I am so sorry this is a day late. There has been knitting, and baking and Christmas Shopping and wrapping and good Lord I needed a vacation just to find any kind of time to write this past week!

Thank you to all of the new reviewers, seriously you all make me smile. Especially with some of the things you say. Without further adieu, I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

After hearing Christina leave for work I find myself wandering around the place I have called home. The walls are complete bare and only a simple white. The furniture is also plain and boring, in fact I don't even remember picking any of it out or purchasing it. I had always just assumed Christina must have done it.

I realize that I have never questioned before how unwelcoming it feels to be here. Why are there no pictures, or knick knacks? Christina is very close to her family, visiting them at least once a week, but even her room is devoid of anything that would show that.

Maybe it's because I don't know enough about her to fill in the blanks.

The thought causes a sudden pain to shoot through my head. It feels like my mind is being ripped into two. My hands grip the sides of my skull as I sink to the floor in agony. I try to center myself by focusing on my breathing.

1...2...3...4…

"Tobias?"

My mother's voice calls out to me from the front door. In an instant the pain is gone, and I quickly pull myself up onto the couch, before Evelyn enters the room. Her eyes narrow, and just like usual I feel as though she can see right through me. We stare at one another for a moment, neither one of us wanting to be the first to break the silence.

"Sorry, the door was open. I tried knocking." My mother's voice is sickly sweet, and I can see right through the fake smile she has plastered on her face.

"No problem," I mumble under my breath, waiting for her to get to the chase.

Walking to the window I watch Evelyn cross her arms as she stares out into the overgrown garden. I can see the stress and anxiety etched into her face. Although my mother and I had tried to mend our relationship, for me there was just too much mistrust to be able to let her back in. That doesn't stop me from feeling guilty that somehow my actions seem to be hurting her right now.

"Christina called me."

Evelyn is the one to finally break the silence.

"Awesome."

I can't stop the anger from seething into my voice. I can't shake the feeling that Christina has betrayed me, even though in the back of my mind I try to tell myself that she is only trying to help.

"You're dreaming about her still."

Her words come out as a statement, and I hate her for them. I hate to think of her and the precious, fleeting moments I share with Tris, combining into one big pile.

"Do you love me?" She asks me, spinning around to face me.

Her question catches me off guard and I watch her brows furrow. I can see just how much she has aged, and that sense of guilt creeps up even further, threatening to smother me.

"Mom…" I start but she cuts me off, holding her hand up to stop me.

"What is it about her that makes you love her more?"

I'm not sure how to answer her question without hurting her.

"You are my mother. Of course I love you. But Tris…," for once my mother doesn't interject but stares at me in anticipation, "is my everything. I don't want to move on without her. I could never be with anyone else. I don't want to forget her."

"You say it like she is still alive. Beatrice is dead, Tobias!" My mother's sudden anger catches me off guard, making me tense against the cushion I am propped against. The tension between us is thick and we are at another standoff, waiting for the other to finally speak.

I pick haphazardly at a loose string pressed into the corner of the couch. My other hand tenses into a fist for a moment before releasing. I will not let Evelyn get the best of me.

"We are just worried about you." She finally says, her voice full of fake concern.

"There's nothing to be worried about."

"It's been four years. You are not a functional member of society. You can't hold a job. You are experiencing hallucinations about someone who has passed away. Maybe it's time for you to see someone."

"They are not hallucinations, they are dreams. They are memories, that I refuse to forget! And it's not about me being a functional member of society, is it mom?! It's because you wanted me to run for some kind of government office, and I didn't. You wanted to ride on my coat tails, and I refused to let you push me into that."

"You could have been a great leader! Instead you are squandering your life away day dreaming about a little girl you had a crush on. We could have had it all! I could have had everything!"

"Even if I had run for office I would've never let you have any sort of say! You are just as power hungry as my father!"

The echo of her slap seemed to linger in the room, but I was too angry to even feel the sting in my cheek.

"It's time to grow up Tobias." Evelyn moves so that her face is only inches from mine, and I can smell the sour stench of her breath. Despite her words her voice is even, causing goosebumps to ripple up my arms. "Just because you have a dream that you're in a simulation doesn't mean you actually are."

"I never told you what my dream was about."

So I have a little challenge for you. I have already started writing Chapter 4 and with any luck I will be done within the next few hours of this being posted. IF we can get to, ohhhh, 15 reviews by Monday I will post the next chapter for you Christmas Eve. Deal?