Tris clicked on the link Christina sent, opening the paparazzi-fueled celebrity rumor site called CelebWatch. "Senate Candidate's Teen Daughter Caught On Date With Teacher," the headline read. There were several low-quality cellphone camera images of her and Eric at the restaurant the night before. It was obvious that the photos had been taken from a distance, and they showed her and Eric holding hands across the table, and Eric feeding Tris a bite of their chocolate lava cake.
Tris read the article.
"Beatrice Prior, teenage daughter of Illinois Senate candidate Andrew Prior, was seen at a Chicago-area restaurant getting cozy with Eric Coulter, a teacher in the Dauntless program at Factions High School, which Prior graduated from just days ago. Coulter is the father of a young baby who is frequently seen with the Priors. Inside sources say that the Prior campaign has been hiding his daughter's baby and her relationship with Coulter."
A tap at her car window startled Tris. She looked up and saw Eric with Ava in his arms and a worried look on his face. She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door.
"Aren't you coming inside?" Eric asked.
Tris handed him her phone and took Ava. Eric swore as he read the headline.
"I need to call my dad and Matthew," Tris said as they walked inside. "This has David written all over it."
She put Ava in her jumper and took her phone back to forward the link to Andrew and Matthew. A minute later, Tris' phone rang.
"Hey Dad," Eric heard her say.
"I'm fine," she said. "I'm pissed, but I'm fine. I did the TV news interview today, and it's supposed to air tomorrow when the magazine comes out."
She was quiet for a few minutes, nodding and making agreeing noises now and then. Eric stepped up behind her and put his hands on her tense shoulders. He began massaging them gently, and Tris leaned back into his chest.
"I'm going to reply to Christina then shut off my phone," Tris told her dad. "If you need to reach me, try Eric's number. I'm going to look for someone to cover my shift at work tomorrow. Will you call Mom, or should I?"
Tris was quiet for another moment then said goodbye to her dad and hung up the phone. She leaned into Eric and sighed as she typed out a response to Christina then shut off her phone.
"Mom will probably call or text you soon," she said wearily.
Eric wrapped his arms around Tris and rocked them back and forth. He kissed her on the temple, and then the side of her neck. "I won't let anything happen to you," he promised.
"I don't feel threatened," Tris tried to explain. "Violated maybe, hurt by false accusations, worried about Dad's campaign, and definitely angry, but not scared. Ironically, I would really like to stay here with you tonight, but that seems like a terrible idea. The last thing we should do is to give them more ammo."
Eric chuckled. "There's some defiance in you, isn't there, Duchess? As soon as you shouldn't, that's exactly what you want."
"Partially," Tris admitted. "I don't like being forced into things. It makes me want to push back. But also because I just don't want to be away from the two of you."
Eric's phone and the doorbell rang simultaneously. They looked at one another in surprise, and Tris moved toward the door while Eric answered the call.
The person at the door was a stranger, and Tris kept a foot pressed against the door so it wouldn't open more than a few inches. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Miss Prior, I'm Kristin Rivers from the Post-Tribune." Tris recognized the publication as a former newspaper that now operated online as a sort of political gossip and scandal site.
"Is it true that you were sleeping with your teacher? Why did the school not open an investigation or fire Mr. Coulter? Did your father use his influence to keep this quiet?" The reporter's questions came at Tris rapid-fire.
"Stop," Tris said firmly. "I have two things to say. First of all, pick up an issue of Chicagoland Magazine tomorrow, or watch channel nine news. Both of them have the true story about me, Eric, and his daughter. Secondly, I have no further comment, and any requests for an interview need to be scheduled through Prior campaign headquarters."
Tris shut the door and locked the deadbolt. She returned to the kitchen and dug through a drawer until she found a notepad, marker, and tape. She wrote out the same thing she had told the reporter at the door, stating that she and Eric had no comment, and that interested parties should read the magazine, watch the news, or contact the Prior campaign for more information.
She heard snippets of Eric's phone conversation as she prepared the note. He seemed to be speaking to Principal Roth from Factions High School.
