No Rules- Fourtris

Chapter 41

Time passed slowly as the year went on. Tris had spent more time alone than ever, and she found herself growing distant from her friends. She spent most of her time in a lab with Caleb, sitting in on meetings with David and Evelyn, or hanging around Matthew.

She was not sure if he was truly clueless, or if she was that good of an actor. For weeks Tris had been spending as much time with Matthew as possible, and even convincing most people at school that she was interested in him. Again, there was a silent period between her and Tobias. She had gone to see him, but only for a few days. It was a boring trip, mostly, and she was too afraid to speak to him most of the time, worrying that she would say something that she was not supposed to.

Her fear was in the lies. All she did was hide her life from others. Even though Nita knew the truth, she could not confide in her. Tris was trapped in her own mind.

She jumps in her seat when someone taps her arm, quickly realizing that she was falling asleep in her class. Tris turns and looks at Lynn, who has a concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asks quietly. Tris nods and turns back toward the front of the room, leaning on her hand, fighting to keep her eyes open. The secrets overwhelmed her, now to the point where she could not sleep. She spent her nights wondering where she went wrong, and thinking of ways she could just disappear.

The bell ringing snaps her back into reality, and she quickly grabs her books and hurries from the class before Lynn could stop her again. Once in the hall, she is met by Matthew, who says, "You look like you haven't slept in days... No offense."

"None taken," She shrugs, but forces herself to smile, "Christina is forcing me to go to that stupid homecoming dance on Saturday, but she has barely talked to me in the past month."

"She's probably busy with Will," Matthew responds, "And about that dance... I was thinking we could go together? As friends, of course. You're dating my soon to be step brother."

Tris stops walking and frowns at him," Step brother? Is Marcus marrying your mom?"

"Yeah," Matthew sighs. He does not speak further, instead staring at Tris, awaiting an answer.

"Oh!" She exclaims, "I'm sorry. I'm a mess. Yes, I will go with you."

The words pained her, and she smiles back at him.

"Why don't we ditch this place for the rest of the day and go get you some coffee?" He asks. He knew her too well, but that was what she was trying to do: Get him to grow close to her, trust her, and let his guard down. Matthew truly was not a bad person, from what Tris knew. She did not like using people in the way she was using him, but her mission was clear and unavoidable. She was in too deep for her own good.

Tris follows him out reluctantly, though it was not very noticeable to someone watching in on them. She follows him to his car, and as she is about to get in, her phone rings.

"I need to take this," Tris frowns. Matthew nods and climbs into the car, and she walks a few feet away.

"Hey," She sighs as she answers the phone. Her stomach felt uneasy, suddenly.

"Hi," Tobias says, his voice rough. He sounded tired, and as if he had just woken up, "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm okay," Tris responds, "And you?"

"Wondering why you're spending so much time with Matthew," He replies bluntly. She opens her mouth to speak, but she can not get any words out. Tobias continues a few moments later, "If this has anything to do with Jeanine, which knowing you, it definitely does, then stop it right now. Uriah and Christina can't keep their mouths shut, and they are glad to tell me everything. I trust you, and I want you to be safe."