Hey readers, here is the next chapter as promised. 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 37: Admissions of Guilt

Angrily, I wipe the tears from my eyes while I bang on the door. Will immediately opens, his eyes sweep up and down my body, taking in my raccoon eyes. His eyes narrow, asking protectively, "Whose ass do I need to kick? Do I need to kill Four? Did he hurt you?" He sticks his head out the door, looking both ways for whatever or whoever made me break down into tears. I shrug my shoulders, unable to answer him at the moment. Will sighs, wrapping his arms around my shoulders, hugging me, commanding, "Answer me, Tris, who or what has you crying?" Miserably, I reply, "Is Chris here?" Unable to tell him the truth at this point.

"Afraid not. I'm the only one here. So, I'm going to ask you again, and you best answer me, this time, what the hell did he do. Do I need to hurt him because he hurt you?" I ignore Will's line of questioning once again. Meekly, I ask, "Can I come in?" Will steps aside, letting me into the house. He gives up asking, changing the subject, "Do you wanna talk or play a video game?" Another round of tears begin at Will's kindness. Will crosses his arms, taking a step back, and his eyes carefully scan my face. A look of discomfort quickly crosses his features. I mumble, "I don't want to talk now." He nods, and I follow him into the living room. Will grabs a gaming remote off the floor. He hands it to me, smiling, "Well, you know my theory on how to cure a bad day."

Arching an eyebrow, sitting on the floor beside him, I ask, "What's that?" He grins, "Killing a bunch of orcs and helping Frodo destroy the ring of power." A giggle escapes my lips, "You are such a geek! You know that, right? I'm still amazed that you and Chris ended up together. I never believed she would go out with you in high school. I mean, Chris was a nerd in high school, but, in college, she got all preppy when she went to design school. You, on the other hand, were a jock who was secretly intelligent."

Will quips an eyebrow, smirking, "Tris, you knew about Chris and me before we even became an item. Chris was a geek long before she discovered her love of the fashion industry." A smile tugs at my lips, recalling a young Christina with pink hair, who hated authority, who wanted to run away to a faraway place, and in high school would always carry around her textbooks. Chris never cared about her image, and she never took crap from anyone, especially Peter and his mean jock friends. Laughing at the memory in my head, I giggle, "Do you remember the time Chris almost decked you in high school?"

A smile tugs at Will's lips while he answers, "Which time? Chris almost hit me multiple times. I mean, how many times did I have to say or do something to her for her to get the hint I liked her. I kept asking her out, trying to get her to come to a game, but her excuse was always the same, 'I have a test coming up. Maybe another time.' It was a lame excuse."

I laugh, "I remember the week of Midterms, and she was in full-on freak out mode. You stole her French and Calculus books out of her locker and told her if she didn't go on a date with you, you wouldn't give either of her books back to her." Will grins, "It worked, didn't it? Plus, Chris needed a break from all the studying she was doing. She was borderline pulling out her hair." Another thought crosses my mind. I ask, "Did you know for certain Chris and you were supposed to be together after that first date?" Will sighs, and a dreamy look crosses his eyes. He replies, "I knew as soon as I dropped Chris off at her house I wanted to be with her for a long time. Chris wasn't as easily convinced of our relationship as I was in high school and college, especially once I joined the Army. Chris and I aren't the same people we were in high school. We have changed. We have matured as individuals and a couple. We have fought for our relationship. Hell, we even broke up a lot along the way. Do you know how many times we broke up? In the end, we have always found our way back to one another for one reason or another." With Will's words, my mind recalls all the times Chris would call me, freaking out when Will was in boot camp, expressing her concerns about how she had never signed up to be a military girlfriend, or she didn't think she could handle the distance. I smirk, glancing at Will. He had no idea the number of times I talked Chris off the ledge. Will continues, "Now, after all this time, she has finally agreed to marry me. If I have any luck on my side, and I'm going to need it, I will figure out how to get her down the aisle. Then I will be the luckiest man in the world."

I smile, "You don't need any luck, Will. Chris wants to marry you. She wants everything to be perfect for the wedding." I say defending Christina taking her time planning the wedding. Will smirks, "Yeah, well, I'm growing old, waiting for her. All I want is to marry the girl of my dreams. My best friend." Quipping an eyebrow, I ask, "Have you told her that?" Will stares at me, "Only every day of my life since I have proposed to her." I playfully roll my eyes at him, and I continue to kill orcs taking anger and aggression out on the game that I'm feeling toward Tobias helps slightly. My phone continues to alternate between ringing and text message alerts. Will's eyes dart between my phone lying on the table and me. He pauses the game, asking, "Are you going to take pity on him yet?"

