Learning To Let Them In

by aubreylovesthegames

Tris is broken. She is alive, but she isn't living. One day took everyone from her. She and her guardian, Tori, decide to move to Chicago for a fresh start. Tris pushes away everyone she meets, not wanting any 'friends', but that becomes a little difficult when the boy next door, Four, slowly starts to break her walls down, piece by piece. What will happen? Will Tris let them in?

40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent or any of its characters.

Chapter 40

Tris's POV

A knock comes from the door about 20 minutes later, and Caleb's voice rings out.

"Hey guys, can I talk to you for a second?"

I raise my head up from the steady rising of Tobias's chest.

"Come in," I say.

He opens up the door and walks in. He chuckles when he looks at us.

"What?" I ask.

"You might want to wake him up," he says, and points to the figure underneath me.

I turn my head to find that Tobias is, indeed, sleeping. I find myself smiling as I watch him. I stare at his 17 year old face and again marvel at how much younger he looks when he's asleep. I brush his hair back from his forehead repeatedly, mesmerized by how quickly it falls back into place. A tiny, unconscious smile appears on his face.

A throat is cleared from behind me. "So...are you going to wake him up or not?"

I feel myself blush and give Caleb an embarrassed glare after I stop moving my fingers. He rolls his eyes at me and gestures towards the sleeping boy next to me as if to say 'If you don't wake him up, I will.'

Taking the hint, I lean down and quietly whisper in Tobias's ear, "Hey Eaton, it's time to get up."

He stirs a bit, but doesn't fully wake up. I, being mindful of Caleb's watching, shortly and chastely kiss him. This seems to do the trick, as Tobias's eyes start to slowly open up. A smile appears on his face and he raises his hand to brush back the hair in my face.

"Caleb wants to talk to us," I whisper before he can say anything that he or I (most likely I) would be embarrassed about later.

He quickly flicks his eyes over my shoulder and back. I don't know how he could have possibly found Caleb that quickly, but I don't question it.

He wraps an arm around my waist and drags us up into a sitting position. We both look at Caleb, waiting for him to speak. He sits on a chair next to my dresser. He meets our gazes.

"First off, I'm sorry for interrupting you guys."

I shake my head. "You weren't interrupting anything important."

"So my sleep isn't important now?" Tobias whispers so only I can hear. I pinch his side to shut him up.

"The reason I came in here was to talk about your guys'...sleeping arrangements."

My heart skips a beat. Is he changing his mind? Or did Tori tell him we were together this morning and he's here to chastise us?

Caleb scratches his neck awkwardly.

"Spit it out, Cal," I push.

He sighs and looks to the side. "I'm...uh...I'm fine with it if you...umm…if you…"

"Yes?" I ask impatiently.

Tobias lightly pinches my side to tell me the same thing I implied when I pinched him. I roll my eyes but shut up anyways.

Caleb turns a small glare my way. I raise my eyebrows at him. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

"I'm fine with it if you guys stay together while Four hangs out over here," he very quickly says.

"Really?" I ask in disbelief.

He nods and takes a deep breath. "I realize that I overreacted yesterday. I'm sorry for taking that away from you."

"Took you long enough," I say.

"Funny. I don't remember you being this snarky," he says, obviously annoyed.

"You can thank your death," I say extra-snarkily, just to prove a point, then realize that I may have taken it too far. I can't say that I'm not still hurt by him letting me think he was dead for two years, but maybe I shouldn't have brought that up right now.

Caleb clenches his jaw and his eyes harden. He stands up and kicks the chair back. I wince as the wood hits the wall behind him.

"For the last time, I did that to protect you! I'm sorry if you can't get your arrogant little head around that! I couldn't lose you knowing that I could've done something to prevent it!"

I immediately feel anger course through me in intense waves. It's the first real emotion I've felt in awhile, so I plan to take full advantage over it.

Tobias's arms wrap around me and try to hold me back, but I rip away from them and stand to face Caleb anyways.

"So you had to keep secrets?! You had to fly halfway across the world and leave me to deal with my family's deaths alone?! At least when you left you knew the truth about everything! You knew that your sister was alive! You knew the crash wasn't because of a stupid drunk driver! It was because of what you kept from us that killed them! I thought it was my fault, and it tore me apart! And what bothers me the most is that you didn't even try to contact me after you knew I had gone as far off the edge as I could!"

His face turns red and I can tell he's barely holding back. "I didn't tell you because I knew it would hurt you even more! I wanted to make sure you wouldn't do anything even more drastic! With your mind like that, who knows what would've happened if I'd called, if I'd said to give you that letter sooner?!"

"I couldn't have done anything more drastic than attempting suicide, Caleb!" I yell, angry at his pathetic excuse. He winces, only for a moment, and I can tell Tobias is cringing behind me as well. I feel bad about him being stuck in the middle of this.

"You had no right to keep that from me! I'm your freaking sister! And while you were out keeping secrets and faking your death, I had to go through all of it alone! Everyone turned on me! Everyone! I had to move to another state to escape! And I only moved after I spent four weeks in the hospital because of those dozens of pills I drowned! I deserved to know that I had someone other than Tori! That the brother I saw dead was alive!"

"If I had called you before they caught the guys I saw, you could have been killed! Do you think I would have been able to live with myself if that happened? I could barely even deal with Mom's and Dad's deaths! I wanted to call you! I wanted you to know I was alive! But I couldn't!"

"Then why didn't you take us with you?! Why did you leave?!" My voice cracks. I hear the room door open and I'm sure it's Tori; our yelling has probably attracted her attention. "You sat outside my hospital room, not even thinking about stepping in, as a stranger told me that my entire family was dead! That I was the only one who survived! Do you know what that feels like?! To wake up one day and be told that everything you knew is gone?! That the only people you could count on to always be there were gone?!"

"I didn't take you with me because I wanted you to live a life without constantly sneaking around and hoping that you wouldn't be killed that day! I wanted you to have a better life! I wanted you to actually live!"

"Well I guess it didn't really matter anyways, did it? I tried to end my life. Now I'm not sure about you, but to me it really doesn't seem like I was having a better life and hoping I wouldn't be killed that day, does it?"

He's practically seething. I've only seen him this angry once, and that was after I told him about Eric. I don't back down though. It's too late to do that now. I should probably feel guilty, but I don't. All I feel is red-hot anger.

Finally, after several minutes of pure silence, Caleb turns and walks out of the room. His room door slams shut a moment later with such an intensity that it shakes the house. I stand there breathing as heavily as I would be after I got done running several miles. I clench and unclench my fists.

I hear something in Caleb's room shatter. I angrily run my fingers through my hair and go to my dresser. I'm aware that Tori and Tobias are still in here, but I take it they don't know what to say due to their silence.

I slip on some clothes fit for running. I grab earbuds and my phone and hurriedly shove the earbuds in, starting some music.

I feel Tobias's hand gently land on my shoulder. I shake it off without looking at him and say to both of them, "I'll be back in a while. Don't bother to call or text me."

I walk out of my room, go downstairs, and pause at the front door. A larger wave of anger floods through me again and I slam my hand into the doorframe, screaming in frustration. I feel my hand's cuts throb, but I don't find myself caring enough to look. I walk out the door, throw my hood up, and break into a jog. I run blindly, not really caring where I go as long as it's in the opposite direction of where Caleb is.

