A woman sits at her desk, tapping her long nails against the table in a monotonous rhythm. She stares at her computor screen. A picture stares back at her.
The picture is of a family. A happy one. A man, a woman and a girl and boy. A typical family.
The woman bites her cracked lip.
What to do, she thinks to herself.
This family was doomed to be broken. Shattered. It was inevitable.
But she wondered how. How could she make them shudder and scream? How could she make them beg for mercy?
She pressed her lips in a fine line, her mind buzzing.
She knew exactly how.
She enlarged the photo, zooming in closer and closer until he could only see the mans face. The face she had known so well and had once made her heart flutter.
She clenched her jaw to the point of pain and clicked out of the photo. Now staring at a blank screen.
Her icy blue eyes begin to water up. A single tear rolls down her face. This tear consumes her thoughts and for once her mind stops racing and there is an unfamiliar emptiness in her heart.
She knows it has to be done. Now, before she lets her cold, meaningless heart feel something.
There was no hope for him now, the woman had made up her mind.
She would make him rue the day he had chosen. The day he had made the right decision. But he had played the game and lost.
He had chosen the side of the angels.
The curtains swayed gently as a soft breeze crept in from the unclosed window. The morning light shone through, directly into Four eyes.
It was the first thing he noticed as the dull haze of his dreamless sleep slowly faded away.
Then he felt something stir in his arms.
Tris.
A wave of emotions washed over him. He couldn't decipher one from the other.
He felt bitter.
Tris turned around, letting out a soft groan. She was now closer. Four felt like he was drowning.
He couldn't be just friends. It would kill him.
Tris nestled her head in the crook of his neck and her hands were splayed across his chest.
He should feel happy. She was here. She chose his company, but he simply didn't. If this was in different circumstances then yes, he would feel joy like no other.
Just friends.
The sentence burned in his mind.
Tris's hair spread out across her pillow in a golden halo and the grey light brushed her face, making it glow. She looked alien. But she looked painfully beautiful in Four's eyes.
His throat felt raw.
Her eyelids quivered and Four braced himself for what was to come.
Her eyes opened and they focused straight ahead of her and slowly crept up to Four's face.
"Morning." He said.
"Morning." She replied, her voice raspy.
There was nothing else to be said, so they laid there, gripping tightly to each other, knowing that they were slowly crumbling.
He didn't know how much of this he could take.
"Tris."
She looked up at him.
"I don't know if I can do this." He says, clenching his fists.
He didn't know when he decided to say that but there was no going back now.
Her eyebrows furrowed.
"What do you mean?" she whispers.
"You know what I mean."
The hurt was evident in his voice.
Tris pressed her lips together.
"I… I can't do this!" she exclaims, pushing herself away from Four.
He immediately misses the warmth but he pushes that aside.
She sits up and throws her legs over the side of the bed.
"Why?" he says gently, sitting beside. Not too close.
She sighs and puts her head in her hands.
"I just don't want to get hurt, okay?" she murmurs.
"I won't hurt you." He assures, trying to fill the sentence with as much meaning as he could.
"Yeah, well you say that now," she says, looking up at him with stormy eyes. "and then I will get boring and annoying and you see someone else that is everything that I'm not."
Each word feels like a dagger in his side.
"Tris," his voice cracks a little. "You have no idea do you?"
He shakes his head and clasps his hands together.
"I like you, Tris. I like everything about you and that's never happened before. I always pick out peoples flaws but you… there's nothing with you, Tris."
He stares at the floor. He can feel her eyes burning into him.
"I couldn't be just friends. I just… couldn't." he mutters.
He lets out a sigh and runs his hands through his hair.
There is silence for a long time.
Then, "What do we do?" Tris croaks.
He can't conjure up an answer.
"What if we let ourselves be together and it doesn't work?" Tris asks.
"We can't just throw this away." He mutters.
"I feel safe with you and I don't want to lose that." She whispers.
"Listen, I'll go to Abnegation and I'll sort you out-"
"Sort me out?" Tris says with a look of disgust on her face. It contorts her features. "You think I need you to tuck me in to bed and fight of my problems? You know what, I'll go myself. I don't need you to keep me safe, at all. If you can't wait for me to be ready then off you go."
Four felt all the breath leave his lungs. His mind blurs for a moment.
"Tris, let me come." He manages to say. "I want to help."
"I need you to leave." She says calmly.
Four's mind screams at him to say something, anything to make it better. Anything to change her mind. He would wait.
Then she looks down on herself.
"Oh, and here's your jumper." She spits.
She peels of the jumper, leaving her in her vest and underwear.
