So before I do my little celebration let me do my usual routine of not so bad excuses. When I said I'd post within a week, I had no idea that the clipboard lost those extra 5000 words attached. I had no idea I would have 4 big tests that week. I had no idea I would have 3 all-day Saturday volleyball tournaments in a row. I had no idea my great grandma would have a major stroke and be in the hospital. I had no idea that she would only have a 10% chance of living. I had no idea how busy I would be. And I also had no idea how fast the time flew by until I realized it was almost October already. So I'm so sorry for the wait guys...but I hope you guys understand that sometimes life makes writing fanfiction so much harder.

OH MY GERSH THANK YOU SO MUCH! EEK! I HIT THE BIG 3-0-0! AHHH! HERE'S CHAPTER 25!

Disclaimer: Don't own Divergent. Never have, never will.:(

Tris' POV

(After school. Tris beat Tobias out to the parking lot again and is waiting by his car.)

I hear my phone buzz from my backpack. I swing it off my back and hang it from my arm. I feel for it in the bottom of the mess of papers and pencils. It buzzes again and I can finally find it. I pull it out and see I have two texts. I open the first one. It's from Tobias.

Are you already out in the parking lot?

I am about to reply with 'yep', but I haven't even sent it yet when I suddenly feel arms wrapping around my waist. I jump and hear him chuckle from behind me. I turn around and punch his arm lightly.

"You don't have to reply to that," he says quietly in my ear.

I roll my eyes. "Oh, really? I didn't know that."

"I could tell."

I smile and laugh lightly. "You scared me."

"Oh, really? I didn't know that," he replies, mimicking me.

I give him an annoyed look and he quickly steals a kiss. When he pulls back, I'm smiling again. He unwraps his arms from my waist and walks around me to the door. He opens it up for me again.

"You don't have to do that."

"And what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't?"

I roll my eyes and get in anyways. He hops in a few seconds later and turns it on. He backs out of the parking lot and starts to drive home when I remember that I had another text. I pull it out. It's from Taylor. I frown and read it.

Only if you want to...Justin kinda mentioned you to Makayla accidentally and now she won't quit bugging me about wanting to talk to you.

I'll talk to Makayla later. But for now I text back, thinking about school today.

How are you today?

To anyone else, it would seem like a simple, polite, text. But she and I both know better.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing," I say, sending the message quickly and putting my phone on the center console.

"Who is the text from?" he continues, ignoring my statement.

"No one."

We pull up to our houses and as soon as puts it in park, his hand reaches over and snatches my phone.

"Tobias!"

He doesn't listen and I can hear the sound of my phone unlocking. Tori and Tobias both have unlocked my phone without my permission now. I'm gonna have to start thinking about putting a passcode on that thing.

"Tobias! Give me that right now!"

The center console placement wasn't a great idea. Why'd I do it in the first place?

"Of course it's Taylor," he says, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

I roll my eyes. "Tobias? Give me my phone."

He keeps his eyes on the screen, obviously reading the message.

"Who's Makayla? And Justin?"

"Just give me the phone!"

"Who are they?"

"It doesn't matter! Now give me the damn phone!"

I'm getting really annoyed. I'm slightly angry as well. I hear it buzz again. I pray for it not to be Taylor for a second time, but of course, as I figured out a long time ago, praying doesn't work for me.

"Only a few bruises? What does that even mean?"

I let out a sigh of relief. They didn't hurt her too bad today.

"Tris? What does that mean?"

"It was none of your business to begin with," I snap. I should stop snapping at him. I should stop and I know it. But I can't. I can't control myself most of the time and I hate myself for it.

"Maybe not, but I still want to know!"

"Dammit Tobias! Just give me the phone!"

"I want to know!"

"You don't need to know! It's nothing for you to be worrying about! Just give me the phone!"

I hold out my hand and after a hard staredown between us, he plops it into my hand. I hastily shove it into my pocket and grab my book bag. I have the car door halfway open when I hear his quiet mumble.

"She isn't abused, is she?"

I freeze. That's why he wanted to know. No wonder he reacted so strongly to her 'Only a few bruises' text. He doesn't know that she's keeping me updated on school. Of course abuse is the first thing that would pop into his head. Why wouldn't it after experiencing 10 years of it himself?

I gently shut the door and place my bookbag back down in front of me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize what that probably sounded like to you until you asked me that," I quietly say.

