Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I can't believe it's that time of year again. The last day of initiation; the day another batch of initiates become full-fledged members of Dauntless. Since I can't be hooked into the fear landscapes because of the pregnancy, I've been ushering Dauntless-born and transfers into the fear landscape room for their final simulations all morning, and my feet and back are absolutely killing me. I pause next to Tobias, Will, James, and Shauna, absent-mindedly rubbing my lower back, after bringing Rose and Maeve into the room. We're about half-way through the initiates and will break for lunch after Maeve's simulation.
I glance at the leaderboard and still can't believe my eyes; Hector and Oliver are tied for first place. Hector's ranking is no surprise but Oliver made it not only through phase one meeting the challenge of getting 100% on every remaining practice fight, practically demolishing his opponent on his final fight, and obtaining near perfect marks on his final weapon's test, but he exceeded everyone's expectations during phase two. We all thought he would crumble under the weight of the fear simulations but in reality, he has flourished. At first I thought maybe he was Divergent with the times he was getting but after Tobias reviewed the simulations, he found no evidence of that. Oliver may share Al's face but he no longer share's Al's lazy work ethic or the crippling fear that led him to take his own life. It's like he's a totally different person from the one who jumped into Dauntless nine weeks ago. I still can't figure him out. He obviously was holding back in the beginning and none of us understands why. I've had Ana and Brody try to question him – Tobias doesn't want me anywhere near him – but they've been unable to get answers out of him. He's remaining mum on the issue. If he came from Erudite instead of Candor I would think he was some kind of plant.
"You need to sit down," Tobias says, interrupting my reverie. It's like he knows my feet are throbbing. I'd argue but I really need to take a break even if it's only for a few minutes. He stands and lets me take his seat.
"Thank you," I quietly say. I sit down on the uncomfortable stool and lean against the console in front of me. Tobias steps up behind me and places his hands on my lower back. I close my eyes and swallow a moan as he gently kneads the tight muscles beneath his callused fingertips.
"You know you don't have to be here today," he says. His heated breath against the shell of my ear gives me goosebumps, and I visibly shiver.
"I need to be here," I say. "I want to be here." I worked from home for nearly two weeks when the kids were sick and just came back two days ago. Unfortunately, the kids and I all got used to me being home. I'm even more torn between my job and home responsibilities.
"Okay," he says. He drops a quick kiss on the top of my head then goes back to massaging my back. It feels so good, I slump into him. When I notice Brody giving Rose her final injection, I start to get up but Tobias' hands on my shoulders stop me. "Stay. I can monitor from right here." I want to argue but his hands feel so damn good, and I really don't want to move.
I watch Rose's vitals on the monitor in front of me rapidly increase wondering what she's seeing then I look over at Christina. She's nervously pacing by the door, one hand near her mouth. Knowing her like I do, the anxiety has her incessantly chewing on her right thumbnail. Her worry for her sister amped up once phase two started. She can't keep her eyes off her. Rose did well during phase one, ranking near the top of the 11 transfers, but she desperately struggled with the simulations when phase two started. She's steadily improved throughout the stage, which is what we as leaders want, but she's still lost rank. It more than likely won't allow her prime job preference unless someone who scores above her wants the mundane life of guarding the fence. But who knows, she might do remarkably well today and gain a few spots. I've seen it before. I'll see it again.
I move my eyes from Christina back to Rose. I frown when I see her crawling around on the floor, her movements spastic and erratic. Her chest is seesawing back and forth so fast I half expect to witness her heart leap out of her chest. I once again can't help but wonder what in the world she's seeing when she lets out a blood-curdling scream that makes me jump. Christina stops in her tracks, and I see it take everything she has not to run across the room to her little sister. Then it gets eerily silent except for the sound of Rose's labored panting, and I see the monitor before me indicate the end of the simulation. I glance at the clock and note that she improved her best time by more than two minutes. Maybe there's hope for a decent job for her after all. Christina unfreezes and, breaking protocol, immediately goes to her sister, hugging her tightly.
"That was impressive, Rose," James says. "It was your best time yet." Christina proudly pats her sister on the back, and Rose beams at the compliment.
"No matter what happens from here on out, I'm just happy to have that over with," she says. "I don't ever want to do that again." I guess she won't ever volunteer to train initiates then. Christina wraps her arm around Rose's shoulder and walks out of the room with her as Maeve steps into the center of the room after Ana calls her name.
"What were her fears?" I ask Tobias.
