I do not own anything, just my ideas!

Chapter 35

TOBIAS

Pictures are funny things. You take a moment in time and solidify it in a simple image. Time itself is stopped and arranged into a million pixels that somehow come together and form the greatest things. With time, the memories in our minds disintegrate till they're gone. But it is different with pictures.

I really didn't have any idea what would happen when I gave the flash drive to Caleb. I knew Tris wouldn't have been able to handle talking to Caleb with everything else going on, so I had a backup plan. I'm a fan of music, but the power it can have is so strong. It says the things we can't say ourselves.

The only thing on the flash drive was the song and some pictures. There weren't that many because Tris is a little camera shy, but I've managed to sneak a few here and there. One is when she was at my house one day and I took it when she fell asleep. A few were from our New York trip. Almost all of them were sneak shots, ones where she didn't know there was a camera. But my favorite picture was the one of us at Homecoming. I keep that one in my wallet.

I would be lying if I said I knew it would convince Caleb. I would probably catch on fire if I called that he would testify against Peter. But he did it. He kept the truth on the inside and with no sunlight, and for a while a shadow was winning. I don't fully trust him, and part of me hopes Tris doesn't forgive him right away.

I take my hand and scratch Tris' back. She sits next to me, her body leaning forward. Her body is exhausted, I can see it. But her eyes are awake and running through her brain. The jury has been gone for some time now, deliberating Peter's fate. I know that he will be guilty; there is no other alternative. But I also know that right now Tris is going over every detail of the case in her mind.

"Tris." Her stiff back loosens some, and her head turns toward me. "It's going to be okay."

She doesn't say anything, just leans back and lays her head on my chest. I wrap my arm around her and rub circles on her shoulder. I see some movement in the corner of my eye, and when I turn slightly, I see Caleb staring at us. I focus him about and turn back to the person next to me.

"Tobias," she says, "Caleb said you gave him the flash drive. Why?"

"I wanted him to see who you are now. I wanted him to listen, to see. He had fallen for the fear, done some disappearing. I wanted him to stop running and stop holding his tongue. He knew the truth all along, just didn't have the bravery to do what was right."

I feel her nod her head and I think she's about to say something more, but the door in the corner opens and the jury members walk back in. Tris shoots up to the edge of the bench. The jury takes their seats, the person in the corner holding a piece of paper.

"Have you come to a decision," the judge asks the jury.

"We have, your honor."

"In the charge of accessory to attempted murder, how do you find the defendant?"

"We, the jury, find the defendant guilty."

"And in the charge of rape in the first degree, how do you find the defendant?"

"... Guilty."

She falls back, her exhaustion finally breaking through. She keeps her eyes closed, like she is asleep. Then, the person behind us places his hand on her back. I don't recognize him, but Tris doesn't shove the man away and Tori looks like he knows him.

Tris turns around and her expression is relief. Who is this person?

Tris then slightly pulls away from the man. "Dad." Is all she says.

Her father? What the hell is happening?

"What are you doing here?" Tris asks.

"I was out of town the past few weeks and I heard about the trial. I landed this morning and wanted to be here."

"Why?" This time Tori ask. She puts a hand on Tris.

"Nice to see you too, Tori," he says. He turns to me. "And you are..."

Before I can say something, Tris speaks up, "You don't need to know." She grabs my hand and stands up, part of her weight on me, the other part on a crutch.

We begin to walk out, but her father says, "Beatrice..."

She stops, but doesn't turn to look at him. "That's not my name."

"Yes it is. It's the name we gave you."

Tris turns to face her father, "Who? Who gave me that name, or are you too weak to say her name?"

I have noticed an edgier side to Tris lately, as if she is using anger to prove herself. As if the gentler parts of her are gone. But she was never soft. That's is too weak of a word for her.

Caleb walks over to us, "Dad, what are you doing here?" Even he seems surprised.

Tris begins to yell, "Great! That's just great, you're here too."

"Beatrice, you don't—"

"No. My name is Tris. You would know that, but you shut me out, both of you. Stop trying to talk to me like nothing happened, because never once have you ever cared." Tris pulls closer to me. "He's someone who is important in my life, but you've made it clear you do not want anything to do with that."

"That's not true, I care about you, we both do. There are things you just don't understand," her father says.

"You're just like Caleb, full of excuses."

"Do not talk to your father like that."

"Like what? That mom would be ashamed of you. That you are both selfish men."

Neither Prior man says anything. Caleb looks like he was slapped in the face, even though he has been. And her father looks like he is too busy thinking than anything else. Tris takes the silence to say more.

"And you want to know the worst part? I want to forgive you. I want to forgive both of you, so much. I want to go back to the way things were when we were all together. But I just can't; I can't do it."

