Thank you to everyone who continues to read and to everyone who continues to read this story, your support means the world to me. Here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. This chapter contains one of my favorite moments in the story. Actually, there are lots of favorite moments that I wrote, but this chapter has one of them, so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, I don't own Divergent, and all military-related mistakes are mine. Happy Reading!
Chapter 15 Sparks Fly
The pain shooting through my ribs is the thing that wakes me up from my slumber. Four leaves the bathroom dressed in a different uniform; this one is sage green in color with a camouflage pattern, a tan colored shirt is tucked tight into his pants, and green combat boots. Sort of like the first time I saw him, but freshly showered. I glance at the clock, it now reading eight thirty in the morning. He catches my eyes with his, as he says, grinning at me, "Sleepyhead, you finally decided to join the world of the living. I was scared that you were going to sleep the day away."
A smile spreads across my lips for some reason at his playful banter, as I reply saying "Not all of us like to wake up at four in the morning to torture ourselves with exercise, Captain Eaton."
He grins at me, as he rolls his eyes playfully. "What did I say about the Captain Eaton name? Do you want me to find out where you are ticklish?" My cheeks heat at his comment as he continues, "You should come with me sometime to exercise. We could have fun together doing it. It wakes me up, and it is a great way to start your day."
"I'm not much of a distance runner," I say lying to him.
"Okay, whatever you say. I'll be back around five tonight. If you leave the house, here is my extra key and make sure you have your ID on you." He says, placing the key on the nightstand, next to the bed. He leaves the house. I watch tv, instead of leaving the house for fear that Peter will find me, even though Four told me that I would be safe here. When the front door opens at five, my heart is beating in my chest, hoping that it is Four. He smiles at me when he sees me sitting on the couch with the remote in my hand. I watch him from the corner of my eye instead of watching whatever it is on the tv. I return his smile. He looks tired as he kicks his boots off by the door, then picks them up saying, "I'll be right back. I'm going to go change out of my uniform. Then we can figure out dinner together."
I smile at him again, as he quickly leaves the living room, heading to the bedroom. He reappears a few minutes later in regular clothes as he asks, "What do you want for dinner?"
"I can make it. You worked all day." I smile at him.
"Nonsense. You need to heal, Tris." He smirks at me, as he heads to the kitchen, and I hear him rummaging around in the fridge. The differences between Four and Peter are striking. Peter would have expected dinner on the table as soon as he was home even if I couldn't breathe.
"How was your day at work?" I ask, as I watch him, begin a stir-fry.
He shrugs his shoulders as he says, "It was work."
"Okay. You wanna talk about it." I grin at him, as he smirks at me over his shoulder saying, "Not really. I would love to hear about your day though, and what you did."
"Watch tv." I leave out the part of where I jumped at every sound that I heard in the house, thinking it was Peter coming to get me.
"That's it?" He asks, not believing me.
"That's it. So tell me about your day? Did you do anything cool?"
He gives me general details about his day, not giving me much information, which I expect. He brings over two plates of stir-fry, handing one to me, and during dinner, we talk more about his day. He talks about flight plans and paperwork, and before I know it, dinner is done. He helps me put the dishes away after we clean them together.
He sleeps on the floor that night holding my hand, and I don't dream about Peter. Four and I begin to fall into a routine after two days of living together, and we begin to feel comfortable around one another. Every time that he accidentally touches me, he continues to apologize, but I begin to flinch less, knowing the Four would never hurt me because a part of me trusts him. After two weeks of living with Four, I think about leaving the house, but then my cell phone rings, with an unknown number, thinking it might be Caleb, I answer, "Hello."
"Beatrice, did you think you could escape me? I will find where you are hiding, and so help me, when I do. You will wish that you were dead. Did you forget that I could have Caleb killed with just one little word."
"No Peter, I didn't," I say as tears rolling down my cheeks, not caring that Peter threatened my life, but is threatening Caleb's life.
"You should have thought about that before you took off. Better say goodbye to your brother because I am tired of waiting for you to come home." He says laughing as he hangs up the phone.
