Destiny ~ Book Two Of The "Meant to Be" Series

Chapter 16

I take a deep breath, stretching my arms and then sighing afterwards. I smile, turning on my side and opening my eyes, expecting Tobias to be there, but he's not. I furrow my eyebrows, sitting up and looking around. I call out his name a few times. Silence responds. I take off the blankets, swinging my legs to one side of the bed and stand up. It's ten AM right now. Tobias is usually a morning person, and he wakes up earlier than me. I open the door of my room, walking downstairs.
"Tobias?" I call his name again. After I check all over the house, I finally deal with the fact that he isn't home. I let out a frustrated scream, throwing a vase on the ground accidentally. I jump back from the loud crashing sound and gasp. I groan, kneeling to the ground and picking the pieces of glass. The pieces of glass cut my hands all over, making me wince. The front door opens slowly, making a squeaky sound. I stop moving. "Tobias? Is that you?" No one replies. "Tobias?" I call out again, letting down the pieces of glass and moving towards the front door. A large manly hand is placed on top of my mouth and with the other arm holds my body tight, so I can't move. I scream, but my screams come out muffled by the man's hand. He has a glove on, which makes my yells even more unnoticeable. I try to push his hands away, or at least escape, but I have no chance over him. He's too strong.
"Come on! Faster!" the man says. There are obviously other people. I try to turn my head and see what's happening, and see two other men running around our house, trying to find something. They all have masks on, black ones, covering their faces.
What's happening?
What do they want?
I keep screaming at the top of my lungs, calling for help, but the man just hits me hard on my tummy, making tears build up in my eyes and making me whimper from the pain. "Shut the fuck up!" He whisper yells at me, holding me tighter. His hand squeezes on one of my breasts, making me groan and whimper. "Not bad, Tobias" he jokes, releasing my breasts, making me furrow my eyebrows and scream louder.
"Not here" the other man says. The man holding me curses under his breath.
"Then, get out. We'll come another time." The man says. The two men leave the house and the one that was holding me, hits me hard on the head, making me fall to the ground, on top of the broken-glassed-vase, causing my night gown to rip and cut my skin in several places. He hit me so hard, my mind feels like its buzzing, and I can hear ringing from my right ear. I make sure not to move, or wince. To pretend I passed out (which I am most likely to be doing right now). I hear footsteps, leaving the house and closing the front door. A car is heard leaving, and that is when I start moving. When I make sure that they're gone. Tears spill out of my eyes as I whimper, sitting up. Pieces of broken glass have literally stuck in my hands and I slowly start taking them off, sobbing. My arms are all filled with blood, and so is the area under my chest (because of the way I fell).
Where the hell is Tobias? I take a deep breath, pushing my body up, letting out a few silent screams from the sharp pain of the cuts. I try to make my way to the couch, but my legs give out and I fall to the ground again. I can't move. All I can do now, is cry, and wait for Tobias to come. I feel so weak. Actually, I've never felt weaker. Not physically. Mentally. Im sick of other people having to protect me all the time. Im sick of crying, when Im supposed to do something about it.
But, why did that even happen? Who were those men? They were searching for something, but what? They couldn't find it, so they left.
We'll come another time. The man said.

After almost half an hour, the front door opens again. Im almost unconscious, so I find it hard to move or sit up. Im laid on my side, eyes half closed, pain rushing everywhere. I look up with hope in my eyes, begging that it's Tobias this time. And it is.
   He enters the room and has several bags in his hands. "Tobias." I croak. My voice cracky and exhausted from my cries. My face still wet with tears, puffy eyes. His eyes widen when he sees me. He drops all of the bags on the ground and runs towards me. He's terrified and he shakes. He kneels next to me, helping me sit up and supporting my back, so I don't fall on the ground again.
      "Oh my god– Tris, what happened?" He asks panicking. He sees my bloody hands and ripped night dress.
      "Where were you?" I manage to ask, blubbering, and ignoring his question.
      "I was grocery shopping." He replies fast, so I can stop asking him the same question again. He picks my body up and sits on the couch, sitting me on his lap. Tucking strays of my hair behind my ears, he also wipes my tears. "Tris, what the hell happened?!"
      "I-I don't know." I stutter. "There were men, a-and they came in. They kept looking for something, but I couldn't do anything– I . . . I— One of them t . . ." I drift off. I don't make any sense. I keep blubbering and stuttering in panic. Nothing I say is understandable. He hushes me, stroking my hair and pulling me to his embrace.
       "It's okay. It's okay" he repeats. It's not. "Let's get you cleaned up, and you can tell me upstairs. Okay?" He asks quietly, with his calm voice, though I know he's having a heart attack inside. He just plays calm so he can calm me. I nod my head sniffling and wrapping my arms around his neck tightly. I can feel his heartbeat against my chest. It's even faster than mine. It pumps up and down, up and down, like he's about to go crazy. I bury my face in his neck, breathing his scent, which now is back to normal. The same smell of soap and sweat. I know he wasn't lying when he said he was grocery shopping. He had the shopping bags when he entered the house, filled with food and ingredients.
     I calm down a bit, breathing more slowly, while Tobias gets more panicked by the second. Maybe Im just going unconscious, and I don't mind if I do. I feel free to pass out now, because I know Im safe with Tobias. "Don't pass out. Please." He whispers calmly.
      "I'll try." Is all I manage to say, and he barely hears me. He rushes into our room and sits me on the bed. He takes a bottle with water on his nightstand and splashes it on my head, making me gasp.
      "Sorry." He says, taking a towel and sitting, facing me. He holds my hand and starts cleaning off the blood. The connection between my cut arm, the water and the towel stings like a bee and makes me wince. "Can you tell me what happened now?" He asks, glancing up at me while he continues cleaning my arms. I nod slowly.
      "I woke up, and I couldn't find you. Then I accidentally broke one of the vases. While I was cleaning up, I heard the door open and then a hand was placed on my mouth, keeping me from screaming or talking. Three or two other men searched the whole house for something. They couldn't find it, so they just left." I say.
     "They left? Just like that?" He asks confused.
     "Well, they left after hitting me in the head. They thought I passed out, so they left." I say quietly, staring at my hands. "They said they would come back though." We'll come another time. Tears build in my eyes once again, making Tobias stop his work and stare at me. "Why did you leave without me? Why didn't you wake me up?" I ask, my voice breaking.
      "Last night you were exhausted. You usually don't get enough sleep." He says quietly. He's right though. I don't.
      "Never leave without me. Please." I whisper, a tear streaming down my face. I was so terrified (still am). I wish I never experienced any of that. Tobias nods pulling me into his embrace and kissing the top of my head.
      "I won't." He says. My head against his chest, hearing his heartbeat. For now Im–we are safe. I can rest in peace, but I know I won't. I know they will be coming back, and they will get what they want. They knew Tobias' name, and they probably knew me too. I can't stop thinking of what will happen when they appear again.
      "Promise?" I whisper. He doesn't reply for a moment. But then he says it.
      "I promise."