Hey readers, here is the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who continues to support this story through your various ways. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I don't own Divergent. I only own the plot, any military-related mistakes are mine. Just a friendly reminder, I have taken some liberties in regards to the military to make some things more interesting for this story. Happy Reading!

Chapter 35: Confrontation

Tobias silently walks beside me toward the house. My mouth feels sticky. I nervously whisper, "Tobias, why have you been avoiding me? I am still here. You can talk to me." I say the words I have wanted to say to him for over a week since he came home and went quiet. His eyes widen in shock, glancing at me from the corner of his eyes. His fingers run through his hair, tugging at the ends in frustration. He whispers, "I haven't. I haven't been avoiding you, not on purpose, Tris." I shoot him a look, quipping an eyebrow like I don't believe the words he just spoke. He continues, "Okay, maybe a little." He holds his hands up like I'm going to shoot him. Frustration laces my voice when I say, "Talk to me, Tobias. You have been blocking me out since you came home."

He sighs, "I would love nothing more than to sit down and talk to you about everything, but there are some things I can't. I'm still processing it myself." I interrupt, "Tobias, you have had over a week to process what happened overseas. I miss you. You were gone for nine months."Maybe I'm being too hard on him.

His eyes drift to the ground, "After deployment, it has always taken me time to readjust to being back on base. That's probably part of the reason Stacy cheated on me. Well, that and she never wanted to hear about anything in my life. I don't mean to be distant." I interrupt him once again, "I'm not Stacy, Tobias, and I want to hear about everything," gripping his hand tightly, he continues, "If anything, being overseas made me want to hold you close and never let go. I saw how easy it was for life to end in the blink of an eye, and I was truly miserable during this deployment without you. I really haven't been avoiding you these past few days. Maybe in the beginning I was, but my stupid commander has had me busy with promotion bullshit that I could care less about. He has me working on stupid stratifications too. I loathe this time of year. I'm tired, and I just want it to end!"

My head spins with all the information he has dumped on me. Glancing at him, I ask, "What's stratification? Why is it so stupid?"Why is he so frustrated by whatever this is? Tobias shrugs his shoulders, massaging his temples, answering, "It's essentially a performance review, but everyone who is an officer has to participate in it. You are forced to rank each other against one another. There's always lots of backstabbing and political games in the work environment, but it's always worse when promotion season comes around. I hate it and the atmosphere it creates. It makes me feel like I'm living with Marcus again. It's the worst part of promotion season."

Curiosity laces my voice while I glance at Tobias under my lashes, asking, "I thought you once told me you promoted automatically." Tobias sighs, "It's only up to a certain point. On the enlisted side, it's up to a certain point too, but afterward, the person has to take a test, and the stratification comes into play to earn their promotion. On the officer side, I have personally seen it hurt many good men and women because that person had a bad year, or their commander didn't want to fight or push them to be better to get promoted to the next level." My eyes dart to my sandals. I reply, "Oh," not knowing what else to say. Tobias continues, "I'm also trying to learn how to run this new training program I was sent to this base to implement. It's turning out to be a pain in the ass and much more work than I believed it would be with a bunch of paperwork and hoops to jump through. It's no wonder no one else wanted the job."

Changing the subject, I ask, "When do you pin on your new rank?" Attempting to change the direction of our conversation. My mind drifting:How much longer is he going to be under this much stress? I have never seen him this stressed out before, not since he was waiting for his final results to fly again after surgery.His eyes happily dance to mine while he grins, "Tomorrow." Quietly, I mutter, "Do I get to come? I know how hard you worked to earn this promotion." I don't know how I'll feel if he informs me he doesn't want me there tomorrow. I would be heartbroken. My eyes lock back on my painted toes.

Tobias's knuckles brush the back of my hand, murmuring, "Of course, I would love for you to attend. I was actually hoping you would pin me." Looking around, I ask, "Me?" Unsure if I have heard him correctly. He nods his head, continuing, "You have been my support system and my cheerleader since we got together. If it wasn't for you, I don't think I would have made it this far in my career. You are my rock in this life. Will you pin my new rank on me?" His eyes shyly meet mine. My breath escapes my lungs, and my mind darts to having to stand in front of everyone to pin his new rank on him. I stop walking, my eyes skate to him, and I whisper nervously, "What if I mess up?" A smile tugs at his lips, his fingers lightly touch my cheek, murmuring, "You won't. I will walk you through it. We will practice a hundred times if we have to. However long it takes to make you feel comfortable with what you need to do to pin my new rank on me."

A playful smirk tugs at my lips, "Okay, Captain Eaton, I'll pin you." I wink at him with a double entendre behind my words. Tobias cheekily grins, "What have I said about the Captain Eaton crap? Now, I'm going to have to tickle you." His fingers begin to move toward me, and a giggle escapes my lips. I take off running. He yells, "Tris, don't run away, please! I'm tired of running today." I tease over my shoulder, "That's not going to work, Tobias. Christina made me run a mile and a half today in ten minutes and thirty seconds. You better keep up." My eyes dart behind me, only to find him right next to me. His hands grip me around the waist while he swings me into his arms, laughing, "I love you, Tris. I missed you while I was away." Pressing my lips against him, I murmur, "Me too, Tobias," while he walks up the stairs to the house.

