Super uper duper sorry for my absence. I've been really busy. Here's a new chapter though. I'm finally getting somewhere with the plot.
Disclaimer: Don't own Divergent
I push Caleb into the library in his wheelchair. Even though he doesn't eat a lot, he is very heavy. Or maybe it's just me an my lack of muscle. He says he can push himself, but I much rather do it. I like helping him. After all, he did save my life.
"So what books do you need?" I ask him.
"I can go find them myself. Go get a puppy book. You'll need to learn some stuff if you're going to take that runt in." He waves me off. I roll my eyes but smile. He's even considerate of how well this puppy is going to be treated. I don't even know for sure if I'm going to take him in. The center hasn't given me any new info on him. I walk off in the direction that I think will have the books I'm looking for. When I do find them, I'm surprised that they have a ton of books. I end up grabbing three books that aren't huge, but have enough info on taking care of a young dog. When I get the librarian to check them out for me, I stuff my hands in my pockets as I wait. I'm greeted with the feel of paper against one hand. My brow furrows as I think of what it is. Wait, are these the pants I wore the other day to work?
I pull out the piece of paper and unfold it. Sure enough, there's the neat handwriting of the mysterious lady that is probably Four's mother. My eyes scan the flimsy paper. I totally forgot about it. Maybe I can look it up here. The librarian hands me my books and I carry them over to the computers with free wifi. I open up the google tab and type in the name. Evelyn Eaton. It comes up with a few things. I pull up Wikipedia and read what it says. Let's see...Two sons and one daughter. I click on the sons. One is tall with dark brown hair and flat blue eyes. Huh, I guess he sorta looks like Four. I pull up the other picture. And there he is. The same image. He looks like his brother except his eyes have a twinkle to them. I can't help but notice his defined features. I look down at the name. Tobias Eaton. huh. Well that answers the name question. I pull out my phone and start writing some notes down. I don't know what stuff this Marcus guy is looking for. I also learn that apparently his parents got divorced a few years after the birth of his sister. I don't bother looking up the father though. I ahem enough information right here.
"Tris, you ready to go?" I jump slightly. Caleb is behind me, waiting patiently with several books in his lap. I close out of the tab and stand up.
"yah bro. I was just doing a bit of research for my job." I push him out of the library. "So what books you get?"
"I got some stuff for history, math, and science. And just a book for fun. It's this story about what it would be like in the future. People are split into groups, called factions, based on the personality. It's about this one girl who has the aptitude for more than one so she's called divergent. It looks good." I smile and help him into my truck. I put his wheel chair in the back and climb in the driver's seat. I start the engine and drive off. When we're about half way home, my phone rings. I pull it out and put in on speaker phone so I can still keep my attention on the road.
"Go for Tris."
"Hey Tris!" Its Shelby.
"Hi Shelby!" Caleb greets. She's come over a few times. She's probably the only one that knows about Caleb and him being paralyzed, well except for the doctors.
"hi Caleb. How you doing?" She asks.
"Good. I'm studying for exams." I smile. It makes me happy when he can interact with others. It's even better that Shelby doesn't treat him any differently Than she does me.
"awesome. Don't stay up to late reading. Hey Tris! Do you think you could stop by the shelter?"
"Uh sure, why?" I ask. Not like I really had to though. She'd tell me anyways.
"The vets decided it would be better if the puppy just stayed with someone. They have some puppy milk stuff set up for you. So you can like take it home to make instead of having to buy it yourself. They thought it might make things a bit easier. So yah, he's just waiting here for ya." Great.
"Ok. Luckily I just picked up a few puppy care books. I'll be there in a few."
"Bubye!" I hang up.
"guess we're off to get a puppy." Caleb smiles brightly. I think he'll enjoy having the company while I'm gone. Give him some responsibility since he can't do much else.
"So you just feed him this every two hours or so. You can do it every three during the night though. I don't want you losing to much sleep." Haley also knows of my situation with Caleb and all. I'll most likely do the night feeding so he can rest.
"alright! If that's everything I'll just take the scamp home now." I pick up the little pet carrier. She hands me a bag fill of the puppy meal stuff and bottles. "I'll bring him in for check ups every Saturday." She nods as I head out the door. The little runt sleeps quietly as I climb into my truck. "Would you mind holding m?" Caleb shrugs and grabs the carrier. He looks through the bars of the door to see the little guy.