"Yes ma'am," Eric was saying. "I can assure you that my relationship with Tris was professional but friendly while she was a student. You already know that they have their facts wrong about Ava being Tris' child, and I can assure you that they're wrong about other things, too."
Tris scribbled a quick note and handed it to Eric. He glanced at it while Dr. Roth was talking to him through the phone, then raised an eyebrow at Tris. She nodded in confirmation.
"Veronica," Eric interrupted, "Max has footage of Tris taking a lie detector test. He made it the individual assessment part of her Dauntless final. Harrison and a tech from Candor administered the test. It will show you that, although Tris and I were in a unique situation with her family and my daughter and everything, there was nothing inappropriate about our relationship. She and I only began seeing one another after graduation."
Eric was quiet again, listening to the principal's reply, so Tris took her note to the front door and taped it there. She latched the deadbolt again and went back to the kitchen. Ava was starting to fuss and squirm in her jumper, and Tris realized that it was past the little one's dinner time. She prepared the baby food and supplies, and lifted the growing baby out of her jumper.
Eric finished his call with the principal and typed out a few texts.
"My phone is blowing up," he complained. "Roth wants to know if we're hiding something. I have a dozen friend requests on social media, and I've been tagged in the CelebWatch article at least ten times. Your mom wants us to go over there for the night. Matthew wants us to know that the news station is doing a teaser at ten o'clock for tomorrow's story. Max is freaking out, and your dad is apologizing every few minutes. Ugh!"
Ava laughed around a mouthful of green beans, drooling it down her chin.
"You find that funny?" Eric teased the baby. Her eyes lit up at her father's attention, and she waved her arms wildly.
Tris waited for Ava to calm down before giving her another spoonful. Eric's phone rang, and he rolled his eyes before sending it to voicemail.
"Go pack a bag for you and Ava," Tris suggested. "I'll finish feeding her and we can go to Mom's for the night."
"I'm starting to see why the Kennedys would gather at their compound and hide out there," Eric grumbled. "It's a lot of work dating a senator's daughter."
Tris bit her lip, and Eric immediately regretted the joke. She turned back to feeding Ava without responding.
"Duchess," Eric soothed. "You know I'm only teasing. I'd walk through hellfire for you. What's a little paparazzi attention? We have the truth on our side."
"We say that a lot," Tris said wearily. "We keep saying that we have the truth on our side, but the attacks keep coming. I didn't mind it when my dad wanted to run for Senate - I was even excited for him. When he said that people might start bugging us or whatever, I thought I had nothing in my life to interest them. I'm nobody and there's nothing scandalous or exciting about me. Now, thanks to David, there are lies about me on CelebWatch, of all the dumb things!"
Eric sighed and walked to the table where Tris was sitting and feeding Ava. He ran his fingers through Tris' hair in a soothing manner.
"Tomorrow the news and the magazine will tell the whole story," he said. "Everyone will know the truth, and the rumors and lies will end. Once they know there's no scandal, the vultures should back off. We'll be okay."
Eric's phone rang again, and he answered it. "Hey Max," he said. "She's right here, hold on."
He handed the phone to Tris and kissed her on the forehead before going upstairs to pack.
Tris held Eric's phone with one hand, and continued feeding Ava with the other. "Hi Max," she greeted her former teacher sheepishly.
"Hey Tris," Max said. "How are you holding up?"
"I've been better," she replied wryly. "I've never been famous before, and so far I'm not liking it."
Max chuckled. "Well, I'm sorry to add to your troubles, but Dr. Roth is breathing down my neck. Eric told her about your polygraph, and she wants to see it. While I technically don't need your permission to show student work to the principal, this feels personal. I would feel better if you gave me your opinion before I went over there."
"I appreciate your sensitivity," Tris said. "I know she's worked up about the rumors and what they might mean for Factions and for her career. Tomorrow's news story should get the whole truth out there and shut down the rumors, but I think the polygraph video will help even more. I just have one request."
"What is it?" Max asked.
"How do you have the video stored?" Tris asked.
"A flash drive," Max answered. "It's here at my house."
