Hey everyone before reading this chapter, I just wanted to give everyone a fair warning that this chapter is rated M for violence, language, and adult situations. I don't own Divergent and as always all military-related mistakes are mine. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and review this story. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. My nerves are high going into this chapter. Someone might be in the house and now we can find out who. Happy Reading!
Chapter 26 My Bloody Valentine
All my hairs stand up on my body. "Hello?" I say loudly into the hallway.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I shout again, no one answers. A bang on the front door startles me, my heart pounds loudly in my ears as my fingertips shake as I answer the door. As I pull the front door open, I let out a breath that I didn't realize that I was holding when I see Stephen and Mattie standing there on the porch, in PJs, with a measuring cup. I try to smile at them as Stephen says, "Hey, sorry to bother you this late at night, but Mattie and I were up trying to make cookies to send to Mark, neither of us could sleep. We were wondering; if we could have a cup of milk. This receipt that we are trying, calls for more than I have in the house, and we were also wondering if you wanted to join us, baking?"
"Thanks, but I'm exhausted from the emotional roller coaster of tonight, sorry. Maybe next time. I'm sure Four has some milk around here somewhere, let me check. How much do you need?" I ask, trying to will my nerves to settle down.
"Just a cup." He smiles shyly as he hands over the cup saying, "Leave it to Mattie and me to decide at two in the morning to start baking. I have learned my lesson to never give her sugar before bed again." I giggle as I walk into the kitchen with the cup, pull out the milk, and pour some out into a glass. Bringing the cup back to Stephen and Mattie, I smile as I hand it over, and say, "Have fun baking, save me a cookie, please."
"We will Miss Tris." Mattie smiles as she skips across the road tugging Stephen behind her, towards the house. As the screen door bangs loudly for the second time after shutting the door, I jump as I mutter to myself, "Get a grip, Tris. No one is here, your imagination is running wild tonight!"
As I am turning the corner back to the bedroom, I feel a hand cover my mouth as a sick, sadistic voice fills my ear, whispering, "Found you! I told you I would!" Peter!
Shivers run up my spine as he pulls my thrashing body into the garage as he snaps, "Stop fighting against me. You will only hurt yourself."
"Help! Help! Help me!" I scream into his hand, desperate for anyone to hear me. He laughs as he says, "No one will hear you! Everyone is either still at that stupid military ball or fast asleep. So go one and scream all you want." My mind tells me, Peter is right. I saw none of the neighbor's cars parked as I walked up the road tonight. The only person that I know is home and awake is Stephen and Mattie. Another shiver runs up my spine, thinking about Peter's hands-on Mattie, his fists connecting with Stephen's jaw. I fight against Peter as he ties me to a chair. I try to bite him as he laughs in my face saying, "Tris. Tris. Tris. I see you have changed. Oh, how I have missed you. I love this new side to you."
"Well, I didn't miss you!" I scream at him as he smiles at me with an evil glare, "I have been expecting you all night, you are going to pay for running away with Eaton."
"You are crazy. I didn't run away with Four. I left you, Peter. After you beat the crap out of me!"
"Now, tonight will be a three-part program. Shall we get started?" I don't answer him, not wanting to play into his games any further. I just glare at him.
"What, no smart mouth comebacks, now! Answer me, you bitch!" His hand flies to my cheek, and before I can register what is happening, my cheek stings, tears flood my eyes.
"Fine Peter, what is this three-part program." I spit at him, holding back the urge to roll my eyes at him.
"Well, I'm so glad you asked. Part one, you confess all your sins to me. After which, I will decide the punishment for each indiscretion. The second part is that I will kill Eaton, and the third part will be that I will be killing Caleb, making you watch both of their deaths. It will either be that or I will make you kill them both, I haven't decided yet, whichever one makes me happier."
"You are a sick fuck!" I yell at him. "Good luck getting to either of them!" I say as my rage turns into laughter bubbling up to the surface.
"Oh Tris, little do you know Caleb was actually quite easy to get."
"You're a liar."
"Drew, bring in the hostage!" Peter says clapping his hands together as he takes a seat across from me, twirling a gun in his hands as he stares at me smirking. Drew pushes Caleb in, "Tris. I'm sorry." He says as Drew handcuffs him to a metal chair.
"Shut up!" Drew says as he hits him in the back of the head with his gun.
"Stop!" I yell, "Leave my brother alone. He did nothing wrong!"
"You left me, Tris. If you had just stayed with me, Caleb, here, would have been just fine, but you had to go running off with Eaton. Everything that happens here tonight is your fault." Peter says pacing back and forth in front of me, smiling wickedly at me. I bite my tongue, wanting to argue with him. Arguing with Peter will get Caleb and me in even more trouble than we are already in. "Now, I bet you are wondering, how Caleb ended up here in California when he was living in D.C." My jaw drops as I hear Peter reveal that he knew where Caleb was the whole time. "Surprised? Don't be. I told you, I have spies everywhere."
