Disclaimer: I don't own divergent.
Beatrice Prior, Monday, December 21st, The apartment, 9:14 am
I apply a thin layer of concealer under my eyes, covering up the puffy skin there. I glance at the tube of makeup I'm holding in my hand, unable to look in the mirror, knowing one glance in the mirror would lead to another breakdown.
Walking out of the bathroom, I grab one of Tobias' hoodies that are only slightly too big for me and pull it over my head. I sling one arm through my bag and grab my keys and phone as I head out the door.
The ten-minute walk to work feels almost like an eternity, my thoughts are still stuck on the fact that Mum is in the hospital. I managed to talk to Caleb today, he's now putting forty percent of his income towards helping Mum.
I can't help but feel like I'm not doing enough for mum, I read a few articles, and it turns out the disease mum has many ways of starting, but one of the main ways are stress build up over the years, how can that not be my fault?
My stomach grumbles as I sigh, I know by doing this I'll be sacrificing tonight's dinner, but my stomach demands food so I enter the nearest bakery and I purchase the cheapest thing that will fill me up, which happens to be a chocolate croissant.
I find myself walking slower than normal, I hesitate as I walk through the doors of CPD a few minutes later, knowing Tobias will be here and he'll see right through me. I can't say that asking Tobias for help hasn't crossed my head a few times, but I just can't.
I've learnt to walk alone, I've learnt to deal with my grief and sadness, how to give a fake but convincing smile, how to put myself back together. I just can't open myself up and expose my biggest secrets, but now my mother's life is on the line.
"Hey, babygirl, what's wrong?" Tobias' deep voice inquires, with my mind occupied, I hadn't realised I was subnconsciously walking to the office. I finally let my eyes meet Tobias' own eyes.
Concern swims in the deep blue iris' of Tobias orbs, he walks towards me and engulfs me into his arms. I melt into his embrace immediately and it takes all I have to not sob into his chest.
"Hey, it's okay, I've got you, sweetheart," Tobias whispers as his hand's thread through the strands of my hair. I feel him rest his head onto my own that's tucked into his chest. I take deep breaths, so I don't make a fool of myself and do something stupid like cry.
"Mum's in the hospital," I mumble as I move to face him, he frowns as he caresses my cheek gently.
"How about we go see her tonight after work? And then we'll go out tomorrow," He says quietly. I nod, just being around him seems to calm me. He gives me a small smile as he places a hand on my shoulder, "Is this my hoodie?"
Beatrice Prior, same day, The office, 1:58 pm
"I just came back from walking the dog, I just put his collar away in the draw and then I heard glass break and loud noise, like a body falling," The girl tells us, "I called dad and told him to come home because something bad had happened."
"I then immediately called the police and then the cop, Christina told me to come to you two and tell you what happened," She finishes off.
I scribble down all the notes that I found most important. The girl looks no older than seventeen, she has honey-blonde hair like mine and her face is so pale I'm sure she'll throw up soon.
"Thanks, Katie, how about you have some water and sit outside, your father has just arrived, so we're going to talk to him and then we'll tell you what we're going to do," Tobias informs her.
She gives us a small smile as she exits the room. I sigh as I lay my head on Tobias' shoulder, undoubtedly, I feel better compared to how I felt this morning, but overall, I just feel drained.
Tobias kisses the top of my head as he rubs my shoulder gently, in a comforting way. He hasn't bought up my pathetic excuse of makeup that was supposed to cover up my red blotchy eyes and for that, I'm extremely thankful, he also hasn't treated me with any pity.
A knock on the door makes me jolt up wich causes Tobias to laugh, he goes to open the door, and the father of the girl comes in and takes a seat.
"Who shot my wife?" He questions, banging his hands on the table, demanding answers.
"Mr Smith, take a seat," Tobias says, calmly," We don't know who shot your-" Tobias pauses in his sentence, we share a knowing look as he continues, "Mr Smith, where were you at the time of your wife's death?"
I take my phone and exit the room as Tobias continues asking Mr Smith about his whereabouts at the time of the murder. I dial Christina's number, she picks up almost immediately.
