Chapter 39:

TOBIAS POV:

I wake to a soft sigh, my eyes opening, then shutting almost immediately. The pain searing through-out my back is unbearable, worst than I ever have had before. I try to remember what had happened before I passed out, but all I can gather is falling asleep at Tris's house. My head burns with a massive headache, and attempting to open my stubborn eyes doesn't help.

"Stop moving, Tobias." I hear a soft voice whispers, a gentle hand being placed on my shoulder.

The voice sounds angelic, soothing my aching head, like ice to a bruise. Almost instantly I recognized the voice, though I'm still not sure on how she got here, or how I did for that matter.

"Tris?" I ask, wincing in pain as my busted lip moves with my words.

"Yeah?" She questions back, and I feel a gentle touch on the back of my head, only causing me to cringe again.

I take a deep breath, my ribs screaming at me to stop, then I mumble, "What's happening?"

"What do you mean, 'what's happening?' Don't you remember?" Her voice is somewhat soothing, but it seems to raise a few octaves as she asks me those questions.

"No."

"Tobias…." Tris pauses, breathing in and out heavily, "What do you remember?"

I take a second, thinking. We were talking about how she was going to go on the pill, we were deciding on how in a month we would be ready to take the next step in our relationship. Was I dreaming? Was this all a dream? I guess there is only one way to find out...

"You….um….you decided to take birth control…." I trail off, attempting to make this situation not that awkward.

I hear something rip, then the soft gust of air blow across my flesh wound on my back. Her hands slowly and carefully slide the sleeves off my arms, removing the whole shirt easily as she had ripped it all the way up the back.

Tris mutters a curse word beneath her breath, attempting to conceal the true meaning behind it.

"God dammit, Tobias." She says a little louder, sighing shortly after speaking.

I don't respond, thoroughly confused as to why she's cursing at me, and how I got here. Why didn't she answer me?

"Tris? What's going on?"

"You really don't remember anything?" She asks, clearly exasperated.

"No."

"Okay well…." I feel a sharp pain as she dabs at my open wounds with a wet washcloth, causing me to suck in a sharp breath of air, "That was the other night….and that morning when we got up, you told my parents you were going to go back home…." and another wince, "So we let you leave, but you told me you would call me no matter you got hurt or not."

I hear her sniffle, her tough act fading into oblivion as she continues to speak.

"You never called, so I assumed the worst. I told my mom I was going out, and came here. I knocked on the door and nobody answered, so I started to panic," she takes another second to whip her eyes then continues, "The door was locked so I looked around to try to find your extra key, but your father must have moved it because it wasn't where it normally is anymore. I went into your backyard and it turns out that your glass, back door had been shattered so I came in…"

She stops, her fingers not moving anymore along my back, I can hear her breath in roughly a few times, symbolizing her sobs that must be strong right now. I try to shift, turning my head to face her, ignoring the almost unbearable pain rippling throughout my body. My hands somehow get underneath me, barely allowing me to sit up, though I do it.

My teeth grind together as I sit in front of Tris, finally able to look at her, though the sight is not one I'm fond of. Her knees are up to her chest, her head in her hands while her body lightly shakes with every cry. I wish I could go over to her and just hold her, but the black dots that now invade my vision make it hard for me to move.

After about five minutes, she finally lifts her head, her face filled with complete sorrow, and her eyes going wide when she realizes that I'm sitting up.

"Tobias...lay back...down...I-I need to...fix your back." She speaks in between sniffles while rubbing her eyes.

"Tris, I need to know that you are okay."

A/N: Harsh language ahead!

"Are you kidding me!?" She yells, then looks around the room before standing up and pacing, "You're the one who just got the shit beat outta him by his own father and you are asking me if I'm okay!? When I came into your house, Tobias, your blood was all over the fucking floor! That damn belt was just lying there, your dried blood all over the buckle! Tobias, I thought you were fucking dead! Your father wasn't even home still! He just beat you then fucking left!"

She takes a second, her body trembling out of rage, but a few tears tumble down her cheeks. Her hands go to her face again, first covering everything, then just her mouth, and finally they fall at her sides.

In a softer voice she says, "I thought he had killed you and then just left...I-I didn't know what to do so I just searched your house and tried to find you. I found you...I found you in that damn closet, and...I'm not sure limbs are supposed to bend that way. Tobias, I think you father thinks you're dead. He took your phone and your wallet….and all of his stuff is gone. When I first saw you in that closet I thought you were dead too….I-I just grabbed you and held you….Tobias, I thought you were gone."

My heart feels like someone set it on fire to burn as I watch Tris's emotions flash across her face. Her eyes allow me to see all her pain, she is not hiding it anymore. I shift slightly, attempting to stand up, but my body doesn't allow it to move anymore than it has.

"Tris….please sit down….I-I don't know what to say…." I trail off, unsure of how to reassure her that I will be fine, even when I'm not so sure of that myself.

I guess my father finally did it. He thought I died and just left, realizing that people would know that it had been him to kill me, but yet i'm still here because of Tris. By the pain...everywhere, it's pretty damn obvious that I would have died in that closet from blood loss if Tris hadn't found me.