"Caleb!" I yell, panic evident in my voice.
"Dear Caleb was worried when you weren't picking up your cellphone, ignoring his phone calls, and weren't returning his phone calls. I took it upon myself, as your boyfriend, while you were in the shower, getting ready for that stupid ball to inform him as Four that you were feeling a bit depressed, and had checked yourself into rehab again. I informed him, I had found you bleeding out on the floor from your thighs being cut the night before." Peter laughs manically.
"Caleb, how could you not recognize Peter's voice?" I snap at him. Caleb shrugs his shoulders. I roll my eyes at him. Caleb responds sadly, "Peter tricked me. I thought he was Four when I was talking to him. I have never spoken to Four. How am I suppose to know you weren't cutting yourself again? We were talking regularly for a while, and then suddenly you went silent on me."
"Really Caleb!"
"Peter, when he was acting as Four, told me he had found out about your past suicide attempt, and that after you got out of rehab, he was going to leave you. That he couldn't deal with someone with that type of heavy baggage. I took a vacation from my job, and I was coming out to support you during this difficult time, to be there for you as your brother. I was, going to offer you to move out to D.C. with me as a fresh start."
"Caleb, Four and I are happy together." I snap at Caleb, leaving out what happened at the hospital hours again between Four and I. Now, is not the time nor place to talk about that.
"I'm sorry. I thought you needed your brother."
I try to clear my mind, shaking my head. I can't be mad at Caleb, he was trying to protect me, be a good brother, like I have been trying to protect him for years from Peter. I can try to get Caleb and me out of this situation in one piece, if I try hard enough, I just need a solid plan. At least, Peter doesn't have Tobias. That would be bad. He is less than six hours out of major surgery.
That's when I take in Peter's appearance: his normal dark shiny hair is colored, it is colored closer to Tobias's brown hair. His eyes, normally green are blue. He smirks at me as he stands in front of me wearing Tobias's tan uniform t-shirt, camouflage fatigue pants, and boots. Shit, I think to myself. What did he do, or what is he planning to do?
"Tris, how about this, we exchange secret for secret. You tell me a secret, and I'll give you one in return before I kill you. That seems fair."
"Go to hell Peter," I say, narrowing my eyes at him, making my voice sound stern like I have heard Tobias do with less ranking airmen that have pissed him off.
"Fine, you don't want to cooperate, you leave me no other choice than this, Drew, bring in the other prisoner," Peter says twirling the gun around on his fingertips.
Tobias stumbles in blindfolded, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, looking white as a sheet. A splint on his hand, and walking boot on. He grips his side. His breathing is steady as he tries to remain calm. As Drew removes Tobias's blindfold, his eyes briefly meet mine, and for a brief moment in time, I see concern fill them. Drew ties Tobias to a chair, next to Caleb, across the room from me. Tobias doesn't fight against Drew as he ties the ropes against his wrists. "Tris, I stole Eaton out of the hospital, right out from under everyone's noses," Peter says, happily, clapping his hands together.
"Are you crazy? He just had major surgery. He is less than six hours out of said major surgery. He should be resting!" I scream at Peter. Tobias doesn't bother looking in my direction, his eyes stay locked on the floor.
"Oh, and he will. Once I kill him. But, don't worry, I'll make you watch. You know, it really was too easy to get to him. I stole one of his uniforms, wore blue contacts, changed my hair color. All those stupid people thought that I was Captain Eaton, himself when I walked into the hospital and stole him. They even saluted me," As Peter continues to talk, I work, trying to get my knots undone. I need to save Tobias and Caleb. I don't care if Peter kills me, all I know is, that I need to save them both from his craziness. I get one knot undone, then another undone before Peter says, "So Tris, you ready to confess your sins?"
I pull the ropes from around my wrists, waist, and say, "No!" As I take off into the house. I run into the house, into the bedroom, throw the door close, and lock it as I stand on the bed looking for the gun that Tobias once told me about. A bullet comes flying through the door, ricocheting off the window, sending glass everywhere.
"Tris, I'm giving you until the count of three. If you aren't out here. I will kill one of these two men at random. One! Two! Three!" I strap the gun to my thigh, running out the door, screaming "No!" as Peter pulls the trigger, saying "Too late," as he shoots Caleb in the chest.
"Caleb!" I scream as his head hits his chest. Blood pools onto the cement floor under Caleb's body. "You monster!" I scream as I run to Caleb attempting to save my brother from bleeding to death.
"I am so glad, you finally see me for what I really am. Drew, tie her back up."