"Mostly regular ones," he says. "Spiders, drowning, clowns."
"Don't mention the clowns," Shauna says, looking a little pale and then I remember that her greatest fear is clowns, killer clowns to be exact.
"She has a few others, too, but they're not the straightforward kind," Tobias says. "It's hard to put a label on those."
"What made her scream?" I ask.
"She was looking in a mirror," he says, frowning at the memory.
"Looking in a mirror? That's it?" I ask and he nods. "Hhm."
"Everyone's fears are different," he says. "Their own."
"I know," I murmur. "Do you think that's why she struggled so in the beginning, she has some inner demons she's trying to work through?"
"Yes, I do," he says. "She's still struggling, too."
"Well, hopefully, now that she's made it through initiation she'll be able to find her footing in Dauntless," I say. "I'm sure Christina will help her out."
"I certainly will," she says, startling me. I didn't notice her come back into the room. It's obvious the worry she has for her sister hasn't dissipated. We move away from the console as Maeve's fear landscape begins, not wanting to disturb the others. "I'm looking forward to it. By the way, I invited her to get ready for the Welcome Ball with us on Saturday, and she's bringing Maeve."
"The more the merrier," I say. "Do they have dates?"
"I'm not sure if I'd call it dates or not but they're going with Hector and Jeremy," she says.
"I knew they were hanging out," I say. "We basically forced them on each other the night of Dare but you don't sound overly pleased about it."
"Hector's been in a lot of trouble lately, and I don't want her getting hurt," she says. "I think she really likes him. Like really likes him." I don't see the attraction but that's just me. "I guess I'm just being an overprotective big sister again. It's been a while since I've been in that role."
"I'm sure everything will be fine," I say. "What about Oliver? Is he going with them? It seems like every time I see those four he's right behind them."
"I don't know," she says, wrinkling her nose. "She didn't mention him, and I didn't ask."
"I have no idea why I even asked," I say with a chuckle. "I guess I'm just being nosy."
We both bring our attention back to the small, struggling initiate in the middle of the room. I make a game out of guessing Maeve's fears based solely on her actions. I'm sure I'm way off base but at least it keeps me entertained until she finally conquers her final fear.
"Do you want to go to the cafeteria?" Tobias asks as he gets up from the console. "Or do you want to just grab something quick at home?" I gaze at him while I try to make up my mind. My feet are still throbbing even after my brief break, so I really don't want to walk all the way down to the Pit but, on the other hand, I have a feeling it will be damn near impossible to leave the kids without a meltdown if we go home. "I know you're hungry, but you don't have to gnaw on that lip." He reaches up and frees my bottom lip from my teeth. I wasn't even aware I was doing that.
"I don't know," I finally say.
"What if I were to tell you that Bridget and Fiona took the kids to the park up the street for a picnic," he says.
"You should have led with that," I say, lightly pushing on his shoulder. He doesn't move a millimeter. "Let's go home."
"You got it, love," he says, a sexy smirk turning up his lips. "Hey, everyone." The commotion in the room stills, and everyone looks towards my husband. "Why don't you come to our place for lunch? No need to go all the way to the Pit and back. Unless you want to, of course."
"That sounds like a plan," Will says. "What do you say, Christy?"
"I say, stop calling me Christy, William," she mutters, a blush coloring her cheeks but she never loses her smile. "Of course."
"Brody and I are in," Ana says as she steps up beside her long-term boyfriend, taking his hand.
"Me, too," Shauna and James say at the same time. They look at each other and smile.
"Do you have cake?" Uriah asks, a thoughtful look on his face, and everyone in the room bursts out laughing. "Hey, I'm serious." He actually looks hurt.
"Yes, we do have cake," I say. "I can't guarantee it's as good as what the chef's make, but I think it's pretty darn good if I don't say so myself." I was craving chocolate and cherries something fierce last night, so after we put the kids in bed, I begged my husband to go to the commissary to get the ingredients to make a black forest cake. Just thinking about the scrumptious dessert makes my stomach growl and my mouth water.
"Well, in that case, count me in," he says, grinning from ear to ear. I roll my eyes. To him a city emergency would be if Dauntless ran out of cake.
"Okay," I say, chuckling along with everyone else. I follow Tobias into the hallway, and wait for everyone to follow us out. He secures the door behind us then we head to the apartment. I think about what we can quickly serve but nothing comes to mind.
"What has you so quiet?" Tobias asks.
"What are we going to fix everyone?" I quietly ask.
