Dauntless High

Chapter 32: Recovery

The second my eyes open, I sit up from the bed, swarmed with memories of the night before. I change out of the clothes, into some black leggings, one of Toby's sweatshirts, and some boots. 

A brush pulls the tangles from my wild hair, and the locks are left flying over my shoulders. I grab my phone, a few extra things for Tobias, and stuff them in my bag, before heading downstairs. 

"Tris? Where are you going?" Mom asks, as I grab her keys from beside the front door. 

"I'm going to see Tobias, I'll have the car for the day. I'll see you later." I respond, swinging open the door. 

"You're lucky I'm not working today." She mumbles, flipping a pancake. 

I shut and lock the door behind me, and get into Mom's car. I have my license, I just haven't been driving much with everything that has gone on through the past year. The key clicks into the ignition, starting the car in a flurry of lights. 

The vehicle carefully pulls out of the drive, and speeds down the street. I waste no time arriving at the hospital, and grab my things. I stop for barely a moment to catch my breath, before running through the front entrance. 

"I'm here to see Tobias Eaton?" I breath out, holding a hand on the nurses desk. 

"Name please?" She asks. 

"Beatrice Prior." 

She writes it down on a paper, and hands me a slip, "Room 1694, on the fourth floor. Make a right at the elevators." 

"Thank you." I say, giving her a quick smile. 

My footsteps are quick and rapid as I approach the elevators, which immediately open. I step inside, jamming my finger into the button for the fourth floor. 

The elevator makes a series of creaking noises as it ascends floor after floor. It dings, telling me to exit, and the ancient doors slide open. 

I step out, and turn to the right. I use signs to help me navigate the halls, watching the room numbers pass by. 1687...1690...1692...1694. 

My fist gently raps on the wood, creating an echo. 

"Come in!" Tobias calls out. 

I creak open the door, smiling. 

"How are you doing babe?" I ask. 

He scrunches up his eyebrows, and shakes his head, "Tris? What are you doing here?" 

He has scratches and stitches across his face, and his skin is deathly pale. Most of his head is wrapped in white bandaging, which anyone could guess is from the lamp his fath-Marcus smashed into his head. 

I move towards him, "I came to see how you were, that must've been awful." 

He screws up his face, "Why would I want you here?" 

My throat goes dry, "Tobias, I'm your girlfriend. I helped you get out of there, I helped you escape Marcus."

 "How do you know my name, what are you talking about? Why would I date you, after how much of a bitch you were?" 

My eyes begin to water, and I drop Toby's things from my arms. 

"Do you remember...any of it?" I mumble. 

He shakes his head, "The last thing I remember of you was slamming Christina's locker into my head." 

I shake my head, "Tobias that was months ago. You told me what happened with your parents, you told me your real name, you told me everything. We are dating, we made a plan to get you out." 

"Why would I ever tell you any of that?" He snaps. 

I lean down, gathering the things I dropped, "Maybe I should just leave." 

"Maybe you should." He spits. 

I throw the things I brought for Tobias on his bed, his Letterman jacket, his notes from our first date, the Polaroids we took together at the tree house, all of our memories. 

"What's this?" He asks, pulling them to his face. 

"It was us." I hiss, before turning around to leave. 

"Are you... BumbleBea?" 

I stop, barely turning, "Why?" 

He seems to soften, "That word, it seemed to stick with me. I couldn't figure out who it was. When I looked in my phone, I saw the name, but didn't have the heart to text you." 

"Yes, that's me, why do you care?" 

He shakes his head, "I don't know. How did we end up dating?" 

I fully turn to face him, smirking, "Oh, are you interested now?" 

He looks down, "I don't know, I just feel bad. You seem devastated." 

"Well, I kind of am. I've dedicated a lot to you, Tobias." 

"I do like hearing my name from somebody who cares about me." He responds, smiling slightly. 

I sit down on one of the chairs beside his bed, leaning, "I won't let you get away that easily, you can't dump me just because of some memory loss." 

He chuckles, "Well, I guess I won't. From what I hear, you've helped me a lot." 

"You could say that again." I mutter, shaking my head. 

Tobias clicks a button that helps him sit up in bed, and he looks directly at me, "Tris, you aren't shitting me, right? We really did date?" 

I nod, "Look at the pictures. Look on your social media. Look at our texts. It's all there for you to see." 

He pulls out his phone, but before he can look, a doctor walks in. 

"Tobias Eaton? I have to ask before, are you okay with her hearing the details of your injuries?" 

He nods, "That's fine." 

The doctor nods, then she clears her throat, "As I said this morning, there was only one piece that punctured your skull, and it pierced your frontal lobe. There was also minimal damage to your hippocampus, which has called temporary, and I emphasize temporary memory loss." 

I laugh, "So this drama that just occurred, it won't even matter soon?" 

She laughs, "Yes, his memory should be back by tomorrow, if not the next day." 

"See, I won't think of you as a bitch forever." Tobias winks at me, and I cheekily grin. 

"Anyways, there is also the issue of injuries to your back. It seems the wounds were taken care of well most of the time, but there is some infection starting to take place. We will treat it aggressively with antibiotics, which should clear it before anything bad happens. Our nurses will redress the wounds every eight hours, or as you need it." 

"That's good, I think." Tobias responds. 

"Very good," The doctor nods, "The brain surgery was not difficult, but as I said, expect temporary memory loss. There should be no more long term effects, and we are expecting you to make a full recovery." 

Those words resonate in my mind. Full recovery. Tobias is going to be okay. He may be a bit banged up, and may be an asshole for a day, but he is okay.