Convergent; After Allegiant

Chapter 18

Nothing has sparked Tobias's memory. No the Ferris wheel, not the chasm, not erudite. Nothing, and I'm starting to worry that he'll never remember. Maybe were doing something wrong. Maybe I'm not taking him to the right places.

A disturbing thought pops into my head. What if I'm not the right person to be doing it. It would make sense, I've only known him for a few months, though it feels like years. Maybe it's Zeke or Shauana or Uriah or even Evelyn. They've all known him longer than I have. Evelyn's his mother for gods sake. Through my selfishness I might have been preventing him from remembering. I assumed that I meant a lot to him but I wasn't ever sure. I'm just a small little girl from abnegation. He's talk and strong and brave while I'm just...me.

These thoughts plague me as I skirt the precarious stone walkways of the Duantless compound. I'm heading towards the tattoo parlor, where it's just Bud working now. I'm getting a tattoo that I wanted to get after initiation but I never got the chance.

The smell of damp stone is even more prominent in the tattoo parlor, the enclosed space amplifying the smell.

" Tris" Bud calls from the desk I wave and offer him a friendly smile. " Haven't seen you here in a while."

" I know" I laugh. "I'm actually looking to get a tattoo"

So he leads me into a room, a reclined chair resting in the middle of the room, and instructs me to sit. In half an hour, I'm finished, the spot where I got the tattoo still stinging. After paying and saying my farewells, I walk back to my apartment, my footsteps echoing off the walls. On the way there, I stop at the chasm and go to Tobias and I's spot. Sighing, I scoot myself back onto the rocks, my knees wrapped around my hands, and watch the spraying water, flowing smoothly past the obtruding rocks.

A soft slapping of feet on the rocks causes my head to whip around, searching for the sour he of the noise. Tobias, dressed in a loose shirt and sweats, joins me on the rocks. His hair sticks up in every direction, spiking randomly. Chuckling, I smooth his soft hair down with my fingers. His hand reaches up and pulls mine from his hair, setting it in the ground between us.

" Hey" he says. His voice sounds groggy, suggesting he had recently woken up, which is odd since it's the middle of the night.

" Hi" I smile " couldn't sleep again?"

" No" he sighs frustratedly " it's like... there's all these thoughts in my head but I can't remember what I'm remembering"

" Is this a new thing?" I ask eagerly

" Yeah" he sighs

" When did this start?" I prompt

" I don't know" he exclaims

" When we went to the Ferris wheel?" I ask

" Yeah about then I gu-" he says. I pounce on him before he finishes his sentence. I lay flat on top of him, stomach to stomach.

" That's great" I exclaim, seeing I confused expression I elaborate "you're remembering"

" Bu... Ohhhhh" he realizes. After this we sit in silence. His eyes flick to me, analyzing my face. But, when they catch the bandage on my collar bone, they fill with worry.

" Are you hurt?" He asks

" No it's a tattoo" I explain, peeling the bandage away. It reveals the dark silhouette of a raven, wings positioned so the bird looks as if it's flying.

" Crows? What do they mean?" He queries

" One for each member of my family. And, actually, they're ravens." I clarify

" I thought you had three family members" he notes

" I do. The fourth one is for someone who, though they aren't blood related, is as important as family." I say. I don't know if he knows it, but the fourth bird, that dances along my collar bone, is for him. But how do I tell him that he is like my family when he barely remembers me?