13| g e t t i n g h e r
Tris and Zayne sat together at their spot, a laptop between them as they watched their second spiderman movie that night. That was when Zayne snapped out of his calm reverie and glanced at her. She was staring at the screen, her fingers moving through the ends of her hair and he cleared his throat, grabbing her attention.
She popped a brownie into her mouth and waited for him to speak. He felt himself tense up with nervousness and he let out a deep breath. "I have to tell you something," He said, his eyes drifting to the view outside. It was easier to tell her without actually looking at her.
She nodded, "Go ahead."
He paused for a moment, hesitating. Did he want to do this? Did he want to push her away?
Yes.
He was going to Italy for Christ's sake. He couldn't bear to think of her missing him. Waiting for him like she'd promised. He couldn't. Not while knowing that he had been using her before.
Tris didn't deserve that.
"It's about..." Zayne drifted off, carefully picking his words, "us."
A soft smile fell on Tris' lips and she slipped her hand into his. She squeezed his hand and tilted her head, encouraging him to go on. Biting his lip, he leaned forward and kissed her, savouring the feeling of her one last time. She eagerly leaned into the kiss, pulling him closer.
As much as he didn't want to, Zayne pulled away, smiling weakly at her. "I don't deserve you," He mumbled, "I really don't."
Wrinkling her nose, she leaned back, tugging at her lower lip with her teeth. "What do you mean?" She asked.
"Tris," He sighed, "I haven't been completely honest with you."
She raised an eyebrow.
"It's just that.....there was a bet," He couldn't stop now, not now that he had began. His eyes still weren't on her as he continued, "Two years ago, when we were entering high school, this guy invited Max and I to a college party. We weren't friends but we weren't enemies either. So we went together and it was fun. Until...."
"Zayne," Tris squeezed his arm in a comforting manner, trying to smile but failing. Zayne didn't smile back at her.
Breathing became difficult as he continued and he prayed he wasn't having a panic attack again, "They told us to sneak into a house and steal the statue of a Julius Ceaser's head in the living room. They said the guy that lived their had taken it from them and they wanted it back because it was their fraternity statue. We were dumb enough to believe them and we broke in."
"The owner found us and he threatened to take us to the police unless.....unless we did whatever he wanted, " The words just poured out of him, "It turns out that there was alot of money in that vase. It didn't even belong to the fraternity. From that moment we started doing things for him. Anything he wanted, we'd do. And now, he wanted one of us to go to Italy with him. He couldn't decide between the two of us so he let us decide. And that's where you came in."
There was silence for a moment and as the story was being told, Tris had moved away from him. She was staring at the view outside, her eyes teary as she took in a shaky breath.
"Finish the story Zayne," Her voice came out hollow, empty- broken.
"The first one to get a kiss from you didn't have to go," He said simply. Silence again enveloped the car but it was short lived because Tris opened the car door and slammed it shut. By the time Zayne realised that she'd left, she was already a distance away.
"Tris!" He shouted after her, getting out of the car, "You can't go alone. It's too far!"
She ignored him and kept on walking, her speed increasing until she was running.
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Rachel pulled up outside the gas station, watching as Tris got into the car, looking furious. Tris sat in the passenger seat, dried tears on her face. "Thanks for picking me up,"She whispered, laying back in the chair. "I don't want to go home."
Nodding silently, Rachel began to drive, occasionally glancing worriedly at Tris. An hour later, they were safely tucked in Rachel's room and that was when Tris let everything out. She told her about the bet and the party two years ago. She told her best friend everything- like she had been doing ever since they became friends.
"I'm so sorry Tris," Rachel said, reaching across the blanket to hug her. It felt like there was a hole in her chest and she wanted nothing but to fall asleep.
When they had entered the house, Max had watched her cautiously, as though he was scared she'd attack him or something. Tris had wanted to. She'd wanted him to feel the pain that was suffocating her. But she didn't. Because she didn't want to hurt anyone, deep down.
