A/N: Hi guys! This story is a collaboration, yay! This is a new author, as we will be switching back and forth. Perspective won't change depending on the author, though. I don't have a FF account, but hope to soon once I get some ideas! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! To alishhha19 and Anna, read on to see who gets punched in the nose and Tris' rescuer!
BTW: In case for some reason you think we are Veronica Roth and own Divergent, we don't! If only...
When I wake up, it's because of a knock on the door. the pounding sounding incensed and seemingly never-ending. I feel something warm beside me, only to realize Peter is spooning me. I push back the blanket back and feel my elbows pop from being in one position for… how long?
Peter grabs onto my waist to restrain me. He pulls me back down onto the mattress, hard. He pins me down and has eyes like marbles staring into mine.
"Go anywhere," he growls out, "and try anything, and you can be certain that your brother won't have to worry about finding his partner."
I gulp. His dark hair is shiny, and despite the face of an angel he has, he scares me. I feel my heart thrashing violently against my chest. Caleb can't die because of me, but I have to get out of this place. How desperate is Peter to keep me, if he had to kidnap his wife in the first place? My breathing is heavy.
"I won't," I breathe out.
He studies me for a fraction of a second more, and then breaks the contact. He walks out of the room, only to lock the door behind him. Damn, I think to myself. Maybe the window is an option. I hop up and try to pry it open. It's been painted shut, so there's no hope of getting out unless I smash the glass.
Downstairs I can hear yelling and a small scuffle. I look around the room for something I can use to defend myself if need be, and find my phone in Peter's underwear drawer. I hold my breath while I grab it and try not to gag as I think of how I'm going to have to get a new phone.
"Where is she?!" a muffled voice says. It grows louder by the end, meaning he is coming closer. So a male is here. Possibly a rescuer?
My phone tells me the time is four-o-six. Did someone really get the text? Christina had been up just hours before, so maybe she had been able to send for help. Maybe Caleb did, but I doubt it. The voice didn't sound like his. That leaves…
The floor squeaks and pops in protest of someone rushing across it. The door knob rattles, shakes, and quivers until the entire door itself is kicked off of its hinges. In most other situations, I would be very scared of the person on the other side of the room who had just kicked a door down, but this was my savior.
"Four!" I cry out. His eyes, once cold and panicked, turn to liquid when he see's me.
"Tris! Come with me. We have to hurry; I only knocked Peter out," he says.
In a daze, I get up and begin the journey down the long and narrow hallway. The entire time he shoots me worried glances. Finally, we reach the front door, where I see Peter laying. His head is bent at an awkward angle, as are his arms, and a nasty bruise is coloring his forehead green. His eyelids flutter slightly, and any feelings of retribution I had fade into a dull fear.
Outside, the air is cool and fresh. The sky is just beginning to lighten, turning a beautiful blue color that almost matches Four's eyes. I fidget nervously with the button on my cardigan, and in the small space between the buttons feel bare skin. That's strange, I could have sworn I had on a tank top.
Realization doesn't exactly creep into me, it hits me like a wall. Peter is such a pervert! If I ever see him again, he can be certain that good-looking face of his will not ever look the same. Four notices my indignation and gives me a questioning look. I blush, not really wanting to tell him about what I discovered.
"Are you alright?" he asks.
I look down at the pavement. "Uh, yes fine, thank you."
Four seems to have an inkling on what's going on. "He didn't- Peter, I mean- didn't do anything to you, did he?"
I sigh. "Nothing of importance now."
He puts his hand on the small of my back. "I'll take you home. Would you like to talk about what happened?"
I look into his beautiful, deep-set eyes, wondering just how much I can trust him with. We only just met today, and I suppose yesterday as well, but I feel as if I've known him for longer than that.
"I will in the car. Do you need directions to my house?" I ask stupidly. He will, unless he's a stalker or friend of Caleb's.
He nods and guides me to the passenger seat of his shiny Jeep Commander, but doesn't help me in. I like that; I like feeling independent. He seems to trust me to be able to do things on my own.
Once situated in the car, I can smell leather and something resembling chocolate cake. Four backs out of the driveway, and the further we get from the House of Hell, the better I feel. I tell him which left to take, and then a quick runthrough of where to go. Finally, the inevitable comes.
"How were you able to text me? Didn't Peter take your phone?" he asks, staring at the road.
I pause before answering. "I told him I had to go to the bathroom almost as soon as I got inside, so he didn't remember to take it from me in time. I texted you, my brother Caleb, and my friend Christina. I hoped one of you would get it."
He nods his head. "Not to be rude, since I'm sure it was scary and hard to think rational with Peter kidnapping you, but why did you text me? You decide that the person you'll put the fate of your life in the hands of is the one you just met?"
I chew on my lower lip, a bad habit of mine. "When you put it that way, yes I sound pretty stupid. But you ended up coming, so maybe I just have good instincts."
He chuckles. "Alright, I'll give you that one. But another question I have is where was Eric? You did say he helped kidnap you, right?"
