Divergent Future

Chapter 7

Tris's POV

A piercing alarm cuts through my sleep, and I groan. Where is that alarm coming from? I didn't set an alarm. The alarm keeps ringing, and I groan again. Why isn't that alarm going off? I am so tired.

The alarm keeps ringing, and with another groan, I drag myself out of bed and locate where the alarm is coming from. Christina's room.

"Christina." Nothing. She doesn't even budge. I walk over and shake her.

"Christina. Wake up." She sits up with a groan.

"What? What do you want?" she asks.

"I want you to cut this stupid alarm off. I am so tired," I answer.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry," she says and cuts the alarm off.

"Why do you have an alarm set anyway?" I ask as she gets up out of bed.

"I have to go to my first class," she tells me.

"Oh. I almost forgot that you guys have school today," I say.

"Yeah. We really don't want to leave you and Toby alone on your first day back, especially with Toby sick, but we have to go to the rest of our classes. We only have a week until summer break," she explains, and I nod my head.

"I understand. It's ok. It's not like we would be able to do anything with Toby sick. I'm just going to watch after him today. Relax myself. I usually never get much relax time, especially being on tour," I say.

"But you know. Four will still be here. Just two floors up," she says with a small smirk on her face.

"Oh, yeah. I bet that would be a blast," I say, sarcasm evident in my voice, as I walk into the kitchen. She soon follows me, already dressed in clothes.

"Are you still mad at us?" she asks, cautiously.

"I'm not exactly mad at you guys. I'm just a little irritated that you guys didn't tell me that my ex-boyfriend who I still might be in love with and the father of my child was going to be here too," I ramble on. "I just wanted to be prepared. I must have broken his heart. I mean, have you heard his songs? I hurt him so much, and then to show up with the kid I took away must have hurt him even more. I can't even imagine what he thinks of me right now. I'm such a horrible person." She finally cuts me off.

"Tris." I look up at her with a few tears in my eyes.

"What?"

"You are not a horrible person. You did what you thought you had to do at the time. It might not have been the smartest decision you could've made, but you were scared. You couldn't think straight. I mean, you were 18 and pregnant with a baby. I would have been scared too if I was in your shoes. But you are so brave, Tris. You have stuck through this. You have cared and loved Toby with all of your heart while going through emotional turmoil. And you still keep a calm composure. I dream to be like you, Tris. You are amazing," she says, and the tears start streaming down my face.

"Come here."

She pulls me into a hug, and she lets me cry everything out. Everything that I have bottled up for the last four years. All of my pains and struggles and worries. I finally let it out.

I pull away and wipe away the remaining tears.

"When did you get so inspirational?" I ask, and we both laugh.

"I honestly don't know."

"I haven't told anyone this," I say,"but. I still have flashbacks. They aren't the flashbacks I had back in high school. Of my horrible past. They're flashbacks from my relationship with Four. Sometimes just looking at Toby triggers a flashback. I'm not scared of them. They just make me sad that I don't have that anymore."