Dauntless High School

Chapter 38

There's a section in this one that is a bit more adult than what I have written so far. I don't think it's too explicit, but the sexual situation is there, so I put a "//XOXO//" at the beginning and end of that part so you know what to skip over if you prefer not to read that sort of thing or are not of an appropriate age to do so.

FOUR

When Marcus told me to meet him at a restaurant, I knew he wouldn't dare touch me tonight. Which is exactly what I told Tris this morning, but I know she's still anxious. Not that I mind going over there. I'm just not sure what excuse she will have given Marlene for me showing up at almost 10 pm.

I don't like having to hide my relationship with Tris, and at first I wished Tris didn't want to wait for Uriah to wake up. But now, I keep turning my mother's comments over in my mind. Once we were at home I tried to get more information from Mom but she's like a steel trap. I still don't know anything more about my parents' secrets than I did before. I know what kind of pain Marcus has put me through and I don't want to think about what else he might be capable of, and I hate the idea of him even knowing Tris exists, let alone that she is important to me.

But even if there is another good reason to keep things to ourselves, I still hate it.

I pull into Tris's driveway and kill the engine. Climbing out and swinging my backpack over my shoulder, I stop momentarily to run my fingers over the gashes in the paint of the driver's door. Tris and I won't have the chance to fix it this weekend as I have to spend Saturday night at Marcus's house. I close my eyes and remind myself that I will turn 18 in August. Ten more weekend visits, including this one. I can survive ten more visits. I open my eyes, push the bastard out of my mind, and slip through the narrow path between the house and detached garage.

After quickly knocking at the side door, I let myself into the kitchen. Tris is sitting on the counter with her bare feet dangling, smiling at me. Her hair falls in waves around her shoulders, and she looks so comfortable in her shorts, t-shirt and zip-up hoodie. I could never tire of seeing her just like this, so bright and happy. The contrast to the Tris I knew a few weeks ago has made it clear how lonely she has been living alone in this house.

A few feet away, Marlene scoops rich chocolate ice cream into a bowl. Even with her now living at Tris's I am not used to seeing her like this―pink flannel pajamas and a ratty old t-shirt, no makeup on her face and her hair pulled into a messy ball on top of her head. Mar grins at me and shoots a strange look at Tris.

"Hi, Four," Tris says, hopping off the counter. Her feet hit the floor with a slap.

"Yeah, hi, Four," Marlene sings, drawing out my name. "You know, I have never met such a dedicated math tutor. Late night house calls and all."

I freeze. "Um..." I straighten up. "Yeah, well, Tris said she was having a bit of a crisis," I try to explain, being careful not to make it sound like a question, "and I had to have dinner with my dad tonight so..."

Marlene bursts out laughing and Tris grins at me. Her bare feet pad quietly against the tile floor. "It's fine," Tris tells me, wrapping her arms around my middle. "I told Marlene about us."

Relief floods through me. "You did?"

"Mmhmm," Tris hums, leaning her head against my chest and sighing happily when I hug her back.

I look up and see Marlene adding weird things to her bowl of ice cream. Gummy worms, okay, sure. Canned pineapple seems an odd choice with chocolate ice cream. But... "Did you just put potato chips in your ice cream?" I deadpan.