I run until my legs and lungs burn, I'm dripping with sweat, and my list of songs have repeated themselves several times. I start to walk, still angry. I redo my ponytail and check my phone. I have no missed calls or texts. Good. They listened.

I walk until my sweat has dried, then start to jog again. My legs shake and my cuts sting like a bitch. I see a small empty park up ahead and run until I reach it. Once I get there, a tall tree catches my eye. I pull my earbuds out, wrap them around my phone, and put it in my pocket. I walk over to the tree and start to climb. I hiss as some more cuts break open on my hands but keep climbing anyways.

I finally reach a high branch that is sturdy enough to sit on after climbing for several minutes. I lean my back against the tree trunk, careful not to break open any more cuts. I raise my hands up and examine them. They're bleeding a little heavier than what they should be, seeing as though I wasn't supposed to do anything that could break them open again, but it's nothing I can't deal with. As long as my neck isn't bleeding, I should be fine.

I wipe my hands on the shirt underneath my hoodie, minding that this is Tobias's and I doubt he would want my blood stained on it, and touch my fingers to my neck. I pull them back and sigh in relief when I see only a few specks of blood. At least I won't look like I've been running away from a murderer now. I rest my head back and take deep breaths of fresh air. It helps calm me down a bit.

I dangle my leg over the side and swing it lightly back and forth. I start to think about everything that's happened in the past few days: visiting my parents' graves, finding Caleb's letter and talking to him for the first time in two years, Tobias and I fighting, Eric attacking me, telling Christina my past, Caleb coming home, playing the piano, fighting with Caleb. I get lost in my thoughts and only come out of them when I see it's growing darker outside. I push back a few branches in front of me and see the sun starting to sink.

I pull my phone out and check the time. It's 6:45. I've been out here for over 6 hours. This time there are text messages from both Tori and Tobias.

I know you said not to call or text you, but I'm worried. It's been almost 7 hours with no word from you. An 'I'm okay' would be really nice right about now, Tris.

I ignore his and move onto Tori's.

I hope you're okay, Bea. I am disappointed in both you and Caleb for losing your temper like that, but I still love you. Caleb is still shut up in his room, and you're who knows where. Please come home soon.

I groan and throw my head back. I put my phone back into my pocket right as I hear it vibrate again. I debate about checking it, and decide to leave it be. But that only lasts for a few minutes before I give in to the temptation.

Tris? Please. Just say you're okay, and I will stop bothering you. Don't do this again. Don't ignore me. You're my girlfriend, and I do worry believe it or not.

Guilt rushes over me and I find myself subconsciously texting him back.

I'm okay.

Thank you.

The reply is almost immediate, and he stays true to his word. There are no more texts from him.

I honestly can't believe Caleb is still in his room. Was he just as angry at me as I was at him? Maybe even more?

I sigh. "I mess everything up," I say to the tree. "I can't even talk to my own brother for an extended period of time without snapping. I'm such a screw up." I take a deep breath and close my eyes. "You're lucky; you don't ever have to feel that way. You help everyone. You help us survive, all the while being beautiful and providing people with shelter when they need it. Me? No one would miss me too much if I were gone. I don't have a lot of reasons to stick around. I will, of course. I really have no choice. Tori, Four, and now Caleb watch me like a hawk. I tried to leave once and failed with only Tori around; I definitely wouldn't get away with it this time."

I pause for a moment and open my eyes as a small breeze passes through, making the tree's leaves gently sway.

"Sometimes I wish this was easier. I act like I'm okay, but I'm not. Not really, anyways. Sure, there are some days when I can smile and feel happy, but then it all builds up and crashes down on me. For example, just a few days ago Four told me he loved me, and then that very night we got into a huge fight that caused us not to speak for days. Then, my brother comes home for the first time in two years, and barely an hour later, he and I are fighting. We made up, and later that night I told Four I loved him too. But then the very next day, I get into a fight with my brother. Again."

I shake my head as anger bubbles up through me again. "I've never been so angry at him before. It just doesn't make sense. He left for two years! Two years! We all thought he was dead! And then he comes home and acts as if it didn't happen! As if it doesn't matter! And the only explanation I can get out of him for doing what he did is that he was trying to protect me!"

I groan. "I just wish he could see that I'm not his baby sister anymore. Nothing is the same. We don't even live in the same state anymore for God's sake! I've changed so much! I'm still changing! It's too much! It's all too confusing! I can't deal with this; it's all happening too fast."

I chuckle and roll my eyes. "I don't know why I'm talking to a tree. It's not like you can respond. You can't even hear me. But then again, maybe that is why I'm talking to you. Maybe I don't want anyone to listen. Maybe I don't want anyone to talk to me like I'm a bomb that could go off at any moment."

I pause, shaking my head. "But Four doesn't treat me like I'm fragile. He listens when I want him too...but that's rare, I guess. I really only tell him the things that are easiest for me to tell him about. Maybe I don't want to tell anybody about the really bad things. Maybe I don't want anyone to know."

I pause again. That still doesn't sound right. "Or maybe...maybe I feel like I don't have anybody that I can tell the bad stuff to." I wait for a moment, letting the words sink in. I slowly nod. "Yeah, that's it. I don't want to bother anybody with my problems, so I keep it all to myself. Maybe that's why I'm snapping so easily lately - because I don't have anybody I think I can bother with this type of stuff. Because it's all built up inside of me and my walls can't keep it in anymore."

I take a deep breath and release it. Then a voice comes from above me, scaring me, almost making me fall out of the tree.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Tris."

I desperately grab ahold of a branch close to me to ensure I don't fall.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

I take my hood down and tilt my head up, searching for the voice's owner. The sun is shining through the branches at just the right angle, making it hard for me to see. I eventually spot a shadowy figure sitting on a branch a little ways above me.

"Uriah?" I ask curiously.

The figure expertly swings down and lands next to me. I squint and see his face. It is indeed Uriah.

"You guessed it," he says.

He gestures below him, silently asking if it's okay for him to sit on the same branch I'm on.

"Yeah, you can sit," I say embarrassed. He does so and I look down at my lap. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Let's put it this way: I was here first."

I sigh. "Just my luck. The one time I thought I was alone, and it turns out that I was talking to one of my best friends the entire time."

He doesn't reply, surprisingly. I close my eyes and lean my head back against the trunk again.

"Why are you here?" I curiously ask.

"I always come here when I'm bored."

"Always?"

I open my eyes to see him shrug. "Most of the time."

"Why don't you just hang out with Zeke when you're bored? Or Marlene? Hell, why not anyone?"

He shrugs again. "I don't know...I've always just felt more at peace up here. I mean, my brother is great and all, and same with my girlfriend and the gang, but sometimes I just need some time and space to myself, you know?"

I sigh. "Tell me about it. I know exactly how you feel. Well, other than the 'brother being great and all' part."

He pauses, studying me. "You never told us you had a brother."

"I never said anything about my parents either."

"Well, we know Tori is your guardian which kind of explains the whole mother and father thing. From what I can gather, I assume they're not with us anymore. But you never said anything about a brother."

I lightly groan. "It's a more...recent development."

"So I heard," he says with a smile.

I crack a smile too and shake my head, looking off to the sunset. "So do you always stalk people's conversations with trees or am I just special?"