"It's not on a server at school or in any emails or anything?"
"No," Max insisted. "We don't record individual assessments. Harrison just suggested I set up a camera for yours in case something like this happened. I used my own laptop for the video, so there are no other copies or anything."
"Good," Tris replied. "I'm fine with you showing the video to Dr. Roth. As I keep saying, we have nothing to hide. But I'm afraid she's too jumpy about protecting the school and she might do something stupid like giving it to a news outlet."
"I wish I could tell you that she wouldn't do that, but you're probably right," Max admitted.
"I don't mind if you show it to her," Tris repeated, "but I don't want you to give it to her. Does that make sense? Don't email it to her or give her the flash drive. Just show her the video and explain that Eric and I have a magazine article and a news story coming out tomorrow that will dispel the rumors."
"She's going to push for a copy of the video," Max warned Tris.
"Take backup," Tris suggested. "Maybe Eric can go with you, or better yet, Harrison. He was there for the interrogation, and everyone knows he and Dr. Roth hate each other."
Max chuckled. "I thought that wasn't common knowledge."
Tris scoffed. "In a school where one faction is made up of the smartest kids out there and another faction is made of human lie detectors, there aren't a lot of secrets. You should know that by now. Don't worry about it. He's retired anyway. Just see if he'll go with you. I think between the two of you, you can get out of there without leaving the flash drive. If you want to give it to me after that, you'll be able to honestly tell her you don't have it anymore. Okay?"
Max agreed, and Tris ended the call so she could clean up Ava. As she was wiping off the baby's face, Tris saw movement through the kitchen's patio door. It was dusk outside, but Tris was sure she had seen movement. As she lifted Ava from the highchair, she saw it again and realized that it was a person. He was hiding in the bushes at the back of Eric's yard, pointing a camera at the house.
"Eric!" Tris yelled, quickly moving away from the window with Ava in her arms.
Eric ran down the stairs, and they met in the foyer.
"There's someone in your backyard with a camera," Tris said angrily.
Eric growled and moved to go back upstairs. "What are you doing?" Tris asked in a panicked voice that made Ava whimper in fear.
Eric stopped at the sound of his girls' fear. "Getting my gun," he growled.
"How about you forget your gun and get your shit so we can get out of here," Tris snapped. "The last thing I need right now is you ending up in prison for shooting someone. Call 911 if you want - they are trespassing - but for the love of God, don't start shooting people or threatening them with a gun!"
Eric walked down the last few stairs and wrapped his arms around Tris.
"This is so stupid," he said. "Why are we getting so much attention? And who shoots photos through the windows of a private residence? What kind of media would print them?"
"Must be a slow news day," Tris said against Eric's chest.
"Come upstairs with me," he suggested. "I'm done packing. I'll call 911 and we can wait in the nursery and keep an eye on the yard from Ava's window. Then we'll go to your mom's house for the night. Okay?"
"Okay," Tris said.
She handed Ava to Eric and followed them up the stairs. "Warrior," she said, "can I ask for one more thing?"
"Anything," Eric said, turning to give Tris a reassuring smile.
"Can you put blinds on the windows downstairs?"
Eric laughed. "Yes ma'am," he said. "First thing tomorrow."
Tris and Eric went upstairs and looked for the photographer in the backyard. They saw him in the bushes, looking at the house through his camera lens. Eric called 911 and reported the trespasser pointing a camera in his windows, then video recorded the man running away when police arrived.
The officers rang Eric's doorbell, and he spoke to them briefly. They hadn't seen the photographer in Eric's yard, so Eric showed them the video. He also explained that he, Tris, and the baby were going to leave for the night. The police officers promised to drive by occasionally and keep an eye on the place, which made Tris feel better.
Eric didn't want Tris to drive home by herself. He practically begged her to ride in the truck with him and Ava. "I just want us to stay together," he said.
Tris knew that the photographer trespassing in his yard had alarmed Eric. She agreed to ride home with him and the baby, so he put her car in his garage and double checked that the townhouse was locked up securely before they left.