I call Caleb's cell, and it goes straight to voicemail. I call again, at least a dozen times and finally leave him a frantic message to call me back, to stay away from Peter, no matter what Peter says about me and him. I am sitting on the couch in a ball, rocking back and forth, tears falling from my eyes, feeling like a failure when Four comes in the door. His face drops when he sees me, and he runs to me, fear etched all over his beautiful face as he says, "Tris, what happened?"
"Peter," is the only word that I can get out of my mouth before I break down crying again.
"But how? The whole base knows who he is and that he isn't allowed on it."
I shake my head no, as I say, "No, he called, and he threatened Caleb. He told me, I couldn't hide forever. That he would find me." I leave out the part of him threatening to kill me.
"I'll kill him," Four says darkly. "If he, ever lays another hand on you. That will be the end of him. I promise, Tris. No one is going to hurt you ever again."
"Four, he threatened my brother!" I say urgently.
"Where is your brother, Tris? Where does he live?"
"Caleb, he lives in Washington D.C. He works on computers for a living hacking them for the FBI, or that is the story that he tells me. Peter doesn't know anything about what he does or that he is involved with the FBI. He thinks he just works on computers for a living."
Four looks at me, raising an eyebrow, as he says "That is the other side of the country, you do realize that right? Wait, did you say he works for the FBI?"
"Yeah, but he isn't answering his phone. He always answers his phone when I call him, no matter what." I say sadly.
He stares into my eyes, gently touching my hair, as he says sincerely "Take it from someone who can't always answer their phone either, no matter how badly he wants to. Maybe he can't right now. Maybe he is in the middle of an important mission or something. I'm sure he really wants to answer his phone though. He might even be distracted by something, or maybe he just lost track of time. Did you leave him a message to call you back or did you just call him a million times, which is going to cause him to panic? Tris, did you tell him about Peter, that he has been abusing you? He could have helped you long before Peter beat you almost to death."
"Yeah, I left him a message, but I can't tell Caleb about Peter, and what he did to me this last time. I need to protect Caleb."
"Why, do you need to protect Caleb? He is a full grown man." Four says getting frustrated with me as he clenches his fists, anger can be felt radiating off him. Most likely over me not telling Caleb about my Peter problem.
"Because, Peter, he would kill Caleb. He almost did when we were younger, Peter tried to kill Caleb." I whisper, letting out the secret that I have been holding onto for years. "That is why Caleb left and moved to D.C. in the first place. That is why he never came around after he got a job."
"What do you mean? Almost killed him?" Four asks, his voice lowering.
I tell Four the basic details about Peter and his first attempt at having sex with me, and how I refused him. I tell him about how later that night, I went back to the house and told Caleb everything that happened on our "date." What I didn't know until months later was Caleb, went to Peter's room and tried to hurt Peter for touching me when I didn't want him to, how Caleb threatened him, and told Peter if he ever touched me again after I told him to stop, then he would have to deal with him. Peter, wanted Caleb out of the way because Peter wanted me all to himself.
"What, How?" Four asks flabbergasted.
"Caleb got really sick before he joined the FBI, and none of the doctors could figure out what it was, or what was wrong with him. When he went to the East Coast, one of the doctors there, drew his blood and found traces of rat poisoning in his blood. I was cleaning one day, and in Peter's desk, I found a box of rat poison in it. So trust me, when I say, that Peter will kill Caleb if I don't protect him because next time he will. Peter has connections all over the country."
"Then all you can do is wait for Caleb to call, and I know that sucks to be on the waiting end. But, until then, I have a surprise for you. Something to take your mind off everything. Wait in the truck, and I will meet you out there in a few minutes." Four says as he draws me to my feet, pushing me out the door with a slight smile on his face.
Four comes out a few minutes later with a duffle bag, his glasses on, and in regular clothes. He is dressed in jeans, a button-up short sleeve shirt, and converse sneakers. "Where are we going, Four?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.
