Right? --A Fourtris/Tris Pedrad Story

Chapter 22

Tris
I wake to aches and pains overwhelming my body. I cringe as I sit up, holding my ribs, and walk up to the small mirror on the opposite wall. I'm almost too short to see myself in it. When I stand on my tiptoes, I can see my face.

There's a dark blue bruise on my cheek, as expected. I hate the idea of slumping into the dining hall, but Tobias' instructions have stayed with me. I need the protection of seeming weak.

I struggle to tie my hair in a knot at the back of my head. The door opens and Tobias walks in, a towel in hand and his hair glistening with shower water. I look up at him, letting his deep blue eyes meet my gray-blue one.

"Hi, " I say, my voice right. He brushes his fingertips against my bruised cheek. "Not bad, " he says. "How's your head?"

"Fine, " I lie. It's throbbing. I brush my fingers over the bump and pain prickles over my scalp. It could be worse. I could be floating in the river.

Every muscle in my body tightens as his hand drops to my side, where I got kicked. He does it casually, but I can't move. "Your side?" He interrogates in a low voice. "Only hurts when I breathe, " I reply. He smiles. Tobias doesn't usually smile like that. "Not much you can do about that."

"Peter would probably throw a party if I stopped breathing." "Well, " he says. "I would only go if there was cake." We laugh, then I wince, covering his hand to steady my ribcage. Once this moment ends, I have to remember what happened last night. And I want to stay here with him.
He nods and leads the way out.

"I'll go in first, " he says when we are outside the entrance of the cafeteria. "See you soon, Tris." He walks through the doors, leaving me alone in eerie silence.

I pull away from the wall and walk in without another thought. A few steps in, I remember I'm supposed to look like I'm cowering, so I slow my pace and hug the wall, keeping my head down.

Uriah sits at the usual table, looking nervous and fidgety. It can't be about landscapes. He's been in his, probably, over a hundred times. Marlene and Lynn seem the same way. I slide in to sit next to him. He looks to me and gasps.

"Where have you been? What happened? Who did it?" He bombards me with questions, attracting attention from Mar and Lynn. I look over my shoulder at the table behind ours. Peter sits there, eating a piece of toast and whispering something to Molly. My hand clenches around the edge of the table. I want to hurt him. Now is not that time yet.

Drew missing, probably still in the infirmary from Tobias. Thank God for him. Vicious pleasure courses through me at the thought.

"Peter, Drew..." I say quietly. I hold my side as I reach across the table for a piece of toast. It hurts to stretch out my hand, so I let myself wince and hunch over. "And..." I swallow. "And Al."

They seem shocked. "Wasn't that the one who almost hot knives thrown at him?" Lynn questions and I nod. "You okay?" Marlene asks. I shrug. Uriah's eyes are glazed over with anger and his face is slowly turning red. I put my hand over his gently. "I'm okay." He calms down a little, but not much.

Peter's eyes find mine across the dining hall and I have to force myself to look away. It brings a bitter taste to my mouth to show him that he scares me, but I have to. Tobias is right.

"But you're just..." Uriah hesitates. "You could've beat them easily, but your arm and three on one? Not fair." I shrug. "Life isn't fair." It really isn't. Especially to me.

Drew shuffles into the dining hall. I drop my toast, and my mouth drifts open. Calling him bruised would be an understatement. His face is swollen and purple. He has a split up lip and a cut running through his eyebrow. He keeps his eyes down on the way to his table, not even lifting them to look at me. I glance across the room at Tobias. He wears a satisfied smile I wish I had.