"The fact that you were talking to a tree already makes you quite special."

I softly laugh and turn my head back to Uriah. He's grinning, obviously happy to have made me laugh.

"Thanks," I say sarcastically.

"Anytime," he grins.

He stands back up and grabs a branch above him, helping him balance.

"So why are you here?" he asks.

"Don't you already know?"

"No, actually. I know pretty much everything about you now, but not why you're here."

I wait for a few moments, then speak.

"I got into a fight with my brother. It was quite the screaming match. You should've been there; you would've enjoyed it."

"Why would I have enjoyed it?"

"You do like using a voice that is 10 times louder than necessary, right?"

He smirks. "Very funny." I smile. His smirk drops a moment later and his face becomes serious again. "What did you fight about?"

"Well you already know that he's been 'dead' for two years," I say, and he nods. "We fought about why he left in the first place. I yelled at him for not telling me he was alive any sooner than he did and the real reason behind our parents' deaths. He yelled at me for not understanding that he just wanted to protect me and let me live a full and happy life. I said some things that were probably not the nicest, or the most mature, but I have a feeling it got my point across. Probably a bit more strongly than I intended, but it still worked."

Uriah nods thoughtfully. "I don't know the whole situation," he slowly says, "but I'm willing to bet he has a good excuse for not telling you any sooner than he did."

I break our eye contact and glare at the leaves. "Great, you too. Why is everyone on his side?"

"Woah, I never said anything about being on his side."

"But you implied it."

"I didn't imply anything."

I look back at him. He looks innocently at me, and I somehow know he's being honest.

I sigh. "Fine, I believe you. Go on."

"I can also see where you're coming from."

"You can?"

He nods. "Of course I can. If my mother was killed and Zeke disappeared for two years making me think he was dead too, I'd be pissed if he came back and tried to brush it off like nothing happened. I'd be mad if the only reason he gave me for keeping something like that from me was to 'protect' me."

"Thank you," I say sincerely. "You're the first person who's said that. I feel like everyone else just tells me to stop and focus on the fact that's he's alive and he's home, but it's kind of hard to do that. I'm not someone to overlook the past. It changed me. I can't pretend that didn't happen."

"And you shouldn't have to pretend it never happened. You needed to confront him about it. You needed to tell him how much it bothered you that he's pretending it's nothing. Maybe yelling and screaming at each other wasn't the best way to go about it, but one way or the other, you told him."

I sigh. "I feel bad for it, but at the same time...I don't. He can't just expect to come back and act like nothing's changed, like I haven't changed. It really bothers me that he still thinks he knows me like the back of his hand after all this time. Sure, we were extremely close before he left, but we haven't spoken in two years; we just aren't like we were before. I'm not sure if we ever will be."

Uriah frowns. "Well, do you want to be close to him again?"

"Of course I do. But if he keeps refusing to acknowledge that I've changed, it probably won't happen."

He swings to a branch directly beside me and sits down. "I'm probably not the most reliable advice-giver, but if it were me, I'd give him some time. He just got back. Let him see the ways in which you've changed. Let him adapt to the new you. It's probably killing him right now knowing that he doesn't know his own sister well at all. He's probably changed too, you know. You might want to try and watch for differences in him too."

I stare at him for a while, then look at the leaves in front of me. "You may not be the most reliable advice-giver, but you sure as hell are a good one."

He smiles. "So you'll take that into account when you talk to him again?"

I nod. "I'll give him time, and I'll watch for changes."

We sit in silence for a while, watching the sun finally slip beneath the horizon.

"So...you feel like you can't talk to anybody about what you're going through, huh?" he asks as casually as if we were discussing a movie we just watched.

I shake my head. "I bother them enough with the minor things. The major things would be a nightmare."

"Have they ever told you they were annoyed or bothered by you confiding in them?"

I shake my head again. "No, but-"

"I didn't think so."

"Uri, it has to annoy them. I probably seem needy and weak to them. Nobody likes needy and weak."

"I can guarantee they don't think you're needy or weak, but even if they did, I'm 100% sure they would prefer you tell them what's bothering you rather than hold it in."

I sigh. "So they say."

"Tris, I don't know Tori all that well, but I know Four. I know that he can be tough to approach sometimes and seem stand offish when you first meet him, but once you've worked your way into his life, he won't let you leave it without a fight. Once you've gained his trust and he has your reliability, he's all in, and he's ready to do anything for you. You're an extreme case of that."

"Extreme case?" I chuckle. "Although it sounds like you're diagnosing me with a terminal illness, I must ask what you mean."

Uriah laughs too. "I mean, you're his girlfriend. It's hard enough to work your way to being just his friend, but he's never even slightly turned his head towards a girl looking for more. You're different; all of us could see that from the start. You two hit it off right away and we knew you'd get together sooner or later, hence why Zeke and I bet on it."

I punch his arm. "I never got to punch you for that yet."

"Can't say I didn't deserve it," he says and rubs the spot where I hit him. "Anyways, can I continue or would you like to hit me again?"

I roll my eyes. "I'd like to hit you again for your sarcasm, but I'll save it for later. Continue."

"Alright then. Anyways, I've never seen him this involved in any sort of relationship. Friendship included. He and Zeke have been best friends for 12 years and he's not nearly as comfortable with him as he is with you, and you've only known each other for three months or so. I'm pretty sure he would jump off of a cliff for you if you asked him to. He's head over heels for you, and I'm pretty sure it was love at first sight for him."

He speaks the last couple sentences in a Cupid voice which makes me punch his arm again.

"Ow! Okay, okay! What I'm trying to say is he isn't going to leave you if you tell him about the bad stuff. He won't judge you or see you as needy and weak. He's all in, Tris. And since you love him too, I can only assume you're all in as well."

We sit in silence for a bit, his words circling around in my head.

"Thanks Uri. I mean it," I eventually say.

"You're welcome."

We sit and watch the stars come out one by one.

"Earlier, when you were putting yourself in my shoes, you said 'if my mother was killed' instead of 'if my parents were killed'. What happened to your dad, if you don't mind me asking?"

He sighs and picks a leaf off from the tree, ripping it into small shreds and letting gravity carry the pieces to the ground.

"He died when Zeke had just turned 8 and I was 7. He worked as a police officer. He was shot on duty."

"I'm sorry," I automatically say.

"Don't be. It's been 10 years. Things have gotten better."

I nod and we fall into silence again. Then he starts to crawl out to the edge of his branch.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"C'mon. Follow me."

I very carefully crawl out as far as he is. He smiles at me and crawls a little further past the barricade of loose branches. I follow his lead and push past the branches. His head is turned upwards, looking at the sky above. I look as well and see something I haven't seen since I lived in Haviland: a full moon with a clear, black, night sky full of twinkling stars and planets.

"Dad used to take Zeke and I out to the outskirts of Chicago every so often just to look at the stars," he says quietly.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I reply.

He nods and we continue to watch the stars.

"What was he like?" I find myself asking.

"Kind, honest, intelligent, lived by the quote 'When there's a will, there's a way'."

I quietly laugh. I look to Uriah and see him smiling.

"He used to call me his little snake."

"Snake? Why?"

