Hey guys! Sorry for not updating in awhile. I try to keep you guys satisfied, but some things have gotten in the way. Luckily, I am alone right now, and no one is bugging me, so I should be good! Thanks so much for reviews, follows, favorites, views… Everything, really! And I appreciate any reviews guys! I DO NOT OWN DIVERGENT! Christina is on vacation, so she couldn't be here to back me up and prove to you guys that all I own is my iPad and my imagination.
Tris POV
I silently pray that Caleb will leave me alone, but I should know better. He has a phone in his hand and, with a sinking feeling, I realize what's about to go down. I am quicker than him. I run and snatch the phone from him, deleting about the first twenty pictures I see, and delete them from the "Deleted Photos" album. Caleb groans with disappointment.
"Tri-iss! You deleted my roller coaster pictures with Susan!" he complains. I stifle a laugh, trying to stay serious. Susan is Caleb's girlfriend, and they are a very shy and modest couple. Susan always wears her plain brown hair in a tight bun. They never go out anywhere extravagant, and always wear plain t-shirts when they are out together. Caleb only does this to please Susan. In reality, he wastes a lot of electricity at night while he is studying from dusk to dawn with all of the lights on. He wears a lot of blue button-downs. When he does wear t-shirts, they always have some kind of picture and scientific term on them that makes some passers by laugh. I understand none of the terms, of course. I am smart, but not obsessive.
Right now he is wearing a white shirt that has a picture of Newton next to a picture of Einstein with a caption that reads, "Apparently physics don't apply to Einstein's hair, Newton." I get that one, but it is kind of hard to follow.
"Caleb, let me go!" I exclaim, suddenly realizing that he has a grip on my arm. I am obviously strong enough to easily yank my hand out of his grasp, but my elbow is against a wall, so there is no room for my arm to move.
"Not until you tell me what that was all about," he replies calmly. I roll my eyes. His grip loosens, so I use my other hand to pry his fingers off of my wrist one by one. He gives up, considering my superior strength, and sighs. I take a deep breath.
"Four and I have been dating for a week or so, Caleb. I-" I pause, thinking. I know now that I don't just like him. I love him. I decide not to tell Caleb, though. He raises his eyebrows, waiting. "I like him and he likes me. Like you and Susan, except we aren't too shy to kiss in public," I finish. He shrugs in defeat, and I dart up to my room. Monday is Labor Day, so I don't have school tomorrow or the next day. I grab my phone, checking my Instasnap. Four posted hot picture of him working out, and I double tap it immediately. The caption says, "Lost a bet with Christina." I laugh, but am interrupted when my phone gives a soft "Ding!". I open the text. Four has sent a picture, and I gasp in shock.
Four POV
Marcus was there. I was wrong about him being gone. He came home early, and watched the whole thing through the window. He beat me really hard. Now I am, yet again, sitting in my room clutching a plastic bag full of melted ice. I am rocking back in forth in pain. My arm hurts like crazy. This time, Marcus didn't hit me with his belt. He used a steak knife to cut a shallow slash across my forearm. Yes, it is shallow, and will not scar, but when I tried to clean it, it started stinging like it was on fire. He also forced me to sit with a pot full of hot water on my thigh. Nothing I haven't done before, but it still hurt.
Crazy enough, knives have always been my getaway. I spray paint targets on the fence in the woods that are behind our back yard. I take my anger out on punching bags. I once found a handgun buried under some leaves - scary, I know - and started using that, too. Now my aim is perfect, and I have many muscles because of the punching bag.
I stop rocking for a second. The pain has lessened, and I also have an idea. Tris told me something about her. Her secret spot. She gave me a piece of her life. Now, even though it may be a big deal to know about, I am going to give her a piece of my life. I grab my phone with my good arm, snap a picture of my arm, and press send. She texts back immediately.
Four: (picture)
Tris: WHO DID THAT TO YOU? I WILL KILL THEM!
Four: uh… Marcus.
Tris: WHAT? That's illegal! This is awful!
Four: (starts a text, but is cut off by another one from Tris)
Tris: wait… Does Marcus beat you?
I start to type, but my screen changes. Tris is calling me. I press accept.
"Oh my God, Four, I am so sorry. Does he.. Does he do this often?" Tris asks immediately after I pick up her call.
"This is the first time he has cut me, but he has beat me regularly since my mom died in a car crash when I was little. I was in the car, and she shielded me, so he blames me for her death. I survived," I manage to choke out. Tris tells me to climb out my window and down the tree in front of our house. I suddenly realize that our windows are right across from each other, with a tree placed in front of a space area between us.
"Tris, open your window," I reply. She opens it, and I open mine. Our houses are close enough that I can reach out and grab her hand, so I do. She turns, startled, and she, too, realizes how close we are. I suddenly have an idea.
"Four, I-" she starts.
I interrupt her. "Don't call me Four. Not when we are alone. My name is Tobias. Tobias… Eaton."
Tris POV
It clicks together like puzzle pieces in my brain. Tobias's dad's name is Marcus. Marcus Eaton is known for beating his children. He used to get girls pregnant and then beat their children to death, abuse the girls, and then kill them. He then moved on to the next one. One day, after being released from jail, which he shouldn't have been, he was said to have met a woman he really loved. Her name was Evelyn. They got married, and had a kid. His parents called him Toby. Short for Tobias.
