Chapter 4 - Stalling
Tobias
I finally force myself to start heading down to the cafeteria for lunch. The group is already probably wondering what's taking me so long.
I set her shirt, neatly folded and partially wet in some spots, back on the top of my dresser. Then I take the picture of the two of us and look at it for a few seconds before putting it back on my end table by the head of the bed.
I go into the bathroom and splash some cold water on my face, then rub it dry with a towel and stop, staring long and hard at myself in the mirror. My eyes are still a little swollen so I splash my face with cold water again. I rub my face dry again and decide that I look fine.
I notice that I have tear stains all over my shirt so I decide to change it. Walking to my dresser, I tryi to avoid looking at her small, black shirt and open the drawer to find a shirt. I dig through until I find a shirt I like and slip off the stained one.
Then I see my bare back in the mirror and instantly I think of her and how her small, warm hands caressed my tattoo while we were deep in the chasm. That was the first time we kissed. The way her soft, warm lips felt on my cold, chapped ones made fireworks spread through my body.
Oh how I wish I could kiss her just one last time. Hold her body in my arms and never let her go. Only if I had known that she was going to...
I shake my head to clear the thought.
"Snap out of it Four." I mumble to myself
You can't start crying again. You have to face your friends.
I slip on the black shirt and slide on my sneakers, then head out into the living room.
Being first in my initiation class, I have a pretty nice sized apartment with 3 bedrooms and an office that could be easily turned into a fourth bedroom if needed. A good sized kitchen, and 2 bathrooms with a shower in each, one off of the master bedroom, and the other between the bedrooms. Lots of room for a growing family.
A growing family I wished to have with her.
I walk through the kitchen to grab my phone. For some reason, Erudite has given these mini computers that fit in your pocket called 'cell phones' or phones for short to all of the factions. They've also given things like flat computers called tablets that I do most of my filing and work on. It goes to and from work with me. Even though I have figured out how to use it, I really don't use it to often. Only to text one of my friends or call someone on work. I press the little button on top until it begins to power on.
As I walk through the kitchen I realize that I left my dirty breakfast plate on the counter. Assuming that the dishwasher is most likely full, I go to the sink to wash the plate.
While drying the plate, I turn around and look at the digital clock on the stove. It reads 1:32pm.
I was suppose to be at the cafeteria one hour ago.
Am I stalling or what?
My phone buzzes in my pocket, making me jump a little.
I have three texts from Amar, one text from George, two texts from Christina, and five texts from Zeke.
I open the first person on top which is from Amar.
-Hey. Where were you for lunch today? We sure did miss you.-
Then one from Christina.
-You okay? I could tell by Zeke's actions that something is up. Do you wanna talk about it?-
Two from Zeke.
-They're going to begin to question me more if you don't show up soon! I don't know how much more I can take. I think Chris knows.-
-Don't bother showing up now. We're already leaving. Chris wants to talk to you.-
All of the texts fall around those lines except for one from Chris...
-I know why you didn't show up for lunch today, and no, Zeke didn't tell me anything. I'm gonna stop by your apartment after work today.-
Great.