Devil Takes the Hindmost, chapter 16

A/N: Hello, everybody! I have to say, this story is about to take an unexpected turn, so please bear with me as we go along! I'd like to say thanks to everybody who's been with this story since chapter 1, and I really hope the plotline will be able to reel you in soon! Happy reading!

TRIS' POV:

The darkness of the interrogation room seems to close in on me, as I hold my head in my hands. My lungs seem to close in on themselves as I take quick, shallow breaths. I can't believe this. It couldn't be true. But they have all the right evidence to show what is happening. To draw their conclusions. Officer Reynolds seemed reluctant to share this information, and the guilty fact that I cheated on Al is also suffocating. But this fact, was the most devastating of them all.

Al didn't die by suicide. He was murdered.

Boxing Day, 2013. My arm was looped around his, as we walked through the gigantic Mall. This was my first trip to Oak Brook Center, a strange, bustling mall. He insisted he took me shopping the day after Christmas, right after lunch at Denny's. My parents approved of this, as he asked them while handing them exquisitely wrapped presents, that were most likely bought from the internet. Sure enough, my mother got the sweater set she wanted, and my father received the red and black tie he longed for. They both conclusively said that I could go with Tobias as long as I was back by ten at night. He had picked me up around 11, and we had lunch together at Denny's, before setting off (in a limo) to the mall. He knew too well how to pamper a girl, though a simple car drive and lunch at McDonalds would have been enough for me.

"You sure you don't want to go to an amusement park instead?" he asked, grinning as he held my hand. We had just walked out of HMW, where he bought some movies that we could watch together. The Breakfast Club, The Outsiders, The Notebook (Only to my insistence. He said he hated movies that ended with somebody dying. "Too obvious," he replied, before rolling his eyes and pulling it off the shelf anyways.)

"I'm fine, Tobias." I replied, squeezing his leather covered hand tightly. He was wearing a new pair of leather driving gloves, though God knows he still couldn't drive. He told me I'd be driving before him, even if I am a sophomore. I still hadn't signed up for Drivers Ed yet, but I would eventually."You know, you didn't even need to take me shopping."

"Nah, I'd rather spend my money on a person I actually care about, then Uriah." he said, his eyes sparkling happily. He suddenly sweeps me into a hug, and lifting me up off my feet. His arms are wrapped tightly around me as my hair out and around as he spins me in the middle of the mall.

"Gah! Tobias!"

"What?" he asks, spinning me around, "I can't hug the girl I love?"

That was a bombshell for a second. I pause, trying to register his words. They seemed to have trouble, trying to jam themselves into my brain. He just said it. He loved me. I try to hide my shock, but instead I begin to laugh, insane happiness bubbling up inside me. He loved me. He loved me. In response to my laughter, he begins to laugh as well, and I'm sure the group of people staring at us aren't staring at us because we are strange. We are two teenagers, crazy in love, and for that perfect moment, I just wanted everything to stop, for time and space to freeze. To let him hold me like that, that are love will no longer be a secret. He sets me down and kisses my forehead, and then takes my hand again. We are about to head to the sweetshop down the hall, before we turn to see two men in blue, both looking at us with grim looks on our face.

"Tobias Eaton?" he asks in a gruff voice, looking down upon both of us. His eyes glitter with malice as his partner stares with us with a sort of sympathetic look, "Beatrice Prior?"

"Yeah," Tobias replies, a sort of growl edging into his voice, "What's it to you?" He sweeps me behind him, as though he was trying to protect me from these men.

"I'm Chief Walker, of Chicago's Police Department. Officer Reynolds as well. You two need to come with us."

TOBIAS' POV

"For the last fucking time, I don't know anything!"

I've been in this room with these men for three hours. They drove us from the mall to the police station in five minutes flat, and I haven't seen Tris since. My hands shake severely, and I wish her hand was there to steady it. For the first time since I met her, I feel like I really need her...and she needs me. The suffocating air of the room is closing in, and I swear to God I will throw up sooner or later. These clowns, Reynolds and Walker, have been interrogating me about Al's death for ages, and I was about done.

"Tobias Eaton, you were amongst last of the people to see Albert Young alive. Are you sure?" Reynolds asks, his voice as firm and calm as before. He was a good police officer, respecting my need for space. He's been asking me strange questions for three hours, ranging from my relationship with Beatrice to what kind of things I did in my free time. All I could do was answer them as honestly as I could. I needed a beer. Alcohol, anything. It steadied me, and I just wanted to collapse. I have to give this guy respect, but the fact that he wasn't letting me out of interrogation was aggravating me to the bone

"Yes, for the last fucking time," I hiss, "All I know is the guy saw me and Tris kissing and then went running for the hills!"

"And you're sure that's the last you saw of him?"

"Godamnit!" I curse, "How many times do I have to say this? YES!"

Officer Reynolds seems to accept my final answer, before heading out of the room, leaving me to drown in my own anxiety. While I wait, I try to think of good things. Uriah. Beatrice. Candy. Beatrice. Basketball. Beatrice. Her name keeps popping up over and over again...I can't make it stop. I needed her next to me. I wanted her next to me

It never occured to me how long she had been in captivity as well, and I start to panick even more. Do they think I was responsible? Will they hold me here until-No. Godamnit, I can't afford to think like that. I am Tobias Eaton, the son of Marcus Eaton, and I'm not going to be scared like a freaking pussy. I had to be strong. For her. For my father.
Strange thing was, my father actually showed up at the station in the end, waiting for me. I had one hour break, and a random officer told me I had a phone call. I ran to it, and heard my father's voice.

"Tobias," he said, his voice lined with worry, "It's gonna be alright, okay? I'm gonna get you out of this, son."

Those words make memories of abuse creep up on me. The belt. The screaming. My cowardly mother, running away and leaving me with him. Rage flashes before my eyes, before I try to get myself to calm down and speak rationally.

"Dad, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Tobias-I..." he stops, the line is quiet for a moment. The buzzing police station seems to be a swarm of gnats, buzzing in my ear, "I'm going to get you out of this."

"Dad!" I finally yell, "What the HELL are you talking about!"

"Tobias..." his voice breaks, and for a second, it's like he's about to cry, "...It's a sensitive subject. I promise, I'll get you out of this...I...I love you, son."

The line goes dead. I stare in awe at the keypad, before dialling angrily. "Dad?" I ask, pressing the buttons as hard as I can. "Dad! DAD!"

I slam the phone back onto the receiver and hold my head in my hands for a moment. This isn't happening. This can't be happening. I'm in the police station and I'm going to die. Sooner or later, I will.

Suddenly, a pair of handcuffs slap themselves on my wrists, and I turn around to see Chief Walker with a grave look on his face, as though carrying out my death sentence. But I knew, as well as he did, that it was.

"Tobias Eaton, you are arrested for the first degree murder of Albert Young. "