"I asked Bridget to pick up the fixings for sandwiches, some chips, a veggie tray, a fruit tray, and some drinks before she and the kids left for the park."
"Look at you thinking ahead," I say, bumping my shoulder against his arm.
"I do what I can," he says.
"What if I had wanted to go to the cafeteria?"
"Then we would have had a hell of a lot of leftovers," he says with a deep chuckle as he drapes his arm across my shoulders and pulls me against his side. A sigh escapes when I feel his lips in my hair. "You sound tired."
"I am," I say. "I can't wait to sit down."
"Stay home this afternoon," he firmly says.
"No," I say, just as firmly.
"Tris," he starts but I interrupt.
"Baby, I need to work. I want to work." He sighs loudly but doesn't argue. I have a feeling this conversation isn't over.
"Why don't we eat on the roof?" he asks when we enter the apartment with our friends.
"I texted Zeke," Shauna says. "He will be here in a few. He's bringing Avery and Callen with him. Do you need help taking stuff upstairs?"
"That would be great," I say. We all gather into the kitchen, and I hand out the lunch fixings.
"Hey, Shauna, tell Zeke to lock the door behind him when he gets here. I left it open for them," Tobias says.
"Okay," she says as she disappears up the stairs. I pick the sack Bridget left on the island that's full of disposable plates and cups up and head after our guest. "Baby, can you get the drinks?"
"Sure," he mutters. I look over my shoulder at him and frown. Looks like he's itching for a fight. Great. I decide to ignore his surly attitude and head upstairs to tend to our guests. They're just like family and are already making themselves at home. Once I reach the rooftop dining room, I unpack the sack and make sure everyone has what they need before making myself a plate. I sit down on the loveseat next to Christina and rest my feet on the edge of the fire pit.
"How are you doing?" she asks. "Are the babies moving yet?" Her question surprises me. Since her relationship problems with Will over not being able to conceive, she hasn't really wanted to talk about my pregnancy. It hurts a little but I understand.
"Yeah," I say, mindlessly running a hand over my tummy. "I've felt them for a couple weeks now. Since the kids found out, they want to sit on my lap and see if they can feel them, too. It's hard for them to understand I'm feeling them on the inside and not the outside. Tessa even asked if I ate them, which she asked about Teags. And that led to a totally different conversation about how the babies got in my tummy for, oh, the hundredth time." We both laugh.
"I remember Tyler asking that question when we went swimming," she says. "Are you still giving the same answer?"
"Yes," I say. "And I dread the day that I have to give a more detailed answer."
"Yeah, me too," she says.
"Here you go," Tobias says. I turn my head to look up at him and find a glass of soda in my face.
"Oh! Thanks," I say, taking the cup from him.
"Do you need anything else?" he gruffly asks.
"No," I say. Even though he's upset, he's still taking care of me. "I'm good." He grunts then walks away.
"What's up with him?" Christina asks.
"He wants me to stay home this afternoon, and I don't want to," I say.
"You don't need to be there, you know," she says. I raise an eyebrow at her. "There's more than enough people monitoring the initiates. You should stay home. I can tell you're tired."
"You sound just like him," I grumble.
"Then what's the problem?" she asks and I sigh.
"I'm afraid people are going to start thinking I'm not pulling my weight around here," I quietly mumble. "I just missed two weeks of work. Hell, I'm always missing work for one reason or another."
"If I remember correctly, you worked from home while your kids were sick," she says.
"He's paying you to say these things, isn't he?" She throws her head back and laughs obnoxiously loud. My face goes bright red, feeling numerous eyes on us.
"What's so funny?" Zeke calls from across the roof, obviously wanting to get in on the action.
"Nothing," I say before Christina can answer. "We're good. There's nothing to see over here." This causes her to laugh even harder. "Will you stop it?"
"You're funny," she says, wiping tears from her eyes as I roll mine. I get up with a huff and take her empty plate from her. "Come on, Tris. Don't be mad."
"I'm not," I gruffly say as I gather up more trash from the area and head downstairs to dispose of it. I lean against the counter and take a couple deep breaths. I jump when a body presses against mine but immediately relax when Tobias' arms wrap around me.
"Are you okay?" he asks, still not sounding quite like himself. I rest my head against his chest and take a deep breath.
"Mm-hm."
