The next day at school, Tobias tried to find Tris right away. When he finally found her, Tris thought something was wrong for a moment; he seemed really desperate to see her. But the first thing he did was give her a very big hug, in front of everyone. Tris smiled and knew this meant that things had gone extremely well with his father when they got home last night.
When he finally let go of her, Tobias couldn't get the questions out fast enough. "How did your mother do that? Did she say anything more to you when we left last night?"
Tris knew he would have plenty of questions after what happened last night, but how much should she actually say about what her mother did, and what she knew? She didn't want to betray her mother by not keeping her secrets, and she didn't want to betray Tobias by keeping something from him. Even though she didn't quite know everything about her mother's secrets, she knew it was something big and had to do with Tobias's family. Tris decided that she needed more time to think this over. But before she could say anything, the bell rang and they had to get to their classes.
"Can we talk later?" Tris tried to sound casual but Tobias's mood was already shifting a bit and she knew she could no longer play it off like there wasn't anything to talk about.
Tobias didn't move. "Are you ok?" He asked. Tris's heart melted at the thought that he was still so concerned for her. She was the one who should be asking him that question, not the other way around.
"I'm fine; we can meet after school, ok?"
Tobias looked like he was going to say something but a teacher interrupted them. "Let's go! You should be in class by now."
They reluctantly parted ways and walked in opposite directions. Right before she was about to enter her classroom, Tris looked back to see if she could still see Tobias. There he was, at the end of the hallway, looking at her. He wasn't angry, he was worried for her. Tris kicked herself knowing that he would worry all day until they talked. He would blow this out of proportion. She knew she had to tell him something at this point, but would the truth backfire? If he knew everything, would he assume her mother could have helped him earlier? And would he hate her for it?
Tobias was waiting for Tris outside of her last class of the day. Tris knew he would be there. They went outside and started walking toward Tris' s house.
"Well, what's wrong?" Tobias started gently. "I know you well enough to know there's something you don't want to tell me."
This was so uncomfortable for Tris. She thought about how she herself had reacted to her mother's explanations last night. Tris was angry with her mother even though she had just saved Tobias. She eventually came around and let her mother explain herself. But how would Tobias react when he finds out? Her mother hadn't told her that she couldn't tell him. She actually acknowledged yesterday that Tobias and Tris tell each other everything. She had to have known she would end up sharing this with Tobias and telling him everything. Tris still couldn't tell Tobias everything even if she wanted to, because she didn't even know everything.
"Is it really that bad?" Tobias said, breaking the silence. Tris knew she was now making it worse by not saying anything.
Tris stopped walking. "Ok, I can't give you an explanation about how my mother knew because she really didn't explain it to me." She looked into Tobias's eyes, "But she did imply that she knew what went on between your mother and your father. And when she saw Marcus and us last night, she connected the dots. She swore to me that she didn't know how Marcus treated you until last night. She said your mother told her that Marcus never went after you. Apparently your mother and mine were best friends. I don't know if she tried to help her, she wouldn't tell me anymore. I really hope she did. I don't know why she kept this all a secret. I don't know." She felt like she was trying to defend her mother but still she wasn't completely sure if she should be on her side about this. Tris did know for sure that she was on Tobias's side though. She tried to read Tobias's reaction but she couldn't place it. Confusion? Heartache?
Suddenly Tobias spoke with such passion and he nearly scared Tris. "Your mom did more for me last night than anyone else has ever done. If she has secrets, that's her business. She didn't have to do what she did last night. She could have kept her secrets forever, and no one would have known. But she spoke up and helped. Whatever went on between her and my mother before, I don't care." He stopped talking for a while; he seemed deep in thought. Tris went over to him and took his hand to try to comfort him, letting him know she was there for him.
"She was right about something though. Marcus never once touched me until my mother died. It was like I replaced her. But, if you want to talk about secrets, I knew the whole time what he was doing to my mother but never said a word. I was too afraid. And now she's gone. I'm more to blame than your mother. We both knew."
"You were a child! What could you have done? This is crazy talk. It's not your fault and it's not my mother's fault. It's Marcus's fault. That's it. Simple." She pulled him into a long embrace. "It's not your fault, ok?" In response, Tobias just held her tighter.
Tris was right to dread this conversation and Tobias was right to have been nervous about it. Both of them had been through so much these last couple days. But instead of tearing them apart, it brought them closer together.