Bare Hands (Sequel To No Sympathy)

Alone

Yeah, I have officially made a Fourtris edit!! FINALLY! Hope you guys enjoy it! =D

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Tris doesn't seem to be in the mood to talk, so rather than pester her with questions about what happened in Erudite, I decide to tell her what happened to me while she was there.

I'm in the middle of telling her how restless I was when she stops me.

"Tobias, when I asked Zeke about this, he said you did something out of the ordinary.  Something brave.  What was it?" She asks me.

I run my fingers through my hair.  Am I ready to tell her about this?

Well, better now than later.

"I...I fought Marcus." I say.

Her eyes widen.  She clearly wasn't expecting that.

"How did it go?" She asks, still stunned.

"I just...returned his beatings."  I'm not in the mood to elaborate.

But it doesn't look like Tris wants me too.  "You realize that makes you no better than him right?"

I sigh.  Of course I had, but I didn't expect her to feel this way about it.

Yes you did.

"Look, I know it was wrong, but I was tired of being teased and feeling helpless when he was around.  I felt that I had to set the record straight."  That was the best way I could explain it to her.

"I understand." She adverted her eyes, showing me that even though she claimed to understand, there was a part of her that was very disappointed.

Same here, I thought.

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After I finish summarizing the events that happened while she was gone, I decid to go eat something.  I haven't eaten in a while and I don't want to start that streak again.

Tris on the the other hand, wanted to meet up with a few of her friends.  I decided I'd let her.

Realizing that Abnegation is basically abandoned and that all the cooks are most likely gone, I spend a little over an hour salvaging non-spoiled food from the various houses that are still in tact.  I even messed up and ended up walking in on Zeke and Shauna...having an intimate moment.  I guess being in a wheelchair doesn't take away all your pleasure huh....

At the end of my salvage, I only have a few cans of vegetables in hand, and my stomach is rumbling louder every second I don't eat.

I decide that even if it was only vegetables, I had to eat.  So I retire to my house - Marcus's house - and cook the food.  I'm surprised to find that the stove still works.

I think about going to get Tris so we can eat together but end up deciding against it.  I don't want her to think I was trying to sever her ties with other people especially since we just talked a few hours ago.

My sarcasm is improving. I tell myself.

Sitting down at our wooden table, I eat my food in silence, much like we used to do when my family was still intact.

The silence has me thinking - something I don't like doing very much, especially not in the house with so many horrible memories trapped inside.

But nevertheless, the wave of thoughts come on anyway, and I'm left staring at my food in disgust, remembering how Marcus used to eat up the food from us and refuse to feed me if I'd done something wrong.

After about fifteen minutes of this, I lose my appetite and decide to put the food in the refrigerator. Maybe Tris would want it later.

Fresh air will probably be the best thing for my right now so, leaving my seemingly haunted house behind, I go outside.

But before I can get a few steps away from it, I notice a figure moving soundlessly from house to house.  

A figure that reminds me of my mother.

I'm about to go over to her when she spots me and begins walking in my direction.

"Well Tobias, you see that I was telling the truth then." She says smugly.

I resist the urge to scowl. "Yes, I see that."

"As I've said before, you could always come live with me in Factionless. We have far more room and food.  Abnegation is hardly the place for a bunch of Dauntless."

I'll never admit it, but I am starting to consider her option.  Maybe working with my mother isn't so bad.  Perhaps I can change her mind about a few things.

"I'll think about it." I say.

"Well, you know where to find me." She doesn't even try to suppress her joy.

And I won't lie - seeing her happy again makes me think of an older time.  A time where my mother would cheer me up and take beatings for me.  

A time where Evelyn was still my loving Mother.

And I'm starting think that perhaps she still is.

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Hope it was touching and fun to read! Again I apologize for not updating....But on a much more positive note, I got Divergent from a Canadian Bookstore this past week when I went to the Stratford Festival!! YASS 3 MORE BOOKS TO GO!! Happy READING!