I deadpan, "Nope," unpausing the game and shooting an arrow through another orc, continuing, "He deserves it, trust me. I'm only giving him a little bit of his own medicine. It might look childish on the outside, but he needs to learn what happens when he lies to me. If Tobias does this again. I'm not going to take it from him. I will leave him. I'm not going to be married to be a liar, even if it's for my own good like he claims it was at the time." Will looks like he wants to say something, but instead, a knock breaks his attention away from me. Moving from the floor, he says, "I'll be right back."

Will motions between the two of us, continuing, "We aren't finished speaking about this." I shrug my shoulders while he pauses the video game once again. I reply, "If it is Tobias, please, tell him I'm not here. I'm not ready to see him." Will glances through the peephole of the door, sighing, "Tris, don't make me do this. Four is a good guy. He loves you, deep down." Whispering, I answer, "I know, but I can't handle it, not right now. I don't want to see him." The tears begin to fill my eyes once again at the thought of Tobias lying to me. Will quickly moves to me, wrapping one arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him. The hard knock against the door sounds again. Will lets out a breath, muttering, "You have some explaining to do after this." I dart behind the corner, hiding while Will opens the door. I tiptoe down the hallway, looking at the different photographs Chris has hanging on the walls of her and Will. Chris only has two of Will in his Army uniform.

Opening the door, Will quietly says, "You aren't wanted here, Four. Tris doesn't want to see you right now. I don't know what you did to piss her off, but if you do it again, I don't care if you are older than me or technically have more authority than me. If Tris ever shows up on my doorstep crying again like she did today, I will have to take matters into my own hands. Tris is like a sister to me, and I will hurt you if you mess up again." Painfully, Tobias answers, "Please, Will let me in to see her." My heart breaks hearing the distress in his voice. I hate that the pain in his voice can break my heart, when he is the one who lied to me and broke my trust.

Quietly, I tiptoe behind Will. Will's entire body fills the doorframe, and I quickly glance around him to peep at Tobias, who is looking as miserable as I feel. Tobias's hair is messy, going in every direction. His eyes are red, glassy, sad-looking. He looks like he has been crying, and he seems utterly defeated by the world. His sorrowful eyes catch my tear-filled eyes. Painfully, he says, "Tris, please let me explain." I dart back behind Will's body, feeling like a coward for not wanting to deal with my husband and our marital problems head-on. Will snaps, "When she is ready, she will talk to you and come to find you." At the end of his statement, Will shuts the door on Tobias. Tobias's hand catches the door from closing completely. He asks, "Just tell me, is she alright?" Anger laces Will's voice while he says, "I don't know, you tell me! If opening my door this morning to find one of my best friends crying her eyes out because of something her husband did counts as fine, then she's alright." Will slams the door in Tobias's face before he has a chance to react.

After the door slams, Will turns to me, quietly saying, "He looks miserable. I want you to know this is the only time I'm going to run interference in your marriage. I would kill anyone who did that to me with Chris. Now, you owe me an explanation of why I had to deal with your husband instead of you." My eyes drift to my shoes while Will follows me to the couch. Once sitting, I spill my guts. I tell Will everything Tobias recounted to me before I stormed out of the house: about how he signed up for extra deployment time long before he left stateside, how Tobias never informed me about the additional time until after he deployed, and how Tobias claimed he was trying to protect me. Will sighs after hearing my story, "I'm sorry he did that, Tris. However, coming from someone who is on the other side, would you believe me if I said maybe he wasn't lying to you. Perhaps, Four was only trying to protect you from the extra hurt it would have caused you to watch him put his career ahead of your marriage and ahead of you. Maybe he lied to you by omitting the whole truth and not thinking about the consequences in the end. Even if you say now you would have supported his decision to extend, I need to ask, would you have really supported it back then? I don't know any people who would have." Rubbing my face, I answer, "Probably not. I would have been angry." At my words, I instantly feel guilty. Will replies, "Exactly! Would you have wanted to waste your last couple of days before he left angry with him, especially since he was going to be gone for nine months?" My fingers play with a thread on my shirt while I meekly answer, "No."

Will smiles, "Chris doesn't even know what I do in the Army. Be grateful that you at least know what your loved one does." I reply, "Do you ever plan on telling her?" Will glances at me from the corner of his eyes, shrugging his shoulders, smirking, "I plan on keeping it that way for as long as I can. Chris has never exactly asked what I do. My job isn't exactly something I can talk openly with her about. The one time she asked what I did in the Army when we got back together after one of our very short breakups. I didn't lie to her. I told her my goal was to become an Airborne Ranger. At the time, I was a military cop."

Quipping an eyebrow, I ask, "She never asked if you made it to be a Ranger?" Wondering aloud, not expecting an answer. Will stares, answering, "Nope, but I think Chris is happier not knowing. I'm happy if she is happy being innocent to my world. After all, I never wanted her life intertwined with my life in the military. I'm in the military. Sometimes, that makes me miss out on things in life or do things I'm not proud of, but Chris and I are together for better or worse. I don't know where I was going with this." He stops, staring at a photograph from our high school days of a younger version of him and Chris hanging on the wall.

