CHAPTER 24

TRIS POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up in Tobias's arms in his bed.

The sunlight streams through his window.

I try to maneuver myself out of his arms without waking him up, but I fail miserably.

"Hey Tris."

"Hi Tobias."

"You fell asleep close to the end of the movie last night." He tells me.

"Yeah I know. I couldn't control it anymore."

"Everybody thought it was adorable."

"Ugggg why?" I groan.

"Because I carried you and Christina, oh boy. She was fan-girling over us like crazy. Screaming at the top of her lungs. I'm surprised she didn't wake China."

I giggle. "I can totally picture that."

"Yep. Oh by the way, Peter wants to talk to you alone. I would be with you because even though people says he's changed, I don't trust him yet."

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair.

"Why does Lynn have to be dating such an idiot." I whine.

"I don't know. We have to talk to him though. Get things straight. Then maybe if he has changed, we talk and stuff, but that is where we draw the line. Is that okay with you?" He asks me.

"Yeah sure." I say.

"Let's go get breakfast." Tobias suggests.

I nod my head in agreement and we make our way to the kitchen.

"What do you want ma lady?" Tobias asks me in a British accent.

"I'll have an egg, kind sir." I joke.

Tobias puts the stove ok and begins to get the eggs of of the fridge.

Just then, the doorbell rings.

I look at Tobias confused. He mirrors me.

We both walk slowly to the door, Tobias in front of me, sort of forming a barrier between myself and the people outside.

Tobias opens the door and we see......

Zeke and Uriah?

"Zeke? Uri?" I ask.

They hold up their hand and bend down trying to catch their breath.

"Dude what is it?" Tobias asks looking out.

"Yo, Eric came to our place last night demanding where you are. We told him you guys left and he got all angry. He said that-- well he muttered to himself that he was going to get you and destroy you. He might even have a gun." Zeke says.

Just then, Colby walks up to the front door.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asks.

"Go wake up mom, dad, Caleb, and Evelyn and stay in mom and dads bedroom." Tobias tells Colby urgently.

Colby nods and runs upstairs.

"When did this happen?" I ask.

"Last night." Uriah says as if it is obvious.

"LAST NIGHT!" Tobias practically screams.

"Yeah why?" Zeke asks.

"Because that means--"

We get cut off by a car tires screeching.

"That means he'll be here any second!" Tobias finishes.

"Zeke, Uriah go upstairs to my parents room."

They nod and start to walk slowly towards the steps.

"RUN!" Tobias yells at the .

"Okay, okay." They both say in unison.

"You too Tris. Run upstairs fast."

"But, Toby I can't run." I say my voice barely audible.

"Tris. You can run. I know you can."

"Toby..... I don't have the energy. I would start to run and the pain.... The energy. It wouldn't be good." I whisper.

"Fine. Hurry close and lock all the doors and windows." He tells me.

I nod and close the front door, lock it, and move on to the next one.

I do the same to all of the windows and doors as Tobias shuts the stove off and clears the counter.

We hear more screeching of tires that are closer than the ones before it and I will myself not to panic.

Not working.

Tobias runs towards me and instructs me to jump on his back. Piggyback time.

He runs full speed upstairs to my parents room and we quickly rush in.

I slide off his back and quickly fumble with the door handle lock.

"Beatrice come on." Dad yells at me.

Everybody is standing outside the closet waiting for me.

I walk forward and dad pushes the compartment open. (A/N~ do you remember in one of my earlier chapters when she hid from Marcus? This is that compartment.)

I walk in and Tobias follows. Then Colby, Caleb, Uriah, Zeke, Evelyn, mom, and dad.

Dad slides the door shut and turns on a flashlight.

"Okay. I know it is tight, but there is someone trying to attack us. It is not safe out there. I know it is a bit cramped, but it is tall, so you can stand and stuff. Try not to make noises and stay calm. We are--"

Tobias gets cut off by banging on the front door.

We all look at each other wide-eyed and dad motions for us all to sit down.

I look up at Tobias. He has on his brave face while I have on my cowardly one.

