Divergent Dance Academy

Chapter 29

Updating today as I probably won't be able to tomorrow. Enjoy x

Tris' P.O.V

Zeke, Uriah and I rush through the door (well as quickly as I can), Uri and I want answers and now. I told Tobias to go home as I think my family needs to be alone at this moment. For months Uriah and I have been fainting, re watching that scene in our heads over and over. It's a horrifying image that I don't think I'll ever get out of my mind. Why has this been happening and is what we have been seeing real?

Mother is already sitting in the kitchen when we storm pass her. Before talking to mother I have to calm down, so Uri and I go to our rooms. Zeke stays in the kitchen. Does he know what's happening?

Uriah and I head back down to the kitchen. Zeke and mother are sitting on the kitchen stools with serious looks on their faces. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about what they will tell us.

"Kids, please sit down." Mothers tells us, her voice trembles a little, "Now, Zeke has told me what you saw and I don't really know what to say."

"Tell us the truth." Uriah's voice is strong and serious, something you don't hear from him very often.

"Well uh... what you have been seeing is the truth. Um Zach Pedrad is not your real father. Yes, you have his last name but I changed it as your real dad and I were in an abusive relationship, as you saw. Your father and I met in high school and got married a couple years later and then we had Zeke. That's when he started to abuse me, I think it was all the pressure at work and home. What you saw is when Zeke was 2 and when I first found out I was pregnant with you two." She smiles sadly at this part. All this new information swims through my head. How have they kept this from us all this time.

"Mid way through my pregnancy I decided enough was enough and I reported things to the police. This was a very messy and hard time so when it was all over I just wanted to put in the past and forget about it. Zeke and I moved here and you guys were born. Being a single mother of three children was really hard but we made it through. A year after you guys were born I met Zach. We decided then, together, to change all your last names and tell you guys that Zach was your father. I didn't want you to have that kind of negativity in your lives and again I just wanted to put it in the past. I loved Zach and he is your father, blood or not. He loved you and will always be in your hearts. Please understand why we did this."

My voice is the first to break the silence, "How long has Zeke known?"

"Since he was ten." Eight years? He's known all that time and didn't tell us? This is how it came out?

"He was in my room cleaning when he came along photos and you know, Zeke having his great memory he recognised your father." Mother explains. Zeke knew a year after Zach/Dad died.

"The thing that you saw was actually my first memory of my childhood that I can remember." Oh, what a coincidence.

Uriah and I sit there, stunned. How dare they keep this from us. Mother has keep it from us for our whole life and Zeke has lied to us for half our life. I understand that man was horrible but we still have the right to know our real father. For most of our life we've believed that our dad was dead, as Zach/dad had died when we were seven.

I think one of the worst things is, if we hadn't been fainting and seen what we had, we probably would never known who was our real dad.

"I'm going to my room." I mumble, starting to hop away.

"Wait, Tris.."

"No! Tris and I need time." Uriah's voice booms, I've never heard him this mad. We walk up to my bedroom, sitting on my bed.

Slowly tears start to roll down my face. My dad isn't my... real dad. And I don't even know my actual dad. And I know he raised me and that should count as him being my dad but that doesn't mean mother can keep something like that away from us.

"This is crazy." I whisper, wiping my face. "I'm not staying here tonight. And I really don't want to be around the whole gang. " There is no way I can stay here tonight but I also know there's no possibility of going to Tobias', Marcus doesn't allow any girls to stay at night.

"Want to go to Shauna and Lynn's?'" Uriah questions. Their house is like a second one to us Pedrads. I quickly text Lynn, asking if we can come over. She agrees and tells me that she'll come pick us up.

"She'll be here soon." I inform Uriah. He goes back to his room and I start packing. Tomorrow is a school day so I have to pack for overnight and school. Oh well.

Lynn is here 10 minutes later. Uriah and I escape downstairs but not before Mother and Zeke see us. "Where are you two going?" Zeke asks, looking upset.

"To Lynn's." I answer and walk out of the room. Lynn smiles at us as we enter the car, me calling shotgun. Lynn's smile soon fades when she sees our faces.

"Want to talk?"

"Nope."

***

I sit  on the ground with my injured leg out. Dirt and grass stick to my jeans as the sky starts to cry. My hand covers my mouth, keeping a sob in.

Zach Pedrad
1966 - 2008
A loving father, husband and friend.

He was always there for me. I remember one time, when I was 6, I had just gotten my first bike for Christmas and I went for a ride. Near the end of my street there was a small hill. Me being the rebel I was I decided to ride down there, unfortunately I stacked it, breaking my arm. I ran home crying. Throughout the whole thing, he was there and then a year later he was gone. Gone. Just like that.

Another secret mother kept from us, she knew he was ill. She told us that on his last days he went away for business but really, he was in hospital. We didn't find that out until after he had died. We didn't even get to say goodbye.

At his funeral I danced. He always said that he loved my talent and that I should never give up. That's the reason I continued to dance. I still remember that dance, I wish I could do it now.

As I sit at his grave, I think back to his funeral. I remember all the tears and emotion I put into that dance, even though I was only seven.

The Dance ⬇️⬇️

I decided to come to his grave after school. Uriah and I spent last night at Lynn's and I plan on doing it again tonight. Today was really hard. The gang was asking questions as to why Uriah and I didn't have energy radiating off of us and as to why we weren't talking to Zeke. Luckily we had told Lynn and Shauna what had happened last night and they quickly changed the subject.

Lynn drove me to the graveyard, where I sit. Drowning in all the grief and sadness that has been washed over me again. I told myself that I never wanted to go back to the stage we were all in after he died. But now, with this new information, it's as like I have to grieve all over again, just now knowing he's not my father.