He nods. "He told me that I was like a snake: I could really do some damage at moment's notice with little warning. But aside from that, only a few people could see past it. The ones who could would see I was harmless unless people bothered me or the people I cared about. The people I cared about would come from those who could see past my first set of skin. They'd see that I had many different skins and that I could shed one when needed. I changed a lot after he died, but I never forgot him. I'll never shed his skin."

"That's actually...really beautiful," I say slightly shocked that the outgoing, sarcastic, lovable Uriah was capable of having such a way with words. "There's a lot about you that I don't know, isn't there?" I ask more as a statement than a question.

"Oh, yeah. A lot. Did you know I have a tattoo?"

I raise my eyebrows and look at him bewildered. "Do you really?"

He laughs and turns his head for me to see. He points a finger to right behind his ear and I squint, looking for the ink. I turn his head a little more so the starlight can reflect upon it. And then I see it: a small snake curling around the back of his ear and earlobe.

"I like it. I like the story behind it too," I quietly say.

Uriah turns his head back straight. "He's a part of me that I always want to have. Tattoos don't have to be just ink on skin; they can actually mean something. Most people would look at it and be disgusted that I have a snake tattooed on me, thinking that it's just some stupid teenage rebellious phase, but only I, Zeke, and my mother know differently. Well, I guess Four does too, but only to a certain extent."

"And now I do."

He nods. "And now you do."

"Why did you tell me all of this?"

He shrugs. "I can relate to you more than you know. I trust you. I know you won't look at me or treat me any differently now that you know."

I slowly nod. "That seems like a valid reason."

He turns his head and smiles at me. "I thought so."

I smile back and he gently throws an arm around me. I lean my head on his shoulder and we fall into silence again, watching the stars.

"How long have you been gone?" he asks.

"Well, when I climbed up this tree it was almost 7 hours." I reach into my pocket and check the time on my phone. "It's now been about 8 and a half."

"We should probably get you back home then."

I sigh, but nod, knowing he's right. We don't move right away. We watch the stars for a little while longer.

"Did you just see that?" Uriah asks.

"See what?"

"A shooting star. Did you see it?"

I shake my head and smile. "Looks like you get that wish all to yourself."

He's quiet for a few moments, and I know he's using it.

"Okay, I'm done wishing. We should get going now. Four would cut off my fingers and toes if he knew I'd been with you for hours on end and didn't make you go back at a reasonable time."

I scoff. "Yeah right."

He laughs and takes his arm off of me. "Okay, fine...maybe I over exaggerated a little."

He starts to crawl back into the center of the tree and I do the same.

"A little?"

"Fine! A lot! Are you happy now?"

I giggle. "Ecstatic."

He rolls his eyes and gestures downwards. "After you m'lady."

"You're such a dork," I say as I start to climb down. Leaves crunch and branches creak as we continue to move down.

"Maybe so, but you love me anyways."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

A few minutes later, I make it to ground level. I wait only a few seconds before Uriah jumps down next to me. He gives me a toothy grin.

"Well, lead us home."

I start to walk when I realize that I actually have no idea where I'm going. I feel my cheeks turn red.

"I actually have no idea where home is."

He laughs. "You live right next door to Four, right?" I nod. "Then I know. Let's go. It's not too far from here. If we start walking now we could make it there in a half hour or less."

We start to walk, Uriah keeping close. My guess is his protective side is coming out again. I mean, we're teenagers walking around a big city in the middle of the night, alone. Who wouldn't be a little weary?

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he replies.

"Why haven't you asked about how my parents died?"

He shrugs. "Do you want me to?"

I shake my head. "No, I...I just mean that if you were anybody else, you would have asked about that by now."

"The way I see it is if you want me to know, you'll tell me. It's not my position to poke and prod. It's none of my business."

I smile at him, meeting his eyes. "Thank you."

He grins back and faces towards the front again.

"So how did you and Marlene finally get together? I've never really heard that story," I say, changing the topic to something lighter.

He quickly picks up the conversation and we talk for a long time about things I've never allowed myself to even think about. My brain is accustomed to only thinking about deep, painful thoughts, and when I talk, it shows. But tonight something is different; I feel a lot lighter, like a weight has been lifted off my chest. We laugh, and my anger and hurt towards Caleb slowly slips away. Its then that I realize he's not the only brother I have in my life, and I shouldn't be so hateful towards him for leaving me when I needed a brother; Uriah, Zeke, and Will are all my were there when he wasn't. How could I not have seen that until now?

I feel like Uriah and I could probably pass off as twins. Not for our looks, or even our synchronization, but for our knowledge of each other's histories and friendship with each other. I know that tonight's conversations with Uri definitely brought us a lot closer than I ever expected being with him.

And for one second, I'm happy with my life.

I don't wish that I could go back and save my mother and father or convince Caleb to stay. I'm happy that I morphed into Tris and met the gang. I'm happy that I've gone through what I have, because I wouldn't be standing here today, laughing with someone who I consider my brother and walking home to a boy who loves me, if I hadn't.

"Hey, Tris?" Uriah asks as my street starts to appear.

"Yeah?"

"You're Divergent, aren't you?"

I stop and stare at him, shocked. "How...how did you know?"

He smiles. "Just had a feeling. How many factions?"

"Three…" I reply slowly.

"Really?! Three?!"

I nod. He gives a low whistle. "Impressive. Can I guess which ones they were?"

We start to walk again and I chuckle. "Go ahead."

"Well, you're definitely not Amity. I can rule that one out right away." He studies me for a little bit, then answers. "Dauntless, obviously, Abnegation, and…"

I smile. "You've got it correct so far."

There's a few moments silence. Then he says, "Erudite."

I nod. "That is also correct."

He does a little dance which makes me laugh.

"What about you? Are you Divergent?"

He hesitates, then nods. "Yes, actually."

"I didn't think many people were," I say suspiciously.

"Not a lot of people are. It just so happens that we're Divergent together."

I nod. "Can I guess?"

"Fire away."

"Okay, so Dauntless first."

He nods and chuckles. "Of course."

I mentally go through the rest of the factions and compare Uriah to them, trying to figure out the last one.

He couldn't be Amity; Amity don't get compared to a snake or get tattoos. And no matter how kind he is, he couldn't be Abnegation; Abnegation tend to keep to themselves and not speak unless spoken to, and Uriah...well, I doubt the rest needs explaining. Maybe Erudite? But maybe not. Erudite love to know everything, and the way Uriah has respected my privacy and not prodded at any of the more mysterious topics of my life suggest a very un-Erudite thing to do.

The only faction left is Candor. At first I reject the thought and go back through the factions, looking for something that I missed; I find it hard to believe that anyone would be able to be honest all the time. Especially someone who talks as much as Uriah. But then I realize that it has to be Candor. I've never heard Uriah tell a lie. He tells things how he sees them and doesn't hesitate to give his opinion. He is extremely talkative and often is the one to start up new conversations when it falls silent.

He hides some of his past which is un-Candor like, but I can understand why. He hides it because, well, let's face it: anyone who has known loss and pain doesn't exactly go shouting it out to people. And he's never technically lied about his past. When I asked him about it he told me what I wanted to know, and more. He answered my questions. I have a feeling he would rather not answer a question than lie about it, something I probably need to work on.

"Candor, right? I've never heard you tell a lie."

He grins and nods. "Correct."

We can finally see my house. We're less than a minute away from it.

"Thanks for tonight, Uri. I really needed that."

