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A Runaway Family

Chapter 7

Life as we know it is a lie

Tobias' POV

We drive down what appears to be a homeless neighborhood. I can't help but wonder if at first we took a wrong turn. We see some man made shelters and shopping carts that are being used to hold their belongings. Filthy men, women and children are everywhere that I look. I don't understand where we are. Why would Will send us here?

"Turn on that road ahead," Uriah says, pointing out the next road. I can hear the eagerness he has in his voice, no doubt wanting to get off of this sketchy road as much as I do. If anything we can always find another place to stay…

I turn at the next street as directed and continue for a few more blocks before turning into what appears to be an abandoned warehouse. What the hell is this place? I drive straight into the broken double doors like we were told to do so. The four of us all look dumbfounded at each other, not sure of what to do. I place the van in park and turn off the engine. Uriah and I both step out of the van, telling Tris and Marlene to stay put with the kids. I don't see anyone, I don't hear anyone, but something tells me that we are not alone. There is trash everywhere, I look and I swear I see a rat or two running away from us. What the fuck is this place?

"Hello?' I say, not too loud just in case, but my tone is anything like a whisper, I don't want anyone to think that we are pansycakes afterall. I finally see a young man with an eye patch step outside of the shadows.

"And who might you be?" He asks. His clothes although they have holes in them, they are at least clean and black. I'm surprised to see that he is freshly shaven and his hair is nicely cut. Although my eyes do fall on the shiny knife that he has in his hand. I stand at attention closest to the driver door, just in case. I watch as more homeless looking people come out of the shadows from behind are all carrying some sort of weapon. My heart drops in my stomach at the thought that my family has been placed into danger.

"Hey, hey, why don't we all just calm down, alright. We don't want any trouble," I say, firmly with both of my hands up in the air, showing that I'm not at all a threat to them.

"I won't ask you again?" The man says. Just as if things couldn't get any worse the driver's seat opens again, revealing Tris hoping down from the van to join me. I automatically push her body behind mine to shield her from the people approaching us.

"Tobias Eaton," I blurt out.

"Say that again," the man says, stepping a few feet back.

"Tobias Eaton," I repeat.

"What, you know him?" The man asks, gesturing towards me.

"I am him. I believe Theresa is expecting us," I say, as I watch all of the men and women lower their weapons, as if I just said a magical word.

"Go get Theresa," the man demands at someone over his shoulder.

It doesn't take long for the woman that they call Theresa to join in on the party. She apologizes almost immediately when she sees how we have been treated. With the call from Caldwell, Theresa and their leader thought it would be better to up the security on the whole place, which is also the reason why they have so many people outside to dull down appearances. Given the homeless appearance, they had hoped it would make this place safer for us. I'll give them that, they are probably right. Marcus and Eric would never think that we would allow our family to stay here.

We follow Theresa into the building, while keeping the kids nice and close to us. The minute we walk into the concrete hidden doors we are amazed instantly. The walls are clean and freshly painted. We continue to walk into what appears to be a large cafeteria mess hall with a large kitchen behind it. We attempt to walk through the large crowd right in the middle of it all, they all seem to be just talking to themselves and gathered around for no particular reason. Our eyes are drawn to the half broken down house that is sitting right dab in the middle of the newer building just right up ahead of us. The house looks like it was built in the 1800's. It has cement pillars that seem to be holding up the ceiling and there are wires that are hanging everywhere. There is wood all around the rooms that have a bunch of holes in it that seems to be patched up. There is dust and dirt everywhere it seems. Along with what is best described as broken down walls that seem to be rooms that different members are staying in. I can't help but wonder if there was some type of explosion that went off at one point in the past in this place? Some of the walls seem to be caved in, if not cracked. Each room that we walk past has a different decor within them. The whole place has a sort of creepy, uneasy feeling to it. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Ethan feels the same way, as he roars at the people that get a little too close to him for his liking. Maddy must feel the same way also, as she clings to her mother even tighter.

"What is this place?" Tris asks, looking all around, amazed at our surroundings.

"We specialize in making people disappear when they have to. People like yourselves, "Theresa explains as she continues up the few steps to the main door of the broken dirty house. She opens the door, allowing us in first. We walked into what I would imagine would be a living room, but it has been turned into a large office. It has a fireplace and the room has furniture in it that looks at least a decade old. "Take a seat. She'll be right with you," Theresa says, gesturing to the leather chairs and sofas. Uriah and Marlene both move to sit on the sofa, while looking around at the ancient house.

