Back in Chicago, Tris' friends went home to their parents for the last day and a half of break. They all needed to rest, do laundry, and repack before classes resumed on Monday.
Tris stayed with Tobias in his downtown hotel suite. Together they went over wedding details with Amar, and later the couple soaked in the tub together while Tobias told her all about the honeymoon he planned for them in Zanzibar, an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania.
"The resort has one whole island to itself," Tobias said as he kneeded Tris' back. "It only accommodates twenty-four guests at a time, but I booked the whole place. Half of the villas are south of the main buildings, and half are north. You and I are staying in the villa on the far south end, while Amar and George will stay close to the buildings. I told the staff that I don't care if they want to update or deep clean the north villas. As long as it's quiet and we're left alone, they can work on the other villas if they need it - without losing income since I paid for them to be empty. We'll have quiet beaches, privacy, and lots of time to relax together."
"That sounds incredible," Tris sighed, relaxing into Tobias' chest.
.
On Monday morning Tris skipped her classes, and Amar took them to the Priors home. Tris pointed out some things she'd packed to send back to Albania, and added things she'd taken to Jamaica and the lingerie gifts from her friends. Amar loaded the boxes into their car.
"I love that you're sending stuff home with me," Tobias said. "It feels so real now. Your stuff will be in our house waiting for you. The dressing room is full of your clothes. Amar is stocking up on toiletries for you. Just two more short goodbyes, Zemra ime, we're almost there."
"Almost there," Tris repeated as she thought about the hardest pending goodbye - sending all her friends and family back to the States.
.
That afternoon Tris dressed for their tour of the CEA facilities. She wore a pair of slim black cropped pants with a grey cashmere sweater. Her jewelry was simple, just the Tiffany necklace and Rollex Tobias had given her, a pair of silver stud earrings, and her engagement ring. Her shoes, jacket, and handbag were all black - designer, but not flashy.
The CEA director and board knew that Mr. Eaton and his fiancee would be there, but not that his fiancee was their own unpaid intern, Tris.
Amar delivered the couple to the agency building where Tris worked, and Asha met them as soon as they stepped out of the car.
"Asha!" Tris greeted.
"Tris," Asha said. "You look tan. How was your trip?"
"Amazing," Tris said. "We went to Jamaica. Five days of sun, sand, and rum punch with my crazy friends. It was great."
Tobais joined them on the sidewalk, and Tris made introductions.
"The newspapers are here and everything," Tris' supervisor warned the couple as she led them into the center.
The newspapers were there indeed, and so were the agency's governing board and many of Tris' students. She made introduction after introduction, received hugs from the students who'd missed her while she was on vacation, and posed with Tobias while the paper snapped photos.
After seeing the updated facility where his fiancee worked, Tobias also toured the agency's two other locations in different neighborhoods. At the end of the tour he vowed to fund similar updates to those facilities. Both were larger, better staffed, and in better locations than where Tris worked, but one building had a leaky roof, and both needed some fresh paint and security improvements.
.
After the tours, Tobias took Tris out for dinner, then back to her parents' home so she could pick up her car. He rode in the Jetta with her to the airfield where his jet waited to take him back to Albania.
"I don't want to do this again," Tris said as she began to shake. "Take me with you."
"Six weeks," Tobias said, taking her hands as soon as the car was in park. "I'll be back for graduation before you know it."
Neither of them had any words after that. They clung to one another, and Tris cried. Tobias stayed with her until the last second possible. "I love you," he said before running to the plane.
.
The next morning there were articles in the Chicago papers about Tobias Eaton's gift to the Chicago Education Agency and his new affection for the Windy City thanks to his fiancee, local college student Tris Prior. The papers went into some detail about Tris, casting her as a Cinderella character who went from average suburban college girl to marrying Prince Charming - who just happened to be one of the wealthiest young bachelors in the world.
People at school asked Tris about the article. She got tons of new followers and friend requests on social media. She even got calls from publishers and television producers who wanted to tell her story.
Surprised by the attention, Tris called Amar between class and her afternoon at the agency.
"Do you miss me already?" the older man asked in place of a greeting.
"You know I do," Tris said, "but that's not why I'm calling."
She explained the articles, and the calls and requests she was getting as a result. Amar said that he would read the articles and call her back, and that she should adjust her social media privacy settings, edit the photos she was tagged in, and close accounts she no longer wanted to maintain.
Marlene was home at the time, and Tris put her to work untagging her in photos while Tris adjusted settings and started removing connections she didn't really know well.
Amar called again within minutes. "You haven't left for the agency yet, have you?" he asked.
