CHAPTER 13 - TOBIAS
The funeral passes in a blur. I don't really pay attention to anything going on around me. I ignore everyone that comes up to me with fake condolences. It's stupid.
Everyone goes to Marcus' house after the ceremony for more crying and fake condolences. His house has become the central hub of drama. The only reason I'm going to his house is because I forgot to take some things from my bedroom a few days ago.
I open the door to my bedroom and completely freeze.
"Tris?"
Beatrice's head snaps up in surprise. She sits on the end of my bed with her head in her hands. Her black skirt fans out around her legs and her face is red with tears.
"Tobias. I didn't know you would be here," she murmurs quietly.
"Of course I would be here. It's my mother's funeral, Tris. Why are you here?" I gesture around the room with my arms. Her face turns slightly pink.
"It was too crowded downstairs, so I came up here looking for a quiet space. And your bedroom door was open, so I came in here." She starts getting up and grabs her sweater.
"I'll be going now. Good bye Tobias," she says forcefully as she makes for the door. I don't let her get that far. I grab her arm and pull her back around. She makes a fist and immediately punches me in the arm. I release her and hold my arm tightly.
"Ow!"
She gives me a pointed look.
"I said good bye, Tobias."
"Wait!" I call after her. Beatrice sprints down the stairs and out the door. I follow close behind her. "Beatrice! Stop!" She turns around and throws her sweater at me. She's angry.
"No! I won't stop! You didn't stop when I begged you back in the tree house! So forget it!" Beatrice's eyes burn with the light of the dying sun and her hands are clenched into fists. Her feet slip between the blades of grass.
"I'm sorry about the other night! Okay? I'm sorry!" I shout at her as nicely as I can.
A tear slips across her cheek.
"No you're not! You hurt me beyond anything! You were my best friend! And then your mother dies and everything in my world starts falling apart. You leave!"
Beatrice crumples to her knees and her head drops into her hands again. Her shoulders shake and I know she's crying; and not for my mother, but for me.
I take her sweater and drape it across her shoulders. She flinches away.
"Tris."
She wipes her face clear and glares at me.
"What?" Her voice is rough and creaky.
"I'm sorry. Okay? I'm begging you to please forgive me. Please…"
She takes her time considering the odds in her head. Her eyes don't look into my face, but her fingers play with the little blades of grass surrounding her. She's beautiful in the sunlight. Her hair is neatly braided down the side of her neck, making her face look magnified. In a good way though. Even with tears on her face, she's still perfect. I could never hurt her.
She's too beautiful to break.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
Her question snaps me out of my daze.
"Like what?"
She tries to grin, but it comes out crookedly small. It's cute.
"I am thinking about how beautiful you are and how I am going to take you to Fall Formal this year. I will be taking the prettiest girl with me to Formal!"
I drop down beside her on the grass and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into my side. She rests her head on my shoulder and looks up at me, making me melt inside.
"You're forgiven. For now."
I raise my eyebrows.
"For now?" She smiles and I wipe away the remaining tears on her face. Before I can pull my hand away, she places her own on top of mine. I twist mine so our palms touch, our fingers twisting together. I rub my thumb in slow circles over the back of her hand.
"Now am I forgiven?" I ask her teasingly. She shakes her head no.
I take my free hand and place it on her cheek, making her look into my eyes this time.
My forehead touches her's just slightly. She tries to bite back a smile.
Her long nose slips along mine.
And I press my lips to her's.
At first she is unsure and pulls away. But I grin a little and kiss her again, firmer this time. My hand loosens from her's and wraps around her waist, pulling her on top of me. My hand slips through her hair and holds the back of her neck. I love this feeling: the burning desire that fires through me every time we touch each other. But now she has set me completely on fire, my body ablaze.
I pull away and kiss the skin just beneath her jaw. It tastes like salt and lemons from her favorite smelling lotion I gave her last year for her birthday. But she tips her head so our lips meet again.
For a few minutes, we kiss in the dying light of the world. And everything feels perfect.