Tris's Contenders

ch 20

Tris POV

I see the fresh lacerations dispersed on is back. It looks like his back was a continuous canvas for a whip. I get up from his bed feeling all my blood drain from my fingers leaving them cold as I reached to touch him. I feel the rise of his skin, running my index finger down the longest wound. He flinches under my touch, but I don't pull away. Beyond the pink, purple, red, and black assaults lay those of white. Tons of them prove as a background for the rest. How could someone do this? I raise my other hand to touch the one starting at his shoulder blade only to see his body spin and his hand grab mine. He looks at me, his chest rising and falling as he tries to breath. "Does it hurt?"

He shakes his head, "Not right now."

"Tobias...they are fresh. Like still moist from your blood." I say it feeling tears swell inside my eyes.

"Fighting with Eric opened some of them up." He walks up to me and takes me in his arms. I bury my face into his bare chest and take in his smell. He smells like fresh rain, reminding me of how I use to run out into the day when the rain fell. I would span my arms out and close my eyes pointing my face to the sky and feel the water wash everything away. "I'm sorry I put this on you."

"Don't be. I'm glad you did." I pull away from him only slightly so I can see his face. "Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

He moves his hand to my cheek and I press it into his palm. He smiles down at me, "I don't know why. I guess because he was the only family I had left. But...I told you.... now."

We stay there with our feet planted to the floor and our eyes fixed on each other. "You should let me at least clean them up. So they don't get infected." My mind is bouncing from thought to thought trying to unravel what I just saw. I disappear into the bathroom and explore through the cabinet. There isn't much, but that doesn't surprise me being that this is a man cave. I find rubbing alcohol and grab some tissue so that  we can dry and disinfect the wounds. Walking back into the room I see him sitting on the edge of the bed looking through a yearbook. "What are you doing?"

He points at a picture, "You were there last year."

"Well yeah I told you that." I let out a soft laugh.

"How did I not see you?" I climb behind him and wet the tissue.

"How did I not see you?" I say it to him because in reality I didn't remember seeing him either. It is so weird how we have become what we are by being nothing before. "This may sting." I dab the alcohol socked tissue on the deepest first and he lurches forward. "Sorry." I say it through gritted worried teeth.

He hangs his head, "It's okay. This should only be the last time I ever have this pain."

"You aren't going back?"

"Only for my stuff. Zeke and I already talked about making this permanent until I get my own place."

"Well then, he can't hurt you anymore." I cover the rest of the ample marks, "There. Done." I lean over and set the alcohol on the end table and all the tissues in the trash.

"Thank you." He gives me his side smile reminding me of the first time I saw it less then a week ago and it feels like ages. "So?"

"So? What did Caleb say to you before you left today?"

He laughs, "Um.. he said I was a little too old for you."

I shut my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingers. "Of course he did."

"He is just looking out for you."

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For the next two hours we talk about everything there is to talk about. Our favorite movies to our least favorite foods. I had brought up that Uriah said he was a ladies man and he admitted to messing around with a few girls, but never anything serious.  That is what brought up him and Lauren, making me wish I had averted the conversation. He had mentioned she was his first, 'Of course she was. Why wouldn't she be?' is what my brain was yelling at me, I guess they had only been dating for a couple months or something. He didn't seem too invested in details thank god.