Did You Know?
Seven out of 10 sexual assaults are committed by someone who knows the victim.
Tobias' POV
My heart sinks as I watch Tris walk into the questioning area and be interrogated by Niles in the presence of her attackers. It seems wrong. I know she's strong, but having to go through this another time doesn't seem right.
"Tris, would you please tell us what happened the day of the attack?" Niles asks as Tris struggles to answer him. "I was walking home from work by myself. I had myself just in case when I felt a hand clamp around my mouth." she replies.
"I didn't know who it was at first. I thought maybe it was my fiancé, Four, but it wasn't." she answers, her voice struggling to stay even towards the end. "It wasn't him though. I tried to run away, but he overpowered me. Peter. He injected me with something and I lost consciousness." she finishes taking a deep breath.
"What happened next when you woke up?" Niles asks. "I was alone with Peter. I was naked and he was on top of me. He threatened me with a knife to keep me still and silent while he raped me. I eventually lost consciousness again from the pain." she trembles and I have to fight the urge to run over and hold her; shielding her from the rest of the world.
"When I woke the next time, I was alone laying on a bed when David and Eric came in. Eric shot me three times and they left. My fiancé finally found me and brought me to the hospital." she sobs and is excused.
Eric, Peter, and David will also have to testify under truth serum, but Tris and I both decided yesterday that neither of us want to see it. The hard part is over at least as I follow Tris to the lobby and wrap my arms around her.
"You did so good. You were brave." I murmur into her hair. We part and she asks "What if it isn't enough? What if nothing happens to them and it was all worthless?" and I see the fear in her eyes.
"Shh. I'll make sure they pay. I'm on good terms with my mother after all." I tell her and it's true. While I don't know if my mother and I will ever have a normal relationship, we have been trying to work on it and stay in contact.
"Come on, I want to take you somewhere." I say, leading her back to the truck and driving to Millennium Park. I open the door and pull out a blanket and picnic basket I've stowed away. I set out the blanket and the picnic basket.
It's warm, sunny day as I recall our first official date here. This place has always been special to my since then. We eat quietly and I know what Tris must be thinking about. Tomorrow, we both have to go back to work which means she'll have to face more fears without me.
I know I have to try to fight her own battles; that I won't always be there to comfort her. It's not easy watching her go through the nightmares, the fears that she isn't yet able to overcome. "I know what you're thinking about." I whisper.
"I don't want to go back, I don't know if I can." she replies and I know. The night isn't restful for either of us because Tris has several nightmares that wake us both. During each one, I try to wake her gently and tell her it's just a nightmare.
I make Tris and I breakfast in the morning before leaving for the day. Christina walks her to work and I drive her home after work. I meet a very anxious-looking Tris in the evening. About halfway home, I notice her breathing quicken.
"That's where it happened; where he took me." she gulps, pointing to a spot on the uneven pavement. "Tris, stay with me. You're okay now, you're with me." I tell her, but it doesn't seem to help.
When we arrive at home, she runs inside and closes the door before I can even get there. She pants and sits on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest. "Tris, I know you're scared but I really think you should get some help with this or at least talk to me about it." I plead.
I hate seeing her this way; it's not fair. "Yeah? Maybe I'm not ready to. Maybe I'm not ready to face it." she scoffs. "So that's it, you're just gonna avoid it forever?" I ask frustrated. We both have anger and fight inside of us. Sometimes it keeps us alive. Sometimes it threatens to destroy us like it does now.
"You don't understand. You didn't go through what I did!" she screams through gritted teeth before collapsing into a sob. "I didn't, but I know what it's like to live in crippling fear of being hurt again. I know that pain; the one that never seems to subsidy even in sleep." I answer back as I crouch beside her; wiping away her tears with my thumb.
No matter how long you train someone to be brave, you never know if they are or not until something real like this happens and even in her moments of weakness, I see strength. I see bravery.
"You can beat this. You're still the bravest person I know." I reply as I help her up. I may not know everything, but I know her. I know she can; if only she can find that strength to do it. Since I was young, I have always known this: Life damages us, every one. We can't always escape that damage.
But now, I am learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other to live with that damage and that's what I think we will do. We figure it out together somehow it seems.
There are also so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.
But sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life. That is the sort of bravery she must have now and I am here to support and witness it.