Looking at Tris now creates a hole in my heart, thinking about all the horrible things she feels now only validates that she would have been done with life if I was gone. Finally Tris listens to me, sitting in front of me, taking in a deep breath and not bothering to wipe her tears away anymore, she just lets them fall freely.

"I'm sorry, Tris." I can tell she's about to interrupt and say something about how I shouldn't be sorry so I quickly add, "Before you interrupt, I'm saying sorry because you don't deserve this type of shit right after you get out of the hospital...should you even be away from home?"

She looks down then back up at me, "No."

I sigh because I know this is all my fault. I should have taken Natalie's offer to just stay with Tris, and then after she had gotten better than I could have gone home. Tris shouldn't be here, she needs to be at home right now getting taken care of, not her taking care of me.

"Tris, you need to go home." I say, pleading with her to go home and stay safe.

"No."

"Please, Tris, I don't want you to get hurt anymore, I can take care of myself." I respond, attempting to stand again but failing.

"See, Tobias, you can't even stand, how the hell are you going to clean your back and attend to all of your wounds?"

"I can find a way."

"No, I think you need stitches so I'm taking you to the hospital. I don't give a shit if we just got out of there, you need to go and get casts and stitches." She says sternly, standing up once more and trying to pick me up, obviously though I weigh to much for her to pick up, especially just after she got home from the hospital.

"Tris," I speak as she attempts to lift me again, "You can't lift me. As I said before, you should just leave me, I can take care of myself."

"Oh what? Like I can take care of myself? We all know that's a shitty joke, Tobias." She retorts, trying one more time before giving up and letting me go back into his sitting position.

"Well then what do you plan on doing, Tris." I ask, trying to stifle my need to glare at her for not listening to me.

She thinks for a moment before reaching into her back pocket and pulling out her phone, "I'm going to call my dad. He's going to find out one way or another and he can help lift you."

I just shake my head, not to fond of her father seeing me like this. She doesn't pay attention though as she puts the phone up to her ear and turns away from me. I can hear her side of the conversation very clearly.

"Dad?….I need your help with something….I'm at Tobias's house and..uh..his father..uh beat him pretty badly….yeah, I need your help lifting him and getting him into my car so I can take him there….okay, thank you...bye."

The phone leaves her ear and she turns back around to look at me, her face still full of sorrow. She walks over to me, and helps me into a more comfortable sitting position, then take a seat right beside me.

It only takes a few minutes before her father arrives, her holding me until we hear the loud knock on the front door. Tris jumps up, running out of the room and down the stairs to where her dad is pounding, wanting to come in.

In the time Tris is downstairs, I attempt once again to stand up. This time I become more successful, though I can feel the wounds on my back splitting open even further, followed by something liquidy running down from it. Tris and her father get through my bedroom door just as I stand all the way up, my legs shaking a little.

"What the hell, Tobias, I told you to stay put!" She yells at me, and even though her voice is one of anger, her face reads panic.

I don't respond as her father wraps his arm under mine and around my back, supporting most of my body weight as Tris tries to take my other side. Their arms scrape against the lashes on my back, causing me to wince in pain. Nobody says anything as they lead me out of my room and take one step at a time, carefully getting me down stairs.

I don't even realize how much I'm bleeding until Tris sets me in her passenger seat and I look at her and her father, both their clothes drenched with blood on the side they were carrying me on.

"Tobias, please don't pass out, you are losing a lot of blood, but we are going to take you to the hospital so you will be fine in just a minute." Tris practically begs, her voice as weak as mine surely is.

"Please don't. I can't go to the hospital." I say shakily and rough.

Tris glances at her dad with a panicked expression, then looks back at me. I see her start to shake her head as her mouth opens ready to speak, but her dad interrupts her.

"Okay, Tobias, I'm sure Natalie can stitch you up, but if you don't go to the hospital or let us contact the police, then you are moving in with us." He response firmly, his face stern with authority.

I nod my head at him, only causing me to get dizzy, my head spinning with each nod.

"I'm going to run inside to get your stuff Tobias, I'll be right back." Tris says hurriedly before sprinting off in the other direction.

It only takes ten minutes of awkward silence between me and Mr. Prior before Tris finally emerges from the house. She's carrying two of my large duffel bags in either hand, struggling slightly to get them out of the house and into her car, but when she finally does, she just about commands her dad to drive his car back to their house.

Mr. Prior hops in his car quickly starting it and driving off just as Tris gets into her car. She tells me that we will come back for my car later, before she starts her car, backing out of the driveway. I lean my head on the window watching in joy as I get my last look at the house I've had to call home for too many years of torture.

So...I'm sorry it's been forever, I've actually been trying to get inspired by some other stories, so I've been reading a lot more than writing, but I was able to get motivation to write this chapter. I hope another one will come soon, but it is the holiday, and my birthday is on the 27th so I also have that but I will try to get on a schedule of one chapter a week. I will get another one up by next Tuesday! I sorry again for the long wait!

I hope you liked this chapter. I wonder how this will effect Tobias? I wonder about how this will effect Tris's recovery? And where the hell is Caleb? All these questions will be answered soon! :) I love you all, and thank you for staying with me and reading this! Thank you! Please review!

~divergent24-7