"No," Tris said."I'm getting ready, though. I have to leave in about twenty minutes."
"Okay," Amar said, and Tris was surprised to hear relief in his voice. "I know you're not going to like this, but we have to change some security protocols if you're going to continue your practicum. Can you call Miss Hassan and tell her you'll be about an hour late today?"
"What?!" Tris exclaimed. "Amar, what's happening?"
"Tris, that neighborhood is dangerous with all the gang activity down there," Amar said. "When you were just an intern no one really noticed you. But this news coverage blew your cover, as they say. While I'm sure you'd be fine, we both know that Tobias is going to be a nervous wreck about you going down there now that people know who you are and how you're connected to him. Besides, even if nobody tries to hurt you, there's still a good chance people would annoy you gawking or looking for money or interviews or something. I think it would be best if you had a driver to accompany you when you're at the agency."
"That… That's ridiculous!" Tris argued. "I don't need a bodyguard to drive me around! Who would want to hurt me?!"
"Tris," Marlene interrupted from where she was still deleting and untagging photos at Tris' laptop. "I don't know what Amar said, but let him get you a bodyguard or whatever. You're a minor celebrity now, and people do dumb things for money. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Amar," Tris said into the phone, "I'm getting another call. I'll call you back in a few minutes."
Tris was frustrated, so she didn't wait for Amar to reply. She saw that it was Asha calling her and switched to that call instead.
"Hey Asha," she said tiredly.
"Hey Barbie," Asha teased. "So I'm calling to tell you not to come in today. There have been people at the door since eleven this morning. Someone read the story in the paper about you, and they called friends, and it's gotten out of hand. CEA had to send over extra help. They're talking about moving you to their offices for the rest of your internship, or at least until this blows over."
"Ugh," Tris groaned. "Why do people care? I'm not special. I just want to go about my life and do my work, you know? Talk shows are calling me. Tobias' assistant wants to get me a bodyguard. I might have to get a new phone number, too. If I do I'll let you know, okay?"
"Yeah," Asha agreed, "that's probably a good idea if people are already calling you. Tell your parents, too, someone might go to their house or start calling them."
"Good idea," Tris replied. "Tell the kids I said hi and that I'll miss them today."
"I will," Asha agreed.
During her short exchange with Asha, Tris had three more missed calls from strange numbers. Only one of them left a voice message, and that was a telemarketer.
"I never thought I would be glad to get a telemarketer call," she said to Marlene, "but that's the most normal thing that's happened to me all day."
Feeling agitated, Tris decided not to call Amar, and texted him instead.
T: Asha called. They don't want me at the agency because I've become a circus sideshow.
Her phone rang again. It was Amar, but she chose to ignore it.
A: You need a driver until this is forgotten. Especially when you go to the agency.
Tris didn't reply, she just opened the next social media platform and started making adjustments to secure her privacy.
.
Two hours later Christina came back from class. "Why is there a camera crew in front of the building?" she asked as she walked in.
Tris groaned. "This day just keeps getting better."
Marlene gave her a sympathetic look and pulled up the news story for Christina. "Her phone has been ringing off the hook," Marlene said as Christina read. "Everyone wants a piece of the Cinderella story - talk shows, magazines, people begging for money - everyone."
"I have a publicist now," Tris said. "What I really need is a new phone number."
"I think we can work out a good disguise," Christina said, obviously enjoying the situation more than Tris was. "We can go to the phone place and get your number changed, then grab takeout for dinner. What do you say?"
Tris just shrugged.
Marlene contributed a pair of blue light filtering glasses to the disguise. Christina put Tris' hair up in a hat and loaned her a long skirt and baggy sweatshirt that made her look shapeless and bland. Tris stripped off every piece of jewelry she owned, including her engagement ring. She stuck her wallet and phone in the pouch of the sweatshirt, and the girls declared that she looked utterly unnoticeable.
Out in the parking lot they climbed into Christina's old car, and headed straight for the cell phone carrier store, where Tris upgraded her phone and had her number changed. Apparently the workers there hadn't read the paper or heard the story of the DU mystery girl marrying the multimillionaire, because no one said a thing or even looked at her funny.
Tris climbed back into the car and started messaging people who needed to know about her new number. She texted her friends and Asha, who were all expecting it. She reminded them not to give her number to anyone or make any comments without running it through her PR people. She called Rebekah and passed on the same information. She called her parents again, and her new publicist. It was late in Albania, nearly midnight, but she sent a group text to Tobias, Amar, George, and Tori letting them know that she had a new phone number.
