Deleted from Chapter 28, before Lauren comes to the apartment.

Why? To speed up the chapter. The argument was originally at the start of CH29, and that made CH28 feel too much like a filler chapter and delayed the action, but it was already at 5k words. So I turned my faith over to Milner and asked her to chop unnecessary stuff to try and squeeze stuff together and re-align the chapter splits.

So why was this written in the first place? To further showcase Tris getting back to her old self, reclaiming her identity, and to set up that she has a place to stay.

Christina had to use her shoulder to get her door to open. The apartment had been empty for a while, and the humidity on the top floor made the paint on the door stick to the frame. Stepping in was like rewinding the clock to the morning of the attack on Abnegation. Dishes had been forgotten in the sink, presumably from the night before. The smell of mold and decay surrounded the refrigerator. Magnets held reminders and photos.

"Gross." Christina wrinkled her nose, tying off the bag of garbage from the trashcan and quickly carrying it to the hallway.

"Open a window." Derrick waved in front of his nose. "I thought they said it was empty."

"Unoccupied." Tris reminded.

"Filthy traitor." Derrick pushed the window open and started to shuffle through the papers on the table. "Rooster Stallway. Son-of-a-bitch." He smirked, "I hated that guy."

"Well?" Christina looked for cleaning supplies, "Who wants dibs on the refrigerator."

"Oh no, I'm here to move you in. Not clean up." Zeke started backing out the door, Tris grabbed his shirt and pulled him in. "Easy, short stack, I'd hate to have to flip you."

"First to whine, you can do the fridge." Tris shoved him into the kitchen.

"Come on stiff, don't be selfish." Zeke teased, but she was already turning to explore the connecting rooms.

"Hey, Chris, there's two bedrooms."

"Yeah, which one you want?" She asked, stepping in behind her.

Tris dropped her voice, "I have an apartment."

"If you're coming back to Dauntless, you have to live here." She reminded.

"Yeah, I guess, I... It's a little soon. I'm not ready."

"Yeah, you are."

"I'm not even in, yet."

"You'll be in soon. Just pick a room."

"And if I don't make it?"

"You'll make it. So pick a room." Christina insisted, filling a bag with the clothes strewn all around the apartment.

Tris took a big breath and looked from one room to the next. They seemed to be about the same size, only one was nearly empty, barely used by the previous tenant. The stiff in her wanted to claim the dirtiest room, take the responsibility of cleaning it up. A niggling thought in the back of her mind brought a mischievous smirk. Christina would assume she'd pick the dirty one, that's why she said she could choose.

"I'll take this one." She declared, flopping on the bare mattress and hearing the squeak of the springs.

"You sure?" Christina deadpanned from the hallway.

"Yeah, I like the floor plan." She smiled, kicking her feet and looking around, only a few dust bunnies cluttered the corners.

"Positive?"

"Yeah, I better get to cleaning, it's a pit." Tris hopped off the bed and went to get the broom, barely containing a giggle seeing the glare that followed her down the hallway.

Zeke was gagging as he lifted spoiled items and got something sticky on his hands. "Someone get me a washrag." He groaned.

"What's wrong? It's just a little… what is that?" Tris peered over his shoulder, her hand landing on his back as she leaned.

"I don't know. I think it's drippings from meat."

"Ew." Tris stepped up to the dirty plates in the sink and searched the drawers for a rag, finding one crumpled up under a pot holder. She wet it and crouched next to Zeke. "You big baby." She reached over him and started to strip layers of goo off the shelf.

Zeke was blocked by the bag and the door and Tris's warm body. He leaned closer to her, letting the scent of her soap replace the noxious odors. When she moved away, Zeke looked to see if there were any other spills on the shelves that needed cleaning.

Posting of this chapter is 100% prompted by my dear friend taking great strides in her personal relationships and showing great courage!