"She?" I ask, before taking a seat. Ethan busies himself with looking around, his hands are tucked under his armpits like a trex. It's a move that he hasn't made in a long time.

"Our leader. You will need to meet her," she continues. "Please help yourself to some water, if you want. She will be done shortly," she says as she makes her way up the stairs.

"Tobias, what the hell are we doing here, "Tris whispers, leaning into me.

"Yeah, I really don't like the look of things. We should go," Marlene jumps in, agreeing with Tris.

"We could at least see what they have to offer us. Where would we go if we leave now?" Uriah says. Before I can get my two cents in, we all shush as we hear the loud clacking of shoes coming down the stairs and towards us. We turn in our seats to see an older woman walking into the room. Only it's not just an older woman, it's a woman that has my dark hair and my hooked nose… A woman that I thought I would never see again. A woman I thought was murdered in cold blood, my mother.

"Tobias." My mother says, barely above a whisper. My breath hitches as I hear her voice, the same voice that used to read bedtime stories to me when I was just a little boy. I keep waiting for the punchline, something that tells me that this is all just another dream. She can't really be here, this can't be real. She's dead. I look around the room at the others all glancing between me and this ghost that used to be my mother.

"And you are?" My mother asks, glaring at the only woman that has ever stood by me. The one person that has ever shown me unconditional love. If my so-called mother is alive and from what I can see, she is …Well then she left me. She left her little boy alone with a monster. Did she even care about me? Before Tris can say anything, I finally snap out of my fogged state.

"This is my wife, Tris," I answer. Tris continues to glance between Evelyn and me, bewildered by the scene before her.

"Wife? Well...Well… Aren't you all grown up?" She says, lifting the same curious eyebrow that she used to when questioning me. It was always her way to get me to confess to something that I didn't want to. But I'm no child now. "And who must you all be?" She continues to question Uriah, Marlene, and the kids that are sitting still on the sofa towards the back of the wall.

"This is Uriah, Marlene…. And these are our two children Ethan and Maddy," Tris answers. I can see the skepticism that Tris has towards Evelyn. I don't blame her.

"Children… Funny, the boy looks nothing like you, Tobias," Evelyn says, coldly. My blood boils at her words. How dare she? "Is this the reason why you are on the run?" She continues.

"Tobias, what is going on?" Tris finally asks. I can hear in the tone of her voice that she wants some answers this time.

"Tris, this is Evelyn," I introduced them.

"Evelyn? But Evelyn's your-"

"My mother's name?" I say at the same time Tris says, "Your mother?"

"Yeah, she's supposed to be dead… Yet here she is standing before me in the flesh," I say coldly, gesturing towards Evelyn.

"Tobias… I can explain, "she begins, but I don't let her continue.

"Explain? Explain what Evelyn… That you faked your own death? That you left me with a crazed monster…" I say, letting my rage take control of me. Tris' soft hand on my arm stops me from continuing. I glance down at her, taking a deep breath to calm myself. She gestures towards the kids, telling me that now isn't the time or place for this. My lips press into a straight line, hating that I have to hold my tongue, but know that Tris is right. This isn't the place or time, not in front of the kids at least. Evelyn must catch on, as she glances back towards the kids and then back towards Tris and I.

"Uriah and Marlene is it?" She asks the two adults behind us. They both nod in response to her question. "There is a kitchenette back there, you can get the kids and yourselves something to eat before I show you to your rooms," Evelyn offers, pointing to the back door. Uriah and Marlene both nod at their cue to leave the room, leaving Tris and I alone with my mother.

I reclaim my seat, while slouching down defeated. This surely was the last thing I wanted to deal with right now. Tris takes her seat back, taking my hand in hers for support. I give her a small smile of appreciation for her being here.

"So what, you just faked your own death?" I ask calmly. Evelyn glances at Tris, she seems uncomfortable by my wife's presence.

"Tris, why don't you join the others… Get something to eat. You understand, this is a family matter," she says too cold for my liking. Fuck this!

"Tris is my wife. She is the mother of my children…She is my family. She stays," I say firmly.

"I'm not going anywhere," Tris throws in.

