Fractured | Tobias Eaton ✓

34 | Punching People Is Painful

Tris passes out as soon as Four lifts her into his arms. "I'll get Drew after you two are at mine." I nod and follow him, chewing my fingernails until I smell more blood. I toss my scarf into the nearest trash can so I can get the coppery smell in the air out of my nose.

"What's going to happen to them?" I ask, the thought has been plaguing me the entire walk to his apartment.

Four shakes his head, "Probably nothing since she won't go to the infirmary. Anything could have happened, Rita. You acted pretty Dauntless tonight,"

"I don't feel very Dauntless right now," I admit, still chewing on my ring fingernail. "I feel sick and it's heavy in my stomach."

He doesn't answer but I feel like he knows what I'm talking about. After a few more minutes of walking down hallways I didn't even know existed–we made it to Four's apartment.

It's pretty barren compared to the house back home. A studio apartment, it's big though. There's so much empty space it makes the grey space seem cold. He fishes through his pocket and hands me the key, my hands shake as I stab the key into the keyhole and twist the knob.

It catches for a second before I knock my shoulder into the door–it opens. Four takes Tris over to his bed and sets her down then walks into what looks to be his bathroom. I wish I had a space like this for myself. I close the door behind me and lay Four's keys on the counter.

"Here, there's pretty much anything you could ever need in there. I'm going to take Drew down to the infirmary, can you take care of her?"

I nod, "She seems a little banged up but I think her issues are less physical."

"Yea... I'm gonna go."

Once Four is gone, I get to work trying to clean Tris up. I get a washcloth from the bathroom and clean her face and hands. Then I cover the scrapes on her face with ointment and bandages. She's got bruises forming on her cheek and throat, I rummage through his freezer and find an ice pack.

I break it up and form it to her neck.

He's returned by the time I'm pulling his blanket over her. I sit on the end of his bed, "Hey." I'm so tired I could pass out right where I am right now.

"You okay?" He's got that concerned look on his face that makes me wanna die. The only person who should be shaken up right now is Tris. But here I am, panicking.

"I'm just thinking about what would have happened had I been in first still. We saw what happened with Edward. I think I would have been next."

Four leans on the counter and nods, "You're not wrong." He holds his hand awkwardly and I notice the blood on them.

"Oh jeez, that looks bad," Four laughs, "Don't downplay it, punching people is painful."

"You got that right."

I grab his forearm and examine his fist under the light, "Can you open it?" He does so but I see how his jaw clenches slightly. "Let me clean it up."

Four pulls his arm in, "I got it, go to sleep, I bet you're tired."

"No, it's okay. It's not the first time I've had to patch someone up."

He seems to relent and I lead him into the bathroom, positioning him so he's sat on the toilet lid. "I thought you hated blood," He murmurs as I use another washcloth to wipe the blood from his hands.

I shrug, "It's not so bad when it's dried. It only seems to trigger a reaction when it's still... wet, I guess." I rinse the cloth and bring it to his face slowly, "Can you close your eyes?" He nods and his eyelids flutter shut.

I pause for a second, admiring his features with ease now that he's not staring at me. He looks so different with his eyes not piercing into mine. "Are you okay?" He says and it startles me.

"Yea, sorry." I lightly dab at the blood on his cheeks for fear he might be wounded there. But by the time I'm done, I realize it must have been someone else's blood that stained his skin. "I'm gonna put ointment on your hands, alright?"

"It's okay–" He begins but then I think he sees the look in my eyes.

I'm not sure what I expected when I came here but this definitely isn't it. Dauntless is known for dramatic stunts and being dangerous but not infighting like this.

The cotton ball is soft against the broken skin on his knuckles as I press the ointment onto both hands.

Four's skin is softer than I imagined. I like the feeling of holding someone's hand, it's like when I hold my own. Soothing. Four is looking at me now, I can feel his eyes on me as I avoid his gaze.

He pushes his knee against the side of my leg, "Rita, are you okay?" Four's leaving no room for me to avoid the question.

"I'm not sure," I admit, busying myself with cleaning up the first aid kid. I toss the dirtied cotton balls and wrappers away before ringing out the washcloths and hanging them on the shower curtain rod to dry. "Are you?" My back is turned to him so I feel a bit more confident asking him.

It's hard for me to be bold when he's staring right at me. I have to force faux confidence in order to be defiant.

"I'm just glad you're both fine. I wish there was more I could do." His voice is so low I barely catch it.

"I could do something. But I'd probably get cut."

I turn so I can make my way out just as he stands and we're less than a foot apart. My neck protests as I look up and meet his eyes. "Don't do anything. It's not worth it. Just beat them."

"You're looking at someone who's actively losing their mind because of the simulations I don't know if I can beat them," I look at Tris' sleeping form, "Maybe she can."

Four's eyebrow twitches, "You beating them would change everything–for the better. You could become a leader."

"What?"

He sighs, "Do you remember when we took everyone out to the fence? And I talked about how people get stationed at the fence?" I nod, "The top three initiates are almost guaranteed a spot among the Dauntless leaders. If you got in there–who knows what might happen then."