He's staring out the front window, avoiding my eyes. I don't blame him. I'm mad at me too.

"Is she abused or not?"

"No. Not at home, no."

"What do you mean, not at home?"

"I told you, she took my place at that school."

"No one should ever hurt someone like that."

"Ya, try telling them that."

"That's sick. I can't believe they would give her bruises like that for absolutely nothing."

I laugh dryly and shake my head.

"When I sighed earlier after you read me that text, it was of relief, not sadness."

Now he turns to me. A look of anger is in his eyes. "Why would you be relieved over that?! I know you don't like her like you used to, but I never thought you'd stoop that low to be glad that someone else got hurt!"

"Tobias, calm down! That's not what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean!?"

His mouth is in a thin line.

"The days when you only get a few bruises are the good ones."

He frowns and the angry look slightly dissipates. He stares at me for a long while.

"What are the bad ones?"

I smile sadly at him. "Those days...you probably don't want to know about. I don't want you to have any more fuel to hurt Eric than you already do."

"Tell me Tris. I want to know what you went through."

I stare at him for a couple of minutes, debating whether or not to tell him. Eventually, I decide to tell him. I sigh and turn away from his eyes. I stare at the tree in my front yard through the windshield.H

"The bad days were..." I trail off, searching for the right words. They come to mind slowly, piece by piece, so I pause between each sentence.

"...the days when you could barely walk. When you couldn't see out of one eye because it was too swollen to be seen out of. When you were dizzy and only wanted to fall asleep and never wake up. When you had pain radiating through every part of your body. That's what a bad day was."

He keeps quiet and I keep staring. A few minutes pass.

"And Eric did that to you?"

His voice is harsh and cold. Nothing like the voice I know.

"Not just him."

"But he the main cause of it?"

His voice is still hostile and I tense up subconsciously.

"Yes," I whisper.

I see his fists clenching and unclenching around the steering wheel out of the corner of my eyes. I turn and look at him. His jaw is clenched and his shoulders are extremely tense. I slowly reach out to touch him. When my hand makes contact with his shoulder, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. His muscles relax slightly.

"Tobias, I'm not there anymore. It doesn't matter," I whisper.

"It does matter, Tris. It matters that you had to go through hell 5 times over."

"Tobias-"

"It matters, okay Tris? So don't ever say it doesn't."

We sit in silence for a few minutes. I keep my hand on his shoulder, but he doesn't relax anymore. I can tell he needs time to think. Alone. I squeeze his shoulder gently and let my hand drop from his form.

"I'm gonna go inside, okay? I'm not sure what you're thinking about, but I know that it'd be best if you were alone."

He only nods. I grab my bookbag again and swing it onto my shoulders. I lean over to Tobias and softly kiss his cheek before I get out. I walk the 10 short feet to my house and go inside without looking back at him. I'm not mad at him, don't get me wrong. Like I said before, I'm mad at myself, not Tobias. How did I not know why he reacted so strongly to the text? I should've known. He never acts the way he was. I don't know why I couldn't see that sooner.

I sigh and climb up the stairs slowly. Once I get to my room I let my book bag drop onto the floor and it lands with a loud thud. I lay down on my bed for a little while before I decide that I don't want to be here. I walk back downstairs and write a note to Tori, telling her not to worry and that I'll be back. She'll probably assume that I just took a walk or something.

I walk into the hallway and slide the panel back. I quickly step in and shut it behind me, going down the stairs. Once I get to the end, I open the door and get comfortable on a bean bag facing away from Tobias' door. I don't want to be thinking about him the whole time I'm talking. I pull out my phone and stare at it for a second before calling Taylor. It rings a few times before she picks up.

"Hi B-Tris."

"Hi Taylor."

"I'm guessing you got my text?"

"Ya."

"I'll get her. Just give me a second."

There's a moment of silence, then "Beatrice!"

I wince and pull the phone away from my ear. She squeals really loud. I put in on speaker phone and lay it down in front of me.

"Hey Kayla-bo-Bayla."

I always called her Kayla-bo-Bayla and she would always call me-

"Hi Bumblebea!"

She was smart and one day figured out that the beginning of my name could be the end of another word. And Bumblebea is what she came up with.

"How is school?"

"It's so fun! I'm in pe-school!"

I smile a bit. She has trouble with r's, just like a lot of other preschoolers her age. She sounds so cute trying to say it.

"You mean pre-school?" I say, emphasizing the r.

"Ya. Pwe-school."

