I Thought

Secrets

POV: Tris

"W-what?" I stuttered out as tears began to blur my vision.

"He assaulted Karson." Thomas ran his hands through his, now messy, brown hair.

"What did he say to her?" My jaw clenched up as I did my best to keep myself from lashing out.

"He told her..." Thomas looked me dead in the eye, but broke eye contact again so he could reread something on his screen. "That if she continued to date you-" Thomas got cut off by Mrs Ryan walking into the dorm.

She froze when she saw my stature and facial expression. I stood up and ran to her. She just hugged me. Mrs Ryan is definitely my life saver right now, and I know I can always count on her. She has already claimed me as her child since she doesn't have one, and technically I don't have parents, because my mom passed away and my father lost custody of me, but the school has some kind of temporary custody of me now.

"What did you find?" Mrs Ryan asked Thomas as she held me tight, played with my hair, and slightly rocked me side to side.

"Karson's father beat his last three wives and beat Karson." Thomas replied in a soft tone. None of us were expecting this. Karson is the strong one, but maybe not. Everyone has weaknesses. Not even Karson is invincible.

"Why did Karson break up with Tris?" Mrs Ryan asked Thomas in a calm tone, but I knew she was just as panicked as I am right now.

That is why she went cold at the end of her freshman year. That is why she wouldn't let go of my father when she had him in a scissor lock. That is why she panicked whenever we talked about family. That is why she only spoke about her mother and never her father.

"She broke up with her, because this John asshole threatened to kill Tris if she didn't. Karson was protecting Tris." He gave us a sad smile.

"All along she was trying to protect me." I whispered to no one as I started to connect the dots in my head.

"Do you have any ideas on what to do now, Thomas?" Mrs Ryan asked him as she let go of me to get a bottle of wine out of the fridge. "Do you want some?" She asked me as she poured herself a glass of wine in a hurry.

"No thank you," I don't drink because I'll be damned if I ever give my brain the chance to be an alcoholic like my father.

"Thomas?"

"I'm good, thanks girl. But what we need to do is call my dad who is in the FBI, so he can take care of it. Tris, don't go near her, talk to her, or text her till her father is in custody and till we make sure he isn't rallied up with anyone. I don't know how long that would take, but you need to be safe." He started to text someone frantically as soon as he finished speaking before doing more stuff on his computer. "I'm going to forward all of the stuff I found to my dad and he will take care of it as soon as possible. John will be taken into custody probably within the next couple of hours, but it might take several days before we clear up that he doesn't have attachments." He said as he stood up.

I nodded and gave him a hug as the tears began to flow again. I feel relieved and scared at the same time. "Thank you," I whispered in his shoulder.

"Don't thank me yet kid, but when you get back with Karson you better thank me." He joked and I lightly laughed, but my stomach is still in knots.

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*Two Days Later*

Karson's dad has been taken into custody, but I'm still not clear to go back to Karson.

On the bright side, Karson seems happier and more upbeat, but as soon as she sees me her face drops.

I wish I could tell her. God, that is all I want.