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Chapter 32

What the hell happened?

Tobias' POV

"You can wait here, sir. We'll update you as soon as we can." The nurse says quickly before turning away and rushing back the way we came from. I take a deep breath, dreading the call I know I have to make. But it should be me, not some stranger…

The phone rang three times before a very tired Christina finally answered.

"This better be fucking good." She answers.

"It's Four." I begin.

"Four, what the hell?"

"It's Tris. She's…. You need to get down to Kindred Hospital right now." I interrupted her.

"What? What happened? Where is she? Put her on the phone." Christina demands.

"I can't. She's unconscious."

"What?" She asks, completely shocked.

"Just shut up and get down here…" I blurt out, having enough of her shit for one year. I hung the phone up, wishing instantly that I hadn't. What about Emily? What about Junior? Will she bring them? I contemplate on calling her back, on asking her not to. Maybe Zeke can watch the kids or Marlene…

I try to sit down, breathing deep in and out to steady my damn fucking nerves. I just want to hit something. I need to do something. I can't lose her. She has to be okay. My leg begins to jump up and down as my mind swirls with new questions in my head.

Was it really an accident?

Did someone set the fire?

Tris was hit behind the head, obviously. Right? Does that mean that Amar was right?

My mind lingers back to the conversation that I had with Amar earlier….

"Do you really think that because he is dead, he wouldn't ensure that his threats are to be carried out long after he is gone?"

" My dear son, the only way out of this… is to catch him before he catches you."

"Whatever you do, keep your family close. Don't let them out of your sight. Because that might be all it takes for him to settle this."

"Four?" Christina calls to get my attention. I lift my head, to face her. For the first time ever, I actually see the weariness on her face, it ages her. I get to my feet, scratching the back of my neck, not sure exactly what to say.

"Where is she? Any change?" She asks.

I open my mouth to answer her, but stop when I see the same nurse from before approaching.

"She's asking for you." The nurse says, gesturing for me to follow her.

"She's awake?" Christina and I both ask the nurse at the same time. We give each other a side glance, surprised that we both carry the same concern for Tris as the other.

"She is." The nurse answers, we follow close behind her.

"Where is Emily?" I ask, taking notice that either of the kids are with her.

"I called Zeke." She continues, "he would protect the kids at all costs. I trust him." She says, I'm not sure if she is saying this to comfort me or herself at this point. "But I agree with her, that the kids will be safe with Zeke."

"Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?" She says quietly, as we continue to walk down the hall. "I drove by the bakery… Four, what the hell happened."

"Not now," I answered her.

"You know I'm getting fed up with being kept in the dark." She hisses at me, losing her patience. ""Well where the hell is she?"Christina blurts out to the nurse before us. The nurse stops suddenly trying to signal for Christina to calm the fuck down. "Don't tell me to calm down… You calm down…" She continues, as her voice gets louder and louder as the nurse ignores her and makes her way further down the hall. "I'm her partner for crying out loud. And for what I saw…. I should probably put an ex in front of that title now. Do you have any idea what it took to get that damn bakery off the ground? And now what it will have to take to get it back up and running. And here you are coming up and banging on my door… Telling me to keep the kids safe and don't answer the door for anyone… Like I'm five or something. Obviously, keeping god knows what from me." She rants, I'm not sure at this point if she expects me to answer her or if I should just let her continue. So I do the latter, letting her make a fool out of herself as we make our way down the hall with all eyes on us.

The nurse quickly moves the curtains to the side. Obviously needing to get some pent up anger out before she possibly turns around and strangles Christina. I can't blame her, often more than most I want to do the same thing to her.

"Oh, Thank god you are alright." Christina dramatically calls out as she steps closer to Tris. A part of me wants nothing more than to choke the loudness from her. But for Tris' sake I don't, instead I walk around to Tris' other side. Hoping that that invisible itch behind my neck finally stops. I see some small amusement in Tris' eyes as she catches me trying to hold everything back that I can so I won't kill Christna.

"Christina." Tris tries to say. It breaks my heart how much effort it takes for her to try and speak. Wishing Chris would just shut the fuck up for just a second and see what she is causing.

