A New Life

Chapter 19: Comfort

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DIVERGENT, THAT BELONGS TO THE VERY TALENTED VERONICA ROTH.

WARNING: They discuss some of the abuse Tris and Four went through in this chapter, so this might be hard for some to read.

Light floods into the room revealing the same graffitied room we started in. I turn to Eric as he runs his hands over his face. I slowly walk to him and pull his hands away from his face meeting his steel eyes. He stares at me and I give him a weak smile before he pulls me into his arms, against his chest. I return the gesture and he nuzzles his face into my neck as I gently run my hands over his back.

"Thank you." He breathes against my skin sending a chill down my spine.

"For what?" I ask quietly.

"You made that easier. You got me through it." He whispers pulling back a little to look into my eyes. He held me against him with one hand while the other mindlessly tangled into my hair. "Come on," He says pulling back and grabbing my hand instead. "Let's go somewhere and talk." He finishes pulling me out the door and away from the glass building. We descend down the paths of The Pit until he pushed through a door and leads me down a familiar dark path. The path ends in a large open area that looks up at a large net, the same net I fell into the day I arrived. I smile up at him as he looks down at me with soft eyes. We walk up to the platform and he quickly lifts me up onto The Net. Without a second's hesitation he pulls himself up and sits on the edge before rolling into the middle shortly followed by myself. I lay next to him and look up through the hole above us only to see the stars sparkling in the clear, dark sky. It's quite fascinating that something can be seen from so far away. Those stars could be dead already but it would take thousands of years for any of us to know.

"It's beautiful." I breath out in fascination. "I love it here, I feel like the moment I dropped into this net I was free." I say remembering the day vividly.

"Can I ask you something?" He asks softly and I nod in return. "It's about your simulation today." He says looking down at our tangled hands . I instantly stiffen and feel my heart rate increase. I knew this was gonna come up sooner or later. Eric softly squealed my hand and I take a deep breath before beginning to explain my past, my deepest secret.

"When I was younger my family was the typical Abnegation family with loving parents and obedient children, but when I was six it all started to changed. Erudite started spreading the rumors about Abnegation, most of which targeted my father. The stress started building up and he needed a way to relieve it." I say as tears begin to well up in my eyes. I can feel the lump start to form in my throat as I sit up and turn to face the opposite direction. "I remember the first time it had happened like it was yesterday. He had a meeting with The Council that didn't end pleasantly. He came home and started drinking, a lot. After a few too many my mother tried to stop him and he turned on her. He began hitting her repeatedly as I sobbed into Fours chest. My mother had fallen unconscious and he began walking towards us." I'm full on crying now and Eric sat up next to me holding me in his arms. "He pulled me up by my hair and started screaming at me that I was being weak and it was for our own good. Four tried to protect me but Marcus took off his belt and started beating him as he blocked me with his body." The way his face twitched in pain as he tried to hold in his screams. The way he wrapped his body around me, taking every blow. That will forever be ingrained in my memory. "I was the only one left after Four had passed out. He ripped off my shirt and began to beat my bare back until my skin was torn to shreds. Almost everyday after that the process had repeated up until Four left. At that point he became furious and he found ways to make it worse for me." I sob. "He-He-He." I hiccup and burry my face in Eric's chest.

"Shh, it's ok." He whispers running his hand over my hair softly. "He won't hurt you as long as I'm around." He promises.

"I left to get away from him. I wasn't good enough for Abnegation and he continued to remind me of it. I came here and I thought I was free , but then Four. I don't want him to run into that." I sob quietly.