Hey Readers, here is the next chapter as promised. Sorry, it's late. Life got to be very crazy since my last update, but all is well now. 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 did take some liberties with this story in regards to this story to make things more interesting. Happy Reading!

Chapter 41: Raising Hell

An excited female voice sings, "T!" Stacy. Her eyes remain glued to Tobias's face. Her facial expression shifts like she doesn't believe he is standing before her. Tobias's eyes scan Stacy's face; he crosses his arms and, immediately, disgust appears on his face. Stacy prances the rest of the way over to the group. Her eyes remain locked on Tobias. Happiness laces her voice, grinning, "I thought that was you. I always knew what your backside looked like, clothed or not. It's so good to see you." I roll my eyes at Sam while Stacy attempts to hug Tobias, but he has his arms securely wrapped around his chest, not allowing her to come near him.

Tobias glares at Stacy, giving her a scrutinizing look, and attempting to read her motives. With pleading eyes, she continues, "I want you back. I want our relationship again. We were so good together, don't you remember? We made some stupid mistakes, but I was stupid to let you walk away from me. I should have fought harder for you. I should have never let you go. I miss you, but I miss us more than anything. I think about you all the time. We made such a good team. When we were one, we could do anything." She smiles brightly and attempts to hug Tobias once again, but Tobias remains standoffish, not accepting any of her advances.

Stacy's eyes shift off Tobias to me, giving up attempting to hug him, momentarily. She walks to me, pulling me close, causing Ryan's arms to drop from my shoulder, smiling, "Tris, it's so good to see you again!"

From behind me, I hear a distinctly angry male voice ask, "Again?" Crap! I never mentioned to Tobias the two times I saw Stacy. Nor that I knew she wanted to get back together with him. I let him get blindsided by her. Stacy smirks, "Oh my goodness, Tris! I think you upgraded from Peter! Good for you. I mean, your new boy isn't as hot as T, but then again, no one is in my mind," Stacy winks when she notices me standing near Ryan, Sam, and Tobias. Her eyes assess Ryan momentarily. Then she sticks her hand into the air between her and Ryan, announcing, "It's nice to finally meet the mysterious man who managed to sweep Tris off her feet and marry her. Tris didn't tell me much about you, other than you are a pilot like T and are also in the Air Force." Her eyes rapidly dart back to Tobias at his name, looking for any sort of emotion from him. Tobias's mask remains firmly in place. Sweetly, Stacy asks, "Can we please talk, T?" My eyes swiftly shift between Sam, Ryan, and Tobias. Sam looks ready to die of laughter. Ryan looks utterly confused, and Tobias's mask slips, and he looks thoroughly pissed. Tobias moves closer to me, almost touching my back, with his arms crossed. Everyone else is silent, standing near a table, enjoying the show. Zeke is drinking his beer and eating popcorn like he is watching a fascinating movie unfolding.

Tobias's words are controlled and measured. I can tell he is ready to explode when he replies, "No, we can't, Stacy! I'm pretty sure I made myself clear when I threw you out of our apartment after I found you and your lover in our bed together. After I found out you had been having affairs with other people for almost a year. You know, after, I practically beat him to a bloody pulp! I was stupid enough to almost propose to you. You would have made me miserable for the rest of my life. The only question I would have left for you, Stacy, is: What would you have done, divorce me every time I had to deploy?"

Stacy begins to speak, but Tobias holds his hand up, replying, "I don't really care what your answer is. You broke my heart, and you know that. You were one of the first girls I ever loved, and you greatly deceived me. So, no, I don't want to, nor need to talk to you, Stacy. There is nothing left to say. There is nothing left between us. I told you everything I ever wanted you to know the day I tossed you out of my life. Now, get out of my sight! I don't even want to look at you. The thought of you disgusts me!"

Sorrowfully, Stacy asks, "Can't we talk, Tob-" Tobias clenches his jaw, snapping, "Do not speak my name. You lost that right the moment you jumped into another man's bed. I don't want to get back together. I have moved on. Maybe, you should try it. I have already found someone else, and we are very much in love. She makes me happier than you ever could, and she loves me as much as I love her. She can deal with the distance, unlike you." Stacy's eyes flit down to Tobias's left hand, to his ring finger, to his rose gold wedding band. On the verge of tears, Stacy whispers, "Who is it, T? I still love you. Before I left the apartment that day, we promised to take a break, to figure out our future together, after what happened. You promised, we agreed. You are the only one I have ever wanted."

Tobias doesn't answer, only rolling his eyes toward the ceiling while Stacy begins to cry, the tears streak down her cheeks. She wipes them away with her fingertips. Tobias snaps, "You promised a lot of things too, Stacy, when we were together, and you broke all your promises to me as well. You were the only one who wanted a break. I wanted to break up that night. Clearly, you weren't listening during our last fight. There is no us, Stacy! You are the one who single-handly broke us when you cheated on me with that boyfriend of yours. Now, stop making a fool of yourself."

