Prior Rings

Chapter 50: Peter - Acknowledgements

A/N: Wow, I'm actually posting two updates in one day: this one and a new chapter for my "Waiting" story. Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and to my wonderful beta reader, Rosalie!

Chapter 50: Peter - Acknowledgements

(December 1, Year 10: Peter is 27, Tris is 26, Tobias is 28, and Abigail is 3 ½ months old)

I know I need tonight's support session. The old agitated energy has been coursing through me lately, making me itch to hit someone. I don't even seem to care if I get hit back - something I realized halfway through trying to start that stupid bar fight last week. Good thing it's hard to start fights in the UCA, or Anna would have been even more pissed at me....

Today's meeting is in one of Erudite's large conference rooms - the kind that Max used when revving us up back in the Civil War. I don't particularly like the reminder. It makes me think of Dad dying in the Candor ranks, and of how I betrayed him and half the rest of the city. It also makes me remember walking the Stiff through the hallways to and from her torture sessions. Given everything she and Four did for me after that, it's hard not to feel a little guilty about the way I treated her, even if I did save her life afterwards.

The group accumulates slowly, as usual. The Erudite are always prompt, so we'll start right on time, which means those of us who travel here from other parts of the city have to get here early or risk being late. And you get dirty looks if you walk in partway through a meeting.

Four nods at me when he arrives, just a few minutes before starting time, and I nod back. The guy looks tired, but I suppose having a baby will do that to you. He seems to be handling it okay, though, since he hasn't confessed anything about wanting to hit the kid.

I make a point of greeting Kevin when he comes in, and of letting him know that I need to talk to him afterwards. With how aggressive I've been feeling lately, there's no doubt I'll want extra time with my sponsor tonight. He agrees affably enough before going over to talk to Four, and I watch the two of them for a bit.

Sometimes, I wonder what it would have been like if Four had agreed to be my sponsor. I still think I was right to ask him, since he was the only person here I knew, but overall, it's probably better that he turned me down. I know how to push his buttons a little too well, and that wouldn't have helped either of us. Kevin, on the other hand, doesn't let me get away with anything. He's an annoying turd that way, but it's why I'm here, after all.

Besides, Four would have decked me at least once by now, I'm sure. He's not exactly the world's most forgiving guy, despite all the rhetoric in group, and part of him will always hate me for what I did to his wife.

If I'm honest, I deserve it.

Kevin is the senior member tonight, so he opens the session, standing at the front and stomping his foot twice to get everyone's attention. The group is a lot better than the Dauntless about shutting up quickly.

"Before we start sharing," he announces, "we have a special milestone to honor." It's not uncommon to have those, mostly for one-month points, though I celebrated a year last month. He smiles as he looks at Four. "Tobias joined this program ten years ago, and he deserves our recognition tonight."

The reaction is strong, compared with the usual polite clapping that goes with these things. Four must have helped a lot of people over the years for them to react this way - or maybe it's just that we don't see ten-year points often. Regardless, I join in with the loud applause as he makes his way to the front of the room, glancing at the rest of us before facing Kevin.

Kevin, however, continues to address the audience. "For anyone who has been living under a rock for the last decade, let me tell you a little about Tobias' role in stopping abuse. Just over ten years ago, he broadcast a message to what was then the New United States of America. We here in this city are the only ones who didn't hear it, so it is difficult for us to imagine the impact it had."