Astringent

6 - Never Let You Go

Tris POV

I wake up and find Tobias laying next to me, tossing and turning in his sleep. I try to wake him up but he jerks around, trying to hit me. I dodge his attempts and get on top of him, pinning him to the bed. He struggles, then goes completely still, his chest unmoving with an absence of breath. His calls my name. He struggles and arches his back off the bed and into the air. His face is pained and I want to help him but I don't know what to do.

"Tobias," I whisper, "it's not real. It's just a dream." I shake him in an attempt to wake up, "Tobias, wake up! Please! Wake up..."

Tobias gasps and jerks into a sitting position. I lunge at him and hug him, relief flooding my senses. He hurriedly turns his head and kisses me. I break away and try to hide my tears.

"I woke up," I gasp, "and you were yelling my name and tossing around in bed. I couldn't get you to calm down or wake up. I didn't know what to do..." he stops me by putting a finger to my lips.

"Hey! Shh," he pulls me to him and whispers into my hair, "It's ok. I was just having a nightmare. I lost you and you were d-dead. But you're here now, I'm awake, and I love you. I love you and I will never let you go."

Once the words leave his mouth, I kiss him again. Tobias shoves one hand into my now shoulder length hair while the other rests on the small of my back. I find the hem of his shirt and sleek a hand under it, exploring his chest and back. The words he said are echoing in my head. I will never let you go.....

*****************************************************************

After our little break from the world, Tobias and I get dressed and set out on a quest for food. We find a little eating area and I stare at all the food that lies on the tables lining the walls. I walk over to a clear container holding muffins. I grab one that looks like it has blueberries in it and head over to a little table in the middle of the room. Tobias sits in a chair across from me. He looks at me and grins, causing blush to flood into my cheeks.

"Ooh!" I hear a voice behind me and turn in my chair to see Christina, "What are the lovebirds up to now?" She smirks at me and I drop my head on the table. My Abnegation upbringing still chases me. I hear a laugh and peek over my arms and see Zeke and Shauna laughing at me. Despite of myself, I smile. Hana, Zeke's mother, appears behind him and gives me a tired smile. Why are Hana and Zeke here? My smile drops as I remember that Uriah never made it out of his coma.

Christina walks over with a plate of food and drags a chair to our table. I look at her plate and am utterly confused by what I see. Flat, tan-colored disks of dough. She pours a sweet smelling liquid on them. Steam rises of the plate as the thick, brown liquid pours over the edges of the stack and pools onto her plate. She laughs at me and I look up to see the same look on both Tobias's and Christina's faces. They laugh at me again before I get an explanation.

"They're pancakes!" Christina sounds exasperated as she launches into a story about how she and her sister had a pancake fight one morning when they were arguing about who had to clean up after breakfast. I laugh along as she tells me that the sticky liquid—which is called syrup—got in her hair and made it sticky for days. I can't help but laugh at the little things as I think of how fun, and how unfair, life can be.