"I should be thanking you too; you helped me tonight just as much as I helped you."

"I highly doubt that, but I know I probably won't win that argument, so I won't get into it."

"Smart girl. Now I see why you're Erudite."

"I'm Dauntless, Uriah," I say and roll my eyes.

"You could be Erudite."

"But I'm not."

"You could be."

"I'm not."

"But you could be."

"But I'm not."

"But-"

"Oh, just shut up, you twat!" I laugh. He laughs too and we're quiet as we start to approach my house.

"But you could be," he quietly says.

"Don't start, Uriah."

"I thought I was a twat?"

"You are, but-"

"Then why did you call me Uriah? I get confused when people call me by more than one name, you know," he says in a kiddish voice.

"You're so frustrating sometimes!" I laugh.

"So I take it I'm back to being a twat?"

I open my mouth to reply, but am cut off by the front door swinging open and Tori bounding up to me, sweeping me into a hug.

"I'm alright, Tori," I say.

She lets go and examines me. She grabs my hands and gasps when she sees the dried blood all over the skin.

"The doctor said not to do anything too strenuous, Tris!"

I roll my eyes as she continues to turn my hands, staring at the cuts.

"Once again, not a doctor."

"It was close enough to one! You should've listened!"

"I hardly doubt that climbing a tree was strenuous."

"You climbed a tree?! Bare handed?!"

"Oh, c'mon Tori. You didn't really think she'd listen to them, did you?" Tobias's voice comes from behind Tori.

Tori steps aside and looks at Tobias, still holding my hands. "Look at her hands! They broke open again! They could have gotten infected!"

He chuckles as he approaches me. He takes my hands from Tori and quickly glances over them.

"Do you not have any nerves or something?" he asks.

I shrug. "I do...I just tend not to listen to them."

He laughs and pulls me into a quick hug, kissing the top of my head. He pulls back and turns to the boy still standing next to me.

"Hey, Uriah."

He smiles. "Hiya Four."

"When did you find her?"

"Well, more like she found me, but a couple of hours ago."

"And you didn't make her come back until now?" he asks a bit annoyed.

"Hey now, when I first saw her I could practically see the anger radiating off of her. You wouldn't want to be the one that told her to go home either," he says accusingly.

I roll my eyes. "Wow, thanks Uri."

He grins and tips his pretend hat to me. Tobias cracks another smile and does that weird bro-hug thing with Uriah.

"I can see your point. She can be quite scary at times."

"She can be very scary."

"You're smart for not interrupting her."

"Before you continue on Four, would you like me to remind you of what happened last time you did something like this?" I smirk.

He rolls his eyes and surrenders. "Okay, okay, I get the point."

Uriah starts to laugh.

"What?" I ask.

He shakes his head, still laughing. "I can only imagine what you did. An angry Tris is not a fun Tris."

"Would you like me to do something to you as well?" I calmly ask.

He gulps. "Nope."

"Good answer."

"Man, and I thought we had some sort of special heart-to-heart bond tonight. I'm hurt, Trissy. I'm very hurt."

I punch his arm for the third time tonight. Tori gasps and reaches for my hands again, Tobias chuckles, and Uriah grunts.

"Ow."

"Didn't I already warn you about calling me Trissy?"

"You kind of deserved that, man."

"You need to stop using your hands so much! They could get injured even more!"

I'll let you guess who said what.

"C'mon, let's get you inside! You need to eat and then we need to get you cleaned up!" Tori insists.

"Wait just a minute, Tori," I say. "Is Caleb still in his room?"

She rolls her eyes. "Yes, you're safe."

I nod, turn, and give Uriah a hug. "Thanks again, Uri."

"You're welcome."

We let go and I quickly kiss his cheek.

"Alright, well, I'll see you guys later," Uriah says and starts to walk away.

Tori starts to drag me inside.

"Woah, woah, woah, what do to think you're doing?" Tobias asks him from behind me.

"Umm…walking home?"

I can practically hear Tobias's eye roll. "Not at this time of night, you aren't. C'mon. I'll give you a ride."

This is the last thing I hear before Tori finishes bringing me inside and shutting the door.

"Take your shoes off. I'll warm supper up for you."

She scurries off to the kitchen and I can hear the microwave start a few moments later. I also hear the sound of a car engine starting up and driving off. Tobias will be back in 20 minutes or so. Maybe longer if he stops at the Pedrad's and talks to Zeke for awhile.

I start to unlace my shoes, yanking them off and placing them by the door. I walk into the dining room and sit, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. The sound of a plate being slid in front of me is what makes my eyes open again.

"Eat it all," Tori says.

Without even looking to see what it is, I eat it without complaining. I got off pretty easy, to be honest. For missing both lunch and dinner, this isn't too large of an amount of food to eat.

Once I'm done, I look up to Tori for approval. She nods, satisfied, and takes my plate for me. I hear water running a moment later and assume she's doing the dishes. I get up to go help her, but she practically shoves me away once I reach the sink.

"Oh no you don't! Go clean yourself up!"

I roll my eyes, but go upstairs anyways. I take my phone out of my pocket and place it, along with my earbuds, back onto my dresser. I hear the truck pull back in and know Tobias is back. I hurriedly go into the bathroom and start the shower water, strip my clothes and gauze, and jump in. I can feel my filth washing away and I sigh, relaxing under the heat. I work to wash the dried blood off my stomach and hands. I wash my hair and rinse the dirt and sweat off of me. I scrub my skin until it's a light shade of pink. My hands still bleed a little, but it's nothing serious.

I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around myself. I hear my room door open and a knock sounds on the door.

"You doing alright?" Tobias asks through the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply and start to brush my knotted hair out.

I wince as the cuts rub along the handle of the brush. I have to stop halfway through to rinse the blood off both the handle and my hands. I finish brushing a few minutes later and rinse them off again.

I turn to the corner where my fresh clothes should be, but I find nothing there. My eyes widen and I frantically look around for the clothes. I then realize that in my rush not to let Tobias see me in the light, I forgot to bring clothes with me into the bathroom. I feel myself pale.

I walk to the door, my hand holding my towel tightly around me, and slightly crack it open.

"Four?" I quietly say, seeing if he's still in the room.

"Yeah?"

"Damnit," I whisper to myself.

"What do you need, Tris?"

I feel my cheeks flush red with embarrassment.

"I...I kinda forgot clothes."

I hear him chuckle. "And I'm guessing you need me to grab some for you?"

"Maybe," I mumble.

"And what if I decide to get payback and not give you any? What if I leave you in just your towel?"

"Tobias, please," I beg.

"I think I'm going to stay right here."

"Tobias!" I hiss.

"Nope. Revenge is sweet."

I redden even more as I realize what I have to do.

"Please Tobias?" I try once more in my best puppy-dog eyes tone.

"If I didn't know that you were trying to manipulate me into doing this for you by using the sweetest and most innocent voice ever, I might have fallen for it."

I groan. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Why do you have to be such a child?" I huff from still behind the door.

"You're the one who started it, not me. The only thing I'm doing is finishing it."

I roll my eyes and take a few moments to gather up my courage. I take a deep breath and push the door open the rest of the way. I run to my dresser, squat down carefully so the towel doesn't fall, and pull out a random combination of clothes before hurrying back to the bathroom. His laughter rings throughout the room and I can still hear it after I shut and lock the bathroom door.