I whisper, "Thanks, Will. I think I know where you were going," wrapping my arms around his lean frame. I continue, "I'll go find Tobias and make things right with him." I take a deep breath before opening the door, preparing to look for him. When I open the door, I don't have to look far for Tobias. He's sitting on the porch steps, waiting for me. When he hears the door open, his crestfallen eyes glance at the door. Slowly, I open and close the door while Tobias stares at me, and I stare at him. A shame creeps through my chest for the way I acted earlier, for running away from our problems. Before I can say anything, Tobias whispers, "I'm sorry for lying to you. I should have told you before I left stateside that I signed on for more time." I sit next to Tobias, silently, listening to his words. I can tell he is sorry. My fingers reach for his across the wooden landing. His fingers slowly inch toward mine, and when one fingertip touches mine, the contact is like electricity through my hand. I'm so happy he's alive and home. I murmur, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have stormed off in the middle of a disagreement and that was childish of me. I hate lying. Peter lied to me all the time, for years. I can't take it from you." Tobias touches his shoulder with mine, leaning into me. He whispers, "I'll try my hardest never to lie to you again. I was trying to protect you. Can we go home? There is still more that you need to hear from my story from my time overseas."

I smirk, "I don't think I can handle it." Tobias replies, "I think you can. I have faith in you." He stands, reaching his hand out for mine. I take his hand, and he pulls me to my feet while I answer, "Okay." While walking home, my stomach is full of butterflies. I'm terrified of what he's going to tell me now, and I'm not sure I want to know any more about his time overseas, nor do I need to know about it. Maybe, Chris has the right idea of being innocent to everything, and I hate the idea that Tobias put himself in danger when he didn't need to or that his jet engine malfunctioned. Tobias's murmuring voice brings me from my thoughts. "You're quiet." I shrug my shoulders while we walk into the house. Tobias pulls me to the couch, pulling me onto his lap. Staring at my feet, I reply, "I'm just thinking, maybe Chris is right. Maybe, living innocent is the best thing to do, at least, in terms of what happens with your life in the military." Tobias gives me a look while I continue, "I almost died when you told me about all the crap that happened with your plane."

Tobias eyes me, replying, "Okay, but you are the one who asked me questions about my time over there." His eyes scan me like I have gone crazy, continuing, "I never would have told you about my plane if you had not asked me. I still think you need to hear the rest of my story, Tris. Some of these notes you have been receiving may have to do with my time in Syria." I grimace, "Fine," not wanting to hear anymore about his time in Syria while I move off his lap, staring into his eyes.

Together, we sit on the couch while Tobias begins to speak. He takes my hand, staring sincerely. Tobias takes a deep breath, stating, "I made an acquaintance while at the base in Syria. His name was Eric, and he was in the Army. I believed Eric was cool. I knew he had a girlfriend at home, waiting for him to return. On base, I liked to wear my wedding ring for the feeling of normalcy it provided me in a war-torn country. Eric would often ask me about my wife, and we would speak about our loved ones who were back home, waiting for us. He would talk about his girlfriend, whose name I believe was Stacy, who was moving to Virginia to be with him."

Glancing at Tobias, I smile, "These all sound like normal things. Why do I need to know them?" Tobias holds up a finger, replying, "Please, just let me finish. Eric was arrested before I came home. It turns out he was a spy, working for an enemy country, Dauntless. Security Forces arrested him for suspicious activity on the base." Wondering aloud, I ask, "What gets a person arrested during deployment?" As soon as the words hit my ears, my cheeks heat with embarrassment. Tobias replies, "Eric was supposed to be on the lookout at the gate, but he kept leaving his guard post for various reasons. One of his commanders, who I thought was a jerk, had him arrested. His commander accused him of going AWOL. After his arrest, I went to visit Eric in jail before the confirmation by senior members that he was a spy for Dauntless, no less."

My mind spins at the name Dauntless, briefly recalling the name from radio airwaves. "Wait, Dauntless. What's Dauntless?" Tobias snorts, "It's an aggressive, war-hungry nation, who is constantly invading lands around them." Crossing my arms, I ask, "Why have I never heard of this country before?" Tobias rolls his eyes, "Probably because you don't watch the news. That country has been all over the media. The UN is always placing sanctions on them, and NATO is going to send troops in soon if the nation doesn't stop trying to take over other countries."