"Tris." Tobias groans and that is when I notice his white t-shirt has a spot of blood that is getting larger and larger by the second.
"Tobias, stay with me. Don't die on me. Don't leave me again. You told me you would never leave me." I whisper to him.
He smiles at me slightly. "I feel so dizzy."
"I know. Your blood pressure is probably low. Tell me did they glue your incision line, staple it, or stitch it."
"Umm. I'm not sure. They haven't even changed the first bandage yet since surgery. Listen, Tris, I need to tell you something."
"What are you two going on about over there?"
"Peter, Four is bleeding, let me help him, please. He doesn't deserve to die. If you let me help him then I will go with you. Please just let me help him."
"No!" He screams as Drew drags me further away from Tobias's pale body. "Now, you listen to me. You are mine. No one else's! I won't allow it! I won't allow you to touch him!" He holds the gun up to Tobias's head as he yells "I love you, Tris. None of this would have happened if you had behaved, did as you were told, and stayed with me."
Tears sting my eyes as I see the blood spot get larger on his shirt. "I'm sorry Peter. Please don't hurt him."
"Good! Now was that so hard?" He asks as he takes the gun away from Tobias's head, and hits him in the back of the head with the butt of the gun. "Secret time, Tris. I have had enough with your stalling."
"Did you kiss Eaton?"
"Yes," I whisper, looking at the floor, refusing to meet his eyes. This time when the sting of Peter's slap on my cheek registers, I don't feel anything, all I feel is numbness inside.
"Did you like it? Who was a better kisser?" Peter doesn't wait for my answer as he turns to Tobias, hitting him in the stomach with the barrel of the gun as I scream, "No!" Tobias groans, the blood spot, growing on his white t-shirt.
"My turn for a secret, Eaton would you care to do the pleasure?" When Tobias doesn't reply to him, he smirks, "Fine, be my guest. Shortly, after Eaton was rescued and brought to the hospital, he saw me in his room dressed as him, hiding behind his curtain with a gun. He figured out my plan. You see, I was going to kidnap you while you were in his room, but the bastard kicked you out of his room, told you he never wanted to see you again, and you actually believed him before I could get to you. After you hit your head, I went to pick you up, but he called a nurse and told her, he wasn't feeling well."
"That is how I was found in the hospital," I murmur as I look at Tobias, who refuses to meet my eyes. "How did you find the house?" I ask Peter.
"I followed you one day with this pathetic excuse for a human being when you were out walking, and then another night after I slipped past a sleeping guard, I followed you to make sure this is where you actually lived. The night that I broke in, I was hoping you would be home alone, but you weren't home at all. I had to come up with another plan for another time."
"What?!"
"Yes, then tonight, I decided I would try my luck again. The gods were on my side. You wanna know why, Tris? You left the front door unlocked when I tried it. That is how I got Eaton's uniform. You left it lying out on the bed with everything for me, waiting to take. Now, that I have spilled, next question: Did you two sleep together?"
I remain silent, not wanting to play this game any longer. If I hadn't been so stupid to leave the door unlocked, Tobias would still be safely in the hospital.
"I'll take your silence as an admission of guilt. Eaton any words to add? Would you like to refute her statement or agree with her lack of statement?" Peter doesn't even give Tobias a chance to speak. Instead, Peter hits Tobias in the jaw. When Peter's fist pulls away from Tobias's mouth, blood spills from Tobias's split lip, Peter punches Tobias again, a sickening crunch of nasal bones breaking can be heard throughout the room as blood pours out of his nose.
My stomach turns at all of Tobias's blood, tie-dying his shirt. "Stop Peter! Please!" I scream, as he turns to me he shakes out his hand, an evil smile on his face, he grips me by the shoulders hard, shakes me slightly, and then he knees me in the stomach. I can't breathe as I lose my breath.
"You slept with him; when you have only known him for how long? When it took you months, years to give it up to me! Why? You really are easy now. Aren't you, Tris?"
"No, you are cruel, Peter. You are sick." I wheeze.
"Never mind, it's my turn for a secret." He says with glee in his eyes while he smiles a sadistic smile. "I sabotaged Eaton's plane to make it go down. I told you it would crash. No one listened. I tried to kill him." He turns to look at Tobias as he says "You're like a bad penny. Aren't you? You keep turning up! How the hell did you survive that crash? You should have died! I rigged that plane to explode over the damn Pacific Ocean! It should have exploded while you were in flight or taking off before you could have ejected! Now tell me?"
He turns the gun to Tobias's head, unlocking the safety. "Tell me or I will shoot you faster than you can say Hi."
"Then do it!" Tobias says weakly. "Kill me, but don't hurt Tris anymore. You have already done more than enough to her. I don't know anything about the damn plane. I don't know why it didn't kill me. Maybe you failed." I can see Peter wanting to squeeze the trigger as I scream, "Please Peter! Don't hurt him."
