Disclaimer: I don't own divergent.
Beatrice Prior, Monday, 28th December, CPD Training room, 3:23 pm.
"Next fight, Peter vs Christina"
I smile at my best friend as she steps onto the mat for her fight. Uneasiness lingers in the air as we all watch.
Every three months, a woman named Jeanine comes to the CPD, every detective and officer has to fight with an opponent that's randomly chosen, Jeanine will then use the results from our fight to make customised vitamins or something like that.
I watch Peter grab a fistful of Chris' hair and I wince. Despite my unwillingness to Eric, Max told him that it was mandatory. Rules are rules, he and I must fight until one of us cannot g on, and for the sake of results, we must try our hardest.
Will comes to stand next to us, after his match with Myra she was deposited to the infirmary, she wasn't too badly injured, but still required a basic check-up, just in case. I can tell from Will's expression that guilt overwhelms him.
"Tris vs Eric," Amar calls out. I watch Peter hoist Christina's limp body out of the ring. The thought of him laying a single hand on her makes my stomach churn.
We both walk onto the mat and get into our fighting positions. Anyone could tell Eric has the upper hand, it doesn't take a specialist to see Eric has almost double the strength and hight that I do. This fight isn't evenly matched, but right now that doesn't matter, all that matters is that we try our hardest and at the end, one of us is declared the winner.
Max starts the fight, but neither of us makes a move, both waiting for the other to strike first. I finally make the move, a swift jab to his gut. He stumbles back slightly at the unexpected strike.
I can't say I expected him to hit me so hard, my body slams into the foam clad floor. It takes me a second, but I'm back on my feet. Eric goes to throw a punch, but as his body shifts forward, I duck and drive my fist into his stomach, right over his bellybutton.
Before he can get his hands on me, I slip past him, my hands up, ready for his next attempt. This seems to enrage him. His arm twitches and pain stabs my jaw and spreads across my face, making my vision go black at the edges and my ears ring. I blink and lurch to the side as the room dips and sways. I don't remember his fist coming at me.
Shaking my head gently, I face him and thrust my leg into his ribs. He grunts as he puts some distance between the two of us. So far, I would call this fight even, but that changed as soon as he made his next move.
He grabs my hair with one hand and punches me in the nose with the other. This pain is different, less like a stab and more like a crackle, crackling in my brain, spotting my vision with different colours, blue, green, red.
I refuse to go down like this so I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with air. I block his next punch with my forearm. The blow stings, but I barely notice it. I go to punch him in the temple, but I must have been predictable because he ducks, fortunately, I manage to get a good punch to his eye.
He shoves me and I drop to the floor. I see his foot coming towards me and yank it. He falls as I have and now we're both on the ground. Something slams into my side and it slams into my side again, and I can't see anything at all, not even whatever is right in front of my face.
The lights go out.
Beatrice Prior, The same day, CPD Infirmary, 4:56 pm
"A brave man acknowledges the strength of others."
"A brave man never surrenders."
I breathe out quietly as my eyes slowly open. The edges on my eyes are blurry, but I can see three distinct figure standing in front of me. Blinking again, my vision clears up. I can see Eric, Tobias and Max talking at the end of my bed.
Eric seems to be sporting a few colourful bruises from our fight, although, I can assume I don't look very good either. I gaze down at my arm that seems to be the source of throbbing pain.
"Tris."
Tobias moves over towards me, he sits on the side of the bed. His hand gently caresses my cheek as I move slightly towards him, melting into his hand. My shoulders and ribs ache, but besides that and a minor headache, I'm fine.
"We'll continue this conversation later," Max tells Tobias and Eric, he gives me a small smile, "You're one tough cookie, Tris," He teases and then exits the room.
Tobias moves slightly, "Let's go home."
Beatrice Prior, Tuesday, 29th December, Tobias' apartment, 6:23 pm.
"How are the bruises?"
Tobias passes me my plate as he takes a seat next to me. We decided to sit outside on the balcony tonight. Even though it's been a full twenty-four hours since the fight with Eric, I'm still slightly sore in places.