I look at my hands and realize that they are shaking.

I quickly put my hands behind my back, but Tobias notices.

"Tris come here." He whispers into my hair.

I walk into him as he puts his arms around me. He slides down the back wall and I go with him.

He has me stay seated on his lap instead of my space on the floor.

I am about to tell him something, but before I can, I hear the sound of glass breaking.

I whimper and bury my head into Tobias's chest. He rubs my shoulders and I just focus on his breathing not that heavy footsteps that are walking around downstairs.

"So you think you can hide from me, huh. You're funny. I know you're here. I saw you here. So the question is where did you go. Where did you run, you cowards. I guess you still think that I am just hunting you two. No. Now I am getting your little gang of friends. You will die. Well, I mean, unless you show yourselves. And make everyone's life easier." Eric pauses.

"No? I guess not. Fine. I will find you myself, then."

I take a couple of deep breaths and ignore the sounds of things crashing and breaking.

The heavy footsteps of his remind me of Marcus. The second I think of Marcus, the more and more cowardly I get.

"You know Tris..... I know you're here. And funny thing is well, Marcus is getting out of jail. He pleaded guilty! Haha! They are going to be holding a court case with you sometime soon. And we all know what's going to happen next. He is going to win and you're going to loose!" He starts laughing evilly.

I just sit there paralyzed.

If Marcus gets out, I'm dead. Tobias is dead. Mom and dad, dead.

I start shacking violently and tears fill my eyes like hot lava.

"And my little friend Marcus, here, he is going to make sure you live with him. There will be nothing you can do about it either. Your little number friend won't be able to protect you any longer. Nor the parents. Or your little Erudite brother Caleb. Marcus is kicking Caleb and Evelyn out. They betrayed him, he betrays them."

Tears start to make their way down my face as I hear more sounds of glass breaking.

"Marcus was planning on getting rid of let's say the people who normally live in this house, but what good would that cause? He wants them to suffer, seeing you suffer. They won't be able to touch you, or help you, or anything."

I cover my ears with my hands trying to make Eric stop.

Tobias rubs my arm trying to stay strong for me, but I can tell he is about to break down. Not in just anger or sadness, but in both.

"And Beatrice! That's your real name, huh. The funny thing is Marcus is going to beat you, but he is going to make it more fun. He won't just whip you, he'll kick you, punch you, strangle you. But not enough to make you die. No, no. He wants you to suffer the most. I'm going to leave now because your amazing step-father wants to talk to me. But you'd better make sure you do everything right with Marcus now. One mistake and the beatings will get worse." He yells.

I hear the front door open and slam shut. We all stay quiet, just in case it was a ploy, but after about two minutes, it's clear that Marcus really did call him.

Dad opens the panel and I let out a sob.
Not a small sob, or a "oh my friend is so mean" sob. A real emotional hurting sob.

Tobias tries to comfort me the best he can, whispering soothing phrases in my ear, but it's not helping. At all.

Finally everyone but Tobias and I are out of the little safe thing. He's holding on to my shaky hand while I just stare at the ground.

I walk out and just sit down on my parents bed while the adults aka mom, dad, Evelyn, and Colby talk.

"Tris. Tris? Come on." Tobias says while snapping his fingers in front of my face.

I look at him wiping away the tears with my fingers.

"Come here." He opens his arms and I lean into him. He strokes me hair and soon enough Caleb comes and rubs my arm.

"It will be okay. It is not possible for Marcus to plead not guilty and win. It just isn't possible." Tobias whispers into my hair.

I nod and just close my eyes and try to think of something, anything else.

After a while, I feel someone sit down next to me.

I open my eyes and sit upright.

"Tris honey. We know how much power Marcus has. And even though we don't think that Marcus can get away with something so horrible, we want you to know that we are right here whenever you need us. We can always come into your room and help you. We can climb the tree. We will do anything for you. Just remember that." Mom gives me a sympathetic smile and leaves.

I nod and then Uriah and Zeke come.

