♘ Be Brave ♘

LXXIX

"No," I blurt out. They turn to look at me. "She's not going to be factionless. She deserves to become a member of this faction, and I'm going to make sure that happens, even if it's the last thing I do." Lauren smirks. "Who died and made you a Dauntless leader?"

I ignore her and turn to Cassandra. "Don't worry. You just go make sure those stupid nosebleeds stop bothering you; I'll take care of the rest." I hear Lauren snicker behind me, but I don't care. I had more say in this than any of them could ever imagine - I was a leader's son.

"I will be right back." I give Cassandra a quick hug, and lean in close to her ear. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine." I walk out of the infirmary and run into Rachel. "Watch where you're going, will you?"

I roll my eyes. "Sorry. Listen, do you know where I can find Matthew?" She raises an eyebrow. "Why do you want to see him?" I shrug, trying my best to look nonchalant. "I just want to talk to him." She gives me a wary look, and I know she doesn't believe me.

"He's in the training room." I start jogging away. "Okay, thanks!" I get there in under ten minutes, and, sure enough, Matthew's there, pulverizing a punching bag. Here goes nothing. I clear my throat. "Matthew?" My instructor freezes at the sound of my voice. "Oh. Uh, hey... Four."

He looks so nervous it's all I can do not to burst out laughing in his face. "What can I do for you?" I grab a knife from the pile on the table next to me and aim at the target a couple of feet away. "I want to talk." I release the knife, and it hits the center. "What about?" I grab another knife and aim once more.

"I've been thinking a lot about what you said. About how I didn't really give you a chance to explain why you abandoned my mom and me." I put extra emphasis on the word abandoned, and see Matthew flinch out of the corner of my eye.

"So I decided to let you tell me why you did what you did." I let go of the knife, and it joins the first one at the center of the target. "Really?" I turn to face him. "Yep. I woke up this morning feeling very generous for some reason."

I cross my arms, and he looks away. "Well, um, why don't you have a seat?" I don't move. "Okay. You see, after the wedding, I did everything I could to take custody of you. By then, Marcus had already secured a spot in the city council, and he used the position to make sure every single thing I tried to get you back failed. But I tried. God, I tried. One time I even went to the square during a council meeting. I went right up to Marcus and demanded that he hand over your custody. I'm sure that he already knew that I'd fathered Evelyn's child... you. But he refused to listen, and ended up having me arrested for "creating a public disturbance." Then, he came into my cell later that day and said, "If you embarrass me like that ever again, I'm going to make that whore and her bastard's lives a living hell." And..."

Matthew's eyes fill with tears, and he looks away. "All I wanted to do was protect you. I'm sorry." He sounds so ashamed, that for a moment I almost believe him. Almost. But if I want to be able to manipulate him and save Cassandra, I need to seem gullible.

I think of Marcus hitting my mother, and I feel the tears forming in my eyes. "No... I'm sorry. I should've listened to you..." I start sobbing, and he leans forward to hug me. I force myself not to turn away and hug him back instead. "Will you do something for me, dad?"

Matthew smiles. "Yes, son, anything." I can't believe it! He actually thinks I've forgiven him! "Cassandra's not feeling well right now, and the compound nurse wants her to be examined by a doctor back in Amity. Would you mind... making sure she's not kicked out?" Matthew frowns.

"You want me to sabotage the rankings?" I shake my head. "It's not really sabotage. I mean, it's not her fault that she started feeling bad all of a sudden, is it?" Matthew scratches his head. "Well,no..." I grin.

"So, will you do it?" Matthew sighs. "Okay. I'll make sure she stays within the top ten." I wipe away my "tears" and try not to roll my eyes. "Thank you so much!" I start to walk away, but he stops me before I can leave. "Four?" I look back. "Yeah?"

He swallows. "Will you give me a second chance?" I try to seem as Candor as possible. "I will." He looks so hopeful, the guilt threatens to eat me alive. "But... let's keep this to ourselves for now, okay? I want to tell everyone when I feel the time is right." Okay, even I can tell that's the worst, cheesiest excuse in the history of excuses, but he better agree!

And... he does. "Sure, son. I understand." Even though I shouldn't, I feel extremely guilty about what I've done. "By the way, you should keep training us. Rachel is way too strict!" Matthew laughs. "Okay, okay. I will." I give him a small smile. "See you later!"