alt-J- Left Hand Free
Ty
Maddie struts towards me, a smirk playing on her face. She stops when she's three inches away from me, and I cup her cheeks with my hands, holding her head in place as my lips drift closer to hers. She allows her eyes to close and her breathing to hitch as I place my lips to hers.
The kiss is slow and passionate as we sway back and forth, my hands now on her hips, hers seemingly glued to my shoulders. "It's been so long Ty." She quivers, and I nod, biting my lip before I smile.
I lay our foreheads together, and feel Maddie's hand stroke my cheek. It's her left hand. Suddenly, something seems off. Like, seriously—Maddie doesn't have her ring on.
I allow that to slide, seeing how Maddie is now attacking my face with kisses. I feel my eyes roll back into my head. It's so hard to keep my self control, especially with her doing this to me.
My hands grip her shoulders tightly as her hands slide under the hem of my black shirt, her cold fingertips making me shiver as she traces my abs. Eventually my shirt has raised itself to my neck, and Maddie just pulls it over my head, then lays her forehead on my chest.
"I love you, Ty." She whispers.
I try to tell her that I love her, but I feel myself fading away. I open up my mouth; I can't speak. She pulls her head away from me abruptly. "Do you not love me back?" She asks, stepping back and crossing her arms.
I bite my lip and look down. I'm disappearing. How can she not see this? What? I begin to ask myself questions and then feel myself fall backwards. I fall through the ground, hearing Maddie scream, "Ty!" but it's too late for her to save me—I'm already gone.
>>
I wake with a jolt. I'm laying on my stomach on my side of the bed. Maddie lays on her back beside me, her breathing steady. My arm is slung over her stomach, the other placed on my pillow.
That had to be the weirdest dream I've had in a long time. I remove my arm from Maddie's stomach and then push myself up. The faint hints of the sunrise tell me that it is probably about seven o'clock or so.
I stand up, trying to gain my balance, and then walk over to the wall of glass that is our bedroom window. The sky is a gradient pink-blue, the horizon a glowing purple-orange. I watch as the trains fly down the rusty tracks as they circle the perimeter of the city, some on the outside, others on the inner sector of the city—they all look like toys from this height.
The buildings look monstrous, glass and metal tower over the small trees that have been planted here and there, near the tall buildings and also away, towards the fence, towards the marsh, and Amity.
I cross my arms as I look out at the cityscape, something I've always enjoyed. I used to sneak out of my parents' house as a kid and race to the Hancock Building or the the tall glass cylinder that is the Pire and rush to the highest floor—just to look at the cityscape.
It was the only thing that seemed to keep me sane, yet set me free...until I met Maddie, of course. She's the cityscape in human form. She, along with the cityscape, are my escape.
I smile at all of my memories, then turn from the glass wall, returning to the bed. I sit down on it, then move to lay down. Maddie now lays on her side, her body facing away from me. I lay behind her and wrap an arm around her. I almost sigh as I feel myself being engulfed into the safety net and the feeling of pleasure that she gives me just by being near me, even if she is asleep.
I soon allow my blinking to become slower and slower, each time my eyes shut becomes longer and longer, until finally... I'm asleep.
>>
"Well, I guess I have to go to Erudite today." I sigh, looking up from my computer to a frightened Maddie who bites her lip and allows her eyebrows to crease together in thought.
"There's an Ambassador meeting today, but something tells me that it's a trap." I close my eyes for a brief second. "The meeting is in two hours."
"Perhaps it could be a trap, but what about the memory serum?" Maddie asks, "Jordan still doesn't remember anything, he says that his memory is hazy." She lifts her shoulders as she crosses her arms, shuddering. I turn around and grab my hoodie, then toss it to her.
"Thanks." She says softly as she pulls it over her head.
"You're welcome," I pause before finishing my thought. "Jeanine could've done anything to rid herself of the serum, especially with her access." My voice drifts off, and Maddie nods rapidly.
"I really don't want anything to happen to you, Ty." Maddie says as she steps closer to me, from being in front of my desk to standing beside my chair. She bends down, kisses my lips, and then looks directly into my eyes.
Her eyes remind me of the ocean, their dark blue hue capturing me and not letting me go. I can see my reflection in the crystal blue orbs, and as she blinks, her long eyelashes seem to tangle together before separating as she opens her eyes once more.
"I'm just gonna have to go." I say sadly, then kiss her. She sighs.
"I guess so, especially since she, being Jeanine, is threatening to fire those who don't come." Maddie says depressingly. I nod, biting my lip before kissing her.
"Well, I've gotta go finish a file, so I guess I'm gonna head back to my office." She says awkwardly, then turns to walk off, but I hold her hand, so when she walks off, she pulls me to stand up.
I then pull her to be flush against me. She gasps, and I caress her head. I lean down and press my lips to her hairline, then her lips, holding her head in my hands.
For a few minutes we just stand there, holding the other in our arms, and it's beautiful.
