Roommates

Fight Like a Brave

I FINALLY have a chapter for you! I knew it would take me a few weeks to update, but I didn't expect it to be a full month. Thanks for being so patient. I'm pleased with how this chapter turned out and I hope you enjoy it.  

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Tobias
Mid-March

My muscles ache and I am full of pent-up, nervous energy when we stop in Milwaukee at a Starbucks twenty minutes from Marcus's house. It is the same coffee shop I have stopped at every time I've come to Milwaukee these past seven months, always needing to delay coming "home" as long as I can. This time is different; this time Tris is with me.

"Could you grab a table? I'll get the drinks," I suggest as I scan the crowded restaurant. Tris kisses me lightly before walking away to look for an empty table in the crowded cafe.

Having Tris with me in Milwaukee is a double-edged sword. On one hand, her presence gives me strength- strength I need to make it through this visit. And I don't want her to see me so weak, like I have been in the past with Marcus. On the other hand, I have no idea what Marcus is up to; his request that I bring Tris was strange, and his response when I brought up his previous statements about her... why would he deny it? It was like he knew that she was reading over my shoulder.

"Grande vanilla latte," I tell the cashier, ordering for Tris first, "and a grande house coffee with room for cream." I peer into the bakery case. "And an apple fritter," I add. They're one of Tris's favorites.

I catch myself pacing as I wait for our order. Soon my name is shouted, and I pick up our drinks and pastry from the counter and bring them to the small table Tris is sitting at, playing with her phone. She looks up and smiles as I sit down.

"Mmm," she says, eyeing the apple fritter, "that looks good." She sips her latte and smiles. "You remembered my favorites."

"Of course I did," I say, reaching out and taking her hand that rests on the table. Just that simple touch calms my nerves significantly. I'm still anxious, though, when I remember that for two nights and a day, Tris will be in the same house with Marcus. As far as I know, he's never hurt anyone other than me and my mother, but he is manipulative and always seems to know just what buttons to push to cause the most pain. I can't shake the feeling that he's up to something. And since it's Marcus, whatever that something is cannot be good.

"Tris," I say seriously, "be careful this weekend. Marcus is... he's dangerous. Promise me you'll be careful not to push his buttons at all, in any way."

Tris frowns, but nods. "I'll be careful, Tobias. But just know that I won't stand by and allow him to hurt you." My stomach churns. I have a bad feeling about this visit. I shouldn't have brought her with me.

"Just... please think before you act, okay?" I know I can't control her, and I don't want to. But she has definitely grown from that meek girl I used to see with Eric... the meek girl Marcus was so enamored with. I remember our fight last week and how maturely she handled it when things started to become heated- how maturely she forced me to handle things as well. Maybe everything will go smoothly. Maybe it will all be alright. I can only hope.

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As usual, I was expected to cook dinner tonight. I am pretty sure that Marcus has only cooked a handful of meals for me since my mother died nine years ago. When I say he "cooked" for me, I mean that he microwaved some canned chicken-noodle soup when I had pneumonia in the sixth grade. I'm surprised he hasn't lost weight, honestly, because I've never seen him prepare his own food... ever. Does he just get take-out for every meal, I wonder, or has he learned to prepare his own food now that I have been away for half a year?