Hey readers, here is the next chapter in this story. Thank you to everyone who continues to read this story, your support truly means a lot to me, and thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I don't own Divergent, the only thing I own is the plot, all military-related mistakes are mine. I did take some liberties with this chapter in terms of the military to keep things interesting. I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter. Happy Reading!
Guest#1 reviewer: Thank you very much for the review and the well wishes. I agree, Tobias absolutely has every right to be mad at Tris for what Christina and she did, especially since he ended up paying for it at the end of things.
Guest #2 reviewer: We will see in this chapter what happens with PT and Tris, hopefully, she doesn't humiliate herself too badly. I'm glad you are enjoying this story so far.
Chapter 15: Dirty Little Secret
The blaring of an alarm wakes me from my peaceful, restful sleep. What the hell? I groggily wipe the sleep from my eyes as they land on the clock, "Four ten in the morning! You have got to be joking me." I mumble, turning over, "This is much too early to function for any normal human." My fingertips reach for Tobias, but his body isn't anywhere to be found in the bed, only the quickly fading warmth from his body can be felt on the mattress. I sigh, close my eyes, curl into myself with the covers, and attempt to fall back to sleep. Suddenly, the covers are ripped off of me, Tobias playfully sings, "Let's go, Princess! It is time to start the day!" I groan at him, squeezing my eyelids shut. Swiftly, his footsteps leave the room, and the shower turns on. Sleep, finally! Abruptly, I'm lifted from the bed, fully clothed, and tossed into the cold shower; I scream while the icy water hits my skin. My teeth chatter, I snap as harshly as I can, "You suck!" He laughs, walking away, yelling over his shoulder, "You will thank me later for that shower."
"I-I-I highly doubt that!" I snap, my teeth clinking together while another shiver rips through my body, my hands landing on the faucet, twisting the hot water handle rapidly, waiting for the sweet relief of warmth to hit my skin. All too soon, I hear, "Tris, let's go, we are going to be late," being exclaimed, and the tapping of an impatient foot. I groan having to turn off the water, and the thought of the cool morning air hitting my skin sends goosebumps all over my body. Wrapping myself into a warm, fluffy, white towel, a brief thought crosses my mind: What type of trouble can Chris and I manage to get into over Facetime today? My smirk plummets off my face when my eyes land on Tobias, sitting on the bed in his PT clothes, drinking his cup of coffee, another mug of something warm in his other hand. He wasn't joking about PT this morning. Shit! He hands me the steaming cup, grinning, "You have five minutes until we need to leave."
"What?" I ask, flabbergasted. "You heard me correctly," He grins, I grumble, "Fine," eyeing him while he moves into the bathroom with his cup still in hand. I toss on a pair of black shorts and a hot pink racerback tank top. While I'm lacing my hot pink sneakers, Tobias sits next to me, his eyes directly on me, catching my attention, and I return his stare. He touches my chin, whispering, "Tris, don't take anything I do to you, or say to you out there, on the field, personally. Please understand, I have eyes on me. I'm sure the Colonel has spies everywhere, hiding to see how well this little experiment goes. I need to treat you the same as I do all the other men even though you aren't one; you are my wife. Also, for the moment, I want to keep the fact that you are my wife between us. Most of these men haven't seen you before, and I want our marriage to stay a secret. I don't need any of them running to the Colonel about how they feel I'm treating you differently than them if they find out I'm married to you."
"Am I your dirty little secret?" I ask, teasing him, hurt building in my chest that he wants to keep our marriage a secret from these men, but understanding his reasoning behind it. His fingers run along my jaw, responding, "Absolutely not, Tris. You could never be my dirty little secret, but I don't need these men to believe I'm giving you special attention or treatment based on the fact you are my wife. I don't need my men questioning my every move. When I was released from the brig, the Colonel stated, "Depending on how well this went my rank would be restored to Captain." His nose softly touches my cheek, my heart drops into my stomach. This needs to go well for Tobias to get his rank back. I still can't believe he lost his rank because of me! Colonel Asshat is going to be watching his every move and judging him. His lips press against my cheek, bringing me out of my internal argument. Attempting to lighten the mood, I whisper, "I'm a science experiment that needs to go well for your success to happen." He wrinkles his nose, answering, "A sick science experiment," touching his nose against mine. I smile, "It's okay, Tobias. I'm not going to run away screaming for the hills, at least not yet. I know you are going to have to yell at me, speak sternly to me, or something like that. I have heard enough from Sam about his time in Coast Guard boot camp to know what I am in store for. I'm not a delicate flower."