"I hate you!" I yell through the door.

"You love me!" he calls back.

"Not so much right now," I grumble.

I quickly put my clothes on and weave my hair into a braid. Luckily I managed not to get any blood in my hair…somehow.

I rinse my hands off one more time and hope they'll stop bleeding soon. Maybe I shouldn't have climbed that tree or slammed my palm into that doorframe, but I can't say that I regret it.

I open the door and step out, but before I can get any farther, arms wrap around my waist, swing me around once before putting me back down, and lips land softly on mine.

When he pulls back, I ask, "What was that for?"

"I wanted to butter you up before you could yell at me."

I roll my eyes and playfully shove his face away with the back of my hand. "I'm not going to yell at you."

"You're not?" he asks very surprised.

"No, I'm not in the mood. Besides, yelling isn't really my forté. I'm more of a 'you mess with the bull, you get the horn' type of girl."

"So yelling isn't really your forté, huh?" I shake my head. "Then what do you call earlier?"

He gives me a look as he says this. My small smile drops and I look away, suddenly quite sullen.

"Hey," he says softly and leads my face back to his. He gives me a small kiss. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up."

"No, it's alright," I say quietly. I sigh. "Is it wrong that I don't feel very guilty about it?"

"That depends...what don't you feel guilty about?"

"I don't know...telling him how much it's been bothering me that he's acting like everything's the same as when he left, I guess? Telling him how much it hurt that he didn't tell me he was okay? I mean, I get it if he needed to leave, but he could've at least told me he was alive. It really hurts that even after he had someone give him updates on how I was, how far I had dove over the edge, he never even tried to help. He's my older brother, you know? I feel like that's what he's supposed to do: help me, protect me. I used to look up to him, ask him for advice. I trusted him with everything, and I know he was just trying to protect me in his own weird way, but it bothers me that he left me to deal with everything on my own."

Tobias thinks about it for a moment, then kisses my forehead. "In that case, no, you shouldn't feel guilty about that. I can see why that would make you react the way you did."

"I do feel bad about yelling at him though. I should've just talked it out with him instead of fighting about it in front of you and Tori."

He smiles sadly at me. "What changed your mind? You seemed pretty satisfied after yelling at him earlier. I could tell you didn't regret it."

I look down, a bit embarrassed. "Uriah may have knocked a bit of sense into me."

"You told him?"

"Well...yes and no." He frowns, confused. "I was sort of thinking out loud, and when I stopped, it turned out that he'd been there all along; I just hadn't seen him."

He chuckles. "Sometimes you are such a blonde."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I ask accusingly.

He shakes his head and pecks my nose. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"That's what I thought."

He smiles and kisses me again. I melt into him. I know my hands are still bleeding, so I keep them clenched into fists and wrap my arms very loosely around his lower back; I don't want to stain any of his clothes. He pulls back moments later, a confused look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

I shake my head. "Nothing's wrong." I move in to kiss him again, but he turns his face and I end up kissing his cheek. He ignores my scowl and steps back, grabbing hold of my arms. He unravels my fists and sighs when he sees the blood pooling up inside them.

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up," he says and leads me back into the bathroom.

As soon as we enter, he sits me down on the edge of the shower tub and tells me to keep my hands over the edge that way the blood will drip somewhere we can easily clean. It slowly drips onto the shower floor, as planned, as Tobias searches through the cupboard grabbing various items. He eventually gets what he needs and comes back over.

He kneels and takes one of my hands. He gently cleans the blood off with a wet wash rag before starting. He has several cotton balls dipped in hydrogen peroxide and uses them to clean each cut. There's. a particular one in the center of my hand that has taken a bit more damage than the others, and I can tell when the peroxide meets the open skin. I hiss and automatically try to cover the source of pain with my other hand. Instead, I accidentally cover Tobias's hand, and my blood drips onto it. He raises his eyebrows at me and I blush, taking my hand off.

"Sorry," I quietly apologize. He looks at me for a second more before slightly chuckling and shaking his head. He turns his attention back to my hand and continues to disinfect the cuts, the center cut more gentle than before.

I watch his face as he takes care of the cuts. He has a slight crease between his brows that shows his concentration. He expertly cleans the little cuts, and my mind takes on a more sad train of thinking as it realizes that he's probably done this more times than he can count for both himself and his mother.

"Spread your fingers," he instructs, and I do. When he starts to wrap my hand, I think about protesting, but stop myself at last minute. I remember how desperate he was to help after the attack, and if his conscience can get some peace from doing this little thing for me, who am I to take that away from him?

"Other hand."

He repeats the same process, and soon enough both of my hands have stopped bleeding and are cleaned to a professional level.

"Thank you," I say to him, trying to give him some more peace of mind.

"You're welcome," he yawns.

I know he's just as tired as I am; the past few days have taken quite the toll on him as well. I realize that he probably gets much less sleep than I do per night; I'm always the first to fall asleep after a nightmare, and he's the first to wake up. I also bet he stays up a little while after I fall back asleep just to make sure I'm alright.

This thought on my mind, I lean forward and gently kiss him. He puts his hand on the back of my head, holding me in place for a little while.

"I love you," I whisper when I pull back.

He pecks my lips. "I love you too."

We both stand up. He puts away the stuff he was using while I rinse the blood down the drain. When we're done cleaning up, we head into my room again.

"You go ahead and lay down. I'm going to go talk to Caleb," I gently say.

He shakes his head. "I'll wait; I can go downstairs and watch some TV or something."

"Lay down," I say this time with a stern tone. He looks surprised.

"Tris, it's fine. I'll go downst-"

"No, I said to lay down."

He frowns. I sigh, dropping my stern expression, and stand on my tip toes, wrapping my arms around his neck. He gently squeezes me back after a few moments.

"I know you have to be exhausted; please...lay down. For me? And I promise I'll be in here as soon as I can. Just don't wait up on me; I don't know how long this'll take."

He sighs. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," I say and kiss his cheek as I stand back down. "Lay down. Get some rest."

He chastely kisses me. "Just don't hesitate to wake me up if you need anything, okay?"

"I'm not going to wake yo-" I pause at his stubborn expression. I realize that the only way he'll lay down is if I promise him this. I sigh and change my answer. "Alright, I won't."

"Thank you."

I give him one more quick squeeze before stepping out of his arms completely. "I'll see you in a little bit."

"Good luck."

I smile. "I have a feeling I'll need it."

He chuckles as I walk out of my room. I quietly shut the door behind me and make my way to Caleb's room. I knock on the door three times.

"Cal?" There's no answer. I roll my eyes. "I know you're not sleeping in there." It stays quiet still. I sigh. "Please let me in. I promise I won't yell. I just want to talk." When there's still no reply, I sigh and sit down with my back against the door. "I'm not leaving until you let me in."

I drum my fingers on the wall beside me, making my point. I hear grumbling from inside the room and footsteps eventually come towards it. I stand up just as the door opens.

"What do you want? Come to verbally attack some more of my life decisions?"

I sigh. "Cal-"

"On no, wait, let me guess. Did you come to tell me how bad of a brother I am? That what I did was unforgivable?"

"Caleb, stop," I sternly say. He does. He honestly looks too tired to keep going on. "I just want to talk to you. I promise I'm not here to criticize you or your decisions."

