Tobias walks a few feet in front of me. I hurry to catch up with him. We've been called to a meeting of the old, surviving members of the Allegiant. Even though the faction system is disabled and we technically have nothing in common now, it is part of our foundation.
When we come into the room, Cara sits on a chair at the front of the small space. Matthew stand next to her with his arms crossed. The others have settled to either lean against the wall or sit on the floor. I join Tobias in leaning against the wall.
"As you know, the new Bureau is more inclined to help the people of the fringe," Cara begins. She scans our faces. She has a very Erudite face. Hard to read. "And it has come to my attention that these people, unlike the people of the Bureau, have not forgotten the past." She pauses and clasps her hands in front of her.
Matthew speaks up. "We feel as if they may be plotting something," he finishes, and Cara looks up at him. She may not smile, but I feel that she wants to.
Cara opens her mouth to talk again when the door bangs open. I look over and immediately feel defensive. Eva stands in the doorway, her fiery red hair hanging loose around her shoulders. "Sorry I'm late," she says in a breathy voice, smiling.
"She was never part of the Allegiant," I point out, crossing my arms. This girl doesn't understand. She doesn't, and she never will.
Tobias frowns at me. "Neither was Matthew," he shoots back.
"Matthew helped us bring down the old Bureau." I snap. We stare at each tiger for a few seconds, challenging each other in our glares. Then Cara speaks.
"I've invited Miss Parker here because she is an ex members of the fringe, and therefore may have valuable information that we may find useful." She nods at Eva, who shoots me an innocent looking smile and leans against the wall.
Eva looks around at all of us for a few seconds before speaking. "As far as I've heard, nothing is planned. They're glad they're getting help after all this time. As was I." She smiles at Cara. I'd like to smack that smile off her face.
If she says they are not planning something, then they must be.
Cara considers it for a moment. "Very well. I expect you to keep us posted on whatever is going on within the fringe refugee group." She casts a long look at Eva..
Eva nods and smiles brightly. "Of course. Anything for my new friends."
...
"So, I was like, what did he say? And she was like, he told me that it was under the table! So I looked and there it was!" I try my hardest to block out Eva's talking. It doesn't help much. I do not understand why Tobias invited her to eat with us.
Instead, I pick at my turkey and avocado sandwich and exchange looks with Christina. At this moment, I am glad to have her as my friend, because she may be the only person alive who dislikes Eva as much as I do.
"And when we went up to him, he was all buff and that wasn't me, so then we told Sheila and she told Zane and then it just spread like a wildfire! And then -" I decide I can't put up with her stupid chatter anymore.
"Shut up," I growl. Eva stops talking and looks at me in surprise. She has features that look so innocent. For a moment she reminds me of how Peter looked during initiation. Wide, green eyes. A slightly open mouth. Someone I do not like.
"Oh. Okay. Sorry Beatrice," she says, adding apologetic glances at Tobias to each word. Christina mutters "thank you" under her breath and shoots me a small smile.
"Don't call me Beatrice," I tell her, and get up. Tobias gives me a disapproving look. I ignore it. Christina follows me out of the food court.
Christina laughs. "Okay, thank you. If I had to put up with that bitch talking about herself for one more minute, I would have shot myself." She says.
"Same here." I reply, cracking a smile. It feels good to talk bad about her.
"Tris!" I turn around. Caleb. He hurries towards me. He is wearing a light blue button up shirt, but the buttons are in the wrong holes. I wince. Christina pits a hand on my shoulder. She is there for me; I know it.
"Caleb," I say. My voice suddenly sounds cold and emotionless. Caleb looks a a little confused. I am not sure what to make of that.
"I wanted to ask you a few things. Seeing how you walked out of the other time I was supposed to," he says. He looks excited. I hope I look as emotionless as I sound.
Christina shoots me a look. I shrug. "What do you want?" It comes out like a snap. He takes a step back and chews on his lip for a second before talking.
"Well, you went into the Weapons Lab instead of me, right?" he says. I feel anger bubble up inside of me. Even if he lost his memories, he should know that's something he shouldn't just say in the middle of the Bureau. I grab his sleeve and Christina steers us into a closet. Inside, it is warm and dark.
"You can't talk so freely about this stuff," I hiss. Christina glares at Caleb.
"Sorry. I didn't remember. But...why would you do that? There is a high chance you could have died by doing that." He looks genuinely confused. I want to punch him.
"I almost did die," I say. My voice sounds separated from me, like I am listening to a recording of myself.
"Then why?" Caleb's face swims in front of me. My eyes are tearing up.
"Why?" I snarl. "Because I loved you Caleb! You are my brother, and I did not want to see you die. You were all I had left, and now you're gone too." I spit the last words at him and stand. Christina puts a hand on my shoulder to steady me.
Caleb is staring at me, his eyes wide. I kick the door and it swings open. I stomp out into the hallway, ignoring all of the other people I bump in to. Christina follows me. She is a good friend.
I walk into the hotel lobby and slam a fist on the front desk. The attendant, a boy maybe around my age, looks up likes he's startled. I still feel angry. At myself? At Caleb? I don't know.
"Beatrice Prior," I snap. "I need a key."
He shuffles through some files and then clicks away on a computer. "Beatrice Prior...do you have an Identification Tag to prove that you are in fact, Bea-"
"Just give me the damn key!" I scream. Everyone in the lobby falls silent. The attendant quickly hands me a key and mutters something. I turn away. Christina grabs my arm.
"Tris. Are you okay?" She looks genuinely worried. I don't blame her.
"Do I look alright?" I almost snap, then sigh. "I'm sorry, Christina. I just can't deal with Caleb right now. Now, or ever, probably. He was all I had left, and now my family is gone."
Christina gives me a small smile. "Not everything you have is gone. You still have me." She folds me in her arms, and I embrace her back.
It is good to have such a close friend.