Chapter 24

                                    

                                          
Tris' POV
                          
"Tris? Beatrice? Tris?" A soft voice slowly pulls me from my slumber as I'm greeted by a pair of piercing blue eyes. The man's face is shadowed by the light stubble that's beginning to grow out but he's still lit up with a heartwarming glow.
                          
"Hey, beautiful," he says as tears pool in his eyes and a smile tugs at his lips.
                          
"Tobias?" I croak out and his head bobs slightly.
                          
"Yeah, it's me, I'm here." He continues to nod whilst gently cupping my cheeks in his warm hands.
                          
We stay in a comforting silence for a while until round of laughter echoes through from a nearby room.
                          
"Tobias," is eyes turn from soft to concerned, "where are we?"
                          
The laughter grows louder and the slapping of feet accompany it. 
                          
The laughter slowly fades and is replaced by familiar voices.
                          
"Tobias?" I whisper once more before the voices surround me.
                          
They're all cheering and shouting obscenities; 
                          
"You should have come in the water!"
                          
"Did you know Uriah can't swim?"
                          
'"I can too, I was just giving an example of how people drown..."
                          
But suddenly they silence before one word - one name - escapes all of them. "Tris!"
                          
I'm bombarded as familiar faces come in to my line of sight and as one of them throws their long arms, tightly, round my shoulders.
                          
"Oh my gosh, Tris, I thought you'd never wake up!" 
                          
People rotate in and out as they take turns, crushing me in their tight embraces.
                          
"Guys, guys, give her some space." Tobias' voice breaks the commotion and they all start to file out of this small room.
                          
The walls are painted a light blue colour but the paint is peeling and revealing the wooden panels. In the corner is a mirror and vanity. One of the wall has a window that is covered by a blind whilst the opposite has hanging streams of beads and shells as a door.
                          
My body is cushion by soft white sheets and I wear a soft pink dress. It stops just above my knees but the sleeves pull over my wrists.
                          
My fingers tug at the gentle fabric and smooth it out between my thumb and forefinger.
                          
"Where are we, Tobias?" I repeat once more a lock my gaze with his.
                          
He lets out a long sigh before giving me any sign of an answer. "For me to tell you that, I first have to know what you remember..."
                          
"What do you-"
                          
"What's the very last thing that you remember, Tris?"  He sounds strained, as if that question had been nagging at him for quite some time.
                          
I rack my brain and pull a hand through my hair, only to find that it's cut short. What? 
                          
"We were playing 'Candor or Dauntless'," I start and try to remember what else, "it was my first time playing it and Uriah dared me to propose to some random person in the hallway...
                          
"It turned out to be Eric and he said yes, and... Did he call me 'babe'?" I shudder slightly at the memory. "And, that's it." It feels like a confession as the words leave my lips.
                          
"That's it?" Tobias practically scoffs. "That's all you can remember?" He sounds hurt yet relieved all at the same time.
                          
Tobias' POV
                          
She can't remember... That memory serum must have already started working on her before Uriah got her out.
                          
I've got no clue how I feel about this. Yes, she doesn't have to live with any guilt that was accumulated over the past three weeks, but how am I going to explain this to her? Do I want to explain this to her?
                          
"Tobias," her soft voice snaps me from my thoughts, "where are we?"
                          
"Florida, Tris, we're outside the fence."
                          
"What? Why?"
                          
"Vacation." The lie catches in my throat but I want it so badly to be truth. "Zeke found an old beach house."
                          
If only that were true... 
                          
Yes, our little sanctuary is splendid; enough food and supplies to last us ages and there's plenty of old shops that are still stacked to the brim with everything we could possibly need but we didn't come here for a holiday, we came here to escape and to live our lives in peace.
                          
I came here to rescue the girl that my life depends on, and at the same time, spend the rest of my life with her.
                          
"We're outside of the fence?" I simply nod in reply. "t -but how? Why? What about-"
                          
"Shush," I coo and try to calm her as she sits up from her lying position and crosses her legs underneath her. "Do you trust me?" I ask and hold her hands in mine.
                          
"Of course I do, Tobias. You know that."
                          
"I do, please try to calm down and I'll explain it for you," I say and fiddle with the engagement ring that sits perfectly on her left hand. I don't think she's noticed it yet.
                          
~
                          
I ended up telling her an edited version of the past three weeks; leaving out the part where she killed Marcus. In all, it took about six hours as she learnt of the gruesome happenings of the past few weeks and mourned the loss of her family and friends.
                          
I couldn't not tell her about their deaths, that would have been even worse to just let her believe we stole her from them. 
                          
I even told her all about Eric. Sure, I didn't like the fact that she'd had interests in another but it happened and it'd be cruel not to let her know about it. In that week she'd found a new side to him; a better side, and I'm sure he would've wanted the good in him to be remembered and not forgotten.
                          
~
                          
Tris' POV
                          
He holds me tightly against his chest whilst I perch on his lap. The white cotton sheet is wrapped round both our shoulders as the night air chills the wooden shack.
                          
"I'm sorry," I whisper against his warm chest.
                          
He shifts slightly and frowns down at me.
                          
"I'm sorry for everything." I elaborate and he continues to frown.
                          
"Don't be," he scolds as his hands run down my arms and settle at my hips. "None of this was your fault and - if anything - you've been the bravest, most selfless and tactical out of all of us. Tris, we'd all be dead if it wasn't for you.
                          
"I love, don't ever forget that."
                          
"I love you too, number boy."
                          
"I love you three, first jumper."
                          
"I love you four, Four."
                          
I love you, the words roll off of my tongue so naturally when he holds me close, claiming me as his.
                          
A/N
                          
Hello! I'm sorry there wasn't any C or D in this chapter (like I said there'd be) but I promise there will be in the next one (:
                          
We hit 5k!!!!! Thank you so much to everyone that has read this story. I know that the last few chapters are kind of short and crappy but I've been having to rush whilst writing them (mainly in the car) because apparently everything is happening all at once!
                          
Thank you for reading and...
                          
As always, I don't own Divergent nor do I claim to.