Endurance :: divergent

Chapter 10 :: reliving old memories

I wake up in Four's arms. Is this bad... or is it good? I have no idea what to think about this situation.

I move around a little, trying to become more comfortable, but trying to avoid waking him up.

Soft breathes escape his lips, hitting my forehead ever so slightly.

I get loose of his grip and stand up.

I walk over to his night stand on the opposite side of the bed, and look at the photos.

I'm so going to regret this later.

I pick them up. There's only about five.

Four is most of the photos. One is of a young woman holding her new born son it looks like. It's in Abnegation. That has to be Four and his mother. What ever happened to his mother? Did his father kill her? Did he beat her to death? Does she know that he abused Four? Is she still in Abnegation?

The next one is of Four as a young boy, holding a baby girl. Maybe... his sister? Not sure about that one.

The next one is him when he's older. I'd say about fifteen? He's still in Abnegation so he must be younger than fifteen. Behind hem is a patch of grass with a small square of perfect round rocks. Bordering the square of rocks is a pale wood.

It's him next to a girl with long brown curly locks of hair. Is that the baby girl just older? Most likely.

In another picture, he's with his dad. He is smiling from ear to ear. In this one, he's still in Abnegation. Behind them is a grey wall with a plain window for the lighting. His father's arm is around his waist, pulling him closer to him.

The last one is... strange. It's Four in Abnegation, but he's wearing all black. I guess the rules have changed since then. He probably was allowed to come back and visit his family. He doesn't look too different in that picture than now. His hair is brown and messy, he has tan skin, and he has a tall figure. The only thing that's different is his posture. He was much more hunched over when he was younger. Not noticeable, but I can see a difference.

Behind him is a grey wall like he's in an Abnegation house.

There's a small brown table, with a belt on it. The same belt that his father hit him with in his fear landscape.

I look over and Four starts to rustle. I drop the pictures and sit on the bed. My heart starts racing, what if he noticed?

"Good morning," Four smiles slightly. His deep and raspy voice is definitely making me weak at the knees.

"Good morning."

He lays there a bit until he gets up and puts on his shirt. He never put his shirt back on from last night I guess.

I soak in the sight, but try not to stare. I turn my head towards the kitchen and nothing's different. The same green bowl is in the sink.

"Who's the girl in the photos?" I point to the pictures. My face starts to heat up. That was such an awful question!

"My sister," he says blankly.

"I-Is she still in Abnegation?" I hesitate.

"Look, I'll save us some time and just tell you my whole 'past' I guess, and hopefully it'll answer all of your questions," he sits down at his counter. I nod slightly and cross my legs up on the corner of the bed.

"Okay, so where do I start?" he thinks, "Oh, okay. My mom had my sister when I was eight and we were really close. We would tell each other everything. That was until my dad hit me. Which you saw. We got into an argument and he slapped me across the face," he sighs, "I never told my sister. Oh, her name was Eleanor. I never told her that because I thought she would tell mom. Turns out that didn't matter. She already knew. My dad threatened her that if she told anyone, he would do the same to her. If she did tell someone, my father would probably be killed. My mother, being the angel she was, told people. He claimed himself as innocent. People believe him since he was pretty much the runner of Abnegation. He framed my mother and she was killed. I had to witness it, too. I witnessed her death and it was the most heartbreaking thing. I then knew I wanted to move to Dauntless for several reasons. One, to escape my father. Two, to be stronger. And three, to protect people and the innocent."

I am lost of words. I don't know what to say. I sit there in astonishment. What a past.

"F-Four I'm so..." I drift off.

He kneels in front of me, "Hey, it's okay. I'm fine. You're fine. We're fine."