"Mostly fading," I tell him, "That stuff you gave me is helping," I say, referring to the cream he gave me.
We sit in a comfortable silence as we both eat our food, enjoying each others company. The sound of Tobias' phone ringing breaks the silence, giving me an apologetic smile, he goes to answer it.
"Hello?" He says, answering the phone, he pauses as the person on the other end replies. His eyes widen but then narrow, and with an aggressive tap, he ends the call. My curiosity gets the best of me, and I can't help but ask.
"Who was on the phone?"
"No one important," He grumbles. I take one of his clenched fists in my hand and gently rub it. I'm not quite sure who was on the phone, but I know Tobias will tell me when he's ready and I'll wait until then.
"Marcus, my father by blood, but he means nothing to me, he's a terrible man, whenever he calls it means something bad's going to happen," Tobias tells me, I can hear the hatred in his voice, "When I was younger, he would beat my mother, she died at his hand."
My words get stuck in my throat. I want to tell him I'm sorry, but I don't. There's no point, nothing will change, I don't pity him, but I do feel sympathy, I've dealt with an abuser. I give his hand a small reassuring squeeze and I can't help but feel warm all over when his lips twitch upwards slightly.
"When she was gone, I took her place as the next punching bag, I was eleven and beat me for two years before something happened. My mum's parents returned from England, they came to visit me and they found out about the abuse."
"My grandfather was a lawyer and managed to talk my father into letting them care for me, well," He pauses, and a ghost of a smile settles on his lips, "It would be more accurate to say he threatened my father. "
"My grandmother was a wonderful person, as was my grandfather, they made sure I was taken care of and gave me a home, something I was sure I'd never have, not after mum was gone. They both passed away a year ago."
"They raised you so well, Tobias," I tell him with the utmost sincerity, "Thank you for trusting me with this."
A grin spreads across his face as he moves to face me," You're amazing, you know that, right? You found out about Marcus..." His voice softens. "You aren't giving me that look. Like I'm a kicked puppy or something."
"Well," I say. "You're not."
We both stand up and walk inside. I rinse the dishes while he wipes the counters. I catch a glimpse of his smile when I turn. He grabs my hand and gently pulls me towards the sofa. We plop down and he grabs the remote starting the TV.
"Breaking news, David Turner, a fugitive has escaped jail, officials have confirmed that he is no longer in the country after taking a flight to Italy. Italian officials have been informed and the case is being investigated."
I freeze, my whole body tenses up like, I know Tobias is saying something, I just don't know what. My sight is unfocused and nothing will come out of my mouth, no matter how hard I try, it's like speaking is unfamiliar.
One thought comes to mind: I think I'm going to be sick.
I get up, rushing towards the bathroom, I can hear Tobias running after me, hot on his heels. Kneeling down, I empty my stomach into the toilet. I didn't need to see my reflection to know my cheeks were pale with a thin layer of sweat.
I slowly bring myself to look at him, his eyes are gentle and concerned, but they don't hold any pity. I can't find it in myself to say anything. He's back. David is back. He might not be in the country, but he will return at some point, and just the thought makes me nauseous.
Tobias' hand gently rubs my back, we sit in silence as I try to get my breathing back to normal. I know he's probably wondering what caused my reaction, and he's certainly not an idiot, I doubt he'd believe it was just a coincidence.
"I'm okay," I breathe out. I'm not sure if I'm trying to convince him or me. My mind keeps imagining David breaking out, revenge on me is unavoidable, I just hope when he finally decides to do it, I won't be alone.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tobias questions.
I shake my head no, and Tobias nods, not pushing me. He wraps his arms around me gently, my head rests on his shoulders, as I inhale his scent, the one that makes me feel safe, like I matter to someone.
Maybe I'll tell him someday.
Beatrice Prior, The dame day, My room, 11:46 pm.
Screaming. Struggling. Crying.
His face stains my mind, even in my sleep I can't get away from reality. I was back at mum's house, only I was years younger. David there and it was like history repeated itself. The worst thing was, it wasn't a nightmare, nightmares are scary dreams, dreams aren't real.