"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of her," I continue. I watch Evelyn's eyes glare quickly towards my wife, but then she quickly corrects herself as she takes her seat behind the large ancient desk and looks back towards me.

"Tobias, I needed to get out of there. I knew that if I didn't Marcus would have killed me sooner or later," she explains. She glances at Tris, contemplating on what to say…. "Tobias' father was very abusive. I knew the only way I would survive was to disappear completely," she explains to Tris.

"But you just left him there with him?" Tris accuses her, catching Evelyn off guard.

"I was very young," she tries to defend herself. "I was scared for my life."

"I get that. I do… I remember those nights when…" I stop my words dead cold, shaking my head trying to rid my thoughts of the memories that still haunt me till this day. I can't think about that right now, she just- "But you left me with him. Did you ever think about what would happen to me? And what, you just faked your death and pointed the finger at Marcus?" I continue to fire questions at this woman that I no longer know. I shake my head in disbelief at all of this. No wonder the man has it out for me. I helped put him away for a crime that he didn't even commit. "Were you betting on him to take the fall?"

"Tobias, you were a boy… Something that Marcus always wanted. I thought you would be safe with him. I had to fake my death… I had hoped that he would think that I was dead and that he wouldn't come looking for me. The woman that used to run this place, told me what to do…She took me in and helped me. How was I to know that Marcus would take the fall and that you would help put him away. Not that I wasn't happy that he was served some kind of justice." This is incredible, how selfish can she be? "And I'm still your mother," she says, but I see right through her.

"Really, my mother is dead. I went to the funeral," I say, coldly. Remembering the nights that I had mourned for her and wished that she would come back for me.

"I will help keep you in the shadows... Safe away from Marcus," she says, funny I almost believe her. I give Tris' hand that is still holding on to me a gentle squeeze before letting it go. I drap my arm over the back of her chair, leaning in towards her, not caring whether or not Evelyn can hear me or not. I don't give a damn.

"Tris," I say, getting my wife's attention. "We can't trust her. She will say anything-"

"We are on the same side Tris," Evelyn says, interrupting my words. I glance back at the woman that calls herself my mother, all I see is disappointment in her eyes. Well the feeling is mutual. "To keep both of you and the kids safe from Marcus and the other hooligan…" She says, glancing at the paperwork before her on her desk, "Eric." Tris glances between both me and Evelyn battling between not knowing which way is the right way for us all. "We will work together with the detectives on the case, work together to get Marcus and Eric put away where they belong…" She continues.

"And how do we do that?" I ask, once again watching her face caught off guard. "See how she conveniently leaves things out. Don't sit there and pretend to give a shit about my wife and my kids… This is about you getting your "justice." It has always been."

"Think about it, with all of the security that we have here...We can protect the children," she continues.

"Thank you for your hospitality, but we will be leaving as soon as we can get a new reassignment. I won't place my children in any danger."

"Tobias, please reconsider…They are my grandchildren for goodness sake," she begs. Just like that I snap. I slam my hand against her ancient looking desk, not caring that it may come crashing down on our feet. I see her, I see her for the woman that she truly is.

"Don't you call me that. My name is Four," I say, coldly. I stand making my way to the back of the house where Uriah, Marlene and our kids are. Evelyn quickly stands up from her chair at the same time that Tris does. Tris stands up speechless, she is not used to my sudden outburst.

"Alright, alright, Four… We will play by your rules if you wish," Evelyn says, but I can see the true reasoning in her eyes. Whatever it takes, I gotta get my family out of here by the morning. I won't have her playing her games with my wife and kids.

Tris' POV

From the moment I learned who Evelyn was, I wanted to get my children and my husband and leave this place. Just thinking of having to swallow anything that that vile woman says is almost too much for me to take right now. The thought of any woman who just ups and leaves and makes her own child believe that she is dead, just leaving him to fend for himself. Not to mention leaving him in the hands of that sadistic monster that beat him for so many years. I don't care what her excuse was… I was young, I was scared. I would have rather died or walked on a bed of nails before leaving my son alone with his biological father. Now here she is trying to cover up for doing just that.

I can see it in Tobias' eyes that he doesn't believe one word that she was telling him, but he decided to swallow her story for the sake of the kids. I would imagine that the first chance we get…We will be leaving this place and not looking back at all. The nerve of this woman.

