CHAPTER 3 - TOBIAS
I don't go to school today. And I don't want to go even if I am given a million dollars. I stay in bed, under the blue checkered quilt my grandfather gave me when I was little. It still faintly smells like the bottle of cologne I dropped on it a few years ago. No matter how many times I tried to wash out the smell, it still doesn't completely come off. It only makes my room smell nicer. More manly, I guess.
And Tris. She had heard the ambulance sirens and rushed over to make sure I was alright. I ached to be with her: that's why I asked her to the Fall Formal. To see if she wanted me in the same way. She held my hand as I retold what happened, her never pressing me for details.
We sat in silence for what felt like forever. I didn't want to call Marcus to ask how Evelyn is faring. I didn't feel anything at all. Just Tris' hand in mine. That was the only thing tethering me to sanity.
At some point, Tris dozed off on my shoulder. I gently laid her down on the bed and draped the blue quilt over her. She looked so peaceful for someone who is trying to balance her best friend's pain and the world on a scale in her head. It's amazing.
I lay down beside her, at a friendly distance, and play with a few strands of her loose bed head hair. It smells like sweet apples and something else; possibly cinnamon. I watch her as she breathes, her chest rising and falling peacefully. I match my breathing to her's and close my eyes.
0
"Hey. Tobias, get up. Hey," a voice whispers. It's Tris. A loud beeping cuts through her soft voice. My alarm clock.
I open my eyes to see Tris' looking straight into mine. They are a mixture of blue and grey: beautiful and deadly colors. They wake me up.
Right, the alarm.
I slowly sit up and a flare of pain goes through my body. I reach over to the alarm clock and slam my hand down on the SNOOZE button. It immediately stops beeping. Thank God for the silence. I lay back down.
Tris pulls the blanket off and drapes it over me. It is still warm from when she lay underneath it. She stands up and walks towards the door.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she says as she starts to open the door.
"Wait!" I call out. Tris spins around to look at me. I feel warm inside.
"I may not go to school today. You can tell anyone who asks why," I say quieter this time. Tris smiles a little. It's an attempt though.
"I will. Besides, who get up at the ungodly hour of four thirty in the morning?"
"I do. I'll see you later then, Tris."
"Alright, Four. I'll see later," she says as she quietly closes the door behind her and walks back downstairs and home. I flop back down into bed, pulling the quilt over my eyes, and fall asleep once again. I hate my life.