And In The End

10

September 26th
Tris's POV
I pry myself out of Tobias's grip and wipe both of our tears. As we sit there, our breaths in sync, my mind is freed of all the worry and fear is has been crowded. I can finally breathe as I sit there with my forehead against Tobias's. He didn't kill anyone. Everything is going to be okay. My fingers graze the skin over his ear, running into his hair.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper.

"For what?" he asks, looking up at me as I sit on his lap.

"For thinking you killed Marcus. Thinking that you put our kids in danger. I know you never would." He nods, his head finding the crook of my neck once more.

"Where are the kids?"

"With Chris. Koda is there too." I feel him nod. "What do we do about downstairs?"

"I'll clean it up," he says quickly. I feel a weight disappear from my chest. I don't think I would have been able to clean someone's blood out of my floor. "But can you do something for me?" he whispers very quietly. I pull back to look at him, but he just looks down. Tilting his head up, his eyes fog with tears.

"What is it?"

"Could you, uh, could you check on Marcus." My heart shatters. No matter all the awful things Marcus did to Tobias, it's still his father. I can't imagine how Tobias feel, almost killing him.

"I will," I whisper, placing a soft kiss on his forehead. "Also, um, we are going to have to give Chris and Will some explanation as to why they had to take in our kids at six in the morning." Tobias nods.

"I'll tell them, something." I nod again in understanding. We embrace each other once more, feeling all of our emotions, before getting up to venture downstairs.

Tobias's POV
I breathe through my mouth as I scrub the blood out of our floor. The smell of the whole room makes me want to vomit. Choking it back, I try to focus on the task at hand, not the events of the past few days.

Once tris and I had picked up most of the living room, throwing away the broken decor and re-framing our pictures, she left to check on him for me. I know I can't do it myself, but I have to know if he's okay, if he's alive. A part of me hopes he's dead. That part of me wants him to be gone, for him to never be able to touch my family or me again. But the other part of me, I guess the Abnegation part, is beating me up inside for almost killing my father. After everything he did to me, he still made me who I am. Without him, his abuse, I never would have left Abnegation. I never would have met Tris, had my kids. That part of me thanks him.

I press my nose into my arm, looking at the light pink stain that the pool of blood has become. I quickly finish, cleaning up the rest of the room before changing out of my clothes. Keys in hand, I leave the apartment, desperate to get away from the smell, the sight, of the living room.
I find myself in the chasm, sitting in the spot where I first kissed Tris and so many more milestones after that. The cool breeze and mist of the water wash over me, relaxing my body. I let my mind go blank. Time sits still as I sit there for who knows how long, enjoying the escape from the chaos in my world.

I almost jump out of my skin when I feel a large hand on my shoulder. Looking behind me, Zeke stands there, looking at me with sadness in his eyes.

"Zeke," I say, letting out a breath. He smiles, sitting next to me.

"Tris said you would be here." My heartbeat speeds up.

"What else did she tell you?"

"That you guys had a rough night. You fought." Pain stabs at my chest. Was that what it was? Were we fighting? We never fight.

"I guess so," I whisper, looking down at the water below.

"There is something else, isn't there?" he asks, his voice low. I feel myself tense up. Zeke and I don't have conversations like this. It's always him joking, never taking anything seriously. I'm thankful for that a lot of the time. But now, I don't know how to talk to him.

"My father," I choke out in a whisper. "He was at our house last night."

"Marcus?" I nod. Since the wedding, everyone has known my real name. Naturally, some people connected the dots, but no one ever said anything about it.

"Do you remember, during our initiation, when Erudite released those reports on him?"

"The ones saying he beat..." he trails off, not wanting to finish the sentence. I nod. "They were true, weren't they?" I nod again, feeling helpless. I tell Zeke what happened yesterday, about the note and what Marcus said. I tell him about the fight, almost killing him. Zeke doesn't say anything, he just sits there, listening. I couldn't ask for anything more. I tell him about my 'fight' with Tris, blinking away tears. Before I can stop myself, I tell him how I'm worried she might leave.

"Four," he says once I finish. "If I know anything about you and Tris, I know that you two are meant for each other. She's not going to leave you."

"But what if she does?"

"You'll get her back. You two love each other more than anyone. She won't just walk away from that." I nod, not saying anything. We sit there for a while more in silence, looking at the view in front of us.