I giggle just a tiny bit. Close enough. I lay back on the bean bag and close my eyes while I talk.

"Have you made any friends?"

"Ya! Sophie and Lizzie and Cwistina! Cwistina's really loud! Just like me!"

Now I laugh out loud.

"Why are you laughing Bumblebea?"

"I have a friend who's name is Christina too. She's really loud."

"What does she look like?"

"Well, she has dark brown hair and dark skin. She has brown eyes."

"Like chocolate?"

I smile again. "Exactly like chocolate."

"Well, my friend has black hair and gween eyes. She's vewy pwetty."

"She sounds like it."

"Hey guess what, guess what, guess what?"

"What?" I laugh at her energy.

"I have a boyfwiend!"

"No way! You can't have a boyfriend!" I tease her.

She giggles. "Yes I can! His name is Adam!"

"Hmmm...I don't know if you should..." I continue to tease her.

"C'mon Bumblebea! Tayla told me you had a boyfwiend!"

"When did she tell you that?" I ask, trying to rid my mind of Eric.

"Ummm...a long time ago?"

I smile a bit. "Like a couple of years ago?"

"Ya! But if you can have a boyfwiend then I can have one too! Wight?"

I laugh at her eagerness for my 'approval'.

"I suppose that would be okay..." I say and let out an exaggerated sigh. She squeals and I smile even bigger.

"Hey Bumblebea! Do you want me to sing the ABCs?! I luned that song today!"

"Sure, why not?"

"Ok! A, B, C, D, E..."

I space out for a couple of seconds while she sings. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I tune back in at the end of the song.

"-time won't you sing with me?"

I clap since it's on speaker phone. "Good job Kayla-bo-Bayla!"

She giggles. I hear Justin in the background. It's muffled and quiet but I can understand him.

"Makayla, let me talk to Tris please!"

"But Justin-"

"Makayla."

It's silent for a tiny bit and I can just see them staring each other down like they always would do. For a 4 year old, she's got a lot of fire.

"You could go make sure Dad is okay. See if he wants to talk or eat yet," Justin says.

It's silent for a little while longer. Finally, Makayla sighs.

"Fiiiiinnnnee. I'll go check on Daddy. Bye Bumblebea!"

"Bye Kayla-bo-Bayla!" I laugh.

"Hey Tris. Wait-it is Tris right?"

I smile at his trying to please me. He and Caleb were best friends and through that, he and I became really good friends too. It was really nice. It still is nice.

"Ya, it's Tris."

"That's what I thought."

"So...why did you want to talk to me?"

"Can't a guy just want to talk to his friend?"

"Not a guy that stares down his little sister in order to talk to this so-called friend."

He sighs. "You got me."

"I sure did. Now spill."

"I just want to thank you. For what you did for Taylor. She's changed. I mean, I know you knew that, but I don't think you really knew the extent of her change. She has really shaped up. She's been helping me a ton around here with Makayla and Dad. She cut her hair so it's barely past her shoulders. She either threw away or sold most of her makeup. She only left what was necessary. And that was before you said you forgave her."

I'm not too shocked at the helping around the house change in her. But I am a little shocked that she cut her hair and threw out most of her makeup.

"How'd she change after I said that?"

"She...it's like she walks differently now."

"What do you mean?" I'm a little confused.

"She stands taller than she used to. She walks more...confidently. She's stronger and she's become really independent. Your forgiveness really did a lot to her. And I want to thank you."

I smile a microscopic smile. "I'm glad it changed her. I always knew she was capable of change, and now I'm pretty sure she knows it too."

"Thank you Tris."

A few moments of silence pass.

"How's your dad doing?"

"Still not responding to anything. The doctor said yesterday that there really wasn't much they could do. Said to give him a week or so and he will come around."

"I hope that week goes by quickly for you guys."

"Me too."

"What are you doing about college?"

"It's still early in the year so I called over and got myself enrolled in the online classes for right now. I explained what was going on and they understood and said to only do the classes when I had the time. They said when Dad is finally able to take care of them and when I feel comfortable leaving, I can go back on campus."

"That's really nice."

"Ya, it definitely makes my stress level go down."

"Good luck with all of it. I know you'll need it."

"Thanks. I really think that we just need to get out of this house and do something to take our minds off of everything. It gets so stuffy just staying inside all the time."

"Ummm...I have an idea..."

Is this really a good idea, Tris?

No, it's probably not.

