Tobias.
She lays there with her eyes closed; she's shaking. I'm not sure whether to comfort her or not. The memory serum worked.
She's back.
It doesn't feel real. None of this feels natural. In fact it's a bit uncomfortable. It's not like she's a new person. I've been speaking with her for months. It just wasn't her. I start to feel anxious and a bit agitated. Once again, I didn't prepare or know what to expect for when she came back. I don't know what to do. My hands are sweating. It really feels like we haven't spoken in five years. And in a sense, we haven't.
All of these thoughts go away in an instant as she throws herself to me and wraps her arms and legs around my limbs. I hug back twice as firm.
"Thank you." She whispers in my ear and then kisses my jaw. I am frozen. Tris is back.
We stay like this for a while and then she slowly slides off m lap and plants herself on the chair, swinging her legs off the side and leaning back on her arms. Even though she is still wearing one of those uptight tiny dresses and has her face caked with makeup, she does not look like Beatrice Smith anymore. All I see is tight black pants and a dauntless jacket; her hair sticking out of a messy ponytail, and the look of fear and strength on her face. Yes, this is her.
I sigh as I come back to the reality of what I just saw through the serum. All fantasies have to come to an end at some point.
"We should talk about this." I mutter.
"You're right. Nothing personal. Yet. What just happened?"
"I was just going to ask you the same thing. That was only about 15 minutes of footage. What happened to the rest of your memories?"
She smiles a little. Just a little.
"They're in here." She points to her head. "I programmed it earlier to only show the last fifteen minutes. That's not important though."
"Yeah, I know. So do you know that man from the end? What happened after that?"
"Remember how I told you about my fake car accident? That was the man who claimed he was my uncle. There was a girl my age who pretended to be my cousin too. Even though I didn't know who I was, I had instinct. I knew there was something sketchy so I got out of there."
"And then what did you do?"
"I rented an apartment, with money I didn't have and started my career as Beatrice Smith."
I blow a low whistle. Damn. She was twenty years old, she didn't know who she was, she had no family and just got out of the hospital after a "car accident" yet still managed to become a successful business woman. She's always been a better person than me.
"You're amazing."
She laughs.
"I know."
She's gained so much more confidence and I love it. I love her.
"We have to find out who those people are though. Why they took you. They might still be looking for you. How long has it been since the accident?"
"Five years, remember?"
"Right." I smirk.
"I missed you. Every day. Sometimes I couldn't even breathe because you weren't next to me. I didn't tell you that I love you enough. I was never good enough for you, and I regretted it every day. But I love you. God, I love you more than you know. More than I should."
I shouldn't be pouring out to her like this. She just woke up; she should rest, relax and then deal with my crybaby crap.
"Shhh. Not now." She pulls my head to her chest and kisses my head.
"I love you too." And with that, I feel complete again.
"Let's not worry about any of that now. We'll figure it all out later. Right now, just us." I say it but I don't mean it. This is who we are. We are always on the move, always doing something important. Always surviving. We can't just ditch this problem. I still have to help Zeke.
Zeke! Shit, I forgot.
"Tris, I know there's no point in asking this but I promised Zeke I would. Is there a chance Uriah could be alive?" I know the answer is going to be no, but I have to ask. For Zeke. He's done so much for me. He is the reason I'm here with my Tris.
She bits her lip and narrows her eyes.
"Is there?" I push. She looks like she's holding something back.
"To be honest, maybe. But I don't want to get anyone's hopes not. It would be heartbreaking if he thought he was alive and found out he wasn't."
"It's a little too late for that."
"Huh?"
"Zeke is somehow convinced he's alive. In fact were properly going to go on a search party for him anytime soon"
"Oh." She looks down and twiddles her thumbs. For second I think I did something wrong but then I realize what it is. She's overwhelmed. Thankfully, I solution for that.
"Let's get out of here."
She nods her head and grabs my hand as she hops down from the chair.
Within a half hour, we're lying in bed. She's still breathing heavily. I move her hair aside and kiss her neck.
"I needed that. A lot." She breathes.
"I'm better than that Martin dude aren't I?"
"Much." I leave it at that. I can't blame her or be mad at her for the scandal. She wasn't Tris. It's all in the past now.
"You're really good. You must've had practice right?"
There it is. I knew we'd have to talk about it eventually.
"I loved you every day. No one was ever even close to being you."