"Shhh. I'm just glad you are okay. You are okay, right?" Christina finally says, somewhat calmy. She looks Tris over as if she is cracked glass and at any minute she will shatter and break into a million pieces. I know how Tris feels about being portrayed as weak or anything close to it… She hates it.

Tris nods her head to whatever "thousandth" question Christina just asked. Christina takes a deep calming breath as she comes to the realization that Tris will in fact make it through after all.

"That's good. That's all that matters."She shoots off. I step a little closer to Tris' side, taking her hand carefully into mine to let her know I'm here. That I'm not going anywhere.

"Then it won't hurt as much when I start to prod and poke you with all of my damn questions." Christina blurts out, her voice getting high once again. "What the hell happened?" She continues failing to see what this is doing to Tris who just woke up from being knocked out. Her other hand

shoots up to her head, cradling it like it's throbbing from the loud mouth noise that Christina is making.

"Christina," I hissed once. "Christina," twice. I prepare myself to do anything possible to help Tris. Even if that means throwing her best friend and partner out on her ass…

"What?" She snaps my way.

"Excuse me. But we are going to need you to keep it down. There are sick people here, you know?" A nurse says, stepping into the curtains. "Sorry." Chris gives in. She takes a deep breath, calming herself before she continues. "Tell me." She whispers in a calm manner as she pulls up a chair, ready to listen for once.

"I don't know." Tris stutters, confused.

"You don't know? How do you not know?" Chris asks, frustrated at the situation. I bite my lip for a moment, knowing damn well that Tris doesn't deserve this. I did this. It was all because of me.

"The back door was open. My head…" Tris tries to explain. But she doesn't make much sense. As she tries to continue, "And then there was the smell of smoke… And then… Nothing."


"I think I know what happened." I blurt out, without thinking. Not able to keep this to myself any longer. She should know, they both should know exactly what kind of danger I have brought to them both and the kids.

It was my luck that the moment I decided to come clean was the same moment they came to move Tris to a room. Deciding to admit her for a day or two to monitor her, since she had a nasty bump on her head, a concussion and smoke inhalation, along with the burns that still need to be taken care of and wrapped.

It was obvious that we would have to wait to talk. A part of me was relieved, I had a moment to think about how I was going to tell them both the story and the whole truth. On the other hand, I hated having to keep quiet. Having decided to finally come clean.

The room Tris gets moved into is thankfully a private room. Nothing too special, just your typical hospital bed, a night stand, a phone, and an old looking TV hung on the wall and a few chairs. One which is a chair that converts into a twin bed that the nurse kindly pointed out to us. The room also has a private bathroom, again nothing special, just a shower, sink and a toilet.

Chris helps herself to a spot on Tris' bed. I can see the concern in her face for Tris, but at the same time I can see she is curious and outraged. Rightfully so, of course. I pull up one of the uncomfortable looking chairs to the bed, contemplating if standing up would be more comfortable instead. The nurse hasn't missed a beat as she explains to Tris how the TV works, how to contact them if needed, and when her next dose of pain relievers are going to be. She is just about walking out of the room, giving us for once a little privacy when two men appear at the door.

Now what?

The men are dressed in suits and ties. Something that I would expect in an old fashioned crime movie, as they come in introducing themselves and holding up their badges for us to see.

"We have a few questions for you, if you don't mind." One of them says, while the other prepares himself with a notepad and pen.

"Yeah, get in line buddy." Christina mutters, frustrated as she once again has to wait for her questions to be answered.

Like before Tris doesn't make a whole lot of sense, as she tries to piece the moments up until she loses consciousness. She obviously was checking on the security of the bakery before it happened. That much we all put together. But whether or not she hit her own head, or it was an attempt on her life remains to be the big question.

"One last thing." The one writing on the notepad says, he digs into his jacket pocket, revealing a see through evidence bag. He holds it out for us all to see while asking, "Does this mean anything to anyone?"

"Next time, I'll do the job right."

Is all it says. My stomach drops, as it confirms what I already know. This is all because of me. Because I came back.


AN

Dun Dun Dun… Everything is finally coming into place.

Till next time….

Revised by: FDFobsessed

Like always, happy reading everyone, be safe and stay healthy

Trini