Hey, all! Sorry for taking so long to update, and sorry that this one is kinda short. So much has been going on lately that I've been a little too out of it to really do any writing as much as I want to. Hopefully that'll change, but either way I'm definitely going to finish this story.

Anyway, this is the last chapter before the trial so brace yourselves!

Thank you to goldensnitch1, Chickenlover313, NoOneHasNoName, ManhattanSky, Katt1848, Ane, Charms22, Wrenlovesreading, Guest, It'sHardIKnow, 1991-Old-school-kid, FDFobsessed, LOL, Chanelx, Jojoboo90, and Guest for your kind words! It is always appreciated!

I hope you guys like this chapter. Please let me know what you think :)

Tris POV

It is a terrible feeling to feel like a stranger in your own home. But that is exactly how I feel, as I walk into my room and look around. I slowly walk over to the bed and sit down on the edge before I look up at my mother who is still standing in the doorway.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" she asks.

I shake my head at her.

"I think I just want to relax a little," I say.

She nods at me and looks down before she starts walking toward me. I watch her, as she sits down next to me and looks around my room as well.

"Well, while you're up here, I'll go downstairs," she says, "and I'll discuss homeschooling with your father."

"Mom," I sigh. "I told you, I just need one more chance-"

"I'll discuss it with your father," she says decidedly. "And if he thinks you should have another chance, then that's what we'll do."

I nod hesitantly, knowing that there is nothing that I can say right now that will change her mind. We simply sit there in silence for a moment before she reaches into her pocket and holds something toward me.

"You can have this back now," she says.

I look down only to see that she is holding my cell phone in her hand. I take it from her wordlessly, and I can feel her eyes on me.

"You can call your friends now, if you want," she says.

I nod wordlessly. She gently kisses the top of my head before she stands up and walks toward the door. I watch her, as she walks through the door, and I hear her walk downstairs. This is just one of the new rules that my parents have instituted; my door must be open all the time.

I let out a sigh, as I look down at my phone again. I press the button to turn the screen on, and I see an abundance of missed calls and messages, mostly from Uriah and Christina. But of course, nothing from Tobias. I feel my heart drop at this realization, and before I can change my mind, I start dialing his number.

I bring my phone to my ear and wait. And I guess I shouldn't be surprised when it goes straight to voicemail, but it still hurts.

I look down at my phone again and start dialing another number instead. I bring my phone to my ear again and wait, as it rings.

"Holy shit, where have you been?" the person says as soon as the ringing stops.

"Hey, Uriah," I say, rolling my eyes. "I need to talk to you. Can I come over?"

"Yeah, sure!"

"Thanks."

I hang up the phone before he can say anything else, and I stand up from my bed. I head downstairs, and I can hear my parents voices from the kitchen. I follow the sound until I am in the doorway of the kitchen. As soon as I get there, they both stop talking and look at me, and I realize that they must have been talking about me.

"Could I go see one of my friends?" I ask.

For a moment, they do not respond. Instead, they look at each other, and it seems as if they are having an entire conversation with each other just through their eyes before they finally turn back to me, and my mother responds.

"Just don't be long," she says.

I nod at them before turning around and walking away. Only when I reach the front door do they finally start talking in hushed voices again. I let out a sigh, as I let myself through the front door.

As I walk, I can't help but wonder when things will even out again. After my mom caught me trying to drink bleach for the first time, things were so tense for a long time, but eventually things went back to normal. I can only hope that things will go back to normal again soon.

My eyes start to wander, as I approach Uriah's house. As I walk, my eyes land on the house across the street that I know Tobias is in. And it seems that my feet start taking me in that direction instead before I can overthink it.

I realize that even though everything is complicated right now, I just want to see him, to be near him, more than anything.

I take a deep breath, as I knock on the door and wait. Every second that I wait is agonizing, but I force myself to stand there until finally, the door opens, and I find myself looking back at Tobias' foster sister. She looks at me expectantly before she finally speaks.

"Yes?" she says.

"Is Tobias here?" I ask.

She looks over her shoulder for a moment before she looks back at me and shrugs.

"No, sorry."

I feel my heart sink, but I force myself to simply nod at her.

"Okay," I say more quietly than I meant to. "Can you just tell him to call me?"

"Tris, right?"

I nod at her again. For just a second, I wonder how she knows my name, but I figure that either Tobias told her about me or she heard about what happened.

"Yeah," I say.

She nods back and takes a step back.

"I'll tell him," she says shortly.

Before I can say anything else, she closes the door. I stand there and stare at it for a moment, as if Tobias will appear if I stand there long enough. Until finally, I force myself to turn around and start toward Uriah's house.

I need to talk to somebody, even if it isn't Tobias.

Tobias POV

I watch from the bottom of the stairs, as Lauren closes the door before turning to face me. She stands there with her hands on her hips, looking at me expectantly. I raise an eyebrow at her, and she rolls her eyes at me.

"And why aren't you here?" she asks.

"None of your business," I mutter, as I start walking toward the living room.

I can sense her behind me, as I walk.

"It becomes my business when I have to lie for you," she says.

I sit down on the couch, and she stands in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Not like it's the first time," I mutter.

"Won't be the last time," she says, rolling her eyes again. "Whatever."

"Whatever," I murmur, as I lean back and close my eyes.

I hear her start to walk out of the room. But of course, she has to get to me before she leaves.

"You'll see her at the trial anyway."