"What is it?" He sounds really curious.

"What if you went to the fair in a couple of weeks?"

"Oh my gosh. Is it really only 2 weeks away?"

"Yes."

"Wow, time went by fast. That is a perfect idea. I think that's what the children of this household need."

"Did you just call yourself a child?"

"Well technically, I called myself a child of this household. I will always be the child when I'm in here."

"You'll always be the child everywhere you go," I tease.

"Well played."

"Thank ya very much."

A moment of silence passes. "Hey Justin?"

"Yeah?"

"If I tell you this, will you keep it a secret? That means no telling Makayla or Taylor."

"Ummm...okay?"

Last chance to back out Beatrice.

"I'm coming back," I quickly say.

Silence.

"Really? When?!"

He sounds excited, confused, and doubtful.

"In a couple of weeks...for the fair. And so...well...so I can visit...them."

"You really are coming back?" He sounds disbelieving.

"Yes, I am. I'm coming with, quite possibly, some friends as well."

"Wow...I can't believe you want to come back."

"I don't think it's a want so much as a need."

He obviously understands and stays quiet for a few moments.

"I won't tell Taylor or Makayla. I promise. Do you still have my number?"

I do. I don't know how I didn't delete it when I was trying to push away any memories from Haviland, but I didn't. I deleted Taylor's, but not Justin's. Maybe it was thoughts of Caleb, or maybe it was just the thoughts of the only friend that didn't turn his back on me, but his number is still saved to my contacts.

"Yes, I do."

"Then you can just text me if you want to meet up or whatever."

"That sounds good."

"Listen, I have to go. It was nice talking to you again, Tris. Thank you for everything...again."

"Bye Justin."

"Bye Tris."

The phone hangs up and I don't reach for it to shut it off. After a few moments, the phone goes black automatically and I hear a voice behind me.

"So that's Justin and Makayla?"

I nearly jump to the ceiling, it feels like. My heart is pounding. After the initial shock leaves me I turn around and stand up.

"How long have you been down here?"

"Not that long?"

He says it more as a question than statement.

"Tobias. How much of that did you hear?"

"Umm...the whole thing?"

I sigh and slouch down a bit. Of course he heard everything. Why wouldn't he?

"Of course you did."

He actually looks a little bit guilty. "Sorry."

I sigh and sit back down. "Yes. That's Justin and Makayla."

"How do they know Taylor?"

"They're all siblings."

"Oh." He nods slightly.

Minutes of suffocating silence pass by.

"Hey Tris?"

"Hmm?"

"I can't make the promise not to hurt Eric."

This makes me sit up as quick as a flash.

"No Tobias. You have to make that promise. You have to."

"I can't. But I don't know what he looks like."

I frown a little bit. I can tell there's more. "And...?"

"And that means that I can't hurt him unless he personally provokes you."

"So what you're saying is that if he tries to hurt me in any way, physically or mentally, you'll hurt him? But if he leaves me alone, you won't?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

I sigh again and stare into his eyes. They're still filled with anger from the earlier conversation.

"Tobias...I don't think-"

"I'm not asking for your approval, Tris. That's what the deal is. I just figured I should let you know."

I slouch again, defeated. It doesn't matter what I say. He's going to do whatever he wants, whether I like it or not.

"Ok," I whisper.

He lets out a small breath and some of the anger evaporates from his eyes.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry."

He comes and sits next to me, but doesn't touch me. He gives me some space, but not too much. He gives me just enough to know that he's there.

"Oh umm...you forgot this. It must have fallen off. I found it in your seat after you left," he says after a few moments of silence.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a gold chain. I quickly reach to my neck and find nothing there.

"Oh my gosh."

He smiles a bit at me. "I figured you'd want this back."

He's still holding it in the air.

"I'm so glad you found it."

"Me too. I really don't want you to have another reaction like you did yesterday."

I blush, but I'm so relieved right now that I don't really care.

"Thank you so much."

He nods and spins his finger around in a circle. "Turn around."

I do, and within seconds I feel the heart falling into my chest. I hear the slight click of the hook as it clasps. His fingers brush across the back of my neck as he sweeps my hair out of it. Goosebumps raise all over my body at the feeling of the slight brushes. I turn back around and find him staring intently into my eyes. I get lost in them and we stare at each other for what feels like hours.

A buzz comes from the floor and my gaze quickly breaks to look at the source of the noise. My phone is lit up and I have a text from Christina.

