Chapter 16

Tobias

Eric looks at me with furrowed eyebrows. His face lights up with understanding. The laugh he gives me is cold, routine, emotionless.
"I'm not Eric, you fucking idiot. I'm his twin. My name is Axel."
So, Eric had a twin. Nice. I frown. "How did you know my name?" He shrugs, and smirks at me. I didn't know it was possible to be more of a douche than Eric, but this guy blows him out of the water.
"I have my ways. Do you have anything to drink? I'm fucking thirsty." I sigh, and get him a glass of water. I sit across from him, and study him.
"Are you Erudite?" I ask him, and he gives me another knowing smirk, like he knows something I don't.
"I guess you could say that, Tobias." I narrow my eyes. "Do NOT call me that." Axel raises his hands in a mock surrender.
"Fine, Four. So, I imagine you're wondering why I'm here." I nod, still studying him. This man is more dangerous than Eric was. More ruthless, brutal, and sadistic. "Well. I know that Tris got the shit kicked out of her today." He grins at me, and I lunge across the table. I grab his throat, and his eyes widen.
"How do you know that? I swear to God, if you did that to her, I will obliterate you." He manages to shake his head, and I realize that he can't breathe. I reluctantly release him, and he rubs his throat. "Fuck, Four. A guy needs to breathe." "Not you."
"What crawled up your ass and died?"
"Tell me how you know what happened to Tris. Before I kick your ass back to Erudite."
He looks at me, and folds his hands. He rests his chin on them, and I meet his eyes. They're cold, calculating. He's studying me like I'm some experiment. Finally, he answers.
"Because I know everything that goes on here. Every single thing, Four."
What? "What do you mean?" Axel sighs. "I can't explain it here. I don't have the time. Would you be up to meeting me in the city?"
I don't know if I can trust him. After all, he's related to Eric. But he knows who attacked my girlfriend, and if he can tell me, I can trust him for now. I nod.
"Good. Take the midnight train tomorrow and get off at Milennium. I'll be under the lima tree. Oh, and bring Tris if she's feeling better." He pushes back the chair,
and stands up. He walks to the door, and before he leaves he turns around.
"Look. I may look a lot like Eric, sound like him, and even act like him. I even come from the same faction as him. But, I need you to know that I'm not him. I hated my twin to the deepest depths of hell. I'm glad he's dead, and even happier that you're the one who killed him. I guess my point is, I'm not your enemy. Or Tris's, for that matter. I know you don't trust me yet, but I hope you come to. I'll see the two of you tomorrow." And with that, he leaves.
I stare at the door for a while after he leaves. Eric has a twin. I don't know why, but I already feel like I can trust him. Even though he's worse than Eric was. And that bothers me. I walk over to the couch and sit down. Axel gave me a lot to think about. The one thing he said that sticks out was "Because I know everything that goes on here. Every single thing, Four." I need to know what he meant by that. Here, as in Dauntless, or here as in Chicago? I shake my head. I guess I'll find out everything tomorrow. I look at the clock, and I realize it's been over an hour since I left Tris in the infirmary. I shower and change my clothes, and making sure I lock the apartment, I head back to the infirmary.

