No Rules- Fourtris

Chapter 24

Getting out of bed was not as hard as she thought it would be. Perhaps it was the fact that she went to track practice yesterday. She ran and ran, and poured her heart into it as if it was the most important race of her life.

Of course Tris had a hard time getting ready. Nita curled her hair for her, and Tris put on makeup and the black dress. She didn't cry, though. She had suffered so much in her life, and she was sick of letting herself continually be hurt. Of course she was distraught, but she did not show it.

"Maybe it was meant to be this way," says Caleb as he walks into her room. She turns in her chair and looks at him, desperate to hear what he has to say, "Maybe we were supposed to grow up quick. Maybe we were supposed to fall apart."

"We aren't completely broken, you know," Tris sighs. Caleb sits on the edge of her bed, his head in his hands, "I still have you. I need you."

Caleb does not respond, and he looks at her, a look that she could not decipher in his eyes.

"We have to leave in ten minutes," He finally speaks again, "I'm glad I have you."

Caleb walks out of her room, leaving her alone. A few minutes later, Nita walks in and says, "You don't have to talk if you don't wanna."

"I actually have to," Tris sighs, "How would I look if I didn't?"

"It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks," Nita crosses her arms, "This is about your parents, and about you and your brother, not the people who show up."

It was sunny, but the chill of the wind made it seem like it was a lot colder than it actually was. Tris could not bare to see her parents, so she sat in the last row of chairs, her head down. A lot of people were showing up, and her friends trickled in every few minutes. Uriah was the first, Zeke with him. They sat down next to her, and Uriah grabbed Tris's hand. They do not talk, and she is glad. She just wants silence, she does not want their pity.

People she did not know continually apologized to her and to her brother, who was sitting in the front where she was supposed to be. She felt timid, and she was ushered up to the front by her aunt before she saw Tobias arrive. She was not even sure if he had come by the time that her aunt started to speak. She barely listened, only catching phrases of how good her parents were or how greatly they would be missed.

Before she knows it, it is her turn to speak. Tris stands slowly, and makes her way up to the microphone. She feels sick to her stomach when she passes her parents' bodies, but she looks away and begins to talk.

"My parents were amazing people. My mom always was trying to help others and my dad fought for what he believed," Tris starts. She pauses and looks in the back, where Tobias stood, "I don't want to repeat what everyone else has said. Yes, they will be missed and they were loved, but you know what I've realized? Life sucks. Every time you think that things are good, everything is bound to fall apart. In the past year, I've dealt with way too much bullshit from too many people. I'm sick of being sad, and even though everyone says life is going to get better, it probably won't. I will miss my parents more than anything, but life is horrible, and I'm used to it."

Tris walks away from the microphone, and everyone is silent.

"I know, I shouldn't have said it," Tris immediately says when her door opens. After she got home, she practically locked herself inside of it and has not moved from her bed.

"No, you were right to," Tobias responds. She turns her body toward him and smiles weakly.

"I thought you were Caleb. Or my aunt," Tris sighs. She moves over slightly to give him room to sit.