Tobias's POV
The alarm on my phone goes off, and I quickly get out of bed. I go into my bathroom and take a quick shower.
I have to get to Tris's house to see how she's feeling.
I throw on a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt. I grab my backpack and my phone and walk downstairs. I go into the kitchen and grab an apple.
"Hey, bro," Justin says.
"Hey," I say.
Justin flew in a few days ago. Once he heard that I'm going to be moving to California after school, he came to spend time with me before I leave. It's been nice having him around, but I haven't been spending that much time with him. I've been spending most of my time with Tris since she's sick.
"Are you going over to Tris's?" Justin asks.
"Yeah. I'm going to see how she's feeling. Then go to school," I tell him.
"Ok. Well, I guess that I'll see you later," he says. I can tell that he's a little disappointed that I'm not spending time with him today.
"Hey," I say. "Why don't we have a bro day tomorrow?"
"Yeah. That would be great, little bro," he replies with a smile.
"Ok. When I get home from school tomorrow, we'll go have a bro day," I say and grab my car keys.
I go out to my car, get in, and drive to Tris's house. I get out, walk up to the door, and knock. I don't want to wake Tris if she's not awake already. Natalie soon opens the door.
"Good morning, Natalie," I say.
"Good morning, Four. I haven't heard any activity going on up there, so I'm guessing that she's still sick. Why don't you go on up there and check on her? Then come down and tell me?" she says.
"Ok. Thank you."
I walk inside, and Natalie closes the door. I walk up to Tris's room and quietly go into her room. She's not in her bed, so I'm guessing she's in the bathroom. Then I hear her groaning in the bathroom. I walk in there and find her throwing up in the toilet.
I kneel down beside her and place my hand on her back. She looks up at me and then quickly moves her head to throw up in the toilet. I hold her hair back out of her face while she continues to throw up. Once she has everything out of her system, she leans back into me, and I rub her back.
"So, I guess you're not going to school again?" I ask, and she slowly nods her head.
"Are you going to the doctor?" She nods her head again.
"Well. I hope that you're going to be ok. I hate seeing you like this. Anyway, I have to get to school. But I'll be back after school to see how everything is. Ok?" I tell her.
"Ok," she says, quietly. I kiss her head, get up off of the floor, and walk out of the room. I find Natalie sitting on the couch in the living room. She looks up from the book she's reading when I walk in.
"Hey," she says. "How is she?"
"Still not well. She was throwing up when I went in, and she looks like she's nauseous," I explain.
"Thank you, Four. I'll make sure to get her to the doctor today," she says.
"Ok. I hope that she's fine," I say.
"Me too," she replies. "Anyway, I hope that you have a good day. And don't worry too much."
"Ok. I'll try not to," I say and walk out to my car.
I get in, drive to school, park, and walk inside to my locker. I grab the stuff I need from my locker and walk to my first class early since I have nowhere else to go. I sit down in my seat and just wait. Will, Uriah, and Zeke soon enter and sit down in their seats.
"Hey, Four. Is Tris better? Did she come to school today?" Zeke asks.
"No. When I went to see her, she was throwing up in the bathroom. She's supposed to go to the doctor today, so hopefully, she'll be better and able to come back to school tomorrow," I tell them.
"Oh. Well, we hope that she'll get better too," Will says, and the bell rings. The rest of our classmates file into the room, and Mrs.Johnson walks up to the front of the classroom. She takes roll and then starts today's lesson. But I tune out.
All I can think about is Tris.
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The bell rings, and I quickly gather my stuff. I drop it off at my locker, walk to the cafeteria, go through the lunch line, and sit down at the table. I start eating my food.
"How's Tris?" Marlene asks.
"No so good. When I got to her house this morning, she was throwing up. And she looked weak and nauseous. She said her mom is going to take her to the doctor today, so hopefully she'll get some medicine and get better," I tell them.
"Yeah. Hopefully, she does. Because I miss my best friend!" Christina whines.
"I know you do," I say. "Well. I'm going to Tris's house after school to give her her work and to see what the doctor said."
"Ok. Good. Can you text us when you find out?" Shauna asks.
"Yeah. Of course," I answer and look over at Uriah, Zeke, and Will. They've been really quiet. Too quiet for my liking.
"Hey, guys," I say, and they look up at me. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Uriah says too quickly.
"Are you sure? You guys are really quiet."