I'm aware of someone shaking me gently, and my eyes open. The cold air sticks to my tear-streaked cheeks, and even though I'm awake, it doesn't feel like it. My mind keeps replaying the memories I just relieved.
"Tris? What happened? You were screaming, was it a bad dream?" Tobias asks, his concerned eyes find my own.
I sit up gently, propping my back against the bed frame. I take in Tobias' appearance, his hair is tousled and it's obvious he just got up, after my screams disrupted his sleep. Shame paints my cheeks a dark red.
I haven't gotten nightmares for a while. When David kicked me out, I would always have nightmares, most nights I wasn't even able to get sleep. But when I started my training at the CPD, I stopped getting them, it was like I believed I was strong, strong enough to fight him if I had to.
"I'm scared," I admit, "I don't know why, I just am."
"It's okay, blondie, it was just a bad dream," Tobias says in a reassuring tone.
My fingernails dig into my palms, " You don't understand, it wasn't just a dream," I grit out. Unshed tears brim in my eyes, threatening to spill down my face. My teeth clench together as I try to calm myself.
"Then make me understand Tris, I'm here for you, how many times do I need to tell you that," He says, somewhat exasperated.
I bite my lip, he does have a valid point, I haven't told him anything,"I'm sorry," I choke out, tears out like water from a dam, spilling down my face. I feel him pull me close to him, my face goes in between his neck and collar bone.
When there are no tears left to cry, I force myself to look at him, I owe him an explanation.
Beatrice Prior, Wednesday, 30th December, Chris and Will's apartment, 1:47 pm.
"Mar, while you're in the kitchen, can you get me more crisps? Oh, and the gummy bears, they're on the counter."
I raise a brow at Chris as she yells for Marlene to get her more food. She gives me a small cheeky smile as she stuffs another crisp into her mouth.
Tobias gives my hand one last squeeze before walking over to the boys who are all sitting on the table, playing some sort of card game. Last night, after my nightmare, I spilt everything to Tobias.
I told him all about David, I told him about the neglect, verbal and physical abuse that I dealt with ever since I was twelve. I confided in him, and explained how he threw me out on my birthday, and then even told him about my financial struggle.
Saying I was mentally exhausted was an understatement.
Thankfully, Tobias was extremely supportive. He never even looked at me once like I was someone who needed to be pitied, instead, he looked at me with such respect, like instead of being damaged, I was a survivor.
I move to sit next to Chris as she passes me a crisp," Who are you and what did you do with Christina?" I ask her.
She rolls her eyes, "I could ask you the same thing, it's like you don't even remember our agreement, the one we made when we were drunk. It's the day before new years eve, Tris," She exclaims," We need to finish all the junk food before I make all my new year's resolutions."
I stifle my laugh, it's almost like a tradition with Christina. Every year, she makes a resolution to go on a strict no-fat food diet and eats all the junk food she can a few days before new years.
I don't even know why she does it, there's not an inch of fat on her, and even if there was, she'd look beautiful like she usually does. Marlene comes back and tosses a packet of gummy bears at Christina who catches it and happily munches on them.
The atmosphere in the room is calm like a protective bubble away from the cold harsh touch of reality. I sink back into the sofa as I take a gummy bear from Chris. Maybe I can't change the past, but the future is still moldable.
I wonder what the new year will bring.
A/N I hope you guys liked that chapter. Just wanted to say, if you PM'd me, I'm sorry if I have just replied, for some reason, my phone isn't letting me see half of them, so if you received a reply after 2 months, I'm sorry.
Thank you to everyone who liked and followed, and a big thanks to those of you who left reviews, I love reading them, they all mean so much to me and I'm so grateful that you take time out of your day to leave one.
The next chapter will be new years, I've planned a bit of it out, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm happy to include them.
I will update my other story. I'm just having a hard time writing the last chapter because I don't like any of my writing, but I will update in the next few days.
Make sure to wash your hands, stay safe and stay home. Please review and tell me what you thought. Until next time,
-Divergent31