Divergent Powers High

Chapter 18: Realization

"Bea..."

Tobias' voice starts out soft an smooth, like a gentle waterfall. 

"Bea... get up." He continues, now sounding more urgent, or maybe desperate. 

I can't quite get the feeling of my body being my own. It almost feels as if I'm a shell. 

"Six, get up!" He nearly shouts. 

My body jolts awake, every nerve suddenly alive and aware. My eyelids flutter open, and I suck in a needed breath of air. With the breath, every single moment swarms my thoughts, and tears threaten to spill once more. 

I back away from Tobias quickly, who now has a shirt covering those awful battle scars, "Why didn't you tell me?"

He sighs, shaking his head, "I didn't want to burden you with that knowledge at a time like this. David is after us, we have school, an-"

"No. Why didn't you tell me?" I interrupt, trying to stand on shaky limbs, "I've been through the same thing, if not worse, and you sure as hell know I'm strong enough to handle it." 

He grabs my arm to keep me steady, nodding, "I know. That was my fault, he just forced me to build a wall in between everybody. I should've trusted you."

"Should've?" I sneer, wiping my eyes harshly. 

He once again holds me to his own warmth, "I was, am, stupid. I didn't want you to think you needed to help me, because I've already got a plan." 

"And that is?" I inquire, finally beginning to gain an insight on what he might mean by this. 

Tobias lifts up my waist, and sets me on the chilled sink so I'm steady. I give him a quick smile of gratefulness, before he begins to explain. 

"Bea," He grabs my hand, "I turn eighteen in a few days, you know that." 

I nod, squeezing his large hand in my own frail one, "Of course, we planned a group dinner and everything."

"Yeah, well before, while Marcus is here at school, I'm going to be moving my things into a new apartment. I'll be eighteen, and I've already set something up with the realtor so I can sign the contract in the morning and move in that day. This way, when I move, Marcus can still deal with me at school , but he can't call the police because I'm gone."

"What if he finds out where you live?" I ask, my voice a bit shaky. 

"I'm moving to the middle of a busy apartment complex in Chicago, there's no way he can hurt me without somebody noticing." Tobias reassures. 

I throw my arms around him, letting the last tears drip down my cheeks, "I trust you."

--------------------

"You were in the dudes bathroom with him, for an hour. What's that about?" Christina snickers, wiggling her eyebrows. 

I gulp, rolling my eyes, "Don't worry about it Chris." 

We shuffle over to the lunch line, where the same greasy pizza and dry hamburgers are piled up. I pass by those, grabbing a salad and adding some dressing and other toppings. 

"Nobody just flips off an asshole teacher and runs after their scary boyfriend for nothing," She comments, grabbing a sandwich, "An hour is more than enough time to get the job done, even a few times."

"Shut up, we weren't having sex, Miss. Tongue Down Will's Throat." 

She kicks my shin, while I'm grabbing pieces of Dauntless Cake. I throw ice at her head, creating a red mark across her cheek, so she squeals and shocks me. 

"Girls, not around the food." Miss. Jo scolds, the lunch lady that's been here for ages. 

I laugh, grabbing my tray, "Sorry, Chris just has a history of being a complete bitch."

"And you have a history of being a dumb ass." Miss. Jo jokes, smirking. 

I scoff, "Not you too!" 

She shoos me to the register, where I click in my number and pay. Christina and I go outside to eat, since the weather is perfect today. Tobias, Uriah, Will and Zeke are throwing an apple to one another across the table. I lean over, catching it mid-air, and toss it onto the middle of the table. 

"You ruined the fun!" Uriah whines, taking a bite from the pizza. 

I scrunch up my nose, "You eat that trash?"

"It's delicious, shut up." Zeke sneers, shoving a full piece into his mouth. 

I grab the apple and throw it at his head, full force. "Calm down Six." Tobias chuckles, putting a hand on my thigh. 

I stab my lettuce, shoving the forkful into my mouth. "We aren't even allowed to eat that shit, Coach George says it's bad for us." Lynn comments, biting into a piece of cake. 

"Who cares, Coach Amar let's us eat everything." Uriah defends, shoving a full piece of cake into his mouth. 

"Because you're jocks and just need to beef up." Christina comments. 

I focus more on eating, than their trivial banter, even though the events of earlier have taken my appetite. If I don't eat anything Tobias will be on my ass and probably freak out. 

The salad isn't good, half wilted lettuce and bland dressing, but you can't expect much from a school salad. I leave half of it untouched, and quickly scarf down the Dauntless cake. 

"I'm going to get to Miss. Wu's class early, I'll see you all there." I mumble, standing up. 

"You okay?" Tobias whispers, grabbing my hand. 

I offer a small smile, "I'm fine, just a bit tired." 

He let's me go, so I toss my tray and head to my locker first. I grab my bag, and put in my supplies for the last two classes, and grab my homework to do doing free period. Instead of heading to Tori's class, I go to the library. There are a few people eating in there, trying to avoid the crowds in the lunchroom. I go to the quiet area, where a few bean bags and chairs are set up. 

The other kids eye me, since at this time they'd see me wreaking havoc in the cafeteria. I plop down in the bean bag, rubbing my temple. My brain is on overload, stressing over every little thing. Sometimes you just want to ignore everything going on around you and just relax, but in my life, it's not possible. 

"Beatrice Prior." The voice is quiet, but I know it's not coming from somebody I know. 

"Beatrice Prior." It's more prominent now, definitely a mutant, not someone talking. 

What? I send out the signal as mind communication, so it will go back to the source. 

Adding a strange voice that could very likely be an ax murderer to the stress that's already weighing me down is not helping. 

We need help. 

I roll my eyes, having a gut feeling this might be some kind of joke. 

What the hell is that supposed to mean?  I lean back into the bag, trying to act casual. 

This is an allegiance against David. He's been capturing people in Chicago like you, and we have a plan to stop him. 

How am I supposed to believe that this isn't David trying to kill me? 

You will be able to bring whoever you want to, but there is a letter in your bedroom. More details are there. We need your help Six, please. 

I am stunned, wide eyed. It's so sudden, in the midst of terror, I might be able to save everybody from David.