A/N: Now lots of you guys find the whole Al thing confusing. I hope this will help clear things out:
Well, Al is a person from Tris's past who assaulted her. Al continued to haunt her in her dreams because she was traumatised by the event. She pleaded to Jeanine to move somewhere else because she taught that a change of surrounding would help her get over it once and for all. However, she finds herself facing Al in real life...
Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent.
"Umm.. dad?" Tobias asks nervously as he knocks on Marcus's study door.
Hearing no reply, Tobias starts to turn around, giving up; or I'd call it, cowering away from his own fear.
I shove him back to Marcus's door and knock three sharp knocks on the door before hiding around the corner. I hear the door creak open.. and a brief moment of silence.
"Dad I.. I... I wish to apologise for being a jerk to you dad."
"No Tobias. I shouldn't have forced you into it."
"That's the point. You didn't even forced me into anything. Whenever you invited me to attend your fundraising programs or any of those things similar, you've never forced me into them. You've always asked nicely, but I will always reply like a jerk with rude and snide remarks. I can't really blame you for being rough at me when I act like a real jerk first. I just.. hope that you will forgive me."
"But Tobias, I've wronged you and hurt you far more then what you have done to me. I only deserve your hatred, son."
"No dad. I am wrong when I hold grudges against you. And really, I've probably never told you before, but really, I have long forgiven you for those- um.. things you did to me all those years ago."
I can't hear anything else for a few seconds so, desperate to know what is going on, I lean my head around the corner and take a peak at Marcus and Tobias.
Tobias is being held in a tight embrace by Marcus and Marcus is silently spilling tears from his eyes. When Tobias pulls himself from the embrace, he notices the stray tears and quickly wipes them off.
"Hey don't cry dad."
"I just... It's just that..." Marcus chokes between sobs. "Even though I've hoped for it, I didn't really expect you to forgive me. I haven't been the nicest of dads. More like a sad excuse for a dad. But I love you. I really do."
"Dad, I haven't been a very good son either. And I myself was worried that you wont forgive me."
"Tobias, I've never not forgiven you ever since Johanna have knocked me to my senses. So don't worry about it."
They allow themselves to be wrapped by a few moments of silence as they smile at each other.
"So umm..." Marcus nervously clears his throat. "So would you.. you know-um.. Would you come to the dinner with me?"
Tobias laughs out, "Dad, you sound as if you're asking me out on a date. And yes, I am going with you."
I smile and leave Tobias and Marcus to let them have their own privacy.
Tidying up Tobias's room is probably the worst chore I have to do. It is fine during the few occasions when he is in the room with me. But when he isn't here, it is torturous. Why? Because the intoxicating smell of Tobias makes me want to hug him so much or at least, hear him say something. When you smell him yet he isn't there with you, it is as if his ghost is surrounding you, torturing you with that twisted ache in your chest which will only be healed by a hug from himself. Gathering his used comforter, I can't help squeezing it tightly to my chest. It may not heal my aching pain, but it soothes it a little.
"Err... Tris?"
I jump up at the sudden sound of a voice which literally sends shivers down my spine and turn around to find the owner of the ghost who is causing the ache in my chest.
"Why are you hugging my comforter?" Tobias asks incredulously, pointing at his comforter which is still held tightly to my chest. I can see the ghost of a smile flying around his lips as he tries to understand what exactly I am doing.
"Uhh..." I try to look for a reason which is not it soothes the pain you are causing me. "I'm smelling it. You know, it might have already turned smelly and I, you know, have to like change it if it smells bad."
"Right... The comforter which you have just changed a few days ago?" His lips fighting off the urge to smile
I just shrug my shoulders and pray to god that he will drop the subject.
He luckily does as he just walks straight to his cupboard and buries his head deep into it.
I continue to cover the comforter over the mattress of his bed as he starts to hum a song. It is when I start to tuck the edges of the comforter in between his bed do I realise that he have taken off his shirt and is starting to take a white one out of his cupboard. His shoulder blades shifts as he pulls the hanger out of the shirt and starts to unbutton it. He pulls a sleeve up his right arm and his biceps muscles flex when he pulls the other sleeve to his left side.
He turns around and catches my shamelessly staring eyes. With a smirk he remarks, "Not a very conservative lady are we?"
Heat rises onto my cheeks and I scurry out of the room in deep embarrassment.
I wave a goodbye to Marcus, Johanna and Tobias as Christina and I watch Marcus's black car being driven further and further away from the house. Just as Christina and I are about to leave the house for the grocery store, a blue Chevy stops in front of us. The driver rolls down his window and addresses to Christina, "Thought I'd give you a ride." He then turns to look at me and asks, "You're the new maid?"
I awkwardly nod my head and eye the nervous Christina.
Christina furiously marches to the driver who has an uncountable amount piercings and tattoos on him. Christina whispers harshly to him which allows me to only catch parts of it, "I thought I told.. fucking 15 kilometre radius.. What if.. sees..."
