Surviving Reality: Divergent | ✓

Tobias

Original chapter title: Fear Isn't Just an Illusion

"Doesn't he scare you?"

"Who?"

"Your father." I look down at Tris curiously. My father's in California for the next week or so, and I decided to invite Tris over today. We're on the couch in one of my house's many rooms. I'm laying on my back on the couch, and she's on top of me with her back on my chest. I'm surprisingly comfortable. Then again, Tris doesn't weigh a lot.

"I don't know." I tell her truthfully. She stops playing with our fingers and looks up at me. "Sometimes I am, and other times I'm just...mad. Like I want to fight back."

"It's not fair. What he does to you, I mean. You never did anything."

"Nothing except exist." I mutter.

She turns a little. "Don't say that. Don't ever say that." I nod, falling silent. She adjusts her position so that she's facing away from me again. At least she cares about me. My mother never did. Apparently she died giving birth to my younger...sister, I think. But I know that she actually left my father.

"What about your parents? I've never heard about them."

She tenses up. "Please, don't."

"Tris," I sigh. "Please tell me. I really want to know."

She looks at me, the whites of her eyes turning red. She looks ready to cry. "My parents are dead." I slide my arms around her waist and hug her tightly. A few tears run down her face and onto my black shirt, but other than that she's not really crying.

"You don't have to tell me anything else."

She shakes her head and sniffles, wiping her eyes. "You should know, especially since you told me about your parents." She takes a deep breath. "Well... not long ago, we were living in Utah. My dad was a state rep or something, and my mom did something for the government. She was a cop but then quit when she had Caleb.

"They went out to a dinner party one night and didn't come back. I was scared to death- I was only like thirteen. Th-the police called and said that there was a-a shooting, and that our parents were killed." She hides her face in my chest. I let her cry, holding her tightly and telling her that it's alright. I don't have any less respect for her- if anything, I have more.

The question is, how can I fix her when I need fixed myself?