She begins to move, and I go with her. She makes it out of the room before her mask falls off and I see the hurt on her face. "What just happened?" She says.

"I'm trying to figure that out myself."

"I knew it was him, the second he touched me. And that moment when he showed me… something."

I am about to speak up, say it was only a rub on the back, but I know better. I know what it is like to not feel love from someone you beg warmth from. And after so long without it, just a second of warmth…

"He was here, but why now? Why after all this time both of them try to enter my life again. Part of me wants to welcome them with open arms, but a stronger part wants to spit in their faces and run away. I'm so confused."

"It's been a long day and a lot has happened. You need to rest."

"But—"

"No buts. Now, come on," I stretch my arm across her shoulders. I lean down close to her ear. "And… he's gone. He's going away for a long time."

"… He's gone. He won't hurt anyone else." We begin to walk to the doors to get outside.

"Your mom would be really proud of you." When I say this, Tris begins to slow her pace.

"She would want me to forgive them, wouldn't she?"

I sigh. I have no idea. I can't bear to see Tris go through the hurt her family put her through again. I want to say no, but that is not fair.

"It's hard to say," is all I tell her. I open the door to the outside, and we walk down the steps of the building.

"Tris!" I voice yells from the doors of the courthouse. We both turn, and I don't recognize the man who is walking towards us. But Tris does.

"David?"

"Hey, I heard about the verdict, congratulations. Anyway, I'm glad I caught you. I have some good news."

"What is it?"

"That summer internship, it's yours if you want it." Internship? What internship?

"Oh, that's… great."

"I'll email you the details, and I'll call you next week."

"Oh… Thank you." The man walks away.

"What was that?"

"David? He worked with my mom."

"I don't really care about the guy, but it's nice to know who he is… Tris, what internship?"

"It's kind of a summer job working for David."

"Summer? Here? And you didn't tell me about it?"

"I didn't exactly apply for it. I ran into him one day and he knew my mom. Why are you getting mad at me?"

I didn't realize how loud my voice was getting, or how upset I am feeling. "I'm sorry; it's just a lot to take in at once."

"It's not like I've accepted it."

"But are you?"

"I… I don't know."

Author's Note

I want to address an issue that has come up a few times. I know that I have made the mistake of using "defiantly" instead of "definitely". It is a typo, and my computer thinks it is smarter than me (let's see it solve a differential equation) and it will change right after I fix the mistake.

The reason I am saying this is because I got a very rude and offensive review the other day, and it was from a Guest so I could not address this person privately. So to the Guest who left a review about my "DAMN BAD GRAMMAR", do you really think that was necessary? (And all caps? Really? Are we in junior high?) I understand the frustration with bad grammar and spelling errors, but you need to calm down. This is a FanFiction, I don't have dozens of editors combing through my chapters before they update. If you want that, then go read a real book. And even real books have mistakes! It is a part of human nature. I'm sure you have made numerous mistakes on your papers.

And who do you think you are to leave such a hate comment. I don't care if it is anonymous and I will never meet you, there is no exception for anyone, in any form, to leave such a mean comment. It is cyberbullying. The dictionary defines it as a bully online who sends or posts mean messages, mostly anonymous. There are a lot of people out there that do not understand the power of words. Saying something nice can turn a horrible day into a really good one. While a negative comment can absolutely destroy someone.

You don't know me and I don't know you. I could find you and get every essay, test, or any other thing you worked on and tell you it's fucking shit. But I do not go around with such a negative mind. You want to know why? Because I was bullied, and I know what it's like to cry myself to sleep because of what someone said. Now, having grown from that experience, I am a stronger person who was infuriated by the review left. If it bothers you that much, stop reading my story. I have a busy life, and this story is a nice stress reliever. I spend more time working on the content and incorporating good messages in this story than I do making sure my computer didn't change a word. So next time you are frustrated, stop reading or write a constructive criticism. I am more than happy to receive them.

By the way, the review you left had a grammatical error. Let that sink in.

To everyone else who is still reading this LONG note, I'm sorry for this not-so-little rant. Anyway, sorry that this update took so long and that it's not the greatest, but I wanted to give you guys something. And... My trip was absolutely amazing! I loved Chicago! So many great memories with my friends. It just gets me more excited for Divergent! Please review!

Be brave, everyone!

QUOTES

1). It's not so easy with time, either... I always thought there would be a day to say goodbye. But death is on its own clock. –Footloose, movie

2). There is evil in everyone, and the first step to loving someone is to recognize that evil in ourselves, so we can forgive them. –Allegiant, book

Congratulations to: LoveSarge, Claire

There is one (song) quote in this chapter.