Our love, it still amazes me. Even after all these years. We've come a long way, and we still have an even longer way to go.
>>
I step into the doors of the Erudite Headquarters, then walk up to the man at the front desk. His eyebrows are angled as he stares into a computer screen, glasses askew.
"Excuse me, sir." I say to him. He looks up, his eyebrows raised. "I need to know where the Ambassador meeting is located, please." I say, tapping my foot on the ground impatiently in the bustling library.
"Seventh floor, room fifty two." He says, "Have a nice day." His voice is blunt with a rough edge to it.
I step into the wooden paneled walls that make up the elevator and press the seven button, then the button that closes the doors. I allow a sigh to escape from the captivity of my lips, and a name leaves with it.
"Maddie." I whisper as I close my eyes, my voice sounding almost haunting with the sharp edge that I give it.
I lean against the wooden wall, and clench my fists at my sides as I feel them begin to tremble. I can't show any weaknesses. I'm not scared of Jeanine. I mean, I am, but I just can't show it. At least not in front of Jeanine herself.
The doors to the elevator soon creak open, and I open my eyes, pushing myself off of the wall and stepping out into the hallway. The white fluorescent lights make my head ache and my vision blur. I find room fifty two, and pull open the door brutally. A few people from Erudite amble around the room, along with one person from each other faction.
Jeanine turns to face me when I enter, a smile painted across her face. She's trying to look innocent, but I know that she's not, after all the times she's come after Maddie and I, and our children, too. I narrow my eyes.
"Welcome back, Mr. Pedrad." She says calmly as she circles around my rigid body, her eyes raking up and down my body.
I want to disappear, I want to disappear, there's no place like home. I chant the melody inside my mind as she finishes circling me like a shark and then stands in front of me.
"We'll just be having a short meeting about an idea that the Amity representative came up with—Faction day." Those fucking Amity members, they're the reason that I'm here, the reason that I feel so on edge and unsafe. I allow a breath to slip past my lips silently.
"Okay." I say as I scratch the back of my neck, wanting the aura of tension that floats in the air to disappear and for Jeanine to leave me alone.
"Why so tense, Tyler?" She cocks her head slightly to the side, narrowing her eyes at me. I shrug, trying to look casual. She looks me up and down one more time before turning and walking away.
I let out a huge sigh when she's across the room, and walk to the table, feeling like I've been shaken up, as if I'm a cup of dice.
"The meeting shall now commence." Jeanine says as she takes a seat at the head of the table. I sit at the other end, shadowed by those who sit in front of me. I bite my lip as Jeanine begins to ramble on about Faction day pros and cons.
"On Faction Day, you would be able to visit other factions and not be punished, along with being able to submerge yourself into their culture and embrace the one thing that keeps the faction system thriving, our differences." Jeanine says as she points to an electronic board that holds the pro and con lists.
I soon drift off and begin to daydream.
>>
"Good day to you all." Jeanine says, and everyone stands. We all walk in a line towards the door. I stand at the back of the line, even the Abnegation stand ahead of me. As soon as I reach the exit, the two guards that stand at the door stop me.
"You need to stay and talk to Ms. Matthews." They say. I sigh, then take a step back, before racing up to them and pushing past them to get out of the room. One of them grabs my wrist but I slip out of his grasp. I see a flash of blue in front of my body, a guard running to block the exit, and I stop running towards it, towards him.
A guard grabs at my arms from behind me and handcuffs me, then pushes me back to the table. I take a seat, and Jeanine looks up at me.
"You are aware that you're not going to be seeing Maddie or your children anytime soon, right?" She asks calmly, as if it's no big deal. I roll my eyes.
"Okay, I'll take that as a yes." She stands and two guards pull me to stand and then move my body into the middle of the room. She circles me once again, like a shark, and I feel my throat tightening.
"Finally," she whispers as she looks at me, her eyes seeming to perform a full body scan just by grazing me up and down. "I've gotten the one person I need for Convergent testing. As for you, Tyler, the outlook isn't so good. I'll be performing tests on you, but when I'm finished, you'll face an execution in approximately a week, maybe two. It all depends on when I finish the testing." She smiles falsely.
I close my eyes. I envision Maddie slipping her hands through the fabric handcuffs the last time we were captured. I breathe in, I can do this. I push my hands through the cuffs, scraping the skin on my wrists, but eventually getting them off. The handcuffs drop to the ground.
"That's too bad," I say, not moving as Jeanine stares into my eyes, as if she's poisoning me. "Your future outlook doesn't look too great either." I lunge forward, locking my hands around her throat and slamming her to the ground. She gasps, her face turning red.
I hear the slamming feet of the guards as they rush over to me, but I don't let go. I can't. She's done too much to Maddie and I. She's going to do something to hurt Hannah and Dylan, I can feel it.
