Red

43

TRIS'S POV

Sam and I have been sitting alone on the plane for about thirty minutes now. But all I could think about was Van and Bondy talking outside, but I don't let that show. The last thing I need is Sam to worry about me. My head rests on his lap and he plays with the ends of my hair. "Hey, Tris?" He says.

"Mhm?" I hum.

"Do you want to do something later, just the two of us?" He asked, seeming almost unsure of his question.

"Like what?" I ask, a smile forming on my lips. I roll over and look up at him.

"Like, go back to the waterfall and swim or just sit," he says, smiling as he remembered our first time at the waterfall. It was the only time I really got to be with Sam alone, and I definitely wanted more alone time with him.

"Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Fender?" I ask, biting my bottom lip. Of course I was going to say yes, but I thought I'd tease him first. It was easier to talk to Sam than it was with Van. I felt like I could actually make a joke without him taking it in the completely wrong way.

"I might be," he says, letting out a chuckle. "If you wanna call it that."

"I think I will. And I'll go...on one condition," I say, holding up a finger to his face.

"And what's your condition?" He asks me, taking my arm and lowering it back down.

"We have to go now. I don't feel like being around everyone else right now," I say.

"Well, no can do. I have plans. I guess our date it canceled, isn't it?" he jokes, frowning down at me.

"Shut up," I say and get up from his lap. I hold my hand out for him. "Let's go."

"Alrighty then. We need to tell Van and Bondy first," he tells me while grabbing my hand and standing up. When he gets up, he doesn't let go, something I found maybe a little cuter than I should have.

I shake my head and groan. "Van's not going to want us to go anywhere," I say with a frown. I didn't want Van to know I was going with Sam. He would do anything he could to stop us. "He can be a bum sometimes, don't tell him I said that."

Sam laughs at my childish insult. "Well, I think he'll need to know. I don't think he'll stop us from going. If he does, then we'll figure something out, okay?" He replies.

"Okay," I say, though I didn't really believe him. He didn't know Van like I knew Van. If there's one thing I learned from Van, it was that he's persistent and good at getting what he wants.

Sam and I walk side by side, hand in hand, out of the plane, and Sam starts dragging me over to Bondy and Van, who were standing by the water.

"Aye, speak of the devil," Bondy says while Van stays quiet. I saw his eyes linger on Sam's hand wrapped around my own and then he looks up at me. His jaw was tense, and it made me look away from him and toward Bondy. Van was still upset with me, it was obvious.

"Hey now, you talking about me or Tris?" Sam chuckles. Neither Sam nor Bondy seem to realize the tension between Van and I, but I was okay with it. I'd rather it not be brought up because it was the last thing I wanted to deal with.

"The both of you," Bondy says, looking down at me and smiling. I smile back, but it wasn't genuine. It was weird knowing Van was watching me, watching Sam, the whole time.

Bondy didn't seem to acknowledge the insincerity of it, though. He couldn't read me like Van could read me, no one could. "What are you two up to?" He asks.

Sam speaks up first, I didn't feel like talking, and I couldn't really bring myself to say anything in front of Van. Not when I knew he would just shut me down. I take a step closer to Sam, hoping for some comfort. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the only person who could give me comfort right now was Van. Even if he caused my discomfort at first, I still needed him, I felt safe around him, and despite him scaring me, deep down I know that Van would never hurt me. He was there to protect me, but I can't see that right now.

"We were going to go on a walk, just wanted to let you guys know," Sam tells them, which immediately makes Bondy look over at Van to see his reaction.

Van doesn't look alarmed or like he's going to try to stop us at first. But then he speaks. "You guys think that's the best idea right now, after everything that's just happened? I know it's boring around here, but I don't know if it would be safe to let you go off on your own right now," he says. I look at him when he speaks, but he's not looking at anyone in particular.

"No, I think that's fine. You two go have fun," Bondy cuts in. "But you need to be very careful, and Tris, before you leave, Van wants to talk to you."

Van looks over at Bondy, it almost looked like he was confused or mad at Bondy for saying what he did , but then he nods his head. "Tris, c'mon," he motions with his hand. "I won't be long, promise ya."

I look up at Sam and he nods his head, telling me to go with Van. And because Sam was the person I trusted right now, that's what I did. I followed Van to the other side of the plane where it was just us.

He sits down on the sand. "Sit down, love," he says, patting the sand in front of him. I had to admit, it felt nice hearing Van call me 'love.' I don't know what it was about his cute nicknames he would call me, but I liked them.

When I sit down, I make sure to leave some space between us. I dig the sand up with my hands and let it run through my fingers.

"Tris, will you hear me out?" Van asks, his voice quiet.

I nod my head, but don't look up at him. His soft eyes or the small smiles he would give me would be too much for me, I'd give in too easily. And I couldn't do that. Not when I finally had some control in my relationship with Van.

"I'm so sorry, darlin. And I know that's not enough to make you forget about how I was acting...can you look at me?" He says, I could hear the regret, the hurt in his voice and it broke me.

That why it hurt so much when I looked up at Van and saw the same hurt and regret that was in his voice on his face. "You scare me, Van..." I say, my lip quivering.

Van closes his eyes and he takes a deep breath. "I know. And I'm trying to learn to act...better for you. I don't want you to be scared of me, Tris. That's never my intention, but I know I come off as harsh sometimes," he says.

"I don't want to be scared of you either, Van..." I say, my voice shaky. My eyes started to get watery, so I look back down, away from Van. "B-but it doesn't change the fact that I am..."

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I feel like it's been forever since I've updated. Sorry! Have you guys heard those old catfish songs that someone released on YouTube? I love fever so much! Van's voice sounds so good in it