He tries not to stare.
He can't think like that anymore. Everything they had is gone.
He sees her cheeks flare up and she throws the jumper into his hands.
"Bye, Four."
Tris had been staring at the back of Four's head for the entire lesson. She marveled at the waves in his thick, dark hair.
She felt hollow. Incomplete. Stupid.
Of course she would want them to be together. She just felt the timing was wrong. And she had over-reacted.
She thought she didn't need anyone. She always prefered to be alone but now she needed someone more then ever. But not someone. Four.
When did I get so complicated?
Her phone buzzed against her thigh.
Making sure her professor couldn't see her, she slipped it out of her pocket and read the message.
It was from Caleb.
Meet me outside of your university. We hav to leave.
Caleb.
Tris felt her pulse everywhere.
She stared at the spelling mistake. We hav to leave. Caleb never made spelling mistakes. Something is wrong.
She grabbed her things and stuffed them into her bag and without a second thought, leapt out of her seat.
"Oi! Beatrice! Sit down!" the professor shouted.
She ignored all the eyes staring at her as she stumbled down the steps.
Her eyes locked with Four's.
"What are you doing?" he calls out to her.
"I need to leave." she gasps and she rushes out the building.
Her legs burn as she runs down the hallways, pushing past people until she gets to the exit.
She lets out a sigh of relief when she sees Caleb sitting in his car, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.
When she jumps into the car the familiar smell of his aftershave fills her senses.
She doesn't hesitate before throwing herself into his arms.
She doesn't care that the gearstick is jabbing her side, she doesn't care that her tears are wetting his jumper.
"I missed you so much." She whimpers.
"Me too, but we need to leave. We'll talk on the way."
He starts the car and drive away from the university.
"Where are we going?" Tris asks.
"Abnegation." Caleb states.
Tris furrows her eyebrows.
"Why?"
"You the situation we're in, Tris. People want us dead. We need to talk to people and tell Mother what's happening, if she isn't dead already."
Tris gasps.
"Caleb!" she exclaims. "What do you mean? Do you think she's… dead." she chokes on the last word.
He shrugs, looking nonchalant.
"How are you so calm!" Tris nearly screams.
"It's best to try not to care. You don't want to get hurt, especially when there is a strong chance that someone you care about will die soon. Trust me, Tris."
He says her name cooly and Tris couldn't help wondering if he had stopped caring about her too.
"Don't worry. This is why we're going back home. We'll sort things out." He says, placing his hand over hers.
After that, there is silence.
Tris grips the side of the seat so hard that her knuckles turn white.
As the town of Abnegation peeks into sight Tris turns to Caleb.
"Why now?" she asks.
Caleb presses his lips together.
"Because it's time."
"What do you mean?"
He doesn't reply.
They finally reach their destination.
"What are we going to do now?" Tris asks as they pull into the side of a street.
She flings off her seat belt and leaps out of the car.
"We're going to see Marcus Eaton."
Tris tries to put on a brave face.
"Oh… alright." She says, as calmly as she could.
Caleb walks over to her and takes her hand. He looks at her with his dull green eyes.
"Tris, we must think of our family but we must also think of ourselves."
"What?"
He kisses the top of her forehead and walks ahead of her.
Tris shakes off all confusion and strides ahead. Holding her head high. She wonders what it would be like, seeing that horrible man. She doesn't know how she would even be able to stay in his presence knowing what he did to Four.
"How do you know where the house is?" Tris asks as they turn into a huge grey house, exact replicas of every other house in the town.
"I did some research."
Of course he did research, he's Caleb.
"Okay we're here." Caleb says.
He always stated the obvious when he was nervous.
They stand in front of a blue door. It looms over them, seeming more daunting then it actually is.
Tris rings the doorbell, taking a deep breath.
She hears footsteps and the rattle of locks.
Then the door swings open, revealing the man. The creature.
Tris tries not to run.
A revolting grin stretches across his slimy face.
"Hello, Beatrice." He snarls.
He nods toward Caleb.
"Well done, my boy. You shall be rewarded for your sacrifice."
The confusion rushes back.
"What is-" she begins.
Caleb looks at her with sad eyes.
"I'm sorry, Tris."
Then, Tris feels something thump the back of her head and blinding pain filling every corner of her mind.
There is a laugh.
Then there's nothing.
Hello!
Cliffhangers are always the worst, sorry guys.
I'm going to check all the mistakes I've made in the previous chapters (I know there is a lot.)
I really need a BETA… I might try find one but that involves effort so no thanks.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that you guys are really great. Thanks for sticking with me.
Also, reviews help me write faster ;)