"Yeah. We're fine," Will says.
"Are you positively sure?" I ask. "Because you guys are acting weirder than usual."
"Pft. We are not acting weird," Zeke says in his 'I'm lying' voice.
"What's wrong?" I ask again.
"Fine," Uriah says. "We're sad because graduation is coming up, and that means that you'll be moving to California. And we don't want you to leave."
"Oh. So that's why you're not talking," I say. "Listen, guys. I am going to miss all of you so much. Especially you guys because I've known you since we were four. It's going to be hard for me to leave, but this is my dream. I have to go for it. Don't worry. I'll be back."
"We know. But we don't know when you'll come back. For all we know you might not come back until the end of your career. We might not have our Four with us for years. What if we miss your life? What if you miss what happens in ours'? What if we lose touch with each other?" Zeke rambles on.
"Guys. We will not lose touch. I will make sure that we don't. And you guys can always visit me in California; I can visit you here. And until then, we can spend time together," I reply.
"But when? You've been spending all of your time with Tris," Will says.
"Well. Justin and I are supposed to have a bro day tomorrow. I can ask him if he's fine with you guys coming," I say.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
The bell rings, and I quickly throws trash away. I walk back to my locker, grab my stuff, and then walk to music class. I sit down in the front, and Tori comes in.
"Still no Tris?" she asks.
"Still no Tris," I reply, and she walks up in front of the classroom.
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The bell rings, signaling the end of the day, and I walk to my locker. I gather up all of my stuff and go by each of Tris's teacher's rooms to get Tris's homework.
I then carefully stuck it in my backpack, walk out to my car, get in, and drive to Tris's house. I get out and walk up to the front door. I knock the door again just in case Tris is resting, and Natalie soon opens it.
"Oh. Hello, Four," she says and glances up at the stairs. "I'm assuming that you're here to see Tris."
"Yes. I have her school work, and I wanted to know what the doctor said. Our friends do too," I tell her.
"Ok. Well, go on up. She should be awake," she says and lets me. I walk up the stairs, over to Tris's room, and knock on the door.
"Come in." I slowly open the door and find Tris pacing around her room. She looks nervous. I walk over to her and hug her.
"So. What did the doctor say?" I ask.
"Umm. The doctor says that I've been throwing up because.... I must have ate something bad. She said probably food poisoning. Umm. She gave me some medicine, so I can go to school tomorrow," she explains.
"Oh. Ok. That's good," I say. "I'm glad that you're ok. And here is your work today." I grab all of her work from my bag and hand it to her. She takes it from me and throws it on her desk.
"Thank you," she says, quietly and looks at me. Then she leans against her desk, and it looks like she's about to throw up. Oh no. I walk over to her and place my hands on her waist to steady her.
"Hey. What's wrong?" I ask. I hope that she's ok.
"Oh. It's nothing," she says. "Just a small wave of nausea.
"Are you sure?" I ask her. I've asked this question I don't know how many times today.
"Yeah," she replies. "I'm fine."
"Ok. What do you want to do?"
"Umm. I think I'm going to get my work done," she answers.
"Do you want me to stay and help you?" I ask, almost certain that she will say yes.
"No. It's ok. Why don't you go home and spend some time with your dad and Justin since he's home?" she says, and I'm not going to lie. I'm a little disappointed.
"Oh. Umm. Ok. So, do you want me to pick you up tomorrow?" I ask.
"Uh. No, you don't have to," she replies, and my stomach drops. What? "I was actually planning on going early to go to the library, so I could catch up on some stuff. So, I don't want to make you get up early for me."
"It doesn't matter to me. I'm fine with getting up early to pick you up," I tell her.
"Well. Thanks for the offer. But. It's ok. I'll get myself there," she says.
"O-Ok. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. I love you, Tris," I say and hug her.
"Yeah. Love you, too," she says, and I kiss her. I walk out of her room and down the stairs. I walk out to my car, get in, and drive.
Why didn't Tris want me to stay? Why was she so cut off from me? Why didn't she really talk? What's going on with her?
I park in my driveway, get out, and walk inside. I see Justin sprawled out on the couch in the living room.
"Hey, Tobias," he says when he sees me.
"Hey, Justin," I say.
"How was school?" he asks.
"Fine," I mutter and walk upstairs to me room. I sit down on my bed and take out my phone. What was wrong with Tris? I start a group text with the gang.
