the training room two minutes before training is due to start. I notice Aaron isn't here yet so I decide to go and stand where everyone else is, I stand close to Zeke and Uriah though because I know that they can protect me if Aaron comes near me.
When I stop near the brothers they both envelope me in their arms and I hug them back. It's nice to know I have some friends on my side.
We pull back when we hear the door open and Aaron walks into the room and starts walking over to everyone. He stops walking when he sees me though. But he starts again after a few seconds, walking straight towards me.
I start backing up, I know there is a wall somewhere behind me but I don't stop backing away from him as he strides towards me. My back hits the wall and he continues towards me.
I'm scared.
I'm terrified.
Uriah tries to stop him from coming at me but Aaron pushes him away and keeps coming.
It isn't long before he is only an inch or two away from me and he stops.
"Why didn't you tell me what I did to you?" He asks angrily.
"I-I…" I can't speak.
He smashes his hand onto the wall next to my head and I jump, even more scared than I already was.
"Why?" He yells. "Is it a lie? Did you lie to your parents and they then lied to my mum?" He's angry. He's mad.
I'm scared.
So scared that I put my hand on my stomach, feeling the need to protect the thing that is growing inside me.
Tears are creeping up in my eyes and I let them fall. I shake my head.
His eyes turn black again and he pulls his hand back, punching me so hard that I crumple to the floor. Zeke and Uriah pull him away from me as some of the initiates come over to me as I cry.
I see his eyes turn to their normal colour again and he looks at me, upset. He breaks out of Zeke's and Uriah's strong grip and runs over to me. I shuffle backwards using my hands and feet to push me back. I see Uriah on the phone in the corner of my eye but Aaron is still running to me.
I back into another wall and Aaron catches up to me, getting on his knees next to me and touching the forming bruise on my cheek.
"L-let g-g-g-g-go o-of m-m-m-me." I tell him and he does.
"You're that scared of me you're stuttering? Please tell me why you didn't tell me what I did to you?"
I hear the door open.
"Get away from her!" I hear my dad yell.
I look over to the door and see my dad running towards me. Towards us.
He pulls Aaron up and punches him harder than Aaron punched me. Aaron falls to the floor, unconscious.
My dad kneels next to me and looks at me. My face that is covered in tears and has a bruise forming on it. I haven't looked at my face but I can feel it. He runs his thumb over my sore cheek and I hiss as he runs over the bruise. He pulls his hand back before folding me in his arms.
I cry into him.
I can hear a pair of footsteps coming towards us. I look up and see Uriah and Zeke standing near us, looking at me sympathetically.
"Four, take her home. She doesn't have to do stage one anymore. We'll just rank her on how well she's done so far, and trust me she's done really well so she won't be cut or anything." Uriah says.
My dad nods before standing and helping me up.
"Thank you, guys, for calling me. See you later." Dad says to his friends before leading me out of the training room and back to our home.
"W-w-w-w-where's m-m-mum?" I ask shakily.
"She went to take the others to school. She'll be back soon." He says.
When we arrive home he opens the door and lets me in, following me into the apartment, shutting the door behind him.
I sit on the sofa and tuck my knees into my chest.
My dad comes and sits next to me, wrapping his arms around me again and I cry into him, again.
"Everything is going to be all right. I promise." He tells me as he rubs his hand up and down my back.
"I-I-I-I-I-I'm s-s-scared."
"I know you are, but I'm here. I always will be. I promise."
…
A little while later my mum enters the apartment. My dad is still hugging me and I am still crying. She runs over and kneels on the floor in front of me.
"What happened?" She asks.
"I got a call from Uriah saying that Aaron was yelling at her and that he had punched her. He told me she was really scared and stuff so I went to the training room and saw her on the floor in the corner of the room with him kneeling next to her. I punched him and Hope was crying. Uriah told me to bring her home and that she didn't have to continue with stage one and that she'd just be ranked on how well she has already done." Dad explains, knowing that I wouldn't want to talk, and I couldn't even if I tried. "They tried to get him off her, but they couldn't."
"I-I-I-I-I'm s-s-scared."
"I know, sweetie, I know." Mum says and she stands, sitting on the edge of the sofa, also wrapping her arms around me. "Everything is going to be okay. We're here for you."