"Hey Chris, just wanted to ask, if the weapon the woman was killed with been identified yet?" I inquire.
"Yeah, just now actually, it was a gun, she was shot."
That was all the proof I needed, I thank Chris and tell her that we've caught the murderer and put down the phone. I walk back into the office with a pair of handcuffs.
"Mr Smith, you are under arrest for ht murder of Mrs Smith."
Beatrice Prior, same day, Chicago hospital-Natalies room, 6:25 pm
"How did you know it was him?" Mum asks as she takes another bite of the subway Tobias bought her for dinner.
As he said, Tobias and I went to see mum after work ended, he stopped at Subway and bought dinner for himself, mum, dad, me and Caleb who just arrived. Currently, Tobias and Caleb have stepped out of the room so Caleb can give him the whole 'big brother speech' he rehearsed
"Well, when he came in he asked who shot his wife, but when his daughter called him she never mentioned anything about a gun, I had my suspicions but I wasn't sure, so I called Chris and asked what weapon was used."
"She said her and Will had just discovered that the weapon was a gun, so I arrested him, and when I explained why I did what I did, he couldn't think of an excuse fast enough. After that Will found his fingerprints on the gun, turns out he had booked a flight to get out of the country tonight, thankfully we were able to arrest him before he could get away."
"That's my little girl," Dad grins as he kisses my forehead. I smile as mum and him both congratulate me on solving the case.
We chat about dad and mums day as mum shows me all the knitting she got done. Dad excuses himself from the room to check in Caleb and 'Four' who have been gone for quite a while.
"What's bothering you, my sweet girl?" Mum asks, she takes my hand gently and places it in between both her hands, "Is it Four?"
I shake my head, "No mum, it isn't Four, I'm just," I trail off. I'm just worried about her, she seems to understand this as she wraps her arms around me and pulls me towards her. I lie on the bed as she caresses my hair gently.
Mothers love surrounds me, as if it was sheltering me from the world. The scent of vanilla wafts in the air instantly eradicating all my worries as her hand rakes through my hair giving me a sense of comfort.
"Trissy, your ice cream was melting so I had to eat a bit," Caleb announces as he, dad and Tobias all walk back with a cone of ice cream. Dad passes mum a cone of boysenberry ice cream.
Caleb grins as he passes me a cone of slightly eaten cookies and cream ice cream. I give him a pout as he goes to defend himself, "Hey, It was Four too." Tobias raises a brow as he gives me an innocent smile while he eats his own ice cream.
Beatrice Prior, Tuesday, December 23rd, Fancy bar, 7:23 pm
"Alright, would you rather read/ watch a book or movie?" Tobias asks.
I bit my lip gently,"Books, they're so much better than films," I confess. Tobias raises a brow but nods in agreement.
"Did I tell you how beautiful you looked?" Tobias questions. My cheeks tint red as I look at myself. I'm wearing one of Chris' mid-thigh rose gold V neck spaghetti strap dresses that she forced me into wearing, while my hair is down in loose curls.
"You don't look too bad yourself," I tease, gesturing to his buttoned-up dark blue shirt and jeans. He gives me one of his sexy smile as I snack on a few chips that came on the side of my meal.
Today ended up being a much better day for me, and like Tobias mentioned yesterday, he took me on a date. I ended up eating one of the best burgers at this bar as well as spending time and playing would you rather with Tobias.
Mum was released from the hospital early this morning, though, I still haven't had time to see her today, so I assume the next time I'll see her is the morning of Christmas day at her's and dad's house.
Speaking of Christmas, Dad and Mum invited Tobias over as well. I can't help but smile, he's made such a great impression on my parents, he even managed to become friends with Caleb.
"What's going on in that beautiful mind of yours?" Tobias inquires, breaking me out of my thoughts, I give him a small smile as I shake my head, silently telling him it was nothing important.
Tobias managed to perswade me into sharing a slice of cake with him as a desert, but after that, we decided to call it a night. I can feel the exhaustion of this week catching up to me as I fight to keep my eyelids open.
