Divergent Dance Academy

Chapter 28

Tris' P.O.V

Mother enters the room with a nervous look on her face. It's the day. Time for another doctors appointment. I am seriously so sick of going to this hospital. But it's necessary. And I swear to god if that doctor tells me that 'we'll wait 6 more weeks to see if it gets any better', I will punch him straight in the face.

The hospital is packed as per usual, nurses walking around in a hurry, doctors going from room to room. And to no surprise, the appointments are running at least an hour late.

Mother and I have been here for 45 minutes and my appointment was suppose to be half an hour ago. Oh well. I'm used to it by now.

"Would you like anything to eat ?" Mother asks with a soft tone. I answer with a nod. Mother hasn't been as closed off since last weekend so I still don't know what was wrong. Maybe she was just tired. I might never know.

Half an hour later my name is called. Mother and I follow the nurse into a room where we will probably have to wait another half an hour for the actual doctor.

Surprisingly it's only ten minutes until the doctor comes in. We go over the same exact thing as every appointment. He asks me what happened, looks at my file, touches and fiddles with my ankle checking if it still hurts like a bitch (which it does) and then talks to us more about it.

The doctor takes a breath before talking. "I am still adamant about doing surgery because of the last lady I did it on but I can see that your ankle is not getting better so surgery is the next step."

Oh thank god. Finally!

"Thank you sir." Mother says. They continue to talk over it. What will happen is that they'll go in with a camera, see the damage properly and then most likely drill holes into my bone, letting it bleed and hopefully heal itself, letting the damaged cartilage regrow. That was a mouthful.

Now thinking about it, that sounds pretty scary. I never thought I would have to have surgery at such a young age.

***

"Finally!"

"Yay."

"That's awesome news!" The gang surround me.

I have just told them about my surgery and even though the thought is terrifying, it's still great news. Unfortunately today is Monday, meaning we're at school. Lately school has become so much more unbearable. I think it has to do with how tired I become during the day and that I can't dance.

Anyway, lets just hope this day goes fast. Math is first, yay, note the sarcasm. I hate math and the teacher doesn't make it any better. Mr Borg either repeats everything, makes really depressing jokes or humiliates you in front of the whole entire class. One time he even made a kid run out of class crying. It's not that he's scary, it's just no one wants everyone staring and laughing at them. He's a complete jack ass.

Surprisingly, Mr Borg isn't in today, meaning we have a sub. We haven't had a sub in forever and I'm so glad we have one now. Usually this teacher puts on a movie and tells us all to sit quiet and watch. Which isn't bad because all the movies are pretty good. Plus, I don't think I would have been able to handle Mr Borg's bullshit today because lately I've had a really short temper. Oh wait, I have a short temper all the time. Oops.

Tobias sits next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist. We settle into our seats as the movie starts. One of the few rules we have when we're watching a movie is to not speak and to not interfere with anyone else whose watching the movie. It makes it a lot more bearable when everyone isn't talking and being too loud so you can't hear an important line.

The other day I talked to Tobias about moving in. And unfortunately that's not going to happen. He feels it will only make the situation worse and is afraid that if he's gone, Michelle will deal with the consequences. I love that about him, he's so selfless. I wish I was like that too. But Tobias also worries that living in the same house, even though he already practically does, will put a strain on our relationship. That might be true but I am still willingly to try if it will get him away from that monster.

The Christmas holidays are coming up, which also means Tobias' birthday is soon. His birthday is the 4th of December. That also means he will be 18! And Zeke, Shauna and Tobias will be graduating in a few months. That's crazy! Where has the time gone? It feels like I've known Tobias for so long, yet for such a little time as well. It also feels like just yesterday Zeke was chasing Uri and I around the back garden, making us forget about all the pain we were feeling.

It's scary knowing that soon everything will change soon and maybe I don't want it to change. I want Tobias' and my relationship to stay the same as it is, happy. I want to bond between my siblings and I to stay the same, we have always been so close and I don't ever want that to change. But a tiny part of me thinks, what if it does change? How will I cope if everything goes to the dumps again?

I don't even realise it but as we watch the music, my head suddenly drops off Tobias' shoulder and my whole body goes numb. All I see is darkness.

**

In front of me is my house. It seems so quiet, maybe... too quiet. I head inside and see a much younger version of Zeke. He's crying. I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. My feet bring me towards him, I shake him but he doesn't even move. He doesn't even notice me. A large bang comes from the kitchen and then a cry or scream. I run and what I see horrifies me. My mother lays on the floor with black and blue bruises marking her skin. Standing above her is a man I do not recognise. His eyes tell me his evil. Did he hurt my mother? The man lifts his leg like his about to strike again but my mother yells in agony.

"Stop! Please! Stop!" She screams, "I'm pregnant! Please, just don't hurt them."

"Them?" The man questions with his teeth clenched.

"I'm pregnant with twins. Please don't kick me." She pleads while breathing heavily.

Pregnant with twins? What is this?!

"You better be telling the truth or there'll be punishments." He seethes. "I want proof."

The man leaves the room, leaving my mother lying on the kitchen floor. I try and run to her but my feet are somehow glued to the floor. Leaving me there helpless.

**

Sweat drips off my forehead. Where am I? The white walls box me in, reminding me too much of a hospital. I turn to my right, where Uriah is now sitting up and looking around confused. I turn to my left and see Tobias sitting there. How did I not notice him before?

"Do you remember this time?" I ask, turning back to face Uriah. This is what we have been seeing every single time we faint and this is the first time we are remembering it. Who was that man? I'm so confused.

"Remember what?" Tobias asks, confused. I explain what we both saw, Zeke as a little boy, our mother with bruises everywhere. This is something I will never forget. And I never want to see it again.

But I do know what needs to happen. We have to find out what's really going on.