"Love, I want you to listen to me," he says. My body tenses and he gently turns me to face him. He places a finger under my chin and lifts my gaze to his. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I know you are an intelligent woman who can make her own decisions. That being said, you are exhausted and emotional." I open my mouth to disagree but the look he gives me shuts my mouth. Am I really being unreasonable about this? Tears prick the back of my eyes, and I blink a few times, not letting them manifest. Shit! I guess I am overly emotional and didn't even know it. I hate not being myself. He runs his hand through my hair then cups my cheek. I automatically lean into his touch. "What do you want to do?" Different scenarios run through my mind as I stare up into my handsome husband's face, and he shakes his head as a grin turns up his lips. I recognize the gleam in his eyes, desire. "Tris, we definitely don't have time for that."
"You're the one who asked what I want," I mutter with a mock pout. "We could disappear for a few minutes into the powder room. Nobody'd miss us." I run a finger down his chest and he grabs my hand. He gently kisses my wrist before letting me go.
"As good as that sounds, and believe me, it does, I wasn't lying about not having enough time," he roughly says. "Not to mention we have a house full of people including Zeke, so unless you want him teasing you mercilessly, please stop looking at me that way."
"I hate fighting with you," I murmur with a frown.
"I didn't realize we were fighting."
"Oh, come on, Tobias," I say. "I know you better than anyone else. You were pissed I don't want to stay home this afternoon. I don't want to be home all alone. I want to be with you. Plus, I don't want anyone thinking I'm not pulling my weight. My job is important to me. I've already backed my duties off to the bare minimum. I don't want to quit. At least right now I don't. And if I keep missing work when I don't really need to, I might as well."
"I don't want you to quit, either. You're my right hand. I don't know what I would do without you," he says then sighs. "Will you at least sit down and rest instead of ushering in the initiates?"
"I'll gladly sit down in between getting the initiates," I say. "Otherwise, I would be extremely bored sitting there trying to figure out what fears they have based solely on their actions. I've made it into a game but, seriously, if I have to just sit there, I'd want to pull my hair out."
"Fine," he says. "And you're right. I was angry. But in my defense, I just want you to be comfortable. You looked miserable right before lunch."
"Well, my feet were hurting," I say. "But they're fine now."
"You should have said something," he says, frowning. "I would have let you sit longer. Do you have more comfortable shoes?"
"Actually, these aren't that bad. I'm just not used to being on my feet so much. It's been a while. Plus, I'll be sitting more this afternoon. Don't worry."
"I always worry," he says right before he softly presses his lips to mine. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him down to my level, and we gently explore each other's mouths. He backs away with a sigh and rests his forehead against mine.
"I love you so much."
"I love you, too," he says.
"I'm coming down now," Zeke calls out from upstairs, loudly. "If clothes are off, for God's sakes, put them back on."
"Shut up, you idiot," Tobias hollers.
"I just don't want to have to disinfect my eyes again," he says as he descends the stairs, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Although it wasn't nearly as painful as catching you two … in the act." His entire body exaggeratingly shivers, and Tobias walks over and punches him in the shoulder.
"Cool it," he gruffly says. "We were just talking."
"No, you were being all mushy," he says, rubbing his shoulder. "I could hear you." He tries imitating how we talk. "'I love you, Four. Not as much as I love you, Tris. Smoochy, smoochy.'" He gags. "We all know you love each other." Smoochy, smoochy!
"I can't believe you just said that!" I burst out laughing. "You're such a dork."
"What did my husband do now?" Shauna says as she comes down the stairs.
"He's just being his irritating self," Tobias mumbles.
"I'm not irritating," Zeke says, obviously offended. Everyone looks at him skeptically. "Okay. Maybe just a little bit."
"We all love you anyway," Shauna says, wrapping an arm around his neck and smacking a kiss on his cheek.
"We better get back to the fear landscape room," Tobias says.
"No fair!" Uriah exclaims as he stomps into the kitchen, looking around. "I didn't get any cake!"
"Would it kill you to miss dessert at one meal, bro?" Zeke asks.
Uriah shoots him a look that says, "What do you think?"
"You could have asked earlier, Uri," I say, rolling my eyes. I get the cake out of the fridge and put a large dollop of whipped cream on it.
"That looks awesome," he says, his tongue practically lolling out of his mouth.
"Anyone else want a piece?" I ask as I hand Uriah the large slice. A couple yeses echo throughout the apartment, and I take a slice for myself after dishing out the others.
"We really need to get going," Tobias says.
"I'm ready," I say around a mouthful of cake. It doesn't take us long to get back to the fear landscape room. I am fully expecting to sit on one of the uncomfortable stools but am only slightly surprised to find a comfortable-looking chair tucked away in the corner. My eyes find Tobias' across the room and I smile widely. I mouth, "Thank you," and he winks. I wonder when he had time to do this. Knowing him, he called maintenance before we broke for lunch.