"Sam?" Tobias asks, a questioning look crossing his features. "One of my best friends in high school. We wrote to each other all the time when he first joined the Coast Guard. I'm not sure what he is doing now, but I know he wanted to fly a helicopter when he joined," I say, a memory invades my brain of a high school, Sam, informing me he was joining the Coast Guard after college after he kissed my cheek at the pool. Tobias's light voice pulls me from the memory, "Well, I guess we will have to see if Sam is right, but this is group PT, not boot camp, it shouldn't be that bad." I smile, my fingers sliding up his arms, pulling him closer to me, I giggle, "I know that." Tobias leans, tilting his head, his lips press against mine, and he tugs at my bottom lip. At the end of the kiss, he sighs, turning both of us toward the door, whispering, "I love you, I'll be right behind you," patting me on the bottom, pushing me out the door.
I giggle, "I love you too, Captain Eaton." Tobias's cheeks turn red at my words, muttering, "It's Lieutenant Eaton, at least for now." I grin, "You will always be "Captain Eaton to me," walking to the field in the middle of the base. As we approach, I notice the sun begins to rise in the sky. A sense of happiness fills me to my core, I glance at him from the corner of my eyes, whispering, "Happy two week anniversary."
"Yeah, even though we have, what? Spent like maybe three days together since we have gotten married, and Tris, for that, I'm deeply sorry," he touches my hand with the back of his. I whisper, "Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault," attempting to lighten his sullen mood. My eyes catch his unreadable eyes, he says, "No more of that for the rest of the day until we are back into the confines of our house. It's sir or Lieutenant Eaton, Ms. Prior." He winks at me, a sly smile tugs at his lips. A giggle erupts from my mouth at his words, a wider smile tugs at his lips, and we roll our eyes at one another. I laugh, responding, "Yes, sir," mock saluting him.
A group of men stand scattered in the middle of a field, talking to one another. Tobias looks at each of them, scrutinizing them as he approaches them, and I can see the exact moment he changes from Tobias to Four when his eyes harden, yelling, "Gentlemen!" All of the talking stops, no one responds nor moves as he approaches, calling out different orders that I have no idea what he means, but all the men form perfect lines like soldiers or airmen as Tobias reminds me the Air Force calls their men. "You will notice, we have a visitor with us today for our group PT session. Do not treat her any differently because she is a female. She is here on the Colonel's orders to train with us. I trust you all to show respect to her, show her proper Air Force conduct, and not to act like a bunch of animals like I know you can be at times." I cringe, standing next to him while he yells. No wonder on the days he has to train his group of guys for PT, his voice is hoarse when he comes home if he does this much yelling. He glances at me, saying, "Miss Prior, go join the back of the pack."
"It's Miss Prior again, is it? When did that change?" I grumble, sarcastically under my breath at Tobias who says sternly, "What did you just say?" My eyes narrow at him, he meets my stare, challenging me to test his authority in front of his men, lifting an eyebrow at him, crossing his arms over his chest, I sweetly reply, "Nothing, sir," feeling my cheeks heat. I retreat to the back of one of the lines. One of the men, I stand next to, turns slightly towards me, glancing at me while Tobias continues to talk. I keep my eyes downward, in my peripheral I see a hand fly out towards me while the man whispers, "The name's Ryan. What's your name? You have a lot of guts for standing, staring, and speaking to Eaton like that. You need to learn to chill out if you are going to survive PT with him." I find my male companion to be a blue-eyed, light brown slightly curly-haired guy who looks around the age of twenty. Tobias talks about orders and deploying early to the men. I stick my hand out, whispering, "My name is Tris."
"Nice to meet you, Tris." He smiles, murmuring, "How'd you get stuck here in PT hell with Captain Eaton. What did you do wrong?" Interrupting Ryan, I ask, "Isn't Eaton a lieutenant, not a captain?" He rolls his eyes, "He got screwed with that demotion from what I heard through the grapevine. Eaton is a hard ass, beware, but he is a great leader, at least once you earn his respect. He will do anything to protect the men and women in his squadron. That is one of the reasons why he probably made Captain at such a young age."
