Sorry once again for the along wait. i really hope you all enjoy this. Once again a big thanks to guest 1234321 for the idea i hope i did it justice! Like usual, i don't own anything, just my ideas!
TRIS POV
It's been a week since my little episode and unexpected hospital visit. I was currently on my way to meet Dr. Murray with my parents for my monthly appointment. As much as I would like to say I hope all is well, I simply can't.
For once I actually listened to the doctor's requests to take it easy. Even though I found it extremely hard not to with my parents and Caleb watching over me at home, and Tori and Caleb watching over me at school. Yet I still had this uneasy feeling in the pit of me stomach and I didn't like it one bit.
As we sat in Dr. Murray's office waiting the nerves settled in and I found myself fidgeting constantly and repeatedly tapping my foot in anticipation. When Dr. Murray came in he had an unreadable expression on his face that didn't help ease my nerves.
"Well Mr. and Mrs. Prior, Tris. The tests from last week came in, but the tests did not show a single result. Therefore, we would like to request that you stay over night so we can run some addition tests." Of course, I knew there had to be a catch. My mom was the first to speak.
"And what will the additional tests show?"
"Well, we hope that they will allow us to eliminate some of the theories as to what happened and give us a better understanding. Hopefully we will be able to eliminate enough to give us a solid conclusion and we will know how to go about treating you if necessary at all." Great, just what I wanted, another night spent in the hospital. I let out a frustrated sigh and closed my eyes putting my head in my hands. "I know this is not idle Tris but it is for you own benefit. If there is even the slightest chance of a reoccurrence we want to be able to catch it as early on as possible to be able to tackle the problem before it's on full effect."
"I know that Doc I just really don't wanna spend another night here. Nothing personally to you or the staff but it's really not my kind of atmosphere." Dr. Murray chuckled softly.
"It's nobody's atmosphere Tris and trust e I take no offense at all. Personally I don't know what I would do if I had to live here for one night let alone longer. I really look up to you for that, you put up with a lot Tris and I find that extremely brave and inspiring.
And with that I zoned out while my parents continued asking their fifty questions and signing their multiple papers. After they finally finished the meeting Dr. Murray led me to my room and told me they would be in soon to get me prepped for the tests.
TOBIAS POV
I am currently at Zeke's house trying to prolong going home for as long as possible. It's starting to get pretty late and Zeke offered me to stay the night but I knew what would happen if Marcus caught me sneaking into the house in the morning, it would be worse than getting caught coming home late. I turned him down because not only did I not want to get a worse beating, but I wasn't so sure how much longer I could be tormented by Zeke about Tris.
Few Hours Earlier
"Dude what's up with you and Tris?" Zeke asked while still focusing on the video game in front of him. Luckily he wasn't able to see my shocked reaction and I was able to turn my expression emotionless before he paused the game and turned to look at me, an expecting look on his face. It was then that I realized I never answered him.
"I don't know what you are talking about." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously and I could tell that he didn't believe me.
"Oh, really? How about I fill you in then?" I groaned, he was not going to let this go. "You stare at her like all the time. I mean every time she isn't paying attention I see you stealing glances at her. And when you're around her you're different. I don't know how exactly and most people probably don't notice it but I'm your best friend dude, I can tell. This girl is changing you whether you know it or not." And with that he unpaused the game and continued playing as if we didn't even stop to have that conversation.
Present
I know Zeke isn't one to really talk about emotions much, but after his little monologue earlier I would rather not stick around to find out.
As I looked at the clock I decided it was a safe time to go. Not too late where I would barely get any sleep before Marcus wakes me and forces me into more chores, but also late enough where he should either be asleep or passed out drunk on the couch.
As I walked into the door I noticed that the lights were on. Not a good sign. As I closed the door behind me I felt thrash of pain as the belt came in contact with my back.
"You're late you worthless piece of shit." That's the only thing he said to me as he continued to bring his belt down onto my back. I counted as he continued. 5,6,7,8…18,19,20. But he continued past twenty. In all these years that Marcus has been whipping me he has never gone past twenty lashes. He says he likes that amount because it causes the maximal amount of pain while still leaving me able to function enough to clean up the mess left by my blood. But for some reason tonight he continued, and as he passed 40 I began to lose count, the pain becoming too unbearable. I don't even know when he stopped because at some point I did something I have never done during a beating. I went unconscious.