"So, who's up first?" Tobias asks getting back into character for the afternoon.
"Gregor and Eden," Brody says, reading from the schedule. "After that is Desiree and Jeremy. Based on the remaining times, it shouldn't be too long of an afternoon."
"Hopefully," Shauna says. We all silently agree with her. I note the time and step out into the hallway to retrieve the one Dauntless-born and one transfer.
"Gregor! Eden!" I call out. They abruptly stand and follow me into the room. I can feel nervous energy rolling off both of them. This routine continues two after two through the remaining transfers and Dauntless-born until I step out into the hallway for the last time and call for the final two initiates of the day. "Hector! Oliver!" Oliver jumps to his feet before his name pasts my lips like he's been waiting on baited breath for it all day but Hector takes his sweet time getting to his feet. He stretches his arms over his head and yawns widely then pushes past Oliver at a leisurely gait into the fear landscape room. Oliver in turn pauses and motions for me to go before him and I sigh.
"Get in here initiate," Tobias growls noticing the chivalrous but unnecessary behavior geared towards me. "We don't have all day." Oliver's eyes immediately drop to the floor, and he quickly moves past me. I shake my head as I close the door behind me then drop into the chair. I'll have to remember to properly thank Tobias for it tonight. If I needed another chair at home, I'd gladly take this one.
"Hector, you're up first," Brody says. "Oliver, you can stand by the wall out of the way until you're needed." I watch Uriah ready the injection, feeling eyes on me. I look up expecting Tobias to be looking at me but he's leaning over the console pointing out something to Shauna and James. I look around but don't see anyone paying me any attention so I guess that I'm just nervous being this close to Oliver. I try to avoid him as much as possible because he just rubs me the wrong way.
I turn my attention to the middle of the room and watch as Hector's eyes glaze over as he becomes lost in simulation. I should have looked at his initial data to see if I could match up the fears with his actions. It's quite interesting to see how the initiates look when they're lost to the real world. It makes me wonder exactly how I look when I'm in my fear landscape.
I'm thinking about my fears when I get that niggling feeling of being watched. This time I look up and meet Oliver's gaze. His eyes widen when he's caught.
"Can I help you?" I ask softly enough not to interrupt the proceedings in the middle of the room.
"No, Tris," he says. I decide not to draw any more attention to his rude behavior if he stops staring but if he doesn't, he might be searching for his testicles in his throat.
"You just bested yourself by 23 seconds, Hector," Ana says when he comes out of his simulation, looking at the clock. "Great job. Oliver, you're up." I watch as Shauna follows her little brother out into the hallway. When it looks like their conversation turns into a disagreement, I give them some privacy and walk up to Tobias.
"Anything newsworthy?" I ask. He's making notations in Hector's file. I lean in closer to him and lower my voice. "Divergent?"
"Nah," he says, shaking his head. "He just got past his fears quicker than anyone else."
"How many does he have?" I ask.
"13," he says.
"Wow," I murmur. That seems like a lot, especially for his time.
"Hey guys," Tobias says, getting James, Shauna, and Will's attention. I didn't see Shauna come back in. She's looking troubled. "After Oliver's finished, we'll retire to my office to finalize the ranking list. We'll break for supper after that. And don't forget we moved up the choosing ceremony to 7:30 instead of 8:00."
"I'm glad we did," Shauna says. "I'm exhausted."
"Me too," I say. "You want my chair for a while?"
"No, Tris," she says.
"Everything okay with Hector?" She furrows her brows. "Things looked tense in the hallway."
"He's changed since initiation started," she says with a shrug. "I thought maybe that would change after today but he's still as arrogant as ever. It's like he's turning into Mom. Or Dad. I still can't believe he's out there, and we don't know what he wants. Sorry. I didn't mean to bring that whole mess up."
"You can always talk to me, Shauna. You know that," I say. "But you might want to talk to Four. He's been in your shoes, literally. I can't imagine what it's like to grieve someone for years only to have them show back up on your doorstep. He doesn't talk about Evelyn very much with me but maybe it's because I can only empathize with him. This is something you two have in common. Lean on him. Hell, tell Lynn and Hector that they can lean on him, too."