When they arrived at the Priors' house, Natalie met them at the door. She was clearly alarmed by the sudden onslaught of media presence and attention to their family. The Priors' home landline had been ringing practically off the hook all afternoon and evening, and several reporters had come to the door. Tris told her about the note she put on Eric's door, and Natalie made one for her door as well.
With Caleb, Tris, Eric, and Ava all under one roof, Natalie and Eric did a sweep of the house. She closed the blinds on every window. He checked the locks on every window and door. She set the alarm system, unplugged the two phones still connected to their landline, and texted Andrew to let him know that everyone was home and that he should call or text her cellphone if he needed to reach them.
Meanwhile, Tris prepared Ava for bed and put her to sleep in her guest room crib. Caleb made brownies and popcorn and insisted on making the most of their locked-in evening with card games and a movie. The casual, homey distraction was just what they needed. Tris, Eric, Caleb, and Natalie played cards, snacked, and watched a movie together like it was just a normal evening at home and they weren't being slandered all over the internet.
At one point Tris turned on her phone to take a picture of them relaxing and hanging out together. While her phone was on, she flipped briefly through her text messages. Most of them she just deleted. Christina had texted again, and her message made Tris smile.
C: Check out the comments on the CelebWatch page now! We're behind you, girl! #TeamTris #Eris
Tris clicked on the link and skipped past the obnoxious "news" article to the comments.
"You have no idea what you're talking about," one comment said. "I hope they sue you for liable and slander."
"Eric Coulter is an awesome teacher," said another, "and Tris was taking college classes this year. You guys are so dumb. #TeamTris"
"It would have taken you five minutes to fact check this garbage," said a third comment. "Tris saved that baby's life and you're making a hero look like a teen slut. #TeamTris"
"I played volleyball with Tris this fall, there's no way she was pregnant and hiding it," read another comment.
"Eighteen might have 'teen' in it, but she's a legal adult," said another commenter. "She graduated almost a month ago, not mere days. Eric is just a couple years older than we are, and she wasn't even his student. If an 18 and 21 year old adult want to date each other, what business is that of yours?"
There were negative comments mixed in. Some people felt that Eric should be investigated, or even imprisoned. Some said it was shameful for a grown man to be out to dinner with his teenage student. But Tris was surprised to see that the supportive comments outweighed the negative ones.
Among the oldest comments on the story, Tris found what had to be Christina's own contribution. "Tris Prior is my best friend," it said. "This so-called news story got EVERYTHING wrong. I used to love CelebWatch for all the inside celebrity gossip, but now I know you're just leeches and vultures who take tiny parts of facts and use them to spin lies. The Priors are an amazing family. Don't ruin their real lives with your fake story. #TeamTris"
Tris noticed that a number of the comments used the #TeamTris hashtag. Clearly Christina had mobilized her friends and classmates to hit back at the so-called news story. She opened social media and clicked on Christina's profile. Her best friend's cover photo had been changed to a black background with #TeamTris written on it in bold white letters. She searched the hashtag #TeamTris and found that many of her friends, classmates, acquaintances, and even some total strangers had posted on social media in support of her, Eric, Ava, and the Prior campaign.
Tris posted the picture of her, Natalie, Eric, and Caleb playing games on her private page, where it would be visible to only her real-life friends. "You know the truth," she wrote. "Ava is not my child. Eric and I did not have an inappropriate relationship while he was a teacher at my school. My family is not hiding anything, because we have nothing to hide. We are locked in our home with strangers literally lurking in the bushes because someone lied. Dad's campaign is monitoring the situation. The real story comes out tomorrow in Chicagoland Magazine and on channel nine. If you see garbage posts, direct them to the real story. Thank you all so much for the #TeamTris hashtag and support. That has been the highlight of an otherwise crazy stressful day. My dad is going to be an amazing senator. We can't let one liar take that away from the people of Illinois!"
Tris showed her family the support that Christina and the others had drummed up on social media and in the comments of the CelebWatch article. They were all touched by the way Tris' friends had stepped up for her, and they looked forward to the release of the magazine and news stories.