Tobias seems to realise this as he wraps an arm around my waist, steadying me while I lean onto his slightly. We walk to his car, and as soon as I get in I feel my eyelids droop as my body falls into unconscious sleep.
I don't know how long it's been but I hear Tobias mumble something, given my mostly asleep state, I can't make out what he's saying but I seem to mumble some sort of answer before I fall asleep for the night.
Beatrice Prior, Wednesday, 24th December,Tobias' apartment, 6:23 am
As I awake, I'm suddenly aware of the thick warm duvet covering me. One of my eyes open as I glance around, observing my surroundings. The first thing I notice is the dark grey walls, that instantly make me feel safe.
My other eye opens as I pull myself into a sitting position. I'm still wearing yesterdays dress as well as one of Tobias' large hoodies that go down to my mid-thighs. My shoes are no longer on my feet but scattered on the floor.
The bed I'm laying on looks large enough to be a king-sized bed, its placed in the middle of the room against the back wall, leaving plenty of space in the room, but not enough for it to feel empty.
I suddenly realise I must be in Tobias' guest bedroom. I vaguely remember falling asleep in the car on the way home, he must have just taken me back to his house. I try not to overthink the situation as I get out of bed.
I quickly take off his hoodie and remove my uncomfortable dress underneath before putting his hoodie back on. I peek outside the door. The light's are all off, so I come to the conclusion he's still asleep.
Making sure I'm quiet, I creep out of the guest bedroom and walk over to his kitchen in search of some water.
"Tris?"
I look at Tobias who seems to be doing the same thing I'm doing. He has a half-filled bottle of water clutched in one of his hands. He's wearing shorts and a sleep shirt, he has the purest expression on his face and I have to pry my eye off him so i can answer him.
"I was just hoping to get some water," I tell him, my voice suddenly becoming a shy whisper. He nods and opens his fridge and takes out a bottle of water for me. Quenching my thirst, I drown the bottle.
I look at him and his stance looks somewhat unseasy, I raise a brow as he rubs the back of his neck, "Can we talk?" He asks. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as my blood runs cold.
I can't help but feel slightly nauseous as I nod and we walk to the living room. All the possible things he could say flood into my mind. I can feel my heart beat pounding in my ears, it's a relief when i sit down on the sofa because with my legs shaking, I was sure I'd trip.
My hand makes it's way to my mouth as I nibble on a nail, it's a bad habit I've always had since childhood, though, it's gotten better as I've aged, now instead of biting my nails all the time, I only do it when I'm nervous.
"Yesterday was great," He starts off. I'm not sure if it was the way he phrased it or the fact that he's mentioning it that makes me feel as if I'm not getting enough oxygen. I dumbly nod as he continues.
"I really love our dates, you were so tired, but," he hesitates. But. that word brings a fresh wave of panic. I feel completely naked in front of him like I've exposed myself too much and depending on his next words I'll either walk out of here with tears on my face or a smile, my heart is in his hand and that scares me the most.
"I- I'm just going to say this, there's so easier way to say it than to spit it out." He stutters. I notice his adam apple bobbing, he runs a hand through his hair as he finally makes eye contact with me for the first time since he started talking to me.
"I didn't realise you were sleeping and I needed to get you home so I asked you where you lived." Oh no. Realisation hits me, as bile rises up my throat, I know what he's going to say, but I refuse to believe what he's implying until he says it.
"I went to your apartment."
A/N I hope you liked this chapter, sorry for posting it later than I usually do. Thanks to those of you who followed and liked and a special thank you to those of you who reviewed.
I want to thank pjo4ever for leaving a suggestion for what to include in upcoming chapters, I'll make sure to incorporate your idea in some way!
Online school starts in 2 days, so that might mess up my posting schedule, but I'll try not to let it.
I've planned out most of the next chapter, but if you guys have any ideas please let me know in the reviews. Please review and tell me what you want more of. Make sure to wash your hands, stay safe and be kind. Until next time,
-Divergent31