Tris

I let the doctor, whose insists I call her Natalie, give me a physical. Her name sets off the monster of grief in my chest, but I keep it caged for now. She tells me that I have a very small fracture in a rib, but other than a few scrapes and bruises, everything else is fine. She prescribes me some cream to put on my eye each night before bed. "Do you have any idea who did this?" she asks me, and I shake my head. Truth be told, I haven't even thought about it. I was in shock until Tobias found me. "No. All I know was it was a guy, and he was short. He was dressed in all black. The only thing I could see were his eyes." I shudder. I knew the man must have been wearing contacts, but those eyes were the eyes of a madman. The man's eyes were black. They seemed to be bottomless pits of darkness, like Marcus's eyes in Tobias' fear landscape. "Well, I hope you find out. He needs to be punished." She finishes checking my heartbeat, and puts away her stethoscope. "Well, you're free to go, Tris. Just rest a little, and in a few weeks your rib should be fine. I'm not letting you leave alone, though. Not after what happened to you tonight. You can wait in the waiting room for Four." She has her hands on her hips, as if she's scolding me. I nod and smile at her.
"Thank you, Doctor. I really appreciate it." She smiles back. "Anytime, Tris. Now, go wait for your boyfriend." I oblige, and sit down to wait for Tobias. When he comes in, he looks troubled. I don't want to bother him here, though. His eyes find me and he pulls me into his arms.
He breathes in the scent of my hair and closes his eyes.
"I missed you." He says, and I blush. It's only been an hour and a half, but it feels like it's been weeks without him.
"I missed you too, Tobias. I still miss you. I'm pre-missing you for next time." And I kiss him gently. After a minute, he breaks the kiss and we leave the infirmary together. We walk hand in hand toward our apartment.
"So, what did the doctor say?" he asks me, looking worried.
"Surprisingly little." Tobias frowns, and looks angry. I backtrack immediately. "As in, there's not much wrong with me. She said I had a cracked rib, and to rest for a while. Other than that, I just have a few scrapes and bruises. I'm fine, I promise." I squeeze his hand reassuringly.
Tobias sighs. "Well, if you say so." I frown at him.
"I do. I'm not weak, Tobias. I wish you'd stop treating me like I am."
Tobias stops and looks at me. "Tris, right now, you are a bit weak. You just had the shit beaten out of you."
I roll my eyes dramatically. I don't know where this flare of temper is coming from, but he isn't helping. "It happens, Tobias. I can take care of myself. Stop treating me like a little girl. I've been through a hell of a lot more than you have in the past few months. I do NOT need you to take care of me!" He looks at me with pleading eyes. "Tris, I just want you to be okay. I'm sorry." I wrench my hand from his and turn away, with my arms crossed. "Are you?" I ask him, and he grabs my arm. "Of course. I didn't mean to make you mad. I just wanted to know if you're okay. Please, don't stay mad at me. I'm sorry." I look at him, and he's chewing on his lip.
He looks afraid. I sigh.
"I know, baby. It's okay." And I pull him into my arms. We stand there hugging for a while, and then make our way back to our apartment.

After another shower and a quick bite to eat, Tobias and I lay down together on the bed. I trace patterns on his chest while he plays with my hair.
"Tobias?" I ask in a small voice. I don't want to cause another fight, but as they say, curiosity kills the cat.
"Yes, love?" I smile. I love when he calls me names like that.
"When we fought earlier..." I look into his eyes. "You looked scared. Terrified, even. What were you scared of?"
Tobias sighs. "I... I was scared of you leaving." He looks ashamed. "You think I'd leave you over that? You think I would ever leave you? Tobias, I'm not going anywhere. Ever." I kiss his cheek. "You're stuck with me."
"Oh, joy," he says unenthusiastically, and I smack his shoulder. "No, I don't think you'd leave. It's just... I'm always scared. I'm scared that the happiness you give me is only temporary. And I want it to be permanent. I can't lose you, Tris. Ever."
That reminds me of what Evelyn told me, when I confronted her in the factionless section of the city. When I hadn't almost died. When things were nowhere near as bad as they'd come to be.
"When we were in the factionless sector, Evelyn told me something." He looks at me, and tenses up. He still hates both of his parents, although I think he hates his mother to a lesser extent than his father. "She told me..." I take a deep breath, and my confession comes tumbling out in a continuous string of words. "ShetoldmeIwasonlytemporaryandshewaspermanent." Pure anger crosses Tobias' face, followed by hurt, and then love for me. "She's wrong. I'd pick you over her any day. You won't leave me like she did."
I smile, and hug him. "Yeah?" I say into his chest, and I think he hears the smile in my voice.
"Of course. I love you, Beatrice Grace Prior." I can hear the smile in his voice, too. "I love you too, Tobias..." I realize I don't know his middle name. "Tobias, what's your middle name?" He shrugs.
"I don't know. I've never really had one." I stare at him. "Do you want one?" He smiles at me.
"I guess so." I think about it for a while, and I finally come up with a name.
"Tobias Alexander Eaton." He nods, and hugs me. "I love it. Thank you."
I kiss his cheek. "I love you, Tobias Alexander Eaton. Now, get some rest. It's been a long day."
And with that, my head falls onto his chest. I fall asleep to the sound of his snores, feeling safe and secure in his arms.

A/N: Sooooo, what do you guys think of Axel?! I just kind of came up with him on the spot, and he fits into my idea perfectly. And the middle name thing... I'm almost positive Tobias' middle name is Marcus, but I could be wrong. And even if it is, it'd make sense for him to change it.

So, yeah. This chapter is a pivotal point. Things are going to start getting interesting from here on. And let's say Tris and Axel's meeting will be... interesting.

Also, a tad of Fourtris was necessary in my eyes, to lighten up the mood after Tris was attacked.

Please review, and expect a new chapter sometime this week. I love you guys. :)