The guards pry me off of Jeanine, and then hold me so that I stand still. Jeanine stands and clutches her throat as she catches her breath. When she does, she merely smiles.
"You just thought that you could stop me. You and Madison," she shakes her head, chuckling, "Your children have a very special gift. Something that I'm very interested in—" she begins to ramble, but I cut her off.
"I know what you want with them. All you want to do is hurt them." I say as the guards dig their fingernails into my shoulder, causing me to let out a groan and fall to my knees. I look up at her, and she smiles.
"So you've caught on. Take Tyler to his cell." She says as she dusts off her pressed dress, then turns, folding her hands over her stomach, and walks out of the room.
>> Maddie
I walk down Shauna and Zeke's hall, humming a little tune as I go to pick up the kids. I skip down to their door, then stuff my hands in the pockets of the hoodie that Ty gave me earlier when I was cold after I knock on the door.
Shauna opens the door after a few seconds, Hannah on her hip. "Hey, Shauna." I say to a beaming Shauna, then tuck my hair behind my ear as I look at Hannah. "Hey baby girl!" I kiss Hannah's little cheeks.
"Mama!" Hannah chants as she waves her arms towards me.
I scoop Hannah into my arms and then Shauna grins at us. "Hello, Maddie. Come in." She steps back for me and I step inside, seeing Zeke sitting on the couch with a sleeping Dylan in his arms, and Zeke himself is about to drift off to sleep.
I sit down on the love seat and pull Hannah's bag to sit beside me. Hannah places a little hand on my shoulder as I reach down to the floor and pick up her little black booties and slide them on her feet. "Boo!" She claps, and I kiss her little head.
I slide Hannah's bag and Dylan's bag onto my shoulders, then walk over and pick up Dylan. Zeke has already drifted off to sleep, so Shauna helps me out the door. "See you soon, Maddie." She says, and I smile.
"See you later, Shauna!" I say as I walk further down the hall, inching closer and closer to our house.
>>
I set Hannah down into her crib, her little black footie pajamas covering her tiny body. Dylan has already gone to sleep, and it's Hannah's bedtime now. She yawns, then kicks around in the bed before getting comfortable. "Mama?" Hannah asks.
I stand over her crib. "Da?" She asks. Ty and I usually both tuck her in, and it's scaring me at the moment that Ty's not here by my side. He never came back from his meeting this afternoon.
"Da's at work." I tell Hannah, seeing how I don't want to tell her that I don't know where Ty is, also because I don't want to admit to myself that I don't know where Ty is.
"Night night, Hannah." I say as I kiss her little forehead, and she grins at me.
"Ni ni!" She cheers, and I smile before dimming her light and walking out into the hallway. I cross the hall and step into the bathroom. I brush my teeth while I think of Ty, and what he told me before he left.
It's a trap. It's a trap, it's a trap. It's a— I cut my thoughts off as I walk into our bedroom, where I can see out the window that the sun has already set, and that it's dark outside.
Hannah and I played Hide and Go Seek and watched television while we waited for Ty to come home, which he didn't. Dylan, as usual, just slept, then woke up hungry, so I fed him, then Hannah helped Dylan build a house out of blocks before he fell back asleep.
"Please, Ty. I know you're out there." I say as I touch the glass with my dainty fingertips. "Please, just come home. Hannah and Dylan both wonder where you are. I wonder where you are. I just want you to come home. I miss you." I say, and I can feel the tear rolling down my cheek. I quickly wipe it away, though, and then turn and climb into bed.
It feels so empty without Ty by my side. It's been years since I've slept without him next to me. I stare into the mirror walls that make up the closet door, and see my face.
I stare into my own eyes as if they're going to give me the answer.
I shake my head, then turn back to face the window. I pick up Ty's pillow and hold it close to me, then smell it. I close my eyes, then look out at the city. "Goodnight Ty. I love you." I say.
Even if he's not here, I can't fall asleep without saying one more I love you.
>> Ty
I hold onto the bars of my window that's in my cell, above my bed. I lean my head against the wall as I look out at the dilapidated buildings ahead of me. That's where Maddie is. That's where Hannah and Dylan are. That's my home. That's Dauntless.
"Maddie," I whisper out into the warm spring air. "You might not have even noticed my absence, but something tells me that you have. I wish that I was by your side. I love you, Maddie. I love Hannah and Dylan. Tell them that I love them." I feel a tear slip down my cheek and I try to catch my breath. There's only two things that will make me cry, and it's being away from my family or seeing them in pain.
"Goodbye, Maddie. This isn't goodbye for the last time. I promise. Just for now, Maddie. Goodnight. I, I love you." I say, then turn and sink down into the blankets of my cell bed, my hands slipping from the bars.
It's weird, not having my arms around Maddie. It's weird not smelling her hair as I drift asleep. It's weird not telling the kids goodnight before I go to sleep.
It's weird.
a/n: wOAH, two chapters today! But I kind of want to get this moving, ya know? Okay bye!