"Come on babe, you told me he isn't home. I didn't get to greet you at the door nor send you back home during our first date-"
"Hush it Eric!"
Seeing that Christina is in a very heated argument with the 'Eric' and they are not going to stop anytime soon, I excuse myself telling Christina that I'll go to the groceries alone if she has to attend to other things. She quickly brushes me off.
So I lurk into the shadows and leave Christina and the Eric guy alone. I set off to look for a grocery which is still opened at this hour because Johanna wants me to buy some carrots and lettuce.. urgently. She asked Christina to accompany me since it is dangerous for a girl to walk alone in the night; but I do not want to disturb Christina if she has other plans.
I walk down the back alley of the grocers, struggling to fight off the rare strong summer wind. I should have brought a sweater. I try to make sure that I have a good grip on the paper bags filled with vegetables from the grocery. Why did I even agree on going to the grocery in the night?
As I am just about to take a left turn, I hear footsteps, heavy footsteps advancing towards me. I turn around and see a man with tussled orange hair. His shirt is crumpled and messy. His eyes are bloodshot.
The man stops me and asks for directions to get to the Cleveland Avenue. I map out the directions for him, occasionally signaling with my hands to help him imagine the path to get there, but he insists on having me lead him the way since he is afraid that he might get lost. Since Oliver street is just nearby Cleveland Avenue, maybe I should help this man out?
As I walk deeper into the dark alley, the man places a hand on my right shoulder to make sure that he doesn't loose me. But when the hand slowly slides to my other shoulder and he rests his elbow on my right shoulder, I start to feel uneasy about him. Our sides are touching as I continue to lead him to Cleveland Avenue. When his arm slides down to circle my waist, I quickly jump out of the man's embrace letting out a scream, "What are you doing!"
"Just helping an old friend." He shrugs. "I think you dropped this?" He picks something up from the ground and places it in my hand.
A bottle of sage and lemon grass smelling oil.
I look up again and find Al standing right beside the orange head.
Run!
My feet quickly shifts its way away from Al, but I can still hear him closely behind. Out of panic, I didn't realise that the lane I chose leads to a dead ending. Upon seeing the wall blocking my path, I stop dead in my tracks and my heart starts to beat rapidly. Sweat trickles down my back as I turn around and find Al blocking my only escape with a malicious smile. Behind him, a silhouette comes nearer and nearer until I can see his face, the man who wanted directions to go to Cleveland Avenue.
"What's wrong Beatrice? Too scared of smelling oils, huh? That's a bit pathetic don't tchu think." He laughs.
I step back as Al advances nearer and nearer towards me. He takes his time to approach me, probably toying with me for he probably finds this whole thing fun. But whatever his intentions are, it makes me more and more terrified . Every second he takes kills me and every word he utters sends the chills into me.
"It's a pity that you still have no one to protect you until now isn't it?"
My back hits the wall and he is still advancing nearer.. just two feet away.
"Why Beatrice? Too stiff in fright to say anything?"
One foot away... I can just smell the sage and lemon grass smelling oil he so loves to use.
"It's amazing how I'll need to use a fucking chloroform to get the other girls to stop moving and do whatever the hell I want to do with them. But you, for you Beatrice, I just need a bottle of sage and lemon grass to 'stiffen' you."
He steps even closer and the smell of sage and lemon grass starts to overwhelm me. His towering body just two inches away from mine. He bends his head down to look at me and I can see the look in his eyes are of pure excitement.
His thumb brushes over my cheek, I am tempted- no. I want to brush it off. But he is right, I am frozen in fear and no matter what I try to tell my body to do, they just won't do it.
I just hate how much control he has over me. How he is so right when he says that just a whiff of sage and lemon grass can paralyse me. I hate it and I want to change it, but it is so so hard.
"It is such a pity that you're not pretty-" his hands trails down to my chest. God! Do something, Tris! "-and you don't have a very beautiful body. Or I would enjoy fucking you more."
He is going to... No! I can't let this happen! He's done this once I can't let it happen again.
"Oh no, poor Beatrice is starting to have an asthma attack." He snickers.
No. Please no! Not now. Calm down, Tris. Breathe. Remember what dad always says? Always remember to bring an inhaler. No. That won't help. Remember what Tobias always says? Breathe. Just calm down and breathe.
"But... I think I'll still enjoy making you cry wouldn't I?" A malicious smirk crosses his face and his hand lands on the insides of my thigh.
"No. Stop it please don't do this." I fucking cried out. I've never hated myself more than now. I hug my chest and crouch down, struggling to breathe. His 6 feet 4 height towers over me crazily and it is not helping me to calm down at all.
"Don't cry dearie, I'll go so especially slow on you. You don't have to be afraid." His hand inches closer to where the apex of my thighs. "I'll make it so special that every detail of it will be saved deep in your memories with special care."
A/N: I love leavin' a cliffy :K