"It's a surprise, remember." He laughs as he punches the truck's accelerator. "Your bruises are looking much better than they were a couple days ago. They aren't even that noticeable anymore." He touches my cheek. "Not to mention your eyes are this amazing shade of blue today. They remind me of the Polynesian Ocean." My cheeks heat as I turn away from him. "I could get lost staring in them all day long. Your skin is always so soft, especially after you cry but, I hate it when you cry. It makes me want to kill whoever hurt you." He says into the silence.
"Thanks. I guess. Have you been to the Polynesian Ocean? I have always wanted to go." I say, trying to change the subject away from me, and all his favorite things about me.
"No, but I have flown over it, and it is a beautiful shade of blue."
The truck stops on a field with grass, tarmacs, and a crap ton of fighter jets on it. "Where are we Four?" I ask nervously, thinking it must be somewhere that I am not allowed. "We are on the tarmac at Travis Air Force Base for me known as Travis Airfield, and you Tris Prior, are going to chase the sunset with me." He says smiling, winking at me.
"Aren't you going to get into trouble for that?" I ask "I don't think. . ."
"I could, but look around you. No one else is here. We are the only ones here. Plus, I need so many flying hours every week, and you are going to be my co-pilot. I don't have or need one on the type of plane that I fly, but right now, I want you to be mine."
"Are you crazy?" He smirks at me as he says, "Maybe," as he pulls out his duffle bag, pulling out his leather bomber jacket, and throws it on. Then takes his glasses off. "Hold on, you are flying this thing blind? No, I will not be dying with you, Four. I'm sure you are a great pilot and all, but I will not be flying with you blind."
He gently touches my lips with his fingers as he holds up his aviator sunglasses that he had grabbed from above his seat, as he says "These are prescription ones. You can wear my regular ones." He grabs my hand, pulling me towards a huge fighter jet, and I can feel the excited energy radiating from him. I feel like an ant standing next to this jet as Four does all his safety checks on it, he moves a ladder away from the jet, then he hops to the wing of the jet with the grace of a swan, and reaches down for my hand with his as he squats.
"Tris, give me your hand." He says.
"I don't want to get you into trouble," I say when suddenly my feet leave the ground.
He laughs as he sees my facial expression, sayings "Get into the cockpit, and don't touch anything or else!"
I jump from the wing to a single seat cockpit, and once in the cockpit, I look at all the controls. There are six digital screens, levers, and buttons, a sense of dread overcomes me. How does he know how to fly this thing? A few seconds later, Four slides behind me. The space in the all-glass cockpit is tight as he closes it. He pulls me toward his body, I am nested between his legs. Then he clasps a seatbelt around us, drawing me even closer to him. His strong chest against my back, his breath tickling my neck. I feel hot all over as my eyes take in the view. The digital controls light up, and Four does his final checks, touches a few buttons inputting what looks to be a flight plan, then the jet rumbles to life beneath my feet. I glance backwards, he has all his concentration locked on the controls in front of him with a smile plastered on his face as he asks "You ready?"
Before I can respond, the jet starts to move, the tarmac, falls away from us. I squeal, as Four laughs saying, "You think this is high, baby? Wait until we get to regulation height. If you look over there you can see the ocean." My breath catches, did he just call me baby? The sight is breathtaking. The ocean is sparkling as the sun is setting, the sky orange and purple as it meets the dark blue ocean.
"This is beautiful." I murmur.
"I know, it's my favorite time of day to fly." He whispers. "It makes me feel like I am the only person alive in the world."
"We are going to go regulation height?"
"No, I don't have oxygen for me or you." He whispers into my ear as he moves the jet slightly.
"Thank you for sharing this with me," I say, a huge smile on my face.
"You're welcome." He murmurs.
"How fast can this thing fly?"
"About 1500 miles per hour, but we aren't flying that fast without the right equipment on."
"Holy Crap! That is fast!"
"It is. You wanna try flying?"
"No, I might kill us both." I giggle.
"No, you won't. I told you already, I won't let anything happen to you. Put your hands where mine are." I place mine on the joystick with his. A few seconds later, Four releases his hands, leaving mine on the joystick alone. "Keep your eyes on the horizon." He whispers into my ear, sending shivers straight down my spine.