He stares at me for a while then sighs. He steps back and gestures for me to come in. The first thing I see when I do is a broken picture frame on the ground with glass shards surrounding it. I can't tell which picture it is; the frame is face down.

Without a word, I kneel on the floor and start to carefully pick the glass up. I pick up what I can without turning the frame up, but eventually I have to in order to get the rest. When I turn it up, I see that it's not a picture of me and Caleb, like I expected, but instead a whole family picture. I recognize the picture, but just barely; it's obvious the glass shards tore into the picture when it was smashed. There are rips and holes all over, making it totally unrecognizable to an outsider.

Caleb silently kneels beside me and helps pick it up as well. When we throw the glass away, he grabs the picture frame as a whole and tosses it into the trash as well.

"Aren't you going to save the picture?" I ask.

He sullenly shakes his head. "There's nothing left to save."

I can tell he regrets smashing it; I begin to wonder just how many pictures of Mom and Dad he has. He always hated pictures. He refused to be in most of them. It occurs to me that with the emergency moving that happened two years back, he probably wasn't allowed to pack very many personal belongings. The less, the better. This could have been the last picture he had of them.

Together, we sit on the edge of his bed. It's silent for a few minutes, both of us wondering how to start the conversation.

"What happened to your hands?" Caleb asks, breaking the silence.

I look down and turn my hands over a few times, allowing him to get a good look at the gauze wrapped around them.

"I sorta maybe broke the cuts open again."

"Who did the cleaning job?"

"Four."

He nods, and we fall into silence again.

"I'm sorry," I say, starting the real conversation. "It was wrong of me to call you out on my own personal feelings about the WPP situation. I know you can't help what you saw, or what you had to do, it's just hard for me to accept that you didn't tell me anything."

He starts to protest but I quickly continue on before he can get another word in.

"And I know that you felt you didn't have a choice. I know you were trying to protect me, and I respect that. I know that you had good reason to do it, especially after knowing it was the thing that killed Mom and Dad. But I am pretty hurt that you didn't try to contact me any sooner than what you did. It might've helped me drastically if I'd known you were alive, and that it wasn't my fault my family died."

He stays silent for a little while, then sighs. "I'm sorry too. There are probably some things that I could've done differently to benefit the both of us, but I was scared. Fear does strange things to people. All I knew at the time is that I couldn't lose you too, and even if I never saw you again and you spent the rest of your life believing I was gone, at least you had the chance not to live in fear. At least you had the chance to find your happy ending. It killed me when I found out how badly you reacted to our deaths. I should've reached out when I first found out how dead you became. Not physically, but mentally and emotionally. And there's no excuse for me not reaching out after you tried to...well, after you overdosed. I know there's not. I was safe and settled by then. The wires were government protected. I could've called you. And I'm sorry I didn't."

I nod. He's right; there's no excuse for him sitting on the sidelines as his sister recovered from trying to kill herself.

"I talked to a friend today, and he gave me some good advice about this whole...thing," I say. "I didn't tell him all of it, just that you were supposedly dead for two years and came back all of a sudden. And that we fought about it," I quickly add on before he can get angry.

"And what was the advice?" he asks after a few moments of silence.

"To give you some time to get to know who I am now. I know you just got back. I also know it's probably just as hard for you as it is for me knowing that nothing is the same as before you left. I want us to be close again; I want to be able to tell each other everything like we did before, but unless you stop acting like I'm the same person I was before, it's not going to happen."

His face starts to get angry again, but after several minutes, it slowly morphs into one of sadness.

"I know you're right. I know you are. For some reason I had this stupid thought that we could pick up right back where we left off. I realize that's impossible to do. The past two years have been pretty rocky for both of us, and we adapted to it so it wouldn't hurt as bad when we came to a nasty bump in the road. We've changed; I need to accept that."

I sigh in relief at his acceptance. I wasn't sure how he was going to take that.

"Thank you for understanding. It means a lot."

"No, thank you for putting me in my place. As much as I wish we hadn't succumbed to yelling at each other in front of Tori and Four, I'm glad we talked about it."

"Me too. I regret yelling, but I don't regret any of the things I said. Well, maybe except for insinuating that it was your fault Mom and Dad died."

He smiles sadly at me. "I know you don't. The only thing I regret is not giving you a good enough reason for not helping you sooner."

"Why didn't you? Give me a reason, I mean," I ask.

"Because I don't have one."

I pause. "I know this may be way out of line, but can I ask you something?"

He sighs. "I don't want to keep any more secrets; I'll answer anything."

"What did you see that caused this all to happen?"

He hesitates for a moment, and I see tears in his eyes. Then he completely startles me by starting to cry. Never have I ever seen Caleb cry. Never.

I snap out of it a moment later and hug him. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "You don't have to answer that right now."

He shakes his head and tries to stop his tears. I use the sleeve of my hoodie to wipe off his cheeks. He gives me a small smile and kisses my temple.

"No, I'll answer...is it alright if I just give you a brief outline?"

I nod. "Of course. I know it has to be bad...I don't want to send you into a terrible flashback."

He looks grateful at my response and gathers courage for a few minutes before starting the story.

"I was walking home from Justin's one day when I heard a gunshot and a little kid's scream. I followed the sound and it led me to an alley. There was a family of three there. But only the little boy, who was just 6 years old, was left alive. I got there right as his mother was killed. The boy was laying over his mother's body, crying, and the guy who shot them was pointing the gun at the boy. I somehow found the courage to run into the alley and shout at him to stop. For some reason, instead of just shooting me, the guy ran. I thought I was safe, but he knew who I was, and he was in a huge gang. When I told the police, they did some digging and told me that in order to stay safe I needed to go into hiding until they caught them."

I blink back tears at the story. "And the little boy...what happened to him?"

His voice starts to shake again, but he manages to get the rest out. "I had to pry him off his mother. When I finally did, he clung to me and he didn't let go. I had to carry him all the way to the police station. His name was Mason Cain. I visited him almost everyday before I had to leave. You have no idea how heartbreaking it was to leave both you and him; neither of you had anyone. I was the only one either of you had, and I had to leave you both."

He starts to sob and I bring his head into my shoulder. I feel tears of my own slipping out. I can't believe this is what Caleb had to face. It sounds like we both had terrible things we had to deal with alone.

"Where...where did Mason go?" I ask after Caleb has finally calmed down a bit.

"Adoption agency. He didn't have any other family to take care of him, and they didn't exactly think a foster care system was the best choice for him. If he was switched from home to home, like a lot of foster kids are, they knew it could cause some more psychological damage. They wanted to ensure that once he was put in a family, he wouldn't have to move again."

"Has he been adopted yet?"

"No, not that I know of. As far as I know, he's still in the adoption center in Indianapolis."

"Indianapolis? But isn't that, like, 2 and a half hours away from Haviland? How did you visit him that often?"

"The police contacted the school and told them that I wouldn't be attending due to certain issues. They told them to keep it quiet and for the teachers to subtly tell the students I was sick each time they marked me absent that way no one would ask you questions."

"So you drove 5 hours a day, everyday?"

"Except for the weekends, yes."

I think for a little bit. "I'm guessing you grew attached to him?"

He nods. "Don't be mad, but I got to call him at least once a week after I was settled down in hiding."

