Starting Over

Chapter 29

My eyes flutter softly and I see a harsh light above me. The walls around me are black. I see Tobias asleep in a chair in the corner. I smile slightly before I fall back asleep.

<<<•>>>

"She's a fighter," I hear a female voice say.

"Yes, she is," Tobias replies as he takes my hand in his.

"You know, when you first brought her in we didn't think she would live. She had a bruised lung, a bullet wound in her leg, her wrists were cut up, and she had lost a lot of blood. When we did surgery to get the bullet out it had gone through an artery and she lost even more blood while we were trying to remove it. Now I'd say she could wake up any second." She wipes hair off my head, her fingers cool against my warm skin.

"She wouldn't let go that easily."

She laughs slightly. "I can see that."

<<<•>>>

The next time I wake up it's dark. My eyes flutter open all the way and I hear soft snoring coming from a chair close to my bed. It's Tobias. I smile when I see he's still here. I reach out and weakly take his hand.

"Tobias," I'm able to croak out in a harsh whisper.

He doesn't respond so I try again and this time he opens his eyes. He doesn't notice I'm awake right away, but when he goes to rub his eyes he sees my hand twined with his and looks at me. I smile at him and he smiles back at me.

"Hey," I whisper.

I see a tear well up and start to slide down his cheek. I wipe it away with my other thumb and leave my palm resting against his cheek.

"For a while I thought you might not come back to me."

"Tobias, I'll always come back to you."

"I know."

"How many people know about me? About what happened?"

"Most people. It was kind of a big deal."

"How many people know who I really am?"

"Most. After what happened it was hard to cover it up."

I nod. It doesn't surprise me. Anyway, it will be nice to go back to being Tris instead of B.

"I love you," I whisper to Tobias.

"I love you too."

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

We sit there for a while in silence before I gather the nerve to ask what's been on my mind.

"What happened to Malachi?"

"He's dead." I nod. After what happened in the white room I've thought so.

"When do I get out of here?"

"I don't know. I think it depends on how your vitals are doing."

"How long was I out?"

"Close to three days."

Three days? I didn't think I was out that long.

"I missed the fear landscape."

"Yes, you'll have to redo that. They've delayed the announcement of the final ranks until you can finish initiation."

"So they never gave up on me?"

He laughs. It's a nice sound to hear. "Tori knows better than to doubt you, and so do I. In the end it was our decision, and we knew you'd make it."

I smile at him. "Don't ever count me out."

"I wouldn't dare." He presses his lips to my forehead and I doze until the nurse come in to check on me. She tells me that as long as I feel well enough I can go home tomorrow. This makes me really excited. Shortly after the nurse leaves Christina comes in with a tray of food.

"Four, you need to eat. This isn't healthy. How do you think Tris would feel if she knew you weren't taking care of yourself?"

She turns to look at us. "Hello Christina," I say with a smile and she drops the tray on the floor. Soup splatters across the room, a sandwich hits the hall, and water goes all over the floor.

"Tris?" Her voice cracks.

"Yes Christina, it's me." I laugh as she throws herself into my arms. She's crying against my shoulder. I run my hand over her hair and hold her to me.
"What's this I hear about Tobias not taking care of himself?"

I glare at Tobias and he looks away sheepishly. Christina pulls away from the hug and sits in a chair close to Tobias's.

"He said he didn't want to leave your side long enough to come get food, and when one of us brought him food he would just pick over it."

I turn to Tobias. "Go get food," I order. He tries to fight it but I make him. He comes back with a tray a few minutes later. Christina leaves when he comes back, saying she'll be back later with the others. Right now I'm tired and all I want to do is sleep. While Tobias eats I close my eyes and go to sleep. I guess being tired is a side effect of almost dying.