I can go, I can go, I can go!

It buzzes again. It's from Zeke.

Me and the dork can go.

It quickly buzzes again. Shauna.

Me and Lynn can go!

Marlene and Wll.

I'm going!

I can go.

I smile a bit and check the time. Tori would be home by now. I turn back to Tobias and his hand raises to brush the hair away from my eyes. His fingers slowly slide down my cheeks, chin, nose, eyebrows, lips, and forehead. His thumbs end up under each of my eyes and his hand on my cheek. I close my eyes and lean into his hand a bit. I stay there for about a minute before I open my eyes up again.

"Are you still tired?" he asks.

I shrug, not knowing exactly how to reply. His thumbs wipe under my eyes a few times and I know the makeup has come off. He lets out a breath and I sheepishly smile. He kisses my forehead and pulls me into his arms afterwards. We sit here for a long time, just enjoying each other's presence. No words are spoken. There's only silence.

I sit on the couch with Tori, watching a TV show that I'm not too familiar with, but it's a good comedy that makes me laugh a lot. I think Tori said it was called Brooklyn 99? (If you watch this show, you get a virtual high five!)

I've already eaten the tiny bit of supper I was told to eat so I'm free for the rest of the night. Which by free, I mean going to bed earlier and probably doing nothing productive until then.

I watch this show for a while more with Tori until a yawn escapes me.

"Hey I'm going to head up to my room, ok Tori?"

"Sounds good."

I reach over and hug her for a few moments.

"Love you, Bea."

"I love you too, Tori."

We let go of each other and I slide off the couch. I slowly walk up the stairs and when I enter my room, I pretty much collapse on the bed. I lay there for a few minutes before sitting up. I look behind me at the window and see that Tobias isn't in his room.

I turn back around and the piano catches my eye for some reason. I stare at it for what feels like hours when it's only minutes. I stand up and walk towards it. I study the keys for another few minutes. I reach a hand out and tap a key. I wait for memories to start flooding into my brain and for the tears to start flowing.

But they never do.

Before I can decide differently, I sit on the bench and slowly press the keys with all 10 fingers. I take off my left hand and by muscle memory, play the C scale with my right. I do the same with my left hand once I'm done with my right. Then I start to run my fingers up 2 octaves at a time. I surprise myself by being able to do this easily after 2 years of not touching the piano. Mom always did say I had a gift, but I never believed her. Maybe, just maybe, she was right. Maybe.

Maybe I was supposed to play the piano all this time. I remember when I was younger, playing the piano was the only way for me to release my emotions properly. If I was angry, sad, elated, nervous, scared, or any other emotion, I was always able to play the piano to release my emotions. Maybe I should've played the piano instead of...cutting. Instead of trying to overdose.

I play all the scales with each hand before I stop. That's enough for me for now. I push back the bench and stand up. I lift the lid to the bench and pull out my favorite piano book from the piles of dusty books. I carefully set it on the sheet music holder on the piano and leave it there...in case I ever want to play from it again.

I go and lay back down on my bed, feeling more relaxed than I have in a while. I pull the covers up and pretty soon I'm cocooned in a sea of blankets and feel myself starting to fall asleep. I close my eyes. Right before I fall asleep, I hear my door open and footsteps quietly come near me. I hear someone whisper into my ear very softly.

"Beautiful, like always. I love you Beatrice."

Ok! I'm so happy and I bet you guys are gonna be happy when you hear this too! NEXT CHAPTER IS THE BEGINNING OF THEIR TRIP TO HAVILAND!

I will try and write as much as possible guys, but I can't promise anything. High school is crazy. I have Spirit Week this week and the Homecoming game and dance on Friday. I had a volleyball game tonight and I also have one tomorrow night. I have an Algebra test tomorrow and had a science test today. I also have two French tests this week. Speaking and written. So...that's just this week. Like I said, it's crazy.

I'll try and update as soon as I can, but I definitely, (like I said), cannot promise you guys anything. I wish that I could just drop my life and write for you guys sometimes, but sadly, it doesn't work like that. Good news is volleyball ends in 2-3 weeks for me and my Saturday's will be open again, along with the weekdays. Whoopee!:):):)

But anyways...thank you guys so much for getting me to 303!:) Can we get to 313? Can we? Huh? Huh?! HUH?! I think so. Thanks so much for all your support! I can never ever thank you enough!:):):):) I can't wait to start writing Haviland!