Pit

Chapter 8

TRIS POV

My throat burns as I am wrenched from my dream. Someone is screaming, and I mistake it for the people lost in the smoke, dying by their own hands. The high-pitched shriek becomes more and more deafening until I feel that it is a part of me.

It is.

"Tris. Tris!"

I emerge with a gasp. For a moment I'm choking in the dark until my face is smothered into a shoulder muscle. I take a deep breath from his shirt and let the natural male scent work its magic; it is better than breathing in average air.

The relief is immediate. I bask in it.

"You okay?" Tobias's voice rumbles through my bones.

"Yeah," I whisper.

My eyes crack open and adjust to the dark. Outside the window there are heavy clouds blocking the horizon where the sun should break through any moment. I try to push aside my nightmare and savor the time I have left to stay in bed before I have to get up.

"Tris?"

"Hmm."

"We have to get up soon. The announcements start in less than an hour."

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I shift away from him so that he can get up to shower. I pretend like his absence doesn't sting, like I have been doing for a few days now.

Maybe it makes me sound like a hypocrite since I am the one disturbed by dreams every night, but something is wrong with Tobias. The attack took place nearly a week ago, and during that time he hasn't remotely opened up to me. Even simple questions about what he needs from the store are answered cryptically and reluctantly. It could be his way of coping, but I can't see anything beneficial coming from bottling up his emotions.

And I can tell he isn't okay when he hides up in the control room and returns home late, crawling into bed beside me when I am almost asleep. I can tell that he has my same struggles hanging over his head when he ducks out of trivial conversations at dinner with our friends. But when I try to be there for him as he is for me, he unleashes his temper to keep me away.

Ever since I first met him when I chose Dauntless, I have been aware of his shifting moods, so unpredictable that he could go from seemingly friendly to an unmatched hostility in a moment. I am not afraid of Tobias, but I can tell that somewhere along the way of me downplaying his brash behavior, he is going to explode.

I wish that his childhood hadn't made him into a closed-off person. Though I love him for who he is, I can't help but think how much less stubborn he would be if his father hadn't forced him into a life of solitude. He needs help, plain and simple. Neither of us saw the attack, but he was present when it happened and then had to suffer through the suicide serum that he inhaled.

If I am drowning right now, I can't imagine what is going through his mind.

The shower cuts off, and I glance at the clock. More time passed than I had thought. In fact, I better get dressed now.

I roll out of bed and use the hair tie around my wrist to pull my hair up into a ponytail. Sifting through the dresser, I find some basic workout clothes that aren't much different from what I'm currently wearing. Just as I finish putting them on, Tobias emerges from the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel.

"Ready?" he asks.

"Almost," I say, brushing past him.

As I freshen up for the day, I fully realize how important this announcement is going to be. After a week of silence, Tori released the news that she would be informing us of the situation regarding the factionless this morning. This could easily be a declaration of war, or a rundown of her discussion with Evelyn, or something else. And I hate to hold my negative relationship with Tori against her, but I don't believe that she will make the right decision.