Made It Out Alive

Part 4

Eric wanted us to embody Faction before Blood. I rolled my eyes.

Once my hair was dry and styled into curly half french braids, I allowed myself a little extra time to use the eyeliner that Christina had convinced me to buy before I headed to the Pit. When I entered I immediately caught sight of Will with his sister, Peter with his parents who looked nothing like him, Christina with her mother and sister, and Tris with her mom. I didn't have to look too hard to find my family, Orion was standing in front of my father, glaring daggers at him.

"Roe." My mother called when she caught sight of me.

"What's all this?" I asked.

"Just catching up." My father huffed out.

"You're staring daggers at your brother, seems like a little more than that to me."

"So you've met?"

"Of course, she has the attention of one of our leaders."

"Keep on his good side," My mom hissed. "You never know when you might need a little help."

"He's not the only one enamored with her, she'll be fine. I'm here."

"You better take care of my daughter." The threat was there in my father's voice.

"You think I wouldn't protect my only family?"

"I would hope you consider her family."

"Alright enough, we came here to see how Roe was doing, this is our only chance to see her. Stop wasting it on a pissing match because you're mad at each other." My mother tossed a dirty look at both my father and my uncle.

My father turned to me and pulled me into a hug, one that I happily returned. Eric could be as pissy as he wanted if he caught me enjoying the affection from my parents. Dauntless was lonely compared to the amount of affection I got growing up. Physical touch was definitely one of my love languages and once I was officially part of Dauntless I was going to make sure it became a more common thing. I let my eyes wander as my parents hugged me and I caught Eric and Four watching me. I rolled my eyes at both of them before pulling myself out of their arms.

"Your Amity is showing." Christina teased from where she stood with her family.

"So is your Candor." I smiled at her.

Our families joined to chat with each other, Orion had walked off as soon as he could to escape prying eyes. I wasn't surprised that my parents got along well with the other families that had shown up. Even Peter's parents had stopped by to say hello. He had apparently told them that I was better than him and they had wanted to meet the girl who had humbled their son. When it was finally time for them to go I hugged them both tightly, unwilling to let go of the warmth they provided in my life just yet. Once they were out of the compound I rushed to the roof and watched their small colorful bodies make their way back to Amity. I stayed until I finally lost sight of them. As I turned to head to dinner I was surprised to find Four standing by the door.

"For someone who has done so well during initiation I'm surprised to see how hard it was for you to watch your parents leave."

"I'm closer with my parents than most children. I grew up with more love than I knew what to do with. It's cold and lonely here compared to the light and love I had growing up, but I was destined for better things than what Amity could offer."

"So you came to Dauntless, but it seems you might not be full Dauntless like everyone thought."

"There are things missing in Dauntless."

"Like what?"

"Affection." I smiled at him.

"Affection?"