Discoveries ✔ (Divergent Fourtris Fanfiction)

Chapter 59

All this Divergent bashing is coming from her mother. I'm always ignoring it when we're visiting her and she starts ranting about Divergence, although it makes me want to explode on the inside and I want to shout at her that she's wrong. I just never realized how deeply Shauna had internalized her mother's prejudices.

I ran into her earlier in the pit and dragged her into an empty training room to tell her what I think of all this, and I only hope she'll come to her senses and join us again."

He's so upset, and I hate seeing him this way. It makes me even angrier at Shauna. She has not only pushed me away and talked about me as if our friendship, if it ever truly existed, was worth nothing, she has also hurt Zeke and forced him into an extremely difficult situation.

I don't know if this will make things better or worse, but I can't keep it from Zeke.

"Uriah sent a message to you via Tris' communicator. I haven't heard it yet, as it's addressed to you. I have no idea what it says, but I thought you should know about it," I say.

"Can I hear it?"

"Yes, of course."

"Can you get it ready to play, so I can listen to it in the bedroom, alone?"

I nod, take out the communicator, type in the password and select Uriah's message that's titled 'From Uriah, to Zeke'. I hand it over to Zeke and tell him that all he has to do now is push play.

"Okay," is all he says before he disappears into the bedroom, silently closing the door behind him.

The atmosphere has changed noticeably, with all of us sensing Zeke's inner conflict.

"Uriah didn't leave a message for me, too, by any chance?" Marlene asks silently, and I'm sorry that I have to shake my head. There was only one message from him.

"But he went into Erudite for you to get you out. That's a big proof of how much you mean to him," Christina jumps in, taking Marlene's hand in an attempt to comfort her.

We try to get back on track with our planning session, but I'm having trouble concentrating.

It's Christina who finally encourages me to go and check on Zeke, "He's been in there for so long now, maybe he needs a friend."

I'm hesitant, I don't want to disturb his privacy. And what if he doesn't want to see me?

Lauren gives me a wink, signaling that she also thinks that it's a good idea. I remember how she held me this morning, right after I lost Tris to Erudite, and that's what makes me get to my feet.

I knock twice before going in and enter when there's no protest from inside. Zeke is sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the red wall opposite him, the communicator next to him on the cushion.

He looks at me shortly before focusing the wall again, and because I have no idea what to say or do, I simply sit down next to him, leaving an arm length of space between us, and join him staring at the wall, my mind chasing its own thoughts.

It's only after a while that Zeke begins to tell me about Uriah's message.

"He told me goodbye, you know? The goofball that he is, he said it as if he was joking."

I swallow. If even Uriah has lost his eternal optimism...

"I mean, he also said we should move our lazy asses to get them out as soon as possible," Zeke chuckles, but it's the saddest laugh I've ever heard from him, rather a sound of desperation than anything else.

"That sounds more like Uriah," I say, strangely relieved, although nothing has changed, really.

"Yeah, it does. Sometimes I can't understand his decisions, but..." - he sighs - "as much as I'm worried sick about him, I know why he did it. That's why I can't even be angry at him, although it's totally stupid to turn himself over to Jeanine, so she can do weird experiments with him. But I understand him, and Tris, too, by the way. I do. I would do the same for Shauna - or would have. I can't believe how she freaked out at you."