"he's Cute! What are we going to call him?" He asks excitedly. It brings a smile to my face.
"how about you think of that. You're the one who's gonna watch him when I'm gone." I pull out of the parking lot. He contemplates things in his head for a few minutes. I glance over at him to see he's deep in thought.
"I think we should call him Cook. Like short for Cookie. Yah. Cookie, I like the sound of that." He looks back down at the puppy.
"sounds perfect. He's like a little double fudge chocolate chip cookie." He chuckles lightly. I don't think I've heard Caleb cough today. Maybe those new medicines are working.
"yah, I like it. You have an awesome job sis."
"I know. I love it." I park outside the apartments. I hop out of the truck and go around the back to get his wheelchair. I roll it to his door to help him in. He holds his books in his lap and puts the carrier on top of them. "Now let's go show Cook his new home for now." I push him to our door and unlock it. He pushes himself into our small but cozy apartment. I'm glad he's always understood that I can't afford a bigger place. That's why I think he's been trying to finish online college so quickly. I've found him looking at online job options once, he had fallen asleep though. I just don't want him to stress to much. "Do you want to hold him?" I take the carrier from the stack of books.
"can I?" I nod and open the door to the carrier. He's still sleeping soundly in the back corner. I reach in and carefully pick him up. He wakes up and makes this cute whining noise. I cradle him to my stomach and bring him over to Caleb. His eyes are shining with joy as he takes the little puppy into his lap. It squirms around and paws his hand. It brings tears to my eyes to see that something so small can bring him so much joy. I know he hasn't complained about being able to go do fun stuff, but I know he misses it. Misses all the fun we had as kids. I flip around and go into the kitchen before he can see my watery eyes. I pull myself up onto the counter and grab my notebook. I'm going to get enough money to take him out for a nice Christmas dinner. No questions. I am going to! I'll just need to plan out the money I get from the maid job with my pay check from the center. If I take a bit from each and maybe I can find a way to get some more, that should be enough for a nice restraunt. I put my notebook away and climb off the counter. I should probably start on the dinner for tonight. I picked up some pizza dough at the store with some other ingredients for topping. I though it would be a nice change from the stuff we normally eat.
I cut the plastic wrap around it and cut the dough into two pieces. I roll each out so it looks like a regular pizza. They'll be mini personal pizzas though. I throw some sauce on and spread the cheese on top.
"Caleb! I got mini pizzas. What do you want on yours?" I yell.
"pepperoni and sausage please!" I place the pepperoni on then sprinkle on the sausage. I just leave mine plain cheese. I throw them in the oven which I had preheated before I started. A few minutes later, they come out with a nice golden brown crust and melted cheese. I slide them onto plates and take them out to the living room. Caleb is waving his fingers above the puppy as he tries to bite and paw them. I smile and put down the plates. We eat in a comfortable silence.
"Ok so I'll need you to feed him while I'm gone. I'll make the stuff so you don't have to. You'll just need to give it to him every two hours. Just let him suckle until he doesn't want any more than you guys can just rest in bed. He shouldn't be that active for a while, but when he gets older it might be harder. I'll feed him at night so you can get sleep." He looks at me skeptically.
"I can feed him at night. You need all the sleep you can get Tris. You work hard enough already, lack of sleep will not help." I wave him off.
"I'll be fine." Little did I know that I was very wrong.
One week Later (Few days from Christmas)
I run a hand through my hair. This puppy will be the end of me, I swear. I didn't think waking up every three hours would be that bad. Well, I was wrong. Im so tired, it's not even funny. Why did I offer to take care of him?
I drive to work, mostly trying not to let my eyes close. I park outside the mansion and just sort of lean back and close my eyes for a second or two. I should probably ask Caleb to take some of the night feedings. I open my eyes and force myself out of the truck. When I enter the mansion, Christina immediately appears next to me.
"man, you look like crap." are the first words that come out of her mouth. I glare at her with clear annoyance.
"Really? I didn't know! I feel like crap too." I grumble. She looks at me with concern but says nothing else. We go to clean the guest rooms which takes two hours. Then I go to clean Four/Tobias' room. I don't know what o think of him now. All I know is that I sorta look forward to this time. While I clean he's always there to talk to me. I like our little chats. He's not at all how I thought he would be. A snotty rich guy, not in the least. I push open the door and there he is, sitting on the bed. He looks up with a smile that turns to a look of concern.