Tobias stops abruptly at the door, a questioning look in his eyes. He places me onto my feet while he unlocks the door, asking, "Did you order another package from Amazon?" I shake my head, answering, "No, why?" Tobias jokingly states, "Are you sure you don't need to go to Amazon Anonymous?" What is he talking about? I answer, "I'm positive," my eyes land on a small white cardboard box sitting on the porch. I ignore the box, the promotion gift I ordered for Tobias from Amazon already came in. What the hell is this? Tobias picks up the package, brings it into the house, and drops it onto the kitchen table. He grabs a pocket knife from the drawer to open the box. Carefully, he opens the box. Suddenly, his voice drops low. Shock fills his voice while he asks, "What the fuck are those?"

A chill runs down my spine. The box is full of more pictures of me around the base. Several photographs are of Christina and me running. A few photos are from Valentine's Day, playing in the snow, laughing with Sam next to me. A picture of when I was slow dancing with Sam in the snow and Tobias on the phone. There are more photos of Sam and I sitting at the table in the middle of the bar, drinking. In the photo, we look like we are sitting closer than friends should be. In another photograph, Sam and I can be seen getting into his car outside the bar. In another picture, Sam is seen entering the house. The final picture shows Sam shirtless holding my barefoot with me in a pair of PJs. Accusation heavy in Tobias's voice, he asks, "Were you cheating on me while I was deployed with Sam?"

My heart races in my chest. I can't believe Tobias would believe such a thing, but I understand why, based on these photos and his past history with Stacy.I stutter, "No! I would never hurt you like that." Tobias looks into my eyes, and hurt floods his eyes, "I thought you were better than Stacy." I snicker, "Let's not bring Stacy into this conversation, Tobias Eaton! Why didn't you tell me she was still calling you? Why are you still wearing the sweater she got you?" Tobias snaps, "We are not discussing Stacy, Tris! There is nothing to talk about in regards to Stacy! She is old news. I blocked her number the day I dumped her, and she is nothing to me. I don't love her. I only love you and want to be with you." I yell, "We need to talk about Stacy. I know you don't want to," crossing my arms, "I need to know Tobias! Did you have a baby with her and not tell me!"

Tobias's eyebrows shoot to his hairline at my question. His fingertips touch my forehead, asking, "Do you have a fever? Why would I have a baby with Stacy? Why would you say something like that?" Quickly, I sidestep his moving fingers, shrug my shoulders, replying, "I heard rumors, she said it's yours, and the picture of the girl she has been showing everyone has your dark blue eyes and her bright red hair." Tobias rolls his eyes, "Do you think I'm the only male with dark blue eyes?" I shrug my shoulders once again at his answer while he continues, "There is no way that kid is mine. Stacy and I hadn't slept together since before I left for deployment to Afghanistan, and if she was pregnant, I would have known when I came home on my R&R and moved into the apartment next to Peter and you. There is no way she was pregnant. If you recall, when I came home for good after that deployment, I found her in bed with Eric. She can try to say that baby is mine, but it's not." Relief fills my chest at his words. Stacy's baby can't logically be Tobias's, but why is he still wearing the sweater she bought him years ago?

My eyes glance at the letter sitting on the bottom of the box where the photographs were. Tobias has the photos spread all over the table. The note reads:I'm glad Four is finally home! Let the game begin, Tris. You thought the last time was wicked. You haven't seen anything yet, darling. I will be seeing you soon, and you will be receiving some instructions from me shortly. Be on the lookout, and remember, I always win in the end. You still owe me a life, and I plan on collecting very soon.

Tobias rips the letter from the table, commanding, "What the fuck happened while I was in Syria?" My eyes dart to the floor, unable to meet his. I mutter, "I don't know. Someone has been following me. I have been getting pictures like this every so often since you went to Syria. I thought it had stopped since I hadn't gotten any recently. I guess I was wrong." I stare at the handwriting. I know that handwriting. Why do I know that handwriting? My world begins to spin quickly beneath my feet. Is Drew coming to finish the job Peter started but never finished? My mind spins with memories that return from the deep recesses of my mind: Peter's last uttered words while he took his last breaths, "Drew, finish the job." That's Drew's handwriting! Tobias's eyes are full of pain, asking, "Why didn't you tell me when I was gone what was going on at home?"

Staring at a wall, I whisper, "There was nothing you could have done from Syria except worry, and I needed you to concentrate on your job, on the mission. I needed you to come home alive." Tears pool in my eyes, thinking about any harm Tobias came into contact with, as a result, of being in love with me. I can't believe I'm on a kill list again, one that Peter started, and now Drew is trying to finish. Tobias's fingertips against my cheek draw me from my thoughts. He steps closer, and his fingertips dry a tear that escaped my lid. He whispers, "No more secrets, Tris, we are a team. I'm here for you. I love you, but we can't be a team if you are keeping secrets from me like this. Did you save the other photos and letters?" I nod my head, listening to the words I spoke to him, beginning our conversation, "Yeah," walking into the bedroom to retrieve everything to show him. I have been hiding from him since he left for Syria.

Handing him the box full of letters and photographs, he carefully looks through each picture, but before I can share my theory about Peter and Drew. Tobias wistfully and sheepishly says, "Tris, there is something I have been keeping from you: a secret from my time in Syria," when his eyes land on his orders that were sent to me from someone unknown.

Thought and opinions on this chapter. Please review. Guesses on what Tobias's secret maybe that he has been keeping from his time overseas? The next chapter will be posted on the weekend of June 19, 2021 if all goes well, but I'm keeping no promises.