Stacy stands before Tobias with her arms wrapped around herself, her makeup running down her cheeks, looking broken. Dejectedly, she replies, "My boyfriend died overseas, and now no one will give me answers. He died while on an American base." Tobias snaps, "He probably faked his death to escape you. I would have done the same thing if I was stuck with you forever." A gasp falls from my lips at Tobias's hurtful words to Stacy. Stacy's eyes fall to the floor, her fingers play with the dirty towel she had been using to clean the tables, muttering, "That's not true, and you know it. You loved me at some point in our relationship. His death made me realize how precious life is. It made me understand that a single minute should not be wasted with your loved ones. You are the person I truly love, T. I always have, and I always will love you. You were my first true love. Can't we at least be friends again, please? I have no one here in this awful state. I know no one here."

Tobias spits, "You don't know what true love is, Stacy, and I don't think you were ever capable of it, not even in college." He narrows his eyes and purses his lips at her. Suddenly, Stacy snarls, "That new wife of yours best hide every red flag she has because you will drop her as quickly as you did me when you see anything wrong with her. Historically, you have always been like that. I bet you tell her you have never fallen as hard for a girl as you have for her or loved someone as much as you love her. She won't truly ever understand you or your life as I do. I know I'm not perfect. I know everything you went through with your father in high school, after high school, and in college. I lived it with you. Remember, I moved to California to be with you. I stayed with you when you chose to go into the Air Force and left for Officer Training School in Alabama. I followed you to every state you moved to for your pilot training. Hell, I even moved away from California to be with you! You know how much I love California." I roll my eyes at Sam, knowing the truth behind her words. Stacy moved here to be with Eric, not Tobias. A knot drops into my stomach. Past conversations with Tobias drift through my mind. Did he use those similar words with me that Stacy mentioned? Was Tobias playing me?

Tobias's jaw tightens, answering, "I looked past your red flags far too long and too many times in our history. Now, you truly have gone crazy. You leave my past and my father out of this conversation! Don't even try to tell me you moved out to California the first time to be with me. We both know you were accepted to Stanford as well for college. Why am I even discussing our past with you? If I recall correctly, you moved back to Maine, after college, after we had broken up, and I was the one who followed you back home and was trying to work a dead-end job, trying to find work after graduate school, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I'm sorry your boyfriend died, doing lord knows what to get himself killed, but what happened isn't my problem. You aren't my problem anymore!"

Stacy sighs, "But . . . !" Tobias cuts her off, continuing, "It's not my fault after all this time. Suddenly, you are sad over the loss of our relationship. I can tell you I'm not. I have moved on, and I want you to do the same. I'm happily married to the girl of my dreams, who owns my heart and soul, a girl who I love more than life itself."

Stacy cries, "Eric," Tobias's face drops momentarily, then a firm mask slips into place at the name while Stacy continues, "His name is, I guess I should say, was Eric, and he joined the Army when he lost his job as a bartender to help support me and my, or should I say our daughter." Her eyes briefly meet mine, then move to Tobias's, whispering, "What's your wife's name? I would love to meet her?" Stacy's lips begin to quiver, looking only at Tobias, "Please, T, I would love to meet her and get to know her." Tobias sternly replies, "You have already met her. I don't need to tell you who she is. It isn't any of your business, to be honest."

Stacy's eyes narrow, snapping, "T, at least do me the courtesy of telling me who this girl is, or are you embarrassed? I need to know who my competition is considering, I'm the mother of your child and will be in your life for at least the next fifteen years," her eyes shift between Tobias and me as if she is hoping I will help her, but I'm not going to. Stacy was crazy to have ever cheated on Tobias as many times as she did while he was deployed and try to say a baby is his. It was stupid of her to dangle all the affairs in his face and taunt him about them each time. She dug her own grave. She's lucky Tobias stayed with her for as long as he did. A guy like Tobias doesn't stay single for long, and it isn't because of the way he looks. It's because he knows how to properly treat a woman.

Movement catches my eyes, drawing me from my thoughts. I watch Tobias step closer to Stacy, looming over her. He whispers bitingly, "There is no competition between my wife and you, Stacy. There is no us. Get that through your thick skull, once and for all. There is no way that child is mine since you were sleeping with every guy on base and in the state of California while I was gone, and you weren't pregnant when I came home from Afghanistan." Tobias turns, walking away from Stacy, leaving everyone, including me, speechless and motionless. I stand paralyzed, not knowing if I should follow him or not.

Suddenly, Tobias stops with his back to the group when he notices I'm not following. He stands a few hundred feet from the group with his fists clenched. The tension noticeably runs through his shoulders. Stacy catches my eyes, giving me a sad look. Her eyes begin to tear up once again. I almost feel bad for her. An urge shoots through my chest to hug her, but then I recall how much hurt she caused Tobias in California, and how broken he seemed. I don't know their whole dating history, and I don't care to.