When I wake up I can tell it's still late, the sky is basically black and there is no noise except for the crickets outside the window. The lights in the house are all turned off and I noticed Marcus' car keys are gone. For a moment I almost forgot about the beating until I went to stand up and collapsed on the floor in agonizing pain. I began to get light headed and realized it was from the blood loss as I looked at the blood pooled around me. I felt myself losing conciseness again and did the only thing I knew that would help. I called one of the only people in my life that knew about my father, Tori.
She found out about a year ago when one of my wounds reopened in school and started to bleed. Luckily she was the only one that noticed and since she volunteered in the hospital she's been helping me ever since.
The phone kept ringing and I could only prey that she would pick up before I passed out again. When she finally answers I decided to just get straight to the point.
"Tori." I could hear her gasp and become more alert at the sound of my weak voice on the other line.
"Four? What happened, are you okay, do you need help?"
"It's never been this bad Tori. I can't move. Help. Please." I could hear her running out of her house and starting her car through the phone.
"I coming now Four but I need you to stay awake and on the phone with me can you do that?"
"I don't think I can. Please, just hurr-"
That's when everything went black again.
I wake up to bright white lights and some sort of beeping sound. I guess Tori was able to get me to the hospital. Every move I make sends agonizing pain throughout my entire body and I cant help but let out a painful scream. Doctors come rushing in checking on me and giving me more pain meds before telling me what happened.
My doctors say that they have Marcus in custody after finding him at a bar with my blood on his hands, literally, and they are all willing to testify against him to confirm my wounds and scars are proof of years of physical abuse. Tori was able to talk to the police and since it is evident I have been taking care of myself for how many years now that if I chose to I am allowed to stay at my house alone. They say I am in stable condition after many hours of working on me but they want me to stay in the hospital for a few days to watch over me and make sure nothing goes wrong. Since I have so many scars that went untreated properly they say they would feel better if they got to watch over me and that they would rather be safe than sorry.
I reluctantly agree as my eyelids begin to feel heavier. The doctors take notice and tell me to get some sleep as they move me to a more permanent room.
When I wake up again I realize that I am in my new room that I will be stuck in for the next few days. As I look around I take notice to my roommate. I can barely make out her face since I'm still a little groggy from sleep but she looks extremely familiar. As I rub the sleep out of my eyes I finally notice who it is.
It's Tris!
I remember the doctor telling her about seeing her about her tests when we were visiting her last week but I didn't realize she would be staying overnight. And in the same room as me. When I hear voice approaching from outside I decide it's in my best interest to just fake sleep for now. Plus, I'm really not in the mood for answering questions. I hear as what sounds like a doctor and a women enter the room and they stay in Tris' side. I feel bad eavesdropping but it's too late to reveal myself now so I just try not to listen so intently. But that becomes nearly impossible with what I hear next.
"She looks so peaceful when she's asleep. Almost like nothing is wrong and she is just a normal teenage girl. Of all the people why her Doctor? Why my Beatrice?" As the women says this I can hear her voice begin to crack and can tell she is on the verge of tears. But all I can concentrate on is that she called her Beatrice. I mean I realized that Tris must be a nickname but knowing that's her full name it makes me more intrigued to find out the truth about her.
Little did I know I would find out the truth just moments after when the doctor replies
"I know you find this unfair but hopefully these tests will give us more answers. For now I suggest you just take a breath and try to relax. I come in a little later to check on her, okay Mrs. Prior?"
That's when it all clicks for me. Beatrice, Mrs. Prior, I knew she looked familiar from day one that's why I couldn't take my eyes off her, and her necklace is what threw me over the edge. It was the same one I wore around my neck everyday. I laid there in complete and utter shock.
Tris was Beatrice Prior.
TRIS POV
I wake up with the same initial thoughts as when I woke up in the hospital a week ago, only now I knew why I was here. I'm still a little foggy but eventually gain enough focus to ask my mom to get the doctor. She just nodded her head and let go of my hand. As she walked out of my room I continued to rub the sleep out of my eyes. I don't know if it's that there is a chance my cancer might be back, or if it's just being back in the hospital knowing I have to stay a few nights, but I feel extremely irritable and don't feel like putting up with my doctor's scolding and my mother's look of pity.
