But Then I Met Her | ✓

Chapter 32

Tris and her mother meet Christina and Will's families. I see that when Tris meets Will's sister, her hands clench into fists and she says something angrily. A threat, no doubt. Again, this catches me off guard. Tris isn't one for immediate violence or threats, unless she is attacked first. Her mother clamps a hand down on her shoulder and pulls her away, into a tunnel.

Natalie's confidence startles me. She seems to know exactly where she's going. Unless she memorized a map of Dauntless, she shouldn't know exactly where she's going.

I briefly consider the probability of Tris's mother being Dauntless-born, but I immediately shove away the idea. I've met Natalie before- she's far too selfless to have been born in any faction other than Abnegation. But then again, bravery and selflessness aren't that different, right?

I roll my eyes and look around the Pit more. I see Marlene with Uriah and Zeke, no parents in sight. Zeke told me a little about her parents, how they may not physically abuse her- apparently they've only ever done it a few times, when they've been drunk and pissed- but they are always putting her down and making her feel bad. According to him, people her age had tormented her as well in school and here. That was before she became friends with Uriah and Lynn, and they scared everyone off, of course.

Natalie returns some time later without Tris, seeming barely relaxed and wound tight. I keep out of sight, hoping that she doesn't decide to talk to me and press me more for information about myself or something. But she catches sight of me anyway and walks over. "You are my daughter's instructor, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am." I nod, swallowing hard.

She relaxes a little. "I need you to do something for me, if you don't mind."

"Concerning Tris, I'm guessing."

"Yes." Here we go, I think. She looks around and leans a little closer, lowering her voice. "Make sure that she stays safe. Don't let her do anything too insane that'll draw anyone's attention."

This catches me off guard. Most parents ask me to make sure that their kid stays in Dauntless. But this? "Why should I do that?" I cross my arms over my chest.

"Because," she says quietly. "I don't want anything to happen to her."

"It's not my job to protect initiates." In reality, though, I want nothing more than to make sure that nothing happens to Tris.

She watches me for a moment. "But?"

I sigh. "But, I will." I say. "The other initiates underestimate her. I don't think she needs protecting, but I'll watch her back for you."

This seems to take a huge weight off of her shoulders. "Thank you, Four. This means a lot."

I nod. "Those other initiates might come after her, especially during stage two." I warn her. "If they do approach her in a violent way, that's the only time that I can intervene, though. Otherwise it might be seen as showing favoritism, and they might think that if she gets a higher rank by the end of initiation, I had a large amount of say in it."

"I understand." she tells me. "Just remember that I'm trusting you with my daughter's life, Four. Something that I wouldn't do unless I had complete faith in the person that I was trusting it with." She walks away before I can reply.

Tris's mother trusts me that much? I think. She doesn't even know me!

Zeke walks over and claps me on the shoulder. "Who was that?"

I shrug. "Tris's mother."

His eyes widen. "The Stiff's?"

I nod. 

"What did she want?"

Another shrug. "Just wanted to hear from me if she's doing well in initiation or not. Concerned for her daughter's well-being, no doubt. Obviously not curiousity."

Zeke nods. "Stiffs aren't curious."

I nod in agreement, watching Natalie leave, a dot of gray in between all of the black, white, and blue. "That they aren't." I reply.