"Is that what you wanted? A replacement? I would've wanted you to meet someone brand new. Love her because she wasn't me. I would've wanted you to just love someone. I also wouldn't have wanted you to just a have a string of one night stands. I-"
"Tris, it's been five years." I break in.
"I know" She huffs. "You don't have to explain it to me."
We lay together in each other's arms, trying to make up the lost time.
I groan when I hear my phone ring. I lean over Tris to pick up my phone and hold it to my ear.
"Tobias." A voice says sternly.
"Mom?"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN INDIANAPOLIS?!" I cover my ear and quickly put on at least my pants. I give Tris a sorry look.
"Evelyn?" She mouths.
I nod and walk into the bathroom.
"Mom, listen. It's a long story that I can't exactly tell you."
"Oh my gosh Tobias. I don't care about what you're doing. Did you really quit your job? And lie about it to your boss? And why did you have to kill me off? Your father would've been a much better option. But how did you think you were going to find a new one?"
"I haven't really thought about it yet."
"Tobias I can't believe you did this. You must be there for a really damn good reason."
I look at Tris through the window.
"Trust me, I am."
"Whatever." I can hear her rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I, as your mother did the motherly thing to do and I went to talk to your boss."
"Talk? Was it more like yelling and threatening?"
"The point is I got your job back. George loves you even though you screwed up big time. Now I know you think you're a big kid and you can do fine without your mother because you had for a while, but you're going back to Chicago and you're getting the job back. You will regret it big time if you don't."
"Fine mom."She hangs up. I don't know if I will or not though. Tris's life is here. But then again, my life is there. I didn't think any of this through.
"What's wrong?" Tris says as she comes into the bathroom and wraps her arms around my waist. She's wearing one of my shirts and her hair is still messed up. I smirk at the red splotches on her neck.
"My job in Chicago, I should to go back. But I'm willing to stay here for you."
"No. Go back to Chicago. But take me with you."
My heart race picks up.
"For real?"
"Look, I hate Beatrice Smith just as much as you do. I don't want to be her and I don't want to have her life. I especially don't want to be a magazine publisher. Chicago is where we both belong. I want to be there, especially with you. I need a fresh start."
I don't say anything but I pick her up and spin her in a circle as I kiss her.
"We'll leave today."
While she's in the bathroom getting ready, I call up someone who will be the most excited to see her.
Caleb.
I lost contact with him for a while. The last time I saw him was 2 years ago at him and Susan's wedding. But I did call him every night to keep him updated on what's going on with Tris. I didn't tell him everything, but I told him enough to keep him satisfied.
"Caleb."
"Is she there? Is she real?"
"Yes and yes. She's back."
I hear him making a choking sound.
"When can I see her?"
"Were leaving back to Chicago today. I want you and Susan and the kids there for her when she comes. Just wait in my apartment. You still have the extra key I gave you right? We'll be home at around 9."
"Great. That sounds great. Thanks, Tobias."
"I got to go, she's coming."
I see her come out of the bathroom with her hair held up in towel. She's wearing no makeup, just how I like it.
"You ready?" I ask.
"Yeah."
We finish packing our bags and getting our stuff together. And then we both check out of the apartment for what we think will be our last.
Yay for an update! I know a lot of you are still probably confused with what happened last chapter but I promise I will get to it all eventually. In the last chapters, where all the shit goes down is when you find out what happened. But for now its just Tris's new life I guess. But don't go anywhere because this story isn't near over. Theres a lot of drama and crap to come. If you want to ask a question about something in the story, feel free to PM me .
On a sadder note, I wont be updating for a while because im leaving for vacation. But I will be back to annoy you guys don't worry. Im not going to ditch this story and update with an AN 6 months later saying that "im not feeling this story" . I hate when authors do that. But yeah I hope this chapter is enough to keep you happy. I made it extra long.
Also, a personal question. I need boy help. Hopefully you guys are experts. So I've been texting this guy I like (if you read my last story, yeah it's the same guy) and its like text flirting. And we talk about everything. We just text for hours. But then in school its like nothing. We never talk. We have completely different friends and we are in different social standings. He's like super popular and sporty and doesn't know what a fandom is and im this tumblr book nerd with no life. Not to mention he still flirts with his ex gf all the time. And this gf is the most popular gorgeous girl in the grade(shes also a total bitch) Idk what to do. Help? Thoughts from a stranger? Im trying to talk to him but its always so awkward. Mrehh.
Anyway that's all. REVIEW PLEASEEEE!