The Fourth Eaton

Chapter 1 🔪 The Belt Buckle

"Might want to hold off on that. It's mirror day, remember?"

My eyes widen. How could I forget?

I grab my brother's arm and race down the hall as fast as I dare. After all, I wouldn't want to wake up the great, selfless Marcus Eaton. I finally reach the sliding panel that hides the mirror, and jab my thumb onto the button.

I stare at myself. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. I have olive skin, straight dark brown hair that's almost black, a hooked nose that looks awkward on my face, and green eyes. I would be a spitting image of my mother if it wasn't for my softer features, straighter hair, and, of course, my eyes. I really don't know who my green eyes come from. Marcus and my brother both have ocean blue eyes, and my mother's eyes were a brown so dark that they looked black. I would ask, but that would be a question only to sate curiosity. Abnegation aren't supposed to be curious. It's selfish.

In these past three months, my hair has grown even longer, cascading down past my shoulders all the way down to the small of my back. I don't know how, but it makes me look a bit older. I like that. I always feel like I'm an ugly little girl, even though I'm slightly taller than average.

"Cam, you look beautiful." I blush. For the first time, I look at my brother in the mirror. He's very tall, taller than both me and Marcus, even though he's only sixteen. His hair, buzzed short, is the same shade as mine. His blue eyes, that have comforted me so many times, are thoughtful. He's handsome. If he weren't Abnegation, he would probably have girls surrounding him at all times.

"No I'm not." I continue staring at myself in the mirror. Even though Tobias should be scolding me for doing it, I know he won't. He knows as well as I do that I don't quite fit into Abnegation. I'm selfless enough, but I always seem to draw attention to myself in some way or another.

"Cam, have some faith in yourself. You're gorgeous." I blush again. Nobody compliments me, except for my brother. I'm not used to it.

I'll admit, I love the feeling of my hair loose, falling around my face, but it would be rebellious and unacceptable to leave it loose. I swiftly pull my hair into a bun and turn to my brother. "Let's go make breakfast."

He nods and closes the sliding panel. We walk down the stairs and into the kitchen, where we work together to make a plain breakfast of oatmeal. I add a dash of brown sugar to each of our bowls, and Tobias smiles at me. We save our limited supply of sugar for special occasions, and I would definitely count the aptitude testing day as one.

After we eat, we start the trek to school. We could have waited for the bus, but the bus comes after Marcus wakes up. Both me and Tobias would rather avoid facing our father in the morning.

The day is beautiful, with the sun just peeking over the horizon. The air is cool, and there isn't a cloud in the sky. As we walk through the factionless sector, I spot a young girl, no older than six, hiding behind a building. All the buildings in this sector are crumbling, and the pavement severely cracked.

I don't know if I could live factionless, in broken down buildings, scouring for whatever I could find and basically living off of the food handed out by the Abnegation. Most of all, I don't know if I could live alone, without someone by my side. For my entire life, that person has been my brother. But he's leaving. Maybe when I join Dauntless, I'll make some friends. It's hard to make friends in Abnegation, with all their careful polite talk.

I smile at the girl, who's staring at me like I'm an alien. I can't see much of her, but her face is smudged with dirt and her hair is tangled. I swing my backpack to my front and start rummaging through it. Tobias stops and waits patiently, not questioning what I'm doing. That's one of the things I love about him.