♘ Be Brave ♘

XCII

I'm drunk, tired, and angry. I know I'll say more than I should, but who cares at this point? Everyone knows who my real dad is by now. And if he said it under the truth serum... then... he wasn't lying.

I clear my throat. "Well... Uh... Long story short, my mom was forced to marry Marcus when she was about my age." For some reason, this makes me laugh. Must be the alcohol.

"And... um... On the day of the wedding, my mom gave Matthew a note saying that she was pregnant with me, and that she would be letting Marcus take custody of me." Zeke laughs. "Seriously?" I nod. "Can't imagine what the family reunions must've been like, then." I sigh.

"That's the thing. I never even knew that Marcus wasn't my dad. And now that I do... I mean... I should feel grateful, I know I should, especially since-" I freeze. I've been rambling for so long that I didn't even notice what I was about to do. I can almost imagine Marcus running out here and dragging me to the closet for a punishment.

Stop it. He's not here anymore. "Especially since what?" I need to tell the truth. "Especially since... Marcus used to hit me." Lauren frowns. "He hit you? Son of a-" I hold up a hand.

"It was my fault. I was always embarrassing him. And being related to him was a huge honor. I didn't deserve it." Zeke smirks. "Huge honor, my foot. He's just an idiotic, self-absorbed piece of trash. No wonder he brought you to the square that one time to make that stupid speech swearing that you'd be loyal to Abnegation forever."

I feel my face turn red at the mention of that day so long ago when Marcus tried to turn me into his own personal slave by taking away the only choice I'd ever been given the right to make. "Sometimes, I think I should've stayed. It was my job to obey, and-"

Zeke cuts me off. "Bull. You're not Marcus's puppet. You're you, and you were totally right to go ahead and make your own decision. So stop thinking of yourself as a servant or I'll shove you off this building. Got it?" I roll my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

They're silent for a moment, taking a moment to absorb all the information I've just given away. "Do you guys think I'm weak... because I let all this happen?"

Lauren shakes her head. "Of course not. If anything, it just goes to show Cassandra has a great taste in guys." I laugh. "Guys," Zeke says, standing. "I'd like to propose a toast to the king of pansycakes...Four!" We laugh, and raise our bottles simultaneously. "Cheers!"