I glance at her quickly, and I see Tobias's past. I'm his future. Maybe it's time she finally learned that. My mouth opens to say something. Maybe, I should try to bring her some comfort, but the false words get stuck in my throat. My mouth feels sticky while I stare at Stacy with tears streaming down her face. Tobias's softened voice calls over his shoulder, and his eyes meet mine, "Are you coming, Tris? Let's go home," as he holds his hand out to me. Stacy shoots me a surprised look. Her mouth opens like a fish before murmuring, "So you are the next girl." I hop down from my stool to walk over to Tobias. I lace my fingers with his, my eyes remain on the ground, not making eye contact with anyone in the bar. Tobias presses his lips against the back of my hand while we exit the bar. His fingers subconsciously play with my rings. The rest of the group follows us into the parking lot, leaving Stacy standing in corner of the room in shock. Uriah breaks the silence, laughing, "Damn Zeke, remind me never to get on Four's bad side."

Zeke laughs while I mumble, "He's not that bad," attempting to protect Tobias from the playful jabbing of the guys. Ryan laughs, "Sure, Tris, you haven't had PT with Four other than those few times in Maryland. He is brutal. Don't you remember?" Tobias's eyes meet mine. I giggle, "Oh, I remember." Tobias grins, "Shut up, Anderson. You would have failed your last three timed PT runs if it weren't for me, encouraging you, running behind you, and working out extra with you. I don't know how you even passed boot camp." A giggle escapes my lips as Mark asks, "I want to hear the story of why Tris was forced to do PT in Maryland."

Tobias sighs deeply before quickly launching into the story of the time I got us both into trouble at Andrews Air Force Base by not following his explicit instructions to stay away from training. While Tobias is speaking, I hide my face in his shirt. The group of men interrupt the story multiple times with their banter. By the end of the story, I'm laughing hysterically at Tobias, adding details that never occurred. While we stand with our group of friends, Tobias's mood improves, and I can tell his good mood is back from before Stacy ruined it. He isn't at the bar just to make the guys happy, but he wants to be here with everyone. Tobias and Zeke gang up on Ryan again, and Zeke laughs, "I have to agree, Four. I watched you run those poor guys ragged, especially when we were at Andrews." Tobias rolls his eyes at the comment.

He smirks, "I was not. Now, I'm only helping Ryan and doing this out of the goodness of my heart." Ryan mutters, "Yeah, if trying to kill me equates to the goodness of your heart, then sure." Sam laughs at the comment, grinning, "I have it worse than all of you. At least you get to stay dry for all portions of your PT test. I have to swim."

Recalling how much Sam liked swimming in high school and college, I quip an eyebrow and ask, "I thought you liked swimming?" Sam shoots me a look, placing a finger over his lips, a sly smile tugging at them. Uriah laughs, "It sucks to suck." Zeke teases, "Shut up, Uriah! No one asked your opinion. The Army gets an easier PT test altogether."

Uriah sighs, "I guess, but I'm still jealous you guys get to listen to music while running. We don't get to do that, which isn't right. At least I listened to mom and you and didn't become a Marine. There is no way I would have survived the three-mile run on top of all the pull-ups, push-ups, and crunches. I would have wanted to die. Dude, my legs burn thinking about running."

Attempting to be helpful, I reply, "Try eating a banana a few days before you are scheduled for your run. It should help with your leg cramps. Also, make sure you stretch before you run and take nice deep breaths while running." Uriah's eyes meet mine while answering, "Thanks, I'll have to try that next time." Changing the subject, I smile, "Since the Fourth of July is around the corner, "Does anyone have any plans?" No one replies to my question. I continue, "Would anyone like to come over for a cookout that day?" My eyes skate to Tobias, springing the idea I had been tossing around in my head for a few weeks onto him. Now that Tobias and I are on better terms, I want everyone to come over to celebrate America's birthday! Tobias's eyes meet mine, smirking, "I was thinking the same thing. We haven't all gotten together at someone's house in a long time."

Sam smiles, "Sounds like a plan," glancing at me. Uriah and Zeke both agree, replying, "If there is food, we will be there." I giggle, "Oh, there will be food." Tobias asks, "Are you in Ryan and Will?" Will shrugs his shoulders, answering, "I will have to check with Christina, but I don't see why not." Ryan smiles, "Yes, sir, just tell me what to bring." I squeal, "Nothing, just yourself," not giving Tobias a chance to answer. My mind begins going into overdrive, thinking about all the planning that has to be done. I already know the person to call for help: Christina!

Thoughts and opinions on this chapter ? I can't wait to hear them. Please review. Next Chapter will be up the weekend of September 25.