"I'm flying. I'm really flying." I giggle "I feel like I'm the queen of the world."
"You want to do something fun?" Four asks, and I can hear the mischief in his voice. "No, but this isn't that hard, to fly," I say, glancing over my shoulder. As soon as I let my eyes leave the horizon, the plane starts to nosedive, and I quickly realize my mistake. "I'm sorry," I mutter as Four grabs the joystick to right the jet. "Okay, my little co-pilot. I think that is enough time flying a multi-million dollar jet."
"Now let's have some fun!" He laughs then grins evilly at me.
"No Four, whatever you are thinking. . ." He pulls the joystick sharply causing the fighter jet to do barrel rolls. I scream the whole time, grasping onto his thighs for dear life. When he gently lands the plane back onto the solid ground in the same place, next to the ladder and releases me out of the cockpit. I scream as I run down the ladder, "You idiot! You could have killed us!"
He follows me down the ladder, a smile on his face. "No, I was in control the whole time. You, on the other hand, you were terrified, and I loved every second of it." He says laughing as he moves my hair away from my face. I lightly hit him in the arm as I say, "You still tried to kill me."
He shakes his head at me as he stares into my eyes, saying "No I wasn't Tris. I would never hurt you. It's beautiful up there isn't it?"
"Yeah," I say watching the sun go behind a tall building. "Thank you for taking me up there," I say, pointing to the sky.
"You're welcome, Tris." He says, hearing my own name come out of his mouth, sounds good. For some reason it makes me want to hear it again, but I don't get a chance to ask him to call me Tris again, because he begins to lean forward with a look in his eye that I haven't seen before. He moves my hair that is swirling in the wind out of my face. His fingertips move gently, caressing my cheek. His fingertips are warm and soft as they move against my temple. He bends more, almost daring me to tell him to back away. The truth is, I want him to kiss me again like he did that night on his couch. His fingertips continue to rest against my head. His touch sends shivers down my spine in a good way. My whole body is trembling with nerves, wondering what he is going to do next. "Can I kiss you? If you want me to stop, tell me now. Because once I start to kiss you, I don't think I'm going to be able to stop." He whispers, his voice soft, in a dreamlike state. His fingers move along my cheek, resting on my lips, pulling them apart. My breath hitches. When I don't answer him. He leans back giving me space, but I reach up, pull him down, drawing his lips to mine. Four stands there shocked for a moment as I kissed him, he gently returns the kiss, but gentleness isn't something that I want at the moment. I knot my fists into his shirt, pulling him against me. He groans softly, his groan is low in his throat as he relaxes into the kiss, his arms circle me resting on my lower back, pulling me against him, and at that moment, I wish that we didn't have so many clothes in the way or that we were out in public. As I sigh, Four's tongue slips into my mouth, and I eagerly accept it. Four's lips are as soft as I remember them, and everything about the kiss is perfect. When he pulls away, several seconds later, saying "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. It's just. You looked so beautiful standing there with the sun setting behind you, staring at me, the little bit of wind blowing your hair around, with my fighter jet behind you, that I couldn't help myself." I smile, not knowing what to say to this man as I say, considering I sort of initiated the kiss. "No Four, Don't apologize for the kiss. I liked it."
He smiles at me as he says, "Do me a favor, and don't call me Four anymore."
I grin and ask "Okay Four, what should I call you then? Should I call you Eaton or Captain Eaton?"
"Nothing for the moment. I'll let you know when I decide." He shyly smiles at me as I feel myself turn red, thinking about Four and how his lips felt against mine, and how right they felt against mine. More right then Peter's ever felt.
"Okay," I whisper as my eyes meet his, as he grabs my hand pulling me toward the truck. I secretly love the feeling of his hand in mine, but I'm not going to tell him that anytime soon.
Thoughts? Comments? Please review, and let me know what you thought. Next chapter will be up on the weekend of December 8th. See you all then. If you are looking for pictures to follow along with the story check out my Pinterest board, the link is on my profile. Can we make it to 100 reviews before the next chapter is posted? You all would make my day if that happened.