I shake my head. "No, I'm not mad. That's completely understandable. It makes sense for you to be able to call him."

He sighs. "Can I tell you something?"

"What is it?"

"I'm afraid he's never going to be adopted."

"What?! Why would you say that?!" I exclaim.

"Let's face it, Tris; he's 8 years old now. When people adopt, 80% of them want newborns that they can raise as their own, and the other 20% look for the best behaved kids possible. Mason is severely damaged mentally like you and me. Other people take one look at that and move on. They don't want to take on such a challenge."

"That's awful! Just because a little boy had a rough past, people are refusing to take him?! That's so selfish!"

"It's wrong, I know. But that's how people work. I've seen it. I've been there. I've seen families walk into the adoption center, read his file, then put it into a pile of rejects almost right away. No one is willing to help."

I fall silent for a while, thinking. "You are."

"What?" he asks confused.

"You're willing to help."

"Beatrice, how am I supposed to help? There's nothing I can do."

"Maybe there is."

He frowns at me. "What are you saying?"

"Caleb, we could help him. We have plenty of money from Mom and Dad's will and Tori has a decent paying job. We are more than financially stable."

He starts to rub his head as if he has a migraine. "Bea, you're going to have to help me out here."

"What if we adopted him?"

He freezes, shocked, and stares at me blankly.

"Think about it, Caleb! He's only comfortable around you, no one else is willing to help him, we can relate to him more than he knows, we have an extra guest room that nobody ever uses, and we have money! We could easily support another kid in the house!"

Caleb thinks for a while, then drops his head again.

"Bea…it's not that easy."

"What's not easy about it?"

He sighs. "We would have to get Tori on board with it. If, and only if, she agreed, we would have to get an adoption profile made up for her. The government would have to approve, which includes background checks, housing and financial checks, educational opportunity checks, etcetera. There are a ton of steps, Bea. Lots of paperwork."

"So? I don't care how long it takes! Let's say that we eventually did get approved! What's the worst that could happen? Either Mason is adopted during that time frame or he's not, and we adopt him after it's all set up. Think about it, Caleb. What do we have to lose?"

"You're too selfless for this world," he mumbles, then thinks for a long, long, long time. He eventually raises his head back up and says, "I guess you have a point…"

"So you think we could do it?"

"We probably could…"

"So you're on board?" I ask eagerly.

He opens his mouth to say something, then closes it. This happens for a little while before he actually gets words out.

"I don't know Beatrice...you do know this will be extremely difficult even if we do get Tori on board, right?"

"Yes, Caleb, I know."

I wait for him to answer again. He sighs. "Just...let me think about it for a little while, okay? Understand that I only just got out of the WPP. I have a lot to think about as it is. Let me think, and when I have my answer, I'll let you know, okay?"

I sigh in disappointment, but nod anyways. This is a huge decision. It's nothing to rush into or make a split second decision on. "I understand."

He sighs in relief and hugs me again. "Thank you."

We hug for a few more minutes, then let go.

"Listen, I'm exhausted. You've given me a ton to think about. Let's go to bed, okay?"

I nod and kiss his cheek. "So...are we okay?"

He nods, "We're okay."

I smile and give him a quick squeeze before standing up. "I love you, Cal."

"I love you too, Bea."

I walk out of his room, my mind swirling with this new information.

"Wait, Bea!"

Caleb has run out into the hallway after me.

"Yeah?" I ask curiously.

He hesitates, then speaks. "I was thinking of going to visit him again soon...do you think...well, would you maybe...want to...uh...you know...come with me?"

I grin widely. "Of course I would."

He smiles back, a look of relief on his face. "Great. I'll let you know when I decide to go."

"That sounds fantastic," I reply.

"Goodnight, Bea."

"Goodnight, Cal."

I walk into my room, lots of things running around inside my mind. But as soon as I take a look at the bed, the rush of thoughts disappear, and I break out into a smile.

Tobias lays there, asleep, but obviously without meaning to. He still has his shoes on from when he took Uriah home; I didn't realize he never took them off. He lays halfway under the covers, one of his arms dangling precariously off the side of the bed. His mouth is slightly open, and his head is propped up with some pillows, which looks very uncomfortable if I'm being honest. The lamp is on beside him and I can see that his hair is a rumpled mess. I giggle quietly and silently grab my phone from the dresser. I take a careful picture of him and put my phone back.

I change into a pair of shorts and take off my hoodie before I get started on moving Tobias around.

After that's done, I walk over to Tobias and gently start to take off his shoes. I untie them, slide them off, and set them quietly next to my door. I then take the pillows out from underneath his head one by one, making sure not to jolt him too much. He stirs a bit and his face turns into a wrinkled frown. He doesn't move anymore after this, so I continue to take the pillows out. Next, I work on his body position. I take a deep breath and slowly push him so his arm is no longer dangling off the side. And last, but not least, I pull the covers up to his shoulders. I silently creep into the bathroom and shut the door.

I'm in the middle of brushing my teeth when I hear Tobias stirring and mumbling in the other room. I finish brushing quickly, knowing he's probably having a nightmare. I'm hoping to be there by the time he wakes up, but I know that I've failed when I hear the bed squeak with loud panting following the noise.

"Tris?!" I hear him frantically ask. I wipe my mouth off and hurriedly step into the other room.

"I'm right here," I reassure him. He immediately relaxes and sighs in relief. "I'll be right there, okay?"

He nods and slouches back down into the bed. I give him a small smile and slip back inside the bathroom. I take out my braid and brush out my hair as best as I can with the waves in it. I shut the bathroom light off and walk into my room, finger brushing my hair. I walk to his side of the bed and look at him. His eyes look a bit haunted still, so I lean over and kiss his forehead. I turn the lamp off and swiftly walk over to the other side of the bed, slipping under the covers.

Tobias immediately scoops me up into his arms while we're both on our sides. He buries his face in my neck, and I press myself closer to him. I place one hand on the back of his neck to run through the tips of his bedhead and the other on his chest. I can feel his heart rate slowly go back down to normal.

"Did you and Caleb work things out?" he eventually mumbles.

"Yes. We both agreed to give each other time to adjust. We've both changed and we want to recognize all of the changes before we start to mend our relationship. We don't want to get into any more fights."

He lightly kisses my neck. "Good," he mumbles sleepily, and I can tell that if we speak any more he will forget about it by the time morning comes.

I smile. "Go to sleep. We'll talk more in the morning."

"Okay," he mumbles again without complaint. I laugh to myself. There's something so uplifting about him when he's this out of it.

"Wad'ya laughin' at?" he slurs.

I turn my laugh back into a smile. "Sleep now, talk later, remember?"

He very slightly nods. "Sleep now, talk later. Sleep now…"

He falls asleep a few moments later. I now know why Tobias feels the need to stay awake after I've had a nightmare. I have this urge to protect him from the nightmares, so instead of going to sleep right away, I run my fingers through the tips of his hair, comforting him even in his sleep. I fall asleep a while later, after I'm sure the nightmares are chased away for the time being, thinking about how lucky I am to have him.

I hope you enjoyed! Hopefully I'll be able to update soon, but I can't make any promises! Until then, thank you for all your support and encouragement! Can we make it to 660 reviews, 330 favorites, and 393 follows? I bet we can!:D