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A Blessing in Disguise

Chapter 4- Now that you are here.

Tobias P.O.V.

The moment I step into the room and close the door behind me, I instantly miss Beatrice. I still don't understand how this all came to be. The one person I missed most of all, the one person I craved for... somehow, I have found her. I am not going to lose her again.

"So, you know Tris?" Zeke says, he already claimed his bed. I finally take notice that Uriah is no longer in the room, and the door that must lead into the bathroom is closed. I can hear the water running from the shower.

I turn back to Zeke, not able to answer other than giving him a nod, yes. I never told him much about where I came from other than it was tough, and I needed to leave. I run my hand through my hair. I really have to cut it, it's been a while. I sit down on the only bed left with no items claiming it. I don't care which bed is mine; it's a bed, that alone is more than enough for me.

"And she was your girl?" he asks, raising his eyebrows at me. I take a deep breath. Knowing Zeke, he won't give up until he is satisfied. He will ask the same question three different ways, if that's what it takes to get the information he is looking for.

"Not exactly, we never got that far," I finally answer.

"Didn't seem that way to me," he says, kicking off his shoes. Really? I stand quickly, opening up the only window in the room. AIR! When I can feel the cool air hit my face, and I no longer smell the stench, I turn to face him again.

"We grew up together... like seriously together. We were neighbors, Tris and I were just babies when we met. We did everything together," I explain, giving him the cliff notes version of what happened between us. I looked down, remembering times like writing notes to each other in class and getting caught. They were innocent "what do you want to do after school" notes. But still, we were always together.

"So what, you love her, or something?" Zeke asks.

"Something like that," I smirk. "Look, the night I left home, I told her I loved her... we kissed... I left... end of story," I explain, giving him the clipped version of what happened between us. "And why are you calling her Tris?"

"She introduced herself as Tris to us," he answers. "You still love her?" I nod, not wanting to speak. "And do you want her back?" he asks.

"In order to get one back, you have to have had them once before. I never had her," I point out. It's true, Tris and I were never really together. We never had that chance.

"You may not have been technically together. But, my friend, from both your reactions... you had and still have her," he says. Is he right? Does Beatrice, Tris, feel the same about me?

"Zeke, things have changed... I have changed... I may not be enough for her," I admit. What if she moved on already? What if I'm too broken?

We all agree to wait until each one of us has had a turn taking a shower and cleaning up. The three of us are pretty comfortable with each other, since the lack of privacy has always been an issue. While Zeke is showering, Uriah and I are in the sink. I am using the electrical razor trying to get this jungle of my facial hair under control, while Uriah is obsessed with flossing his teeth. When it's finally my turn, I actually allow myself to linger in the hot water for the first time in years. When I feel that I am scrubbed clean and my muscles are beyond relaxed, I turn the water off and wrap my bottom half of my body in a towel. I walk into the room, and start sifting through the clothes that I had collected earlier from the piles that Beatrice pointed out to us. I pull a pair of boxer briefs over my hips, along with black jeans and a flannel black and gray shirt. I am just on the last button, deciding to leave the top two undone when the door opens. In walks a boy that I would assume is our other roommate that Beatrice warned us about.

"Hey," he says warmly. We all take turns introducing ourselves to him, just as he crashes onto his bed. He explains that he is exhausted from working double shifts, but in the end it'll be worth it. He almost has enough saved for a down payment on an apartment not far from here. We congratulate him on his accomplishments before heading out the door to meet up with Beatrice, like we had promised. As I get closer to what I remember is the kitchen, I can hear more familiar voices speaking.

"Have you started on the pie, Tris. Now, you know that we have to get those done by tonight. We have four turkeys and a large ham going into the ovens..." As we are just feet away, I realize the familiar voices are Beatrice and her mother, Natalie. I can hear Beatrice trying to interrupt her mother from speaking.

"Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom... can I... Mom I need to tell you... something. Mom." But Natalie continues on about the cooking schedule, refusing to let her daughter get a word in. As Zeke, Uriah and I enter the kitchen, they allow me to enter first, as they remain quiet for once.

"Mrs. Prior," I say, getting her attention. Although she is facing away from me towards Beatrice, I can see her body stiffen as she recognizes my voice. I see her drop a pan on the ground, as she gasps and turns to face me.

"Mom, Tobias found us," Beatrice says, I can tell she meant it to lighten up the mood, but even her voice is filled with emotion.