"Anderson! What the hell did I just say?" Tobias yells behind Ryan and me, catching us talking. I jump, feeling Tobias's eyes on me. Tobias's eyes hold a murderous gaze looking at Ryan, looking like he wants to hurt him for talking and not paying attention.
My heart drops while I hear Ryan yell, "That we deploy in four weeks, sir." My eyes connect with Tobias. His face contorts slightly, he shoots me another look. I hadn't heard that. Tobias hadn't told me how soon he was deploying.
"Keep your mouth shut and stop talking to Miss Prior. I know she is pretty and all, but I don't think her husband would appreciate you flirting with her, especially if he found out you were talking to her, keeping her from paying attention. Now, start running the length of the field twice, both of you." Tobias yells, eyeing both of us as I take off running. I begin running, I hear Tobias shout, "I want twenty pushups at each end of the field. Also, the last one to finish gives me one hundred push-ups on top of the twenty at the end. Hell no, I did not sign up for this side of him. Ryan grins at me while he catches up to me, attempting to surprise me, but I pick up speed. Ryan and I fight back and forth for the lead, I pick up my speed on the last lap toward the finish line, "Come on, Prior. I don't want to do more push-ups. You are the newbie, here." I shout behind me, "And you think, I want to-" I slam into something hard, my breath knocks out of my lungs as large hands steady me, and I fall to the ground. My eyes flit to the sky meeting Tobias's. I expect to see the pride in his eyes for being able to do all those push-ups, but instead, he looks pissed off, he snaps, "Watch, where you are going, Prior."
Tobias marches away, Ryan grins at me, "Welcome to hell on earth, with your host, Eaton as your tour guide." I try to contain my laughter while I say, "You best be doing your push-ups, or else Eaton will murder you where you stand. I'll start counting for you."
"I did them already." Ryan smiles, I frown at him, "I hate you. I still need to do my twenty."
"Well, I guess, I'll be doing the counting for you then." He grins, I ask, throwing myself onto the grass, "How did you finish so fast?" He laughs, "Practice."
PT with Tobias is brutal, and it is comparable to hell on earth as Ryan said it would be. My clothes are drenched in sweat when we break for lunch. Ryan and I walk to the cafe together, I ask, "Do you do this all the time?" Making conversation. "What all the time?" He quips an eyebrow at me. I smirk, "PT with Eaton." He nods his head, replying, "No, only the ones who fail, get to go to remedial group PT or the ones who the higher-ups think aren't trying hard enough."
"And which are you?" I ask, grabbing a plate for food. "I'm part of the group who can do better at PT but chooses not to," winking at me while we sit with a couple of other guys, who don't introduce themselves to me. Tobias ignores me all of lunch, not making eye contact with me, no matter how hard I try to get his attention from across the room. He looks pissed at the world, sitting in the corner of the cafe with Zeke and a few other higher-ranking officers, I have seen around the base. Ryan's eyes follow mine, he says, "That's the officer's club aka the viper table." He points at the table to where Tobias sits. "Why is it called that?" I ask, Ryan replies, "Oh, that is something we called the leadership table in boot camp, now I call the officer table that. I find it funny."
"What did the viper table do to you in boot camp?" I whisper, my eyes move to Tobias subconsciously. "Let's just say, they wait for prey, to quiz, and to pick on, to make life generally miserable at boot camp." He grins at me, continuing, "You like Eaton, don't you?"
"No, I don't," I deny, knowing Tobias would flip if he overheard our conversation. Tobias hates when his men gossip like high schoolers, I have heard him complain about it more than once. Ryan leans closer to me, he asks, a grin plastering his face, "What would your husband say if he found out about your new crush on Eaton?" His voice in a whisper-like state speaking about my crush on Tobias like it is a scandal, the man who is my husband, but Ryan doesn't know it.
