DIVERGENT: Tobias (Watty Award Winner 2013)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I wake up at seven. That gives me an hour before I have to leave for the tracks. The tracks! Thank god! I don't have to sit through another day of fighting. I also don't have to see Tris get beaten to near unconsciousness. If I ever have to experience something like yesterday ever again, I don't think I'd be able to hide the protective impulse I have over Tris. I would definitely end up stopping anyone who tried to hurt her.

What am I going to do about Tris? I can't just ignore her, that's obvious. I can't even get her out of my head. I can only be her instructor, for now anyway. The only thing I can do right now is make her see that I am nothing like Eric. I want her to know that I am good, or that I at least try to be good. But Eric....he is a monster.

I take my time getting out of bed and then I walk over to the shower. I stay in the shower for a while, relaxing my muscles with the hot water. The relaxation helps me to forget about the way Tris looked right before I stormed out of the training room and concentrate on her usual appearance. Maybe to everyone else, she looks plain, but I can see the beauty in her features, most of all in her eyes. Her eyes, a mesmerizing blue-grey, are attention grabbing and striking. Yes, looking into her eyes is striking.

I quickly dress and head to the dining hall for a fast breakfast. I slip into the dining hall without being seen. Thank god. I don't think I'd be able to talk to anyone coherently with all that's been going on, especially not Zeke or Shauna. They would see right through my lies and then they would pester me until I came forward with the truth.

I grab a muffin and duck my head and start for the exit. I just don't want anyone to notice me or stop me or whatever. I just want to get to the tracks as soon as possible. Because the sooner I get there the sooner I get to see her. I know it's pathetic, but I need to know that she's safe and I have to see it with my own eyes.

By the time I reach the tracks it's eight. I just have to wait another fifteen minutes, then i'll get to see her. Only fifteen minutes...I can survive that long.

Only fifteen minutes! What was I thinking? This feels more like Fifteen hours! And what's worse? The initiates start showing up and almost all of them appear except she isn't among them. Could she still be in the hospital ward? Is she not coming today? She has to come! She is the only reason I got out of bed this morning and I might not even get to see her? I turn towards the tracks so no one can see the expression on my face. An expression filled with longing and sadness. Then the horn blares, signaling the arrival of the train. I don't move, even though I will get hit if I don't. I don't move because right after the horn blares Will speaks.

"What took you so long?" He shouts. He must be talking to Christina, since she's the only one absent besides Tris.

"Stumpy legs over here turned into an old lady over night," She tells Will. She must be talking about Tris. It couldn't possibly be about anyone else! And then my thoughts are confirmed.

"Oh, shut up." Tris tells her. Those three simple words cause me so much joy. She's here.

I step back a step to let some of the initiates on the train before me. Then I grab the handle on the side of the car and pull myself into the car easily. Jumping onto trains is familiar to me now and I have no hesitation anymore. I turn in time to see Tris holding the handle where my hand had been a second ago, trying to imitate my movement. But before she gets to try, Al grabs her and lits her into the car.

The jealousy hits me again. I'm grateful that Tris didn't have to exert herself in the condition she's in, I only wish that Al wasn't the one to help her. I wish I could be the one to help her, but I can't and I know that. Just because I know it, though, doesn't make it any easier to cope with the fact.