I decided the best thing for everyone was to stay quiet while Evelyn was with us. She showed us to our rooms. I thought it was kinda odd when she had placed Uriah and Marlene in the room far down the hall from us, leaving us in the room right next to her's. But again I decided to keep my comments to myself.

Evelyn stayed outside in the hall, as Tobias opened the door letting me and the kids inside. Tobias stood at the entryway with Evelyn just outside the hallway, talking. They seem to be trying to keep their voices at a whisper for the children's sake, but I could hear every word that is being spoken.

"Tobias…I mean Four, are you sure about all of this? Being on the run... With kids, no less," Evelyn continues, "it's not safe for them."

"I think I know what's best for my family, Evelyn," he says. I can hear the hurt and hatred he has for his mother in his voice when he says her name.

"It's just… It sounds like this man Eric wants Tris… And Marcus, well we both know he just wants to hurt you. Maybe if they both get Tris, it will be enough for them and they will leave you and the children alone," she explains herself and I have to bite down on my lower lip to keep the words that threaten to burst through them. How dare she? 'I'm his wife, damn it. For her to think that he would just hand me over like I was a piece of meat. I continue to agree with my previous decision to keep my thoughts to myself. She's his mother after all, it's best that he deals with her.

"Excuse me?" Tobias asks, his voice filled with fury. I know my husband, he won't take her words lightly. "She is my wife, the mother of my children…"

"One child…The boy is not yours," she points out. That fucking ignorant bitch!

"Ethan is mine, I adopted him. He is just as much mine, as if he had my own blood," he says, between heavy panting. I know it's taking all of him to keep calm.

"Be as it may, your number one priority is Maddy. Tris and Ethan are replaceable," Evelyn continues to say. I swear if my children wouldn't be witnesses….

"That's enough," Tobias says angrily as he slams the door shut in her face, shaking the whole frame. It's then when I turn to see his face is redder than I have ever seen it before. He glances between me and the kids that are sitting on the floor all shook up by their father's actions. He tries to rein in his fury, not wanting to lose his control and scare them anymore than they already are. But I can see he is fighting the battle between punching a wall or punching his mother's lights out. I can say, I don't blame him though… I want to do the same thing to that stupid bitch. I close my eyes as tightly as I can, trying to calm myself down.

I may not agree with Evelyn's life choices, or her for that matter. But I know deep down that she has a point. I can't help but think about what happened yesterday in the park with Eric. His words, although they disgusted me, they were still tempting.

Flashback

"Oh come on, don't be like that. You never forget your first…" Eric says, joking. If only I could forget my first. I continue to stare off towards Uriah and the kids, refusing to look towards Eric.

"You know you might want to make this easier on everyone, Tris. Just give up and come with me…And we will leave that number guy and those two kids alone," he continues. I remain quiet, I know Eric… Anything that I have to say to him he wouldn't like, therefore it would just set him off. That would be the last thing I would want. "Just think about it…If you don't come with me you will force our hand. You wouldn't want that, now would you? I mean… Something like that could drive a person nuts. Just thinking about whether or not the lug nuts on the tires of your cargo van are tight. Or if the house that you're staying in is going to explode from a gas leak, or will I somehow get my hands on Ethan or that adorable little girl….

Flashback ends

I continue to work mindlessly while trying to keep the thought of walking away from my family to keep them safe, as I get the kids changed and into bed. We've been on the road since yesterday morning, not even stopping to sleep. We were all just determined to get as far as we could away from Eric and Marcus. We just took turns driving the van when someone got tired. I know that choice took a toll on all of us, but at least we are safe for now. I continue to work robotically, giving Ethan his medications and Maddy her last bottle before bedtime. I have them brush their teeth in the hallway bathroom while I look around for that wretched woman. I'm wordlessly daring her to mess with me in my mind. My eyes fall on Tobias as he continues to stand against one of the walls, seemingly lost in his own mind. At first I wonder if the walls in this shack are even strong enough to hold up his weight, as this whole place looks to be unstable as fuck. I'm thankful that I'm wrong. I know he has a lot of things to process in his mind right now. After all it was only two hours ago that he thought his mother was dead and buried, but here she is in the same house as us, living, breathing and never once did she come looking for him. I can't believe how such a selfless, loving man could come from those two horrific parents. Although I always knew and understood why Tobias was so closed off to love anybody when I first met him. Even though I hated the thought of him being with all of those women, I understood it was his way of not getting too close to anyone. Somehow meeting Evelyn and understanding that his mother should have been there to love him, protect him and cherish her own son… She didn't do any of that. She left him, whether it pained her or not to, she didn't bother to turn back and make sure that the monster that she left him with didn't abuse him just like he did to her.

