Resurgent

Chapter 13

Can't believe we're already here! 😍

"Hello? Caleb, hello?!" I yell into my phone hoping to get some reply.

My phone responds by ringing. It's Tris. I pick up the call.
"Tobias!" Her voice sounds frantic, "Where are you?!"
"I'm at..." I don't really want to tell her, not right now, at least. She's going to worry and I don't want that. So, I decide to switch the topic,"Do you know where Caleb is? He's in trouble. We need to help him."
"What?" She asks, her sisterly instincts taking over,"I don't know where he is...how do you know he's in trouble?"
"It's a long story. Go with Zeke, Shauna and Christina to Caleb's house. Go now!"

Hanging up, I jump into my car, speeding it up to reach Caleb's house. After a few minutes of wind whirring in my ears, a house that is familiar comes into sight.

I dash out of the car and knock on the door. No one answers, so I try to break in. I run from some distance into the door, my shoulder bumping hard into it. My shoulder throbs, but I go again. This time, I go a longer distance and press my whole body against the door. It doesn't give away, but I can tell it'll take only one more push. I come running from the same distance as before and dash into the door which opens this time. I place my hand on my aching shoulder as I fall on the floor when the door swings open. I get up, brushing my clothes, and run into the house.

The sound of a TV has flooded the house. I enter a room, panting, and what I see is really not what I was expecting. Caleb is siting there, munching on some chips, watching a movie. I stare at him, then at the TV, then back at him.

"Hi, Four," he says in a calm voice.
"You..what happened?" I ask, confused.
"That's the question I should ask you, shouldn't I? What happened? Why are you here?" He asks me.
"Because I called you and then you screamed out for help. I thought something was wrong, so I came over." My shoulder is really hurting. I press it gently.
"I'm fine." He says, evidently surprised, "But you never called me. I didn't get any call."
He looks at his phone and shakes his head.
"Then-"
"Caleb!" I hear Tris. She comes in, panting, and is equally surprised to see him.

But Caleb is utterly shocked to see her. His eyes widen in surprise and he looks at her as if she's a paranormal creature. I realise that in the hubbub of these few days, I'd totally forgotten about Caleb, that he should've been told about his sister.
"Beatrice?" He gasps and I'm sure I see a tear roll down his cheek as he wraps her into a warm hug.
"Caleb, I've missed you," she says.
"I'm so sorry, Beatrice. I'm so sorry," I can see that he's broken down by now,"I shouldn't have let you go... Oh!"
"No. I was the one who had insisted on going. And it doesn't matter, because I never died."
All of a sudden, Caleb's expression changes from joy to shock. He looks at her with such brotherly love that no one can even guess for a millisecond that this is the person who was instrumental in his sister's death. But I know for one thing that he has changed. He isn't that traitor guy now, he's a good person.

"You didn't die? I mean, of course you didn't because I see you here, but..."
"I don't know how, but  I didn't die. I thought Four had died, and maybe it was a simulation, but I was kept away from you guys for one year. But I met him by chance . I had known, somehow, that he wasn't dead. "
"But Cara told me that you were shot."
"Cara told me that Four was shot."
"Oh, well."
"But you needed help. How are you?" She asks.
"I never needed help," Caleb says.
"Maybe," Zeke suggests,"Someone has triggered Four's phone call to Caleb to their phone. Does that make any sense?"
"That's possible," I say,"Because it was someone screaming, and you can't really tell scream from another."
"Of course you can't." Shauna says.
"Forget that," Caleb says,"Let's go to the awesomest pizza place in the world."
"Ooh, I'm hungry," Christina says, wiggling her fingers.
"Let's go!" Tris says.

"Hey guys, you go ahead, me and Caleb will follow in a minute." I say.
"Okay," Shauna says.

They leave the house and then I turn to Caleb.
"What happened?" He asks.
I remove the piece of paper from my pocket and show it to him.
"What's this?" I ask.
He doesn't answer. He just stands there, staring at it.
"I..that's my handwriting."
"Yes, it is. And what does it mean?"
"I don't know," he says, still looking at the paper ,"I kind of remember writing it, but I seriously have no idea why I wrote that."
"And what were you doing at the Abnegation sector? In my house?" I ask.
"Oh," he says ,"I'd gone there to collect the remaining parts of my family. You know, both my parents are dead and when I had gone there, Beatrice was-"
"Tris."
"Yeah, Tris. She was dead, too. So I just went there to search for something left of them."
"But why my house?"
"As I said, I don't know.  I just went in as if I was controlled by someone and I write it down, stuffing it into some trunk and then I came out. I have no idea what I had written until you showed me this."
"So it was like you were possessed?"
"Pretty much."

No one speaks anything. My mind is trying to process everything that happened - somehow it seems to be making some sense but I can't paint a picture out of it. Some crucial piece of information is missing. It's like almost everything is there but I cannot put it all into place.

"Shall we go?" He asks.
"Yeah." I reply.

I snuggle into bed tired after the long day. Tris comes in beside me and wraps her arm around me.
"Tobias," she says, her breath feeling cool on my face.
"I love you," I say and kiss her.
It feels so good to be able to feel her lips. Everything is just so perfect.
"Everything has changed, hasn't it?" She asks.
"People change when times change, Tris," I say, mimicking Pete.
She sighs. She doesn't say anything, but I can tell, even in that silence, that she is really feeling out of the place.
"What's up?" I ask.
She shakes her head and I know that something is troubling her.

She buries her head in my chest and I can tell that she's crying.

That's unusual, because a crying Tris isn't that common of a sight. I run my hand on her back, trying to console her and whisper,"Do you want to all about it?"
She doesn't lift her head. She doesn't even move but she's still sobbing. Looking at her, I wonder what would have happened if she hadn't chosen Dauntless. What if I hadn't chosen Dauntless? Would I still know her? Would I love her? I shudder at the thought of not even knowing Tris.

"Tris," I lift her head up. I notice the lines of tears and I really feel sorry. She leans in to kiss me.
"I'm sorry. I don't usually cry," she says, wiping her red cheeks with her hand.
"I know. Sometimes you just need to vent."
She smiles at me through those tears. That's what made me fall in love with her. Her beauty. It's so pure.