Me: Hey. I just got home. Tris said that the doctor told her it was most likely food poisoning. Anyway, she got medicine for it, and she should be at school tomorrow.
Christina👗: Yay! My bestie is coming back!
Marlene🎀: I can't wait to see her!
Shauna💄: I have missed her so much!
Uriah🙈: My Trissy is coming back! Don't tell her I called her that. She'll kill me!
Zeke🔥: Wait. You're already home? Why are you already home?
Will📚: Yeah. I thought that you'd still be with Tris.
Me: Tris didn't want me to stay. She said that she wanted to do her school work, and I asked if she wanted me to stay. She said she didn't. She also doesn't want me to pick her up tomorrow for school.
Christina👗: That's not like her at all.
Marlene🎀: Yeah. Something's wrong.
Me: I know. It's been bugging me since I left. Something felt off about her. When she said that she loved me, it just seemed like something was stopping her from fully meaning it. It hurts a little. She was keeping herself distant from me.
Zeke🔥: That sucks, man. I would hate it if Shauna did that to me.
Shauna💄: I would never do that to you. I love you.
Zeke🔥: I love you too.
Will📚: Anyway. Sorry buddy.
Uriah🙈: Yeah. Sorry, bro. See you tomorrow.
Me: Yeah. See you guys tomorrow.
I place my phone on my nightstand, close my eyes, and sigh. What was wrong with her? I hear my bedroom door open, and my bed dips down. I open my eyes and find Justin sitting on the edge of my bed.
"Hey. What's wrong?" Justin asks.
"Why do you think something's wrong?" I ask.
"Because you barely talked to me when you came in, and you're already home. Normally, you'd be at Tris's house still," he says.
"Ok. Fine. I'm worried about Tris. And not because she's sick because she's coming back to school tomorrow. There's just something wrong with her. She told me to come home. She didn't want me to stay. And when she said that she loved me, it was like she was holding back. I feel like there's something going on, and she's not telling me," I explain.
"Well. Maybe she's scared of what's going on. Maybe you need to think about how she's feeling right now. Ask her if she's ok," he tells me.
"Ok. I will. Thanks," I say, and he walks out of my room. I pick up my phone again and text Tris.
Me: Hey, bumble bee. I just wanted to make sure you're ok. You didn't seem like you felt well when I was there earlier.
I wait a few minutes, and when she doesn't text back, I text her again.
Me: Tris. Are you ok? Please answer me.
Then I wait thirty minutes, and when she doesn't text back this time, I decide that she might be asleep or busy. So I text her one last time.
Me: I hope you're ok. Goodnight, bumble bee. Love you.
I find Blake's phone number in my phone and decide to text him.
Me: Hey, Blake.
Blake💥: Oh. Hey, 4. What's up?
Me: I have a question. What do you do when you think that your girlfriend is going through something?
Blake💥: Well. I say give her some space if she needs it, and help her get through it if she wants you too. Why?
Me: Oh. My girlfriend just kind of blew me off when I asked her if she wanted me to stay. And she was kind of closed off. I'm worried that something's wrong with her.
Blake💥: Well, like I said. Give her some space and time, and help her if she wants it. If she doesn't leave her be. She might need to get through it on her own.
Me: Thanks. Hey, do you want to have a bro day tomorrow after school with my friends and brother if I can get my brother to agree to it?
Blake💥: Yeah. I'd love to.
Me: Ok. I'll text you when I figure everything out. Bye.
Blake💥: Ok. Bye.
I plug my phone off and go downstairs to the kitchen. I sit down at the table, and Justin soon joins me.
"Hey, Justin. Would you be ok with Uriah, Zeke, Will, and my new friend, Blake, coming with us tomorrow on our bro day. They want to spend some time with me before I leave too," I tell him.
"Yeah. Sure. That would be great," he says, and Dad brings out the food. We all load up on food and eat. When I'm done eating, I walk back up to my room and check my phone. I see that Tris just messages me back.
Tris🐝: Hey, Tobias. I'm sorry I didn't reply. I left me phone in my room, so I didn't see the messages until now. Don't worry. I'm fine. Goodnight. I love you.
Me: Ok. See you tomorrow. Love you.
I put my phone up and change into a pair of swratpants. I brush my teeth, cut the lights off, and crawl under my covers.
I really hope Tris is ok.