Instead of doing what he expected, she kept her eyes on the stairs and on the path that led her to her best friends room.
"I'm sorry, actually," Tris said, "I should've listened to you."
There was no reply but Tris knew she'd heard. She didn't question the silence that fell into the room. She simply tucked her face into Rachel's her, enjoying the hug and comfort her friend provided. Without realising it, she fell asleep.
She woke up hours later to hushed voices outside the bedroom door. 10pm glowed green on the alarm clock and she rubbed her tired eyes, biting back a groan as the events that had happened before replayed in her mind.
Ripping the covers off her, she approached the door, wondering who was talking outside the door when she heard her name.
"What?" The voice belonged to Max. She could tell by the deep undertone.
There was a sigh as her best friend spoke. "Zayne told her about the bet," She said, "Do you have any idea how broken she is?"
"I thought he would chicken out," The answer was immediate and Tris could imagine him running a hand through his hair from stress. She stepped back, not wanting to hear the rest of the conversation. Silently, she slipped back into her bed and shut her eyes.
But she didn't sleep.
All she saw was darkness but she persisted. She did it until the bed dipped with Rachel's weight. She did it until she could hear the heavy breaths coming from the other side of the bed. She did it until she felt dizzy from pressing her eyes together. Then she opened them and she left. Nobody saw her sneak out.
Feeling cold and confused, Tris walked for some time. She didn't know how long it was. Or where she was going. But she kept on walking.
Her own best friend had betrayed her by keeping this from her. The person she'd trusted the most had kept a secret that had the potential to destroy her emotionally. Sure, they had their other friends who they were close to but Tris and Rachel were the closest. They had been friends forever. They had trusted each other with everything.
Apparently that meant nothing.
Finding herself stopping outside a diner, she let out a deep breath of air and entered, settling herself onto a swinging chair at the counter. The waitress behind the counter wiped the top, looking energetic as she prepared for her night shift.Throwing her a small smile, Tris hastily wiped away a stray tear and began to look through the menu.
She paused when a chocolate milkshake was slid in her direction. She looked up, furrowing her brown eyebrows and the waitress smiled at her, brushing her blonde curls out of her face. Her name tag read Anna and she looked not many years older than Tris.
"I didn't order anything," Tris said, sliding the drink back politely.
"It's from him," The waitress answered, pointing at the man who sat a few seats away. He turned when he saw that he was being pointed at and stood up, approaching them. Heart hammering, Tris braced herself and tried to smile.
The waitress walked away but purposely stayed close. Even she could tell that this was a bit creepy.
"Hello," The man said as soon as he stopped by them, holding out a hand. He looked to be about in his 40s but his greying hair made him look older. He was dressed in one of those leather jackets only older men could look cool in and he had sunglasses pushing back his hair. He smiled at her, his blue eyes twinkling.
Tris shook the hand he'd offered and nodded. "Hi," She said, "Thanks for the drink. You didn't have to though."
Waving it away, the man slid into the seat beside her. Tris felt her heart jump again. This was feeling really creepy. "It's no problem really," He shrugged, "I have a teenage daughter and whenever she's sad I take her out for milkshakes. It cheers her up. You looked distressed so I thought it would help."
Her heart calmed slightly at that. He had bought it with the intent of a father. Not to flirt with her. She released a breath.
"Thank you," She smiled genuinely. To show it, she took a sip and he nodded, his eyes watching her intently. She cleared her throat, "It's really kind of you."
The man grinned at her kindly and shrugged. "I hate seeing people sad. Sure, you don't have to tell me anything because I'm a stranger but a milkshake helps," He told her, throwing a couple bucks onto the table as he stood, "I best be going now."
Tris stared at the bills and then at him as he made a move to leave. "Wait!" She said, holding her hand out. He looked at her, eyebrows raised and she dropped her hand awkwardly. "I...I didn't get your name."
"Oh," The man grinned, sliding his sunglasses on, "My name is Keith."
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hahahahahahhahahahah
Love
Musawa