The Iron Soldier: A FourTris Divergent Story

Chapter 23

I don't know why I was so freaked out when Christina found Four in my room. If anything, it would keep her off my back now that she sees I'm opening up on my own. Or maybe I'm afraid she will think Four and I are together more than we actually are. I don't have the desire to have this discussion with her right now, so I fib a little.

"So what happened to finishing school before you let any distractions get in the way?" She looks at me, eyebrows jumping suggestively.

"It's not something I planned. We just started running in to each other a lot because of the Carlos thing."

Her expression freezes for a moment. "Oh, that's right. You do know what happened, right?"

I assume she means his passing. "Yeah. I went to go see him yesterday. Four was already there. I guess he flipped out. The hospital called the police to remove him. I saw the whole thing happen, so I went down to the station to get him out."

Christina looked surprised. "Why did he flip out?"

"I'm not sure. He told me he overreacted when he found out Carlos was dead."

"What!" Christina jumped out of her seat beside me on the couch. "Carlos is dead?"

My heart began to beat fast. "Yeah. I thought that's what you were talking about."

"Oh my God." She sat back down and let her head fall into her hands as her elbows rested on her knees.

"What were you talking about if you didn't know?"

Christina looked up, visibly shaken. "His wife called looking for you yesterday afternoon. She was all upset because Carlos had an unknown visitor and after that, the doctors wouldn't let him have any other visitors. I guess she tried to call Four to."

It was my turn to jump up now. "Oh my God. I have to tell Four. He though something wasn't right. Even accused the doctor of..." I ran into my room looking for him. "Where is he?"

Christina came to my side immediately. "He left."

"What? How? He didn't have a ride."

"He called a cab." She looked down to her feet. "I'm sorry. I asked him to leave. We have class in less than an hour. I didn't know about Carlos."

"I have to go find him. Can I take your car?"

"Yeah but, what about chemistry?"

"I don't think missing one or two classes in four years will get me into trouble. Just take notes for me."

"You sure you're okay alone right now?"

"I won't be alone. I'll be with Four. We'll be fine."

"So you guys were just supporting each other because of Carlos, not..."

I didn't have time to explain my relationship with Four right now. "Yeah, something like that. We'll talk about it later." I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before snatching the keys off the table and running outside.

Will's sedan sat idling in the handicapped parking spot. "Hey Tris." He yelled through the open window. "Is Christina almost ready? I'm supposed to drive her to class this morning and I was hoping to get some coffee first."

I gave him a friendly smile. "She'll be out soon." I waved as I rushed to the car. I hope he didn't think I was being rude, but I couldn't stop to engage in small talk right now.

I jumped into the little car and floored the gas pedal, heading for Four's apartment. His truck wasn't in the parking lot. It must still be at the hospital. I pulled up to the curb and sprinted towards his door, knocking hard several times. He didn't answer. Maybe he had the cab bring him to pick up the truck. Do I wait a few minutes to see if he comes back or do I try to find him elsewhere?