I ask, What does this have to do with Eric?" Tobias sighs, "I got into an argument with Eric one time when I was visiting him. All he did was laugh. Eric said he couldn't wait to take down the great Four. Eric stated that if it was the last thing he did, he would take me down. Briefly, Eric mentioned, in that argument, I'm worth a pretty penny to Dauntless for some reason. During that same fight, Eric also spilled his girlfriend, and he had been trying to take me out for the past year. I was given an ultimatum: if I didn't comply with Eric, his girlfriend would go after my wife. Eric threatened that his girlfriend would harm you, and she would take great pleasure in doing so because you had stolen something from her. I could never understand that part. I had never met the guy before in my life." Tobias's eyes meet mine, continuing, "How could you have stolen something from his girlfriend when he had never met you in person?" Tobias's eyes shift to the table. He takes a breath, continuing, "After that fight, Eric went crazy in his jail cell, laughing like a lunatic while he spouted off our new address in Virginia. He pulled out a folded-up photo of you on the phone, on the side of the road, changing a tire. Once this happened, I no longer thought Eric was a spy for Dauntless but someone else entirely. Eric continued to threaten his girlfriend could easily sneak onto the base to hurt you. I did everything Eric told me to do. He wanted money, I transferred money into his account, and I did it to keep you safe."

I hold up my finger, asking, "Why didn't I see any money leave our account?" Tobias stares at his feet, proceeding, "I used a separate account. One I set up when I was in high school, getting ready to run away from home. The account we share now is the one I set up after I joined the military." Tobias pulls out his phone, tapping an icon, and hands me the phone. This account shows multiple money transfers occurring on the same day. Guilty, Tobias says, "I'm sorry, Tris, I should have told you sooner. Eric informed me once I transferred the entire amount, it would be over. They would leave you and me alone. Three days before I left Syria to return home, I went back to Eric's cell to tell him I had transferred all the money. That way, he could pass all the information onto his girlfriend, and no harm would come to you. Before I left, I spoke to Eric once again. I told him I refused to be blackmailed any longer by a man, who I once believed was a good guy, someone who was a friend. Eric provoked me, and I almost killed him, Tris. I held my gun up to his head. I wanted to kill him, I did. I have never wanted to kill another human as much as I have wanted to kill that man, not even my father, and that thought alone scares me. Do you want to know why I wanted to kill him? It wasn't because he was threatening me. No, it was because he was threatening you. Throughout my life, I have dealt with threats many times if I didn't comply. Growing up, my father threatened me and beat me enough to learn about punishments and threats, but I couldn't let Eric threaten you. The mere thought nearly drove me to insanity. From this experience, I have come to realize that I don't care if someone threatens me. I don't care, threaten me all you want, but threaten my wife, you have another thing coming, and I might end your life."

Blinking, I whisper, "Tobias," my heart beating a million miles an hour at his admission. Tobias almost killed someone because they threatened to harm me. I gulp, "I don't think this Eric or his girlfriend have been behind this. How would he have gotten your transfer orders? What about the writing on them, writing that-" I stop speaking, my words hanging in the air between us. Tobias glances at me from the corner of his eyes. He shrugs his shoulders, answering, "I don't know, Tris. I know one of my printed orders did go missing, and Eric was standing there speaking to me while I was making copies. He could have taken one. I thought I was going crazy, or Zeke was messing with me like normal when I couldn't find it, but these new pictures today. Now, I'm not sure if it's entirely Eric who's behind it."

Curiosity laces my voice while I ask, "Why don't you think it's Eric any longer?" Tobias answers, "The day before I left Syria. Eric's body was supposedly found hanging in his cell by a bedsheet. That was the rumor floating around the base. All I know: his words still haunt me in my sleep even now. If I didn't do whatever he or his girlfriend wanted, they would make my life hell. They would take away the one thing I loved most in the world, which is you. I don't understand. I did everything he wanted. I gave him the money." Tobias frustratedly stares at the floor. He looks broken and looks lost in thought. My fingertips gently touch his chin while I whisper, "Nothing is going to take me away from you. Together, we can and will handle anything anyone tries to throw at us." Tobias's eyes meet mine. He whispers, "I'm sorry I lied to you. Can you forgive me?"

I playfully shrug my shoulders, "I suppose, but don't do it again. I want to know these things, Tobias. I know while in Syria, you couldn't say anything about going to Iraq for fears of a tapped line, but I still want to know. What would have happened if you had died? I would have been left wondering how the hell you ended up in a surrounding territory when you were supposed to be in Syria. I would have driven myself insane, asking myself that question for the rest of my life, wondering why you never told me." Tobias leans, whispering, "Shh, I'm home now. I'm sorry, and I'm safe. I'm not going anywhere. Let's not speak anymore about Syria," his soft lips press against mine in a kiss that makes me breathless.

Thoughts and opinions, I can't wait to hear them about this chapter! Please review. I'm going to post the next chapter early. I will post it next weekend, July 10th. I will not be posting it on July 17th as usual since that is the weekend of my wedding anniversary and I will be spending it with my hubby.