I watch my beautiful children as they begin to fall asleep in their beds. The room is rustic to say the least, everything is really old and breaking, but still working enough to be used. The room is large, but has very minimal furniture. Just a large coffee table, a very old looking couch, a large king size bed on the floor and a stand up lamp. We put out Maddy's playpen again for her to sleep in and Ethan will be sleeping with Tobias and I. I did hesitate for a minute about not putting Maddy in her playpen, as I wanted to keep her close to us, but I thought against it, as Ethan tends to kick in his sleep and roll over everywhere. I would hate for Maddy to get hurt while she is sleeping. Although Tobias doesn't move often in his sleep, he does tend to stretch out in the bed taking a lot of room. Most of the time I either have to sleep right on top of him, or use all of the force I have in me to just move him over enough to get some room for myself. Which isn't easy, Tobias often feels like a sleeping rock that won't budge, as he is twice my body mass. I definitely feel a lot better knowing that Maddy is safe and sound sleeping in her playpen for the night.

I finally tear my eyes away from my sleeping children and look around the room. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that Tobias is still right where he was before the kids began to get ready for bed. He is still leaning against the wall with his arms placed across his chest, with his hands balled up into fists. I move slowly, as if approaching a wild animal. I slowly wrap my arms around him awkwardly. I can feel the stress in his body melt, finally relaxing into me as his arms slowly fall to the side and then circle around me. I even feel the breathing in his lungs begin to slow down as his body relaxes even more.

"I still can't wrap my head around it…" He says, letting his words trail off. I can hear all of the disappointment, the hurt and the pain he feels in his voice. I can't imagine the devastation he must feel right now. Tobias buries his face into the crook of my neck, holding me tightly against his body as if he is holding on for dear life.

How many times have I dreamed of having my parents back. Of somehow discovering that they were indeed alive, that the whole car accident on the highway wasn't real. But I never thought about how it would make me feel to know that all of this time passed before they even contacted me and worse to find out because our paths crossed by accident.

My thoughts continue to race, thinking about how I am contemplating on doing almost the same thing, walking away from Tobias and the kids. No, it's not the same. I would be saving them, keeping them safe from Marcus and Eric, even if it means placing myself in harm's way.

Tobias slowly pulls away from me, just enough to look me in the eyes. His hands slowly creep up my body, causing goosebumps to appear along the way. I feel the trail of warmth up my hip, to my arms, up to my shoulders and then my neck. He cradles my face in his hands, staring into my soul.

"I know what you are thinking."

"I just don't want you or the kids to…" I let my words trail off. I can't even say the words.

"Nothing is going to happen to us. We will figure out a way."

"You know I'm just one person. I'm not worth it," I say, I can't help the tears the run down my cheeks,

"No, you are worth it. You're worth it to me, to Ethan and to Maddy. I can't do this without you," he says, as he takes a deep breath before continuing, "I want you to promise me that you are not going to leave... You have to promise me Tris that you won't go." His voice breaks at the end. I know at this very moment, as I have always known that neither one of us can live without the other. I close my eyes tightly, letting the tears fall down my cheeks, nodding my head yes. "I need to hear you say it, Tris."

"I promise I won't go," I say, knowing I could never leave him or our children. He leans down, claiming my lips hard and passionately. We both are careful not to let things go too far as we are sharing a room with the kids tonight. Nothing can happen.

"Let's get ready for bed. We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow," he says, as we both get out some fresh clothes to sleep in.

As we lay down in bed wrapped up in each other's arms, I can't help but think that now we have nothing. We have no home, no faction. I don't even know who I am anymore. But what I do know is where I go, my family will be right there with me.

A/N

The runaway family is in the factionless sector and Evelyn is their leader. Let me know your thoughts about the chapter and what you think will happen next time.

Revised with: FDFobsessed

Till next week

Like always happy reading, stay healthy and be safe.

Trini