There's a knock on the door and dad stands and opens it. Aaron barges into the room.
"Hope, I'm sorry, just please tell me why you didn't tell me what happened?" He says.
Uriah and Zeke come into the room and throw him out of the apartment.
"Sorry, he woke up and ran, we were holding him down though, we tried to get him not to leave." Uriah says and they all leave, my dad shuts the door again before coming back over to mum and I.
I just keep crying.
…
Chloe's POV
I'm walking through the factionless sector, my destination is the building in which Jeanine, Eric and Evelyn are situated in. You see, I wasn't really Dauntless born, I was factionless, I am Evelyn's daughter. I don't know who my dad as. Probably some factionless man. They made me move to Dauntless a few years back but every so often I come back to get instructions from them. They are who have been telling me to do what I've been doing. Though, I do actually want to do it.
I don't know why they have targeted that family in particular, but I am determined to find out. At some point.
I'm proud of the work I have done so far though.
I enter the room we agreed to meet in without knocking. The three of them are sat at the table discussing something.
I sit in my usual spot between Eric and Evelyn.
"So, Chloe, what have you got for us today?" Jeanine asks me.
"Well, Tris has had a miscarriage and I don't think they suspect anything yet. Aaron has raped Hope and they are now broken up, I don't think there is a chance of them getting back together, and the friendship between Tris, Four and the parents of Aaron is strained now because of what happened. I also have news…"
"What news?" Eric asks gruffly.
"Hope is Divergent. I broke into Natalie and Andrew Prior's home and put Natalie under truth serum, she was the one who did Hope's aptitude test and I believe they are her grandparents. She blabbed to me that Hope has aptitude for all five factions. She also blabbed to me that she has aptitude for all five factions and that Tris and Four are also divergent. Tris has aptitude for three factions and Four has aptitude for two of them." I tell them.
"Did you kill Natalie?" Jeanine asks.
"Nope, I thought I'd let her go for now." I say. "You know, so she doesn't suspect much."
"What made you think she was Divergent anyway?" Mum asks.
"Well, I looked through Hope's files and saw that her aptitude test result was manually entered so I thought it would be a good idea to interrogate the person who applied her test to see if that meant anything." I say.
"You're doing a good job, Chloe, I never thought you would but you are extremely clever. Now, is there anything else you have to tell us?" Jeanine questions me.
"Nope." I say.
"Okay, you can go back to your bed now. I'll call you in again once we know what we want you to do next." Mum says, I nod and stand before leaving the room.
…
Hope's POV
We're still here, on the sofa, I'm still crying, my parents are still holding me, when the phone rings.
My mum picks it up from the coffee table and presses the answer button before pressing the phone to her ear.
"Hey mum… what… I don't understand… okay, mum, you and dad need to get out of there, come stay with us… mum you have to, you and dad are in danger now… I know we are okay but we will sort something out as soon as we can, just come here until we figure something out… okay… mum? MUM?" Mum puts the phone on the coffee table again and starts sobbing.
"Tris, what's wrong?" Dad asks.
"Someone broke into my parents' house and gave my mum truth serum whilst my dad was at work before interrogating her about Hope's aptitude test result. She was forced into telling them about Hope being Divergent and having aptitude for all five factions. She also told them about her being divergent, and us two. So I told her and dad to come and stay here until we figure out what to do but I heard a gunshot, then the call ended." Mum says.
"But I thought that the truth serum didn't work on her because she has aptitude for all of the factions?" Dad returns.
"It was a stronger one, she couldn't lie." She says.
"That means Jeanine is behind this." Dad says and mum looks at him, scared, before nodding.
"I'm going to get a group of people together and go to Abnegation to see if your parents are okay." Dad says before standing up and walking to the safe where they keep all the weapons. He unlocks it and takes out two guns and some knives, putting them in various places of his trousers.
Mum stands and walks over to him, hugging his waist.
"Stay safe." She tells him.
"I will. Look after Hope and yourself. I'll be back soon, I promise. I love you." He replies.
"I love you, too." She kisses him gently and he comes over to me, kissing the top of my head.
"I-I-I-I l-l-love y-you d-d-daddy."
"I love you, too, Hope." He says.
And just like that he is out of the apartment.
Hey Ravens, two updates in one day, aren't you lucky?
I will update again when I can.
Please review!