"Well, let met tell you. I don't think you're a pansycake at all Tris. And if it makes you feel any better, I will always give you my dauntless cake if you want it. Hold on, let me rephrase that. I maybe- nope. I probably won't give you my dauntless cake, but hey maybe I will." Uriah says.

I laugh and Zeke claps his hands and says, "I know this place where you can go zip lining and it is really cool. Hopefully it won't break with you on it like it did to someone else, but it is fun if that doesn't happen."

"It broke when someone was on it?" I ask.

"Yeah, but it was okay they had a parachute. I think."

He starts to say something but Tobias interrupts.

"Guys, I'm sure Tris would live to hear more, but we have more important matters to deal with right now."

"Oh yeah." Uriah says.

Colby comes and sits down.

"Bea how would you like to get your stitches removed? Since it's sunny today and pretty warm considering it September, maybe afterwords you can go out and sun bathe by the pool. Sun helps with healing injuries, so how does that sound?"

"Good!"

I am excited. I hate the feeling of stitches.

They lead me downstairs and Colby clears away a little table.

"Hey Tris, how about we leave for a couple hours and then we bring the gang back here and go swimming or whatever you want. You can take your mind off things." Zeke asks.

"Yeah okay." I say and Tobias nods.

"Bea, you need to take off your shirt and unclip your bra. Just lay down on the table and I'll remove the ace bandage and everything."

I nod and Tobias turns around while I remove my shirt. I quickly lay down on my stomach on the table and unclip the bra and tell Colby I'm ready.

"Okay Bea, I need to know, do you want to be awake for this or I can drug you and you can go to sleep. It doesn't hurt, but it feels uncomfortable. And it might take an hour at the least because I want to be very careful about not clipping your skin."

"Umm....." I trail off unsure of myself.

"Why don't you have him make you drowsy, sweetie." Mom says.

"Okay. Do that." I say.

Colby nods and digs into his bug duffel bag again.

He pulls out a long see through tube wire thing that is connected to a metal tank and puts it on the table next to me.

"Is this safe? Even if she's ate or drank or anything?" Dad asks.

"Yeah. It sounds like anesthesia I know, but we upgraded it, so it is safe with any medications of food in the body."

Evelyn disappears from the room and not a minute later comes back in with a pillow. She walks over to me and I raise my head as she gently slides the pillow in underneath me.

She kisses the top of my head and leaves, back to sitting on the back of the couch along with mom, dad, and Caleb.

Tobias stands by my side and even though I don't see him, because my head is facing the left instead of the right, just his presence makes me feel better.

Colby wipes my hand with one of those antiseptic wipes that the doctors use right before you get a shot.

"Woah, woah, woah. You're going to give me a shot? I never agreed to that!" I say.

"Well Bea, this is the only way. You're going to feel a pinch, since I don't have any numbing cream."

I groan and I feel Tobias grab my hand. I squeeze as the needle goes in and he slowly rubs circles into the back of my hand.

"Bea, the medicine right now is just going to make you relax. Not sleep." I nod and feel the coldness start to take over my veins.

"Bea how do you feel?" Colby asks.

"Gooood."

"Good enough to go to the Olympics and do gymnastics!"

"What else would I be doing?" I say.

"Okay Bea listen to me. I'm going to make you sleep right now. When I say go, count down from 100 slowly. Okay Bea?" Colby asks.

"Yes."

I feel something enter my wrist as Colby tells me to go.

"100, 99, 98, 97," I start to slow down a lot now.

"96, 9- 94 -- 91 ---- 8--82 ------" And with that my eyelids droop and the medications consume me.

TOBIAS POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"100, 99, 98, 97," Tris starts out strong. Colby looks pretty surprised that she has even made it that far.

She starts to slow down considerably.

"96, 9-4, 9--1," She starts to stutter and skip numbers. I can tell that she is fighting to stay awake.

And the last thing she says is, "8---82-------." Her eyelids droop close and she is swirled away into the darkness.

"Okay, Tobias come help clean up the glass." Dad says.

I nod and leave Colby to work on Tris.