Her new phone rang a minute later with a call from Tobias, but Tris sent it to voicemail. He'd tried calling several times that day, but she didn't want to talk. She didn't want to be reminded that he was on the other side of the world in his gated mansion where everyone was used to his wealth and standing while she was the subject of media attention and nosy gawkers that were throwing her world into chaos.
A minute later her phone pinged with a text from Amar.
A: Why are you ignoring him?
T: I'm out with my friends. We had to get my phone replaced and pick up food since I can't even go to the cafeteria right now. Did you know there was a news team in front of my dorm building? I'm wearing a freaking disguise!
A: He's worried about you.
T: He should be! My boring little world is in chaos! I can't go anywhere or do anything, including my job. I need a babysitter to keep me safe, and a publicist to keep me from being harassed. I had to close or lockdown all my social media accounts. Everyone stares at me. Six more weeks of this sideshow until I can go hide at the estate like you guys.
A: He's worth it, you know.
T: Are you doubting me?! I KNOW THAT. I'm just pissed, and scared, and I'm not sure what to do next! I'm kind of in the thick of things right now, and I'm not in the mood to be coached from the sidelines or told that everything is going to be just fine while my world is falling apart! Go to bed or something, I can talk to both of you tomorrow!
Amar didn't reply again, but Tobias started texting.
4: Are you okay?
4: Why won't you talk to me?
4: Amar says you're pissed and you want to be left alone.
4: What can I do?
4: I love you, Tris
Tris started to feel guilty and decided to reply.
T: I love you, too. My phone has been blowing up all day, and I'm exhausted and stressed out. I don't really want to talk right now. I'm fine. My friends are taking care of me. I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Tris texted her parents that she was shutting off her phone and they should call Christina if they needed to reach her. As soon as they were back in their dorm apartment she shut off her phone for the night.
.
Tris looked around her familiar bedroom. The lights were off, but the room was lit by moonlight coming through the windows. One wall was covered with mirrors, and she turned toward it, confused, and looked at her reflection. Her eyes skipped to the window behind her, and to a man standing just outside. He was a stranger, but his scarred face was familiar somehow. She blinked, and two men appeared at his left and right, just as still as he was, but their faces were featureless — skin covered skulls.
She whipped her body around, and they stood in her room. She backed up, and her shoulders pressed against the mirror. For a moment, the room was silent, and then fists pounded against the window, not just a few, but dozens of fists with dozens of fingers, slamming into the glass. The noise vibrated in her head, it was so loud, and then the scarred man and his two companions began walking toward her with slow, careful movements.
She slid slowly to her right, trying to get to the door and away from the men in her room and the others at her window. She wondered what they wanted from her, where her parents were, and where she'd left her pepper spray.
The pounding on the window stopped, but a screeching sound replaced it, and the fists turned into hands with twisted bent fingers, scratching at the glass, fighting to get in. The glass creaked under the pressure of their hands, then cracked, and then shattered.
Tris screamed.
Pale bodies - human bodies, but mangled, with arms bent at odd angles, too-wide mouths with needle teeth, empty eye sockets - toppled into her bedroom, one after the other, and scrambled to their feet. They pulled out cameras, and the flash bulbs popped, blinding Tris with their intensity and persistence.
Tris screamed again and woke herself up. She woke Christina, too, and probably a few other people in their building.
"Are you okay?" Christina asked.
"Nightmare," Tris said, burying her face in the pillow.
The door to their shared bedroom flew open and Tris let out a yelp. It was just Lynn and Marlene. Lynn had a golf club in her hands, poised to strike.
Christina laughed at the sight, but Tris was too plagued by her dream to find humor in her golf club-wielding friend showing up to protect her.
"Put the nine iron down," Christina said. "She just had a nightmare."
"Sorry guys," Tris said.
She knew she wouldn't get any more sleep, but she encouraged her roommates to try. Marlene and Lynn went back to their room, and Tris grabbed her phone and went out to the living room.
When she turned on her new phone, she was relieved to find no more missed calls. Clearly the new number worked. She did have several sweet texts from Tobias, and they helped soothe her jangled nerves. She decided to text him back.
T: Good morning.
Tobias tried calling, but Tris didn't want to wake her roommates.
T: I can't talk right now. The girls just went back to bed after I woke them up.
4: You woke them up? Isn't it 4:30 am there?
T: Yes. Nightmare.
4: I wish I was there. I'd fight off your nightmares with my bare hands and hold you while you slept.
T: That sounds wonderful.
4: How are you feeling today?
T: Less angry, but still worried. I don't know what I'm supposed to do if I can't go back to work. CEA doesn't want me attracting chaos. They're talking about sticking me in the office to do menial junk for the rest of my practicum.