I nod. "Yes, he left after a while though. He helped Peter kidnap me. I was at one of the cornfield parties when I met Peter. He was nice at first, but he got crazy possessive and had Eric help him kidnap me. He said I was going to be with him."
Four looks at me, which nearly gives me a heart attack for two reasons. One: The road is narrow enough as it is, and I'd rather not die just after being rescued. Two: Four's eyes were the kind you could swim in. His face was the kind that made a girl swoon. So, I collect all girlish thoughts and throw them into the ditch where I hope the car would not soon be. The blush threatening to fill my cheeks subsides.
"How old are you, Tris?" he asks.
My throat is dry and I can barely answer, "Sixteen. You?"
"I'm going to be eighteen in three months," he says, once again focusing on the road. I feel both relieved and disappointed.
"So, you have a girlfriend," I state. It's not a question.
"No. I don't really like the whole married by eighteen rule. If you are going to spend the rest of your life with someone, it's got to be the right one. Who knows? Maybe you don't find them until later in life, once you're married already. It's not like you can just dump your wife or husband. I don't want to be tied down like that."
The conversation is getting deep, but I don't really mind. It's four o'clock in the morning, and we both lack sleep.
"Tied down? I can see what you mean after being stuck with Peter for a few hours. But if you marry someone you love, would you still feel tied down? I mean, are you against marriage completely?" I ask, genuinely curious to know. Christina and I never talk about disliking the rules, and my parents and Caleb are completely gung-ho with finding a partner.
He's quiet for a while, contemplating my question. "I'm not against marriage. It's just that, everything seems so rushed now. My relationships with people are more intense and if I simply talk to a girl people think we're dating. I don't like it."
I mull over all that he's said. He's right, I guess, but that makes me wonder if I've offended him by asking him to help me. Does he view me like he views them, trying only to find a husband? I don't think so.
"I've never really thought about that before, Four. I guess everyone does just sort of flirt with each other nonstop. If I hadn't have gone to that party tonight, I wouldn't have been kidnapped," I say, looking at him with hopes of catching a glimpse of his gorgeous eyes again.
We're quiet for the rest of the ride, and I check my phone to see if anyone texted me. That's when I remember the lock on it. Crap, what am I going to do? I'm not asking Peter or Eric, that's for sure.
"We're here," he says, parking the Jeep. He has excellent memory to have gotten here without much help from me along the way. I notice as I'm unbuckling my seat belt that he is, too.
"You don't have to walk me up, thanks though," I tell him.
He shakes his head. "I insist."
I find the key on the upper ledge of the door and quietly open it. It makes its usual creak, causing me to cringe. It's not like my parents will be mad, but if they see Four, they'll go berserk with joy and assumptions.
I picture Four being interrogated by my parents about his intentions for a relationship with me and can practically see their faces fall when they realize he isn't looking for a romance. I bite back a smile and wince when my teeth hit the same spot they always do on my bottom lip.
Four stands on the ledge and I give him a small wave while taking off my shoes at the door. He has dark circles under his eyes, and I wonder if he too has been up all night. If so, what has he been doing? I find myself more curious about the boy in front of me than ever before.
"Thank you again, Four," I say before he leaves.
I rub my head while walking up the steps to my room, a headache pounding in my skull. I need sleep, badly. I run into someone on my way up, and find Caleb in jeans and a t-shirt, ready to go with car keys in his hand.
"Going somewhere?" I ask, only to enveloped in a hug by him. We walk up to his room.
"I got your text, Tris! How did you get out? I can't believe some scumbag would do that!" he rants.
I hold up my hand. "Please, I don't want to talk about it now. Just know that someone else helped me and I'm fine now."
He scowls, his protectiveness telling him to question me further. "What did Peter and Eric do to you?"
"Nothing much. The only damage done is my phone has a lock I can't get-" I begin.
"Let me see," he interrupts. He grabs the device from me, punches in a few numbers, and then takes the lock off.
"How did you…" I ask him.
He rolls his eyes. "It was 'Tris' as numbers. 8747. Peter's not very bright, is he?"
The sound of an engine makes us jump. Caleb runs to the window to see Four's Jeep pulling out of the driveway. He takes a left to leave.
"Who was that?" Caleb wonders.
"Uh, Four. He was the one who got me from Peter," I mumble.
Caleb's green eyes light up. His dark hair hasn't even been brushed through, I notice.
"You like him," he says, matter-of-factly.
I roll my eyes and turn to leave, hoping to physically remove myself from this subject. He doesn't stop me, and I change into sweatpants and another tank top once in my room. My head feels like a pissed-off leprechaun is whacking away at my skull to escape, and my entire body is racked with exhaustion. Christina and I may have to meet up later in the day than I originally thought.
A/N: Just to make things a lot easier for everyone, I'm going to go by a pen name so that if you want to review something directly to me, you can. I will now go by the name: JerkNone.