I soon find out that I have extremely little patience today as well because the second I hear the word Beatrice come out of both my mother and my doctor's mouths I lose it.
"What have I told you about calling me Beatrice? My name is Tris. Tris! It's four measly letters, even an idiot would be able to comprehend that!" The shock at my outburst is evident on both their faces but at the moment I could care less. So I do what I do best in these situations, I continue yelling at them. "I have been asking to go by Tris for seven years now. What don't you understand when I say that Beatrice is gone, okay?! Your little, innocent Bumble Bea is no longer here. I am Tris now. Strong Tris. Brave Tris. Warrior Tris. So please just get that through your heads and we can move on, okay?" I didn't realize how emotional I was getting until I noticed the tears beginning to blur my vision. But unlike my mother, I didn't let them fall. That would defeat the strong image I just yelled at them for.
After seeing both my doctor and mother speechless I began to feel the guilt creep into the pit of my stomach. So I just shook my head to get rid of all these crazy, emotional thoughts and looked at my mother with apologetic eyes and sighed.
"I'm sorry. I guess everything is just finally catching up to me now and I'm finding it hard to keep all my emotions in check lately."
"It's okay Tris. I would expect nothing else. How about me and your mother give you some time to rest and get your thoughts in check before we start to talk more about everything. Is that good with you?" Dr. Murray smiled shyly at me. That's what I liked about him, he never gave me a look of pity or anything when I had an outburst. He just stayed calm and collected and always seemed to know what to do in that moment to make everybody happy. Or at least content.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Thanks Doc." I smiled at him as I nodded my head in agreement. While they started to leave I replayed what I had said in my head. 'I am Tris now. Strong Tris. Brave Tris. Warrior Tris.' As if by instinct my hand went up to my neck. Usually in times like this I like to hold onto the necklace Tobias got me to not only remind me why I was doing all this but to give me strength. Yet, when my hand went to my neck there was nothing there. I stopped my mother before she could completely close the door to my room.
"Hey mom?" She popped her head back in the door and looked at me waiting to hear what I had to say. "Do you know where my necklace is? You know the puzzle piece one?" She slowly walked over to me and sat on the edge of my bed lightly taking my hand in both of hers.
"Well for the tests we had to take off all access accessories, and when the doctors noticed you didn't take the necklace off they had to. They told me after they let me back in here to see you, they-" I cut her off by pulling my hand from her grasp.
"Well do you know where it is?" I asked with a little more annoyance noticeable in my voice than I originally meant. She sighed and refused to look me in the eyes.
"I'm not sure. They apparently gave it to a nurse to hold onto and give to me but no nurse ever came to me. I'm sure they'll find it at some point and when they do they will give it to Dr. Murray and-" I cut her off again, but this time I didn't control my emotions. I found myself yelling and crying without oven realizing it.
"OUT! GET. OUT. You know I never take that necklace off! You know what that necklace means to me! It has been around my neck for the past seven years, through every doctors appointment, through every hospital visit, or extending stay. Every night I cried myself to sleep I held on to that necklace! Every time I doubted myself I had that necklace. Every time needed reminded, that necklace! Every time I need reassurance without pity, necklace! That necklace is what reminded me why I was fighting in the first place. That necklace was a reminder of all those I love. That necklace is what has given me my strength for the past seven years. And if you're telling me that now, when I probably needed it the most you lose it then I don't want to talk to you anymore. So please, just get out." My voice only got louder with each sentence I said and as I got louder the tears fell faster. By the end I was screaming at the top of my lung, sobbing uncontrollably while pointing at the door for my mom to leave. Thankfully she didn't say a word and she just walked out shutting the door behind her.
After I hear to door shut I sigh a breath a relief. Finally being alone to sort through all the emotions I went through in the past fifteen minutes. After I finally was able to calm down I was startled out of my thoughts by a voice. A voice I didn't think I would hear, not here. And as I heard what he said I couldn't stop the surprised gasp that escaped my mouth.
"Glad to know you still wear it, because I never took mine off either. Now, here's the question Bea. Are you ready to put the pieces together again?"