"That is a good idea," she says. "I better get back to the sim. Thank God it's the last one. I'm tired of this shit. If he's scared of clowns, I'm kicking him in the nuts." A giggle escapes before I can cover my mouth with my hand and Tobias turns with furrowed brows. Oops! Busted!
I plop down in my comfy chair and stare out the window, not wanting to watch Oliver go through his landscape. My mind wanders over the day and to what we have left to do this evening when a roar startles me to my feet. I immediately move to Tobias' side, knowing that the strangled noise came from my husband and not the stone-still initiate in the center of the room. I feel all eyes on me, and I can't help but wonder what the hell is going on.
"Why the hell didn't someone tell me about this?" Tobias growls nastily. I've seen him angry before but I can honestly say I've never seen him like this … ever. His whole body is rigid but shaking. His fisted hands give new meaning to the phrase white knuckled. In contrast, his neck and ears are cherry red and getting brighter by the moment. His chest is aggressively seesawing back and forth. I gently place my hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but he just brushes me off, and I step back, hurt. What is going on here? Christina moves beside me and drapes her arm across my shoulders. I look up and see guilt. Guilt?
"What the hell is going on, Christina?" I quietly mumble, making sure I don't interrupt the simulation.
"Come out into the hallway with me," she whispers. "I'll explain what I can." I look at Tobias' seething body and don't want to leave him. "We'll just be right outside so we can talk freely."
"Okay," I say and let her lead me into the quiet hallway. I angle myself so I can keep my eyes on Tobias at all times and once again say, "What the hell is going on? I need to know. Now."
"Well, you are in Oliver's fear landscape. His greatest fear actually," she says. After that nugget of information seeps into my brain, I drag my eyes to Christina's face. There it is again, guilt.
"What do you mean, I'm his greatest fear? Like he's scared of me? I don't understand."
"No, it's not like that," she says with a sigh. She's quiet for a moment then continues. "He's afraid of losing you, Tris."
"Losing me?" I question, my mind reeling. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm not a psychiatrist or psychologist so I don't know this for a fact but I'd say he's crazy."
"Explain, Christina," I impatiently say not understanding her in the least.
"In the simulation, you and he are a couple, and he is terrified you will go back to Four." Laughter explodes from my gut, doubling me over when I hear this absurdity.
"That's ridiculous," I say, tears streaming down my face. I can't stop laughing.
"I'm glad you find this so funny," Tobias growls from the doorway, Brody, Ana, and Uriah on his heels.
"It is funny, baby," I say, wiping the tears off my cheeks. I'm still chuckling. "Like I would ever leave you for Oliver." He doesn't say a word. I look at him, and I mean really look at him, but he won't look my way, not even a glance. This immediately sobers me.
"I want to know right this instant why I wasn't warned about this," Four says. Our friends look at each other but don't answer his question. "Brody? Ana? He's your initiate. Why wasn't this brought to my attention? There is an initiate who is obviously obsessed with my wife and I wasn't clued in." Looking at how flustered Brody, Ana, Uriah, and Christina are and how pissed Tobias is, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm missing something. "You really have nothing to say to me?" He shakes his head disappointingly.
"We talked about telling you what was going on after a week of practice simulations," Brody finally says, "but we honestly thought his sims would change. When they didn't, Ana and I didn't know how to tell you."
"It's just a simulation, Four. Tris didn't leave you," Uriah says. "We didn't think it would be such a big deal for you."
"So, if you had to watch Marlene … screwing another man you wouldn't think that was a big deal?" he spits.
"What?" No wonder he won't look at me. Fear simulations seem very real in the moment. For him, it's like I actually cheated on him, which I would never do. I groan when Oliver exits the fear landscape room and his eyes roam my body. For him, it's like we just had sex. No wonder he's always staring at me. I actually feel dirty. When Tobias catches Oliver checking me out he lunges at him, a murderous look on his twisted face. Thankfully Brody and Uriah catch him.
"Get the fuck out of here," Christina screams at Oliver. "Now!" He finally moves his eyes up to mine and gives me a chilling smile. If I wasn't frozen in confusion, I'd recoil in fear. Right now, in this moment, he doesn't remind me of Al one bit. It's almost like he's channeling Peter.
"Now, initiate," Ava forcefully states, "before you find yourself factionless!" He whips his head to her, glaring, but finally does as she asks and leaves.
"I'm not happy with any of you right now," Tobias says, shaking off Brody and Uriah's firm grips. He stomps off away from us.
"Baby!"
"Not now, Tris," he says, without a glance back. "I need some time." My heart twists painfully, and I collapse to the floor.