I grab a broom and Caleb grabs a dust pan. We slowly make our way around the house cleaning up everything while the adults call and try to get an appointment with the window repair man.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey uh.. Tobias, man, can you help me here?" Colby pokes his head in through the door frame.

"Yeah sure."

I get up leaving Caleb to the football game.

I walk in and see that the wire is now out of Tris and replaced with gauze and a bandaid.

"I need to leave. I have another patient waiting, but she is all done. I just need you to watch her make sure she wakes up in.... I would say about ten minutes tops."

I nod and he continues.

"Just makes sure she doesn't do anything to hard on her back and no swimming races. You can start calling her name soon. I'll call later." Colby tells me.

"Okay thank you." I say and shake his hand.

I look at her back. The scars are red lines and the bruise size is shrinking, but the discoloring is still the same.

It has been about five minutes and I can't wait any longer.

"Tris, Tris, Tris." I say softly moving the hair out of her face.

No movement.

"Tris, Tris, Tris, it's over. It's time to wake up now."

I watch as her eyes blink open, but as quickly as they do, they close.

"Tris, it's over. Time to wake up. Tris, come on Tris. It's all over."

Her eyes flutter open and I see her smile as they close again.

"Tris. Tris. Its over. Colby's done. Time to wake up, Tris."

Her eyes once again open and I see her eyes for at least four seconds!

This is going to take a long time.

After coaxing Tris for a couple more minutes, she finally is able to keep her eye open.

"Tobias," she moans.

"What?" I ask.

"I-- I'm hungry."

I chuckle.

"I'll go get you some food. How about some graham crackers." I say standing up.

She nods and closes her eyes.

I just shake my head and go into the kitchen.

"Is she up yet, Tobias?" Evelyn asks.

"Yeah and she wants food."

Mom and dad laugh lightly and Evelyn goes into the living room.

I get the crackers and water and go back and see Evelyn just sitting by Tris, who still has her eyes closed.

I wonder if she's faking or if she is actually sleeping?

"I thought you said she was awake?" Evelyn says.

"Yeah she was." I say.

"I am." Tris murmurs.

"Beatrice, I was wondering that when Marcus---" she gets cut off.

"I don't want to talk about it right now." Tris says opening her eyes.

"Okay, but when you do, I have a few tips."

Tris nods and eagerly grabs for the food.

I help her sit up as she clips her bra into place and winces.

"Does it hurt?" I ask.

"It's just raw." She tells me.

I nod and she slips her shirt back on just as the doorbell rings.

I tell Tris to stay and not move as I get the door.

Uriah and Zeke run in first followed by Shauna and Marlene yelling at them to stop, while Christina and Will walk in laughing about something followed by Lynn and Peter.

Just as Peter is about to step into the house, I step in front of him.

"You go near Tris without her permission, you are a dead man. Try anything and I will get you." I say with my finger right up against his chest.

Peter nods and walk in with Lynn who's giving me a dirty look.

I walk back into the room and see Christina yelling at Tris and pointing at a bikini while Tris just shakes her head.

I walk closer and sit down next to Tris on the table.

"Tobi--- Four tell Christina that I am not wearing that. It shows my back and my back is disgusting."

"If she doesn't want to wear it, she shouldn't have to." I say and put my arm around Tris's waist.

Christina starts yelling about how she has to wear it and Tris just closes her eyes and rests her head on my shoulder.

"You would think if you were just put under that you would have a few minutes of quiet." Tris whispers.

"Are you even listening to me!" Christina yells.

"You know what! I'll wear it! Gosh." Tris yells.

Christina smiles and walks away with everyone else heading to the back.

"I'm going upstairs to change, are you?" Tris's asks.

"Yeah let's go." I take her hand and lead her upstairs.

HOW WAS THAT! Finally a chapter!

I don't know if you guys have noticed, but I write long chapters on here. I think that that makes up for me not updating everyday. I will try and update a long chapter at least once every week, if my more.

SO YEAH AS ALWAYS VOTE, COMMENT, AND BE AWESOME!