Memories of You

Chapter Thirty-Six - Bad News

Surprise! Since tomorrow is my birthday I thought I would give you guys something for being amazing readers. I hope you guys enjoy the extra chapter. Thanks again for taking the time to read my story.

Thanks to Depecher and BarbaraK2U. You two do amazing work and I wouldn't be able to do it without you.

Tobias' POV

...I love you so much. As I lay here in the dark, praying that the silence is not broken, the only thing I crave is you. I feel as if a part of me is missing without you here. That even with the thought of Christmas coming - the time of year when we are supposed to be happy and grateful for everything with have been blessed with - it all seems tarnished, knowing I can't have the one thing I want most. To be in your arms, to feel your lips against mine, and mostly just to hear you say you love me is all I want...

I sigh, folding Tris' letter, unable to read anymore. I've read this letter countless times now, but I just can't look at it anymore. I place the letter next to me and rub my face, feeling the stubble under my palms. I know I need to shave soon, but I just haven't had the drive to make myself.

The longer we're apart, the worse my anxiety about her safety gets. The rational part of my brain knows she's ok and safe. In the limited time we had before I left, I gave her all the knowledge I could on how to protect herself. In a letter that my mother included with the last one Tris sent, she told me that she would watch over Tris. However, because I haven't received Tris' latest letter yet, I am worried. No one is sure - or maybe it's willing to tell me - why the date for the last rendezvous had to be rescheduled, or what happened to the mail. I have a bad feeling that something has happened, but no one has confirmed my suspicions.

The only way I can describe my current state of mind is to say that it feels as if I'm waiting for an axe to drop. I fear that any minute I could hear that the town she's in has been retaken, and that she's been killed for just being there among the other villagers.

The reports we've been getting about the battle raging in the east are terrifying. While the regiment I'm in isn't involved at the moment due to us pushing into Belgium, if the battle continues to progress as it has, it's only a matter of time. But mostly I'm afraid the battle will shift into her town, and I'll be too late to save her if something does happen.

"Knock, knock," George says, peeking his head into my tent. "Can I come in?" He stands in the entrance, his hand behind his back.

I nod my head, moving Tris' letter out of the way to make room for him. "Sure, George. Got a new brew you want me to try?" I say with a chuckle, trying to keep the suffocating thoughts from surfacing once more.

"Not exactly," he says, his face becoming serious. He comes to sit down next to me, finally revealing that he has a roll of paper in the hand he had held behind his back.

My heart begins to race, and I try not to show how worried I've suddenly become. "What's wrong, George?"

He sighs, unrolling the papers, and I see Amar's familiar scrawl across the page. "I need you to do me a favor, ok?" he says softly.

I tense, my hands balling into fists. "Does this have to do with Tris?" I grit out, trying to keep my voice from rising.

"No...and yes. She's completely fine, and so is your mother, so don't go tearing out of this tent before I can finish telling you what I came here for," he says quickly. "Or punch me like you did my boyfriend," he ends darkly.