4: I know you like the kids, but perhaps seeing the other side of what they do will have merit too. You can learn about donor management, fundraising, newsletters, and all that stuff that's necessary to keep a program running.
T: That sounds boring
4: I'm sorry. But at least you would be able to meet the requirements to graduate. That's what really matters right now. You need to finish school so I can bring you home.
T: Home. That sounds so safe right now. I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this separation thing.
4: Five weeks to graduation, then two more to the wedding. It'll be here faster than you think.
.
The next week was hard.
Seven whole days of mis-matched schedules, timezone issues, and texts that said things like "I love you, but I can't talk right now." Tris was miserable, Tobias could tell that much, and it was making him miserable too.
He tried. Amar tried. Christina tried. All anyone could get out of the bride was a depressed and dismissive "I'm fine." Tobias might not have seen her face, but he knew she wasn't fine.
CEA wouldn't let Tris work at the center any more. They had her answering phones and stuffing envelopes instead. And even though she wasn't going into the crime-riddled neighborhood anymore, Dauntless Security was still driving her to and from her job.
Even on campus, Tris was harassed. The news media had quickly lost interest, but the students at DU were fascinated with their classmate marrying the European multimillionaire businessman. She often saw people whispering to one another when she passed. Some asked her awkwardly personal questions. One guy even asked if she could get Tobias to come and speak in his business class, saying that he just knew his professor would bump up his failing grade if he could score Tobias Eaton as a guest speaker.
Tris' friends knew all of that, and they did their best to support and defend her. What they didn't know was that she was being harassed by Caleb and her Aunt Jeanine, too. Jeanine had tried asking Tobias for money at the engagement party in August. Tobias told Tris privately that he would make a donation if she wanted, but only because they were her family. She hadn't wanted him to. They both knew that Jeanine's research was heartless, and they questioned her ethics. They also knew that she had the support and funding of several pharmaceutical giants that were known for questionable environmental and humanitarian practices. On top of all of that, neither of them were comfortable with getting involved in pharmaceutical business. They didn't feel they knew enough to make informed decisions, and they didn't trust the companies that were the subject of near constant lawsuits.
Having failed to reach Tobias, Jeanine and Caleb tried to suck up to Tris. When Caleb failed miserably at that over the holidays, they had resorted to flat-out harassment. Caleb threatened to skip Tris' wedding, saying that he couldn't take the time off since they were short on resources. He claimed that Tris' selfishness was damaging their relationship and that it was going to break their mother's heart.
Jeanine focused on a more logical approach, bombarding Tris with statistics about profitability and return on investment while telling her that she could "actually be of some use" to her soon-to-be husband if she got him to invest in something "worthwhile."
Tris tried to shrug it off, but coming on the heels of everything else, it was a lot to handle.
.
After ten days of barely communicating with his obviously stressed and depressed fiancee, Tobias caved and called Natalie Prior.
That Friday Tris had just one class in the morning, and she was back to her dorm apartment by eleven a.m. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see her mother sitting at the kitchen island waiting for her.
"Mom?" Tris said. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see my daughter," Natalie said as she slid off the barstool and walked toward Tris. "What's eating at you, Baby Girl?"
The minute Tris was wrapped in her mother's hug, she broke down in sobs. Natalie held Tris until the torrent of crying quieted and Tris began to speak.
She told Natalie everything. They had already talked about the newspaper story, but Tris told her about the weird looks and rude questions she was receiving on campus. She told her mother about Caleb and Jeanine, too, and even showed her the texts and emails they'd sent, and told her how Tobias saw Caleb's behavior as abusive. She cried about missing Tobias, how she was fed up with the constant separations, and how worried she was about meeting expectations in her upcoming role as bride and wife of one of the world's richest men. She talked about how she dreaded leaving her friends, parents, and home. She poured out her heart, and Natalie listened.
Tris' mom brought her some water to drink, and tissues when she needed them. When they missed lunch, Natalie ordered delivery from a cafe. She got her daughter to eat a little, reminding her that there wouldn't be time for wedding dress alterations. Tris had lost weight since spring break, and she needed to put it back on, or at least not lose any more. Natalie got Tris to lay down once her emotions were fully vented, and Tris fell into a deep sleep.
Natalie's heart was heavy. Her daughter had a lot on her mind. Good and bad, it was all stressful. Natalie was grateful that Tobias had called her. Tris needed her mother, and she was stressing herself out trying to handle everything on her own.
While Tris napped, Natalie did some cleaning in the apartment. She washed dishes, wiped the counters, fridge, and microwave, and took out the trash. Once she'd worked out enough nervous energy not to lose her temper, she called Andrew to talk about his sister and Caleb.