"Fine!" He says pulling the gun away from Tobias's head. "But, that's only because I'm not done with him yet. Now onto my last secret for you Tris, but first, I want to know, do you actually love him? How could you love him when you could have someone like me?" Peter pulls back his fist and goes to hit Tobias in the temple, knowing how hard Peter hits he would kill Tobias instantly.
"Stop! Please, Peter!" I cry as tears stream down my face. "I'll take that as a confession of a yes. Tris, you don't get to have anyone in this life. Only me!" Peter moves his hand and instead hit Tobias in the face again, giving him a black eye instantly, then hits him in the stomach once again.
"Stop." I whisper, "Please."
"What about you Eaton, are you in love with my girlfriend?" Tobias says nothing, looking at the ground with hard eyes, I try to catch his eyes, but his eyes never move.
"Suit yourself, but your silence confirms what we both already know." Peter laughs as he continues saying "Now, my very last secret before I kill your boyfriend in front of you, and put him out of his misery. Don't worry though, you will be next to die after Eaton, but you get to die a painful death to make up for all your sins. I was apart of killing all those people, all those months ago that you saw on the news. Also, I killed your parents, Tris." He laughs as he says the last part.
"What?" I ask, confused.
"You heard me. You know, I am part of the mob. When I was sixteen, I wanted to join really badly, my grandfather told me how initiation worked. To be initiated into the mob I needed to kill two people. Your parents were easy targets walking home from church. I followed them for weeks every Sunday until I got the nerve up to actually kill them. I even saw you on the steps of your house, waiting for their return the day that I murdered them. Your house was really nice. The day that I killed your patents, your father tried to get me to spare your mother's life. He talked about his children; Beatrice and Caleb. I made him think that I was thinking of letting him and your mother go. He handed over his watch and your mother's wedding band set as a bargaining chip for their release. I thought about it for a minute but decided against it. Instead of shooting your mother first like I wanted to, I let my men have their way with her first while your father watched, helpless, then I killed her. I shot your father shortly after your mother. I held onto the wedding set, I was going to use it to propose to you. I thought it would be a touching gesture. For months, I watch you and Caleb struggle on the streets after their deaths before I decided I would run into you that fateful day, and shall we say the rest is history."
I am beyond angry by the time Peter is done talking. He ruined, destroyed my life. I gave up my chances to be with Sam in high school because I was stupid enough to believe that he saved me from the streets, that he deserved a chance with me. My fingers feel calm, certain as I push the ropes off of me. My whole body shakes from the anger as I stand, pull my dress up, pull the gun off of my thigh, and rush Peter, knocking him to the ground. I grab a hold of his hair and bash his head into the cement ground, then hold the gun to his head as I yell, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you, Peter!"
His eyes shoot towards Tobias as he smiles wickedly saying "Time's up. You can shoot me if you want, but your lover boy dies either way. Make your choice, Tris. I win in the end either way. You end up alone!" He smirks at me.
I pull the trigger of the gun as Peter's body goes limp below mine as I jump off him, pointing the gun at Drew, who is standing with Tobias, holding a gun to his temple. Determination fills me as I look at Tobias, the one person who I have left in this world, the only person that I can't allow Peter to steal from me. "Put the gun down Drew, and I will let you go!" I scream.
"I can't. I had my orders before we started this." He screams at me as Drew calmly says to Tobias "Pick up that gun off the floor, and point it at her." When Tobias doesn't move, Drew presses the gun harder into Tobias's temple, turning off the safety. "Come on Eaton. Do as you are told. For once!"
"It's okay Tobias," I whisper to him, but his eyes won't meet mine. He reaches down to pick up the gun, pointing the gun at me. We all stand there with guns pointed at each other, mine pointed at Drew, Drew's barrel pressed into Tobias's temple, and Tobias's gun trained on me half-heartedly. I continue to try to make eye contact with Tobias, but he just keeps staring at the floor, the blood stain on his shirt getting larger by the minute, slowly his eyes meet mine, then his eyes dart back to the floor.
"Drew, let Tobias go. This is between me and you."
"I can't. Four, he is my ticket off of this base. I'm a wanted man without him."
"Look at him. Do you really think he is going anywhere?"
"Tris, I don't feel. . ." Suddenly Tobias falls to the ground. Drew pulls the trigger of his gun as I pull mine and miss him "Shit!"I shout as I drop to the floor, trying to avoid the bullet. Drew darts out the door as I fall to the ground next to Tobias's unconscious body.
Thoughts? Opinions? Can't wait to hear them! As always please review this chapter and let me know what you thought. Next chapter will be up on the weekend of May 11, although it will most likely be up on Sunday instead on Saturday of that weekend.