"Oh my dear boy. Tobias," Natalie says. She cups her mouth with her hands, tears in her eyes. She steps closer to me, her arms wide open taking me into her embrace. I always thought of Natalie as my second mother, especially after my own mother had passed away. I returned the embrace while keeping my eyes on a smiling and tearful Beatrice. I straighten up, when I hear Zeke once again clears his throat.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Natalie. These are my friends. This is Zeke." I point to the older one. He holds his hand out, giving her a firm handshake. Then I turn and point to Uriah. "This is his younger brother, Uriah. We looked out for each other," I explain.

"I see. Well, I am very pleased to hear you three had each other all this time," she says, politely. She glances at all three of us, and I swear I see the light bulb go off in her head that turns her into mother mode. "You three must be hungry, let me get you something. Tris, help me get these boys something to eat," Natalie frets. There was one thing for sure when I was growing up, whenever I was at Beatrice's house I was never hungry. Within five minutes, all three of us have a plate of sandwiches, chips, and fruit in front of us.

"Natalie, sweetheart, have you seen the deposition..." Andrew says as he walks with determination into the kitchen. He stops cold when his eyes land on me sitting here eating at his kitchen table. "Tobias," he says. He walks over to me and pats me on the back as he gives me a hug, swaying us side to side. "How did this happen?" he asks when we finally part from each other. He smiles widely at everyone in the room. Beatrice jumps in explaining how she found Zeke and Uriah, who told her about me. Only she didn't know it was me until I walked into her office. As she retells the story of how our reunion has come to be. Even I can't believe it, and I'm living it.

Tris P.O.V

As my father takes Zeke, Uriah, and Tobias into his office to go over some legal paperwork, I decide to check on the Shauna and Lynn, who have yet submerge since their arrival. They were both covered in what appeared to be dried mud, wearing expressions that mixed both shame and embarrassment. Unfortunately it happens from time to time, it's nothing I haven't seen before.

"Hello, Susan, Austin, how have you both been? Settling in well, I hope?" I ask. Susan came to us a little over a week ago. It took two sessions for her to finally open to me about the abuse she had been subjected to by her husband. She explained that she dealt with it as long as she could, until one day she started to fear that he would turn on their son. The next morning while he was off at work, she grabbed all the money and anything worth of value, packed a bag and left. Since she had no job, no friends or family to turn to... She turned to the streets. Unfortunately, it's very common. Luckily I came across Austin, who was playing with two trains on the sidewalk while his mother asked for handouts. By the time she noticed me, I was already sitting on the floor, playing and talking to him. At first she was hesitant to accept our help, but I wouldn't take no for an answer. I even offered to let her to stay with me, if it meant getting her and her son off the streets. After all, he is only three years old, and the weather was starting to shift for the worse.

"We are, indeed. Thank you. Your father has been drawing up paperwork for restraining orders and helping me file for custody and divorce," she says. I notice the light in her eyes as she speaks about the light that has been shed upon her life. She was in such a dark place when she came to us. The last few days between our sessions and my father's legal expertise, she has really become more joyful. It shows not only in her face, but her son's as well.

"Well, I'm glad. You let me know if there is anything I can do for you, okay?" I say. I bend over, so I can be eye level with Austin. "And you... better get in the kitchen and help Mrs Natalie with those pies. She loves having you as a special little helper," I say. I poke his little nose, seeing the excitement in his eyes. He looks up at his mother, who nods her head, silently giving him the approval he wants to take off towards the kitchen.

After checking on Shauna and her sister, Lynn, I walk them over to my father's office so he can start helping them with anything they will need. He appears to have already started on some kind of legal documents for the guys. For which one and what it contains... I don't know.

I walk back into the kitchen as my mother is finishing stirring the Pumpkin filling and begins to pour it into a prebaked pie crust as Austin helps her scrap the bowl. I have always loved the aroma in the kitchen at Thanksgiving time. I know my parents will agree with me when I say that this will be the most memorable Thanksgiving yet. Especially now that we have Tobias back in our lives.

Once Tobias and the others join us in the kitchen, we immediately begin to set the table and serve dinner. We are now housing fourteen people in need. We still have one bed unoccupied. It's a thought to work on tomorrow. Mom told me earlier that I don't have to worry about baking the desert, because she understands my need to be with Tobias. We all took turns passing plates of hamburgers, salad, and some fruit around the table. I was pleased that Tobias sat in the chair next to me, his hand entwined with mine on my lap. I look over watching each and every person that we have had the pleasure of helping. Edward laughs at Myra's jokes, while Peter rolls his eyes at Molly's comment; Zeke eyes Shauna as she in returns smirks at him. It's incredible how far we have all come to get here. Some say it's destiny, some would say it's a blessing in disguise.

A/N

DUE TO THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY, I WILL BE POSTING "TO LOVE AGAIN" ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH. I HOPE THAT EVERYONE WHO CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAY, HAS A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM MY HOME TO YOURS.