"My husband?" I whisper, under my breath. He grins, his eyes bouncing between Zeke and Tobias, "Yeah the one Eaton threatened me with this morning. It's fine to have a little crush, it has never hurt anyone before. Personally, I think he likes you too. He couldn't keep his eyes off you today when we were running and doing push-ups. Half the time, he looked ready to jump in front of a metaphorical bullet for you if he could find one. I think you should try to get with him. Have you heard the two major rumors on the base about him?"
"No, what are the rumors about Eaton?" I ask aloud interested in what Ryan would say next about Tobias. "Well the first rumor is he and his long-term girlfriend broke up before he left California, something about her being a cheater, and now he is single, ready to mingle, maybe looking for someone to have a good time with, and that he doesn't want to be tied down again. The other rumor is Eaton is secretly gay, no one ever saw his old girlfriend at Travis. There was a short-lived rumor he was engaged, but he never talks about his personal life with anyone."
"Is that so?" I ask, wondering how these rumors started on this base, but not wanting to seem too interested. Ryan grins, "My bet is Eaton is secretly engaged." I ask, "Why do you think that?"
"He is always quick to end any conversation about his personal life, and when he first got to base, he was spotted with a woman. Now, that woman is never seen around, and I heard through the grapevine, he was demoted because of a woman. So tell me, are you interested in Eaton?"
"Married, remember," I smirk at him, holding up my wedding set on my left ring finger in his face. Tobias's eyes catch finger, he raises an eyebrow at Zeke. Ryan smirks, "Please, that doesn't stop ladies from throwing themselves at Eaton daily." I ask, quipping an eyebrow, "What sort of ladies throw themselves at him?" Suddenly interested in this conversation.
Ryan taps his fingers against the table, answering, "Other pilots, other people in our shop. So tell me, are you really interested? I think he is interested in you." I smile, "Married, remember Ryan," trying to end the awkward conversation. He rolls his eyes, replying, "Yes, you are married, but for argument's sake, if you weren't married, would you be interested in him?"
"Perhaps, I mean Eaton is handsome, and a woman can appreciate a good looking man in a uniform." I smile back at him, changing the subject, "Ryan, how long have you been in the Air Force?"
"Andrews is my first assignment out of boot camp and tech school. I tried to trade it, but when I heard the legendary Four was stationed here, I decided to keep my assignment. I have always wanted to meet Four, and I was lucky enough to be assigned to his squadron. I mean how often do you meet the fourth-youngest person to ever be promoted to Captain in Air Force history."
"I see. What do you do?" I ask, Ryan once again smiles, "Mechanic." He shows me his dirty stained hands. "I'm a gear head, working on planes, sort of gets my gears and motor running. Maybe one day, I can show you the type of planes I work on."
"That is so cheesy! Do you use that line on all the ladies? I already know the type of planes you work on F22's, the Raptors, right? My husband is in your shop as well, so I have a decent bit of knowledge about what planes exist on this base." My laughter attracts every eye in the cafe including the table Tobias is sitting at. Ryan grins, "It usually does work. Do you wanna go out for a drink tonight as friends for a celebration." Raising an eyebrow, I ask, "Why?" Ryan laughs, "You are going to make it through the day with Captain Eaton and his brutal PT session."
My palms feel sweaty, responding, "I can't. I have plans, maybe another time. Although you know Ryan, word on the base is Four is only here for a few months then he is being transferred again." Ryan grins back at me, "I know, that is why I have already put in for a transfer request to Virginia."
"Are you following Four, Ryan? Are you a stalker? I ask sarcastically. He laughs, "No, but the man is a god. I'll let him yell at me all day long if he wants to." He bumps his shoulder against mine, Tobias's eyes shoot up, locking with mine in that exact moment from across the room, then snap away from mine. I like Ryan, but only as a friend. Tobias angrily gets up from his table, I hear Zeke yell, "Four, what's your issue man? I was just joking!"
"I'll be right back, Ryan. I need to go wash my hands before it's time to meet back at the field." I whisper, hurrying, hoping to find Tobias somewhere in this place. Ryan yells while I exit the lunchroom, "Hurry Tris, you don't want to piss Four off by being late!"
Thoughts and opinions on this chapter, I can't wait to hear them! How do you all think generally the day is going for Tris and Tobias? What do you think about the new character of Ryan so far? The chapter containing the rest of the day will be updated on the weekend of August 1.