Tobias - after Allegiant ✔

42

After the girl exits the room, a woman walks in. I don't know who she is. At least with the girl, I recognized her face, though I don't know from what.
   
"My name is Helen Pohler," the woman says. "I'm your doctor."
   
"Can I have a glass of water?" I ask. My throat hurts.
   
"Of course."
   
She walks over to a faucet in the corner of the room and fills a glass with water. I look around the room. It's way too white to be a Dauntless infirmary. This looks Erudite. But why would I be in an Erudite hospital?
   
Helen hands me the glass and I take a sip.
   
"What is the last thing you can remember?" she asks.
   
I frown and rub my forehead, like that's going to give me my memories.
   
"Choosing Day," I say. "A Stiff jumped first."
   
"Do you remember how she looked like?" she asks and she writes something down.
   
"Why do you say 'she'?" I ask. She doesn't answer. I sigh. "It was a girl, yes. Blond hair, big blue eyes, small..."
   
My eyes grow wider. My description matches the girl who was here minutes ago.
   
"That girl who was here... she is the Stiff, isn't she?"
   
Helen nods. "She is. But she isn't a girl anymore. Mr Eaton, you have lost the memories of the past four years. You got shot in your stomach on your wedding day and lost consciousness. You nearly died."
   
A flash of a memory. The feeling of the skin of someone else and the cold metal around my finger. A man, standing in front of me with a gun.
   
"I'm married?" I say in surprise. "Didn't think that would happen. Who's my wife?"
   
Helen gives me a look. "The girl who was sitting next to you is. She arrived with you. She was still wearing her wedding gown, covered in blood. Your blood."
   
"I don't believe you."
   
"Why don't you get some sleep? You must be tired."
   
"I want to talk to that girl," I say.
   
She sighs. "Alright. Give me a minute. I'll get her."
   
She walks out of the room and I'm alone for the first time since I woke up. My head starts to ache. How could I forget my own wife?
   
Five minutes later, the girl walks in. She has a ring around her finger. She looks around the room and holds on tightly to the objects she finds on her way to my bed.
   
"What happened?" I ask.
   
"You got shot and forgot evewything," she answers.
   
"That's not what I meant. What happened that you need support to walk?"
   
"Yeah, you fowgot that, too." She sighs. "Thwee yeaws of coma happened. Do you even know my name?"
   
Another flash of a memory, the last full memory I have. First jumper – Tris!
   
"Yes, you are Tris. The first jumper this year – or, four years ago."
   
"I was. Thewe awe no factions anymowe, did you wemembew that?"
   
"Why can't you pronounce the R?" I ask. "Is that because of that coma, too? How did you even survive a coma like that?"
   
"I can ask you things like that as well," Tris snaps. "Why did it feel like you died in my awms? Why don't you wemembew me? Tobias, do you have any idea how hawd it is fow me to sit next to the man I mawwied yestewday, but he doesn't know that?"
   
"My name is Four," I snap back. "Call me Tobias again and I'll make sure you drop out of Dauntless."
   
"Did you even listen to me?" she says, and her voice breaks. "I told you, thewe awe no factions. So go ahead, make me factionless if you want."
   
She puts her hands on the armrests of her chair and pushes herself up, but she can't stand longer than a few seconds. She looks around.
   
"Can you please pwess that red button next to you, now?" she says. She sounds like she's in panic. "I want to get out of hewe."
   
"Tris, I'm sorry. But just as it is frustrating for you, it is for me, too. I can't remember the last four years of my life. And apparently something drastic has happened, if I managed to get a girl and the factions are gone."
 
"I undewstand that," she says. "And I'm going to leave you alone so you can stawt to wemembew."
   
"No, you're not. Not before I asked something."
   
She looks at me, her eyes shining with tears.
   
"What were the last words I said before I went unconscious?" I ask.
   
She looks down and wipes the tears from her cheeks. "You said, 'Tris, it's too late.'"
   
"Too late for what?"
   
"Too late fow me to save you. Too late fow anyone to save you. You thought – and I did too – that you wewe going to die. I thought you died. Until Helen said you wewen't." She sighs and gives up her plan to leave. "Youw father shot you. You wewe shielding me fwom the bullets."
   
"We invited my father to our wedding?" I ask in disbelief.
   
"No, we didn't. He sneaked in. Zeke killed him when he twied to wun away." She frowns. "You do know Zeke, don't you?"
   
I nod and rub my temples, hoping it will lessen my headache. Tris sees it and her face softens a little.
   
"I'll let you west now," she says and now she manages to stand. "Get some sleep."
   
"Tris," I stop her. "You were the one talking to me before I woke up, weren't you?'
   
She nods. "Did you hear me?" she asks surprised. "I asked you to squeeze my hand, but you didn't, so I assumed..."
   
"I couldn't move my hand. I would've, if I could. I just wanted to tell you I did hear you." I pause. "What did you mean with expecting?"
   
Tris grabs the bed to keep herself from falling. "I'm not going to tell that now. You need to west."
   
Something in her tone tells me I don't have to try again.
   
No more secrets.
   
"No more secrets," I say. "Isn't that a promise I made with you?"
   
"It is, but evewything is a secwet wight now, so it doesn't count fow this situation." She leaves the room before I can say something else.
   
It's only then that I realize how tired I am. I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.