Learning to Let Them In | Fourtris

Chapter 45

Tris's POV

"Beatrice, wake up. We're leaving in ten minutes."

I snap awake to find that I'd fallen asleep without changing clothes, taking a shower, or even getting under the blankets. I look up just in time to see Caleb leaving my room.

Did he say ten minutes?!

I stumble off the bed to find that I apparently hadn't looked hard enough and that one foot had made it under the covers. It gets caught up in the blankets and causes me to trip and fall flat on my back, sending a loud thud throughout the house. It knocks the breath out of me and I feel my cheeks heat up from embarrassment as I gasp for air to refill my lungs.

"Are you alright up there?" I hear Tori yell from downstairs. I go to reassure her, but all that comes out of my mouth are rasps.

"Beatrice?" I hear Caleb say with a knock on my door. "Beatrice, I'm coming in."

I hear the door open and Caleb is on his knees next to me a moment later, looking worried. "What happened? Why can't you breathe? Are you having an anxiety attack?"

I quickly shake my head and gasp through my ragged breaths, "Fell. My foot. Knocked my…" I start to cough. "Breath...away," I finish.

Caleb looks stunned for a moment, then he starts laughing. He laughs so hard I can see tears forming in his eyes. My cheeks flame up again.

"Is she okay?!" Tori yells.

"Oh, she's wonderful!" Caleb yells, stands up, and exits my room, leaving me to deal with my foot still entrapped in the blankets. I struggle upwards, coughing violently as my breath reenters my lungs. The muscles in my left leg pull and stretch as I lean forward to free my foot. Once I've done that, I stand up and take deep breaths.

I habitually turn to my window, looking through it and hoping to catch a glimpse of him. I see black curtains flying shut, but not before I see the amused smirk on his face, which oddly did not look menacing. I frown as I remember last night—what he'd said...what he'd done.

I shake my head to clear my mind. Mason. I'm meeting Mason today. Mason, who has much bigger problems to worry about than my love life. Or, rather, my lack of one.

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. I make a face when I feel how greasy it is, but there's not enough time for a shower. I quickly change into a new pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt, then put my hair back into a french braid. That will have to do for now.

I finish my morning routine and hurry outside where Tori and Caleb are waiting for me in the car. Right before I climb in, I turn my head to look at the house next to ours. I freeze as a wave of something unfamiliar hits me and leaves me with a tight feeling in my chest.

"Just a second," I tell them and run back inside. I grab a piece of notebook paper and pen, scrawling out a long note, words effortlessly pouring out of me. I stick it to a piece of tape and, sprinting back outside, stick it again to his truck's door handle.

I go back to our car, slightly breathless. They both look questioningly at me.

"I told him I didn't need a ride today, not to wait up for me, and to go on ahead," I explain.

"Couldn't you have just called him?" Tori asks from the passenger seat, confused.

I shrug nonchalantly. "I doubt he's up at this hour."

She nods, but Caleb turns and frowns at me. "You could have just texted him."

I bite my lip and feel my cheeks burn. There's no way I'm telling them why I wrote that note or what was really on it.