"You don't look too good Tris. Are you ok?" He stands up and walks over to me. I look down at my hands, twining them together. My silence provides as answer enough. "You look tired, come on sit down." He pulls me down on his bed. I'm to tired to retaliate. "This proves that you take on too much responsibility." I had told him about the puppy. He had said I need my sleep, but I didn't listen. I should probably start listening to people. I look up into his worried eyes. "You can take a rest. I don't want you to overwork yourself."
"No, I should start cleaning." He puts and arm across my lap, making me stay seated.
"You are going to rest and like it." He says firmly. I let him lay me on my back and cover me with a blanket. I can't help but notice how soft the sheets are and how comfy the mattress is. My eyes close and I fall asleep easily.
My eyes flutter open. I see Four watching me from the foot of the bed. I rub my eyes and sit up. My cheeks suddenly turn pink when I remember where I am. His eyes never leave me and he has a slight smile on his lips.
"How was your nap?" I turn a darker pink. He smiles wider.
"good I guess." I'm not as tired as I was. "Were you watching me?"
"What? You look cute when you sleep." I hide my face in my hands. He scoots down towards me and pulls my hands from my face. He's on the verge of chuckling. "You cannot take a compliment can you?" I frown, the corners of my mouth pinching together. "I wasn't joking though. It still surprises me that such a beautiful girl can be so stressed." My eyebrows scrunch together.
"I'm not beautiful. I'm definitely not ugly, but I'm not beautiful."
"Well I beg to differ. Now I must ask why you are the one feeding that puppy at night."
"first of his name is Cookie." I point out. "And second off because I don't want my brother waking up at night. He couldn't even if he wanted to feed him." I clamp my mouth shut. Now I've said to much.
"what do you mean? Why wouldn't he be able to feed him?" I have yet to say that Caleb is paralyzed. I fight with myself on whether or not I should just tell him The whole story. I bite my lip. "Tris?"
"Fine, I might as well tell you." I grumble. "You see...my brother he isn't able to get out of bed." He looks at me with perplexed features.
"Why can't he?"
"You know that accident my parents died in?" He nods. "In that same accident...my brother got paralyzed from the waist down. The puppy stays in my room during the night so he can't exactly get out of bed to feed him. Plus he's sick and I don't want him stressing." He scoffs.
"You don't want him stressing? You gotta be kidding me. Here you are, so tired you could barely stand, and you're worried about your brothers stress. Do you ever think of your self?" I stares t him blankly. He's right. I've always done everything for others benefits. I've never done anything for my own. His gaze pierces me. "Now I have another question. If you could do anything at this moment that would make you happy, what would you do?" I look at him. I have tried and failed to deny the feelings that have grown for him. How can you not? He's handsome and surprisingly caring. I've never met someone like him. I can't really tell him what would make me happy at this moment.
"I don't know." I do. "I have an idea but it's not possible." He gives me a questioning look. I shake my head and look down at my lap. He pulls my chin up so I look at him.
"Why not?" His eyes implore me to answer his question. I tug my lip between my teeth. I glance down at his lips then look back up. He looks at me for a while, staring right into my eyes. I finally get to appreciate the color of his. A deep ocean blue that sparkles with a brighter blue. It's hypnotic the way it looks like it's shifting colors. Like the waves on a beach. They darken slightly now turning into a darker night sky blue.
"I don't know. I just think it'd be a one sided-" he cuts me off by pressing his lips to mine. I freeze slightly then melt Into him. It's soft and gentle despite him being such an intimidating person. Her pulls away and presses his forehead to mine.
"I don't think it's one-sided." He smile brightly. I smile shyly and glance down at my hands. He grabs one and laces his fingers through mine.
"How did you..." I don't finish my sentence.
"It was in your eyes. Plus I've had my suspicions." I look back up into his eyes. "I assure you, it's not one-sided."
"Why though? I'm not anything that a guy like you should look for." I resent this fact. He should be with a beautiful woman who has curves and an actual body. Not some skinny 12-year-old.
"Yes you are. You're beautiful, selfless, smart, and kind. I've never met anyone as perfect as you." I blush deeply. "And don't you dare go saying you're none if those things."
"You sure? My life is pretty messed up." I warn.
"I think I can handle it." He kisses me softly.
"Ok." A goofy smile appears on his lips. I'm certainly not tired anymore.