Never Alone || Fourtris

Chapter 30

*authors note: have slow dancing in the dark by joji ready. i'm going to use it for a scene*

I get off the bus a block down the park on main. I look at the time on my phone. 4:46 PM. It's not super late out I guess. I walk down the street, trying to avoid eye contact with people. The words on the papers I hold in my hands make me feel vile. How could she do this to us? To Caleb? To me? So, many questions run through my head. Was she the one who called CPS the day I came home from school. All this time I thought It was our neighbor, the one who used to take care of Caleb. What was her name? I can't remember.

The park is almost empty, with a few kids playing on the playground and some people sitting on the grass. Sometimes I wonder what it would've been like if I had a normal childhood. Not one where I had to fend for my life or wait days for my next meal. Was it worth the money!? I scream in my head, but it feels so submerged.

I sit under a tree, far from the playground. It's almost five, the sun already setting. I check the time and its 5:03 PM. Part of me wants to get up and walk alone, but the other part wants to wait for Tobias. To hear his soothing voice. Stop it, Tris. He only thinks of you as a friend.

Tobias walks towards me from a distance. I bite my lip as he gets closer. His eyes catch mine and he gives me a slight smile. I make room for him to sit down next to me, still staring forward and not at him.

"Hey, Tris," he says.

"Hey," I reply.

He stares at me for a moment, his heavy breathing settling to a soft tone.

"Are you okay, Tris?," he asks.

I turn towards him, locking onto his sincere eyes. Should I tell him? What if he thinks I'm weird for going to the place that created so many bad memories? He smiles at me, pushing hair out of my face.

"You don't have to tell me anything," he says.

"I just don't want you to think I'm weird," I say.

"I already think you're weird, Prior," he says with a slight smile. Then softly he says, "Just kidding."

I nudge him with my elbow and look down, trying to force a smile. Silence fills the air and the cold wind makes me shiver.

"I went to my old house today," I say.

"Buds?," he asks, with concern all over his face.

"No. The one I grew up in. Where Caleb and I were separated."

Although I felt like Tobias didn't have to know about the severity of the situation, he's been there for everything. Bud, the trial, my adoption, Caleb.

"What made you want to go back there?," he asks.

I look down at the files on the grass next to me. The cold makes me shiver, although part of me knows that it's also because of what I know about these papers.

"I should take you home, Tris. It's getting cold," he says.

"No, wait," I say as he stands. "Can we go somewhere else?"

"Alright, where do you want to go?," he says extending is hand to me.

As I grab his hand, shivers go down my spine. Not just because of the cold. His skin feels soft, yet strong. Warm. I grab the files next to me and stand up faster than I need to, almost bumping into Tobias. He steadies me, his hand touching my waist.

"Lets go to the cliff. Where we can get a view of the stars," I say.

It's where all the popular people at school hang out. People like Peter and Molly. I know where the place is, but I've never been. Or maybe I have once, I can't remember.