The Rehabilitation of Tris Prior | ✅

Chapter 4

Tobias' POV

I gather Tris in my arms and pick her up. She looks exhausted and it's no wonder she fainted. I can't imagine what she is going through. The things her own brother said to her are unbelievable. I would have never thought that someone would be capable of something so evil.

I'm sitting in the backseat of this Matt's car holding Tris still close to me. Her steady breathing indicates that she is sleeping. I'm holding her with my right arm and caress her cheek with my left index finger. Her cheeks are flushed and wet from all the crying. It breaks my heart seeing her like this. Everything I know of this girl is borderline amazing. She is kind, selfless, generous, nice and loving. She would never hurt a fly, let alone someone she loves. And her brother? The exact opposite. How can anyone be so cruel with such a gentle creature like she is? I look down at her and even in her current state she looks adorable, like an angel from the sky.

"I can't believe it," the minister, Tris' uncle says to his son. I have to admit I'm relieved Tris and he are related. This means he is not her boyfriend. But a sweet and beautiful girl like her probably has a long line of admirers at her door.

"I know, dad. I tried to keep it from her, but she found out."

"Why would you keep it from her?"

"Look at her? She is a bleeding heart. She would sacrifice her own life to save someone she doesn't know. Imagine what she would do for someone she does know and even loves. We both know her. And that bastard hurt her in a way no one ever did. I will never forgive him. He better prays we never cross paths again 'cause I'm going to break every single bone in his body," Matt vows. I can only agree with him, but I keep my mouth shut.

We are driving toward his apartment, since everyone wanted to know the full story. Matt offered to bring us up to speed at his place, so that he could keep an eye on her. We soon pull up in front of an old building and Matt parks the car. He gets out and I have to reluctantly let go of Tris in order to get out of the car and not hurting her in the process. The others came with Zeke's truck and pull up in the parking spot next to us. We all get out and I offer to hold Tris again. Matt hands her over to me and I'm glad he does so. I love to feel her close to me. I never felt like this before but this girl has something I can't describe. Ever since I've met her I can't stop thinking about her. She is like a drug, but I wouldn't mind getting addicted.

We walk up the stairs to his apartment and he opens it. He shows me to his bedroom where I lay Tris down and cover her with a blanket. I leave the door ajar and go into the living room where the others sit and wait for Matt to tell us what we don't know yet. A part of me is anxious to find out more about this amazing girl, but another one is afraid to hear more of the cruel things that sick bastard did to her, even without her knowledge.

"Tris was always very smart, but not until she turned five did we know how smart," her uncle says. "Her parents got a call from her teacher in preschool, telling them that Tris was bored during classes. She suggested they should take her to a psychologist to see if something is bothering her. After only one session the psychologist told my brother and his wife that their baby girl is a genius. Of course, none of us really knew what that meant so we all started reading about it. In simple terms her mind works different than ours. She thinks quicker, sees things from different angles, understands things we couldn't even imagine and she has an amazing ability to learn fast. Then my wife was diagnosed with stage three cancer. Tris wanted to know what that meant so she went to the local library and asked someone to give her a medicine book. Whoever gave it to her thought she was just a silly little girl who wanted to play with it and didn't think twice. She got the book, sat down on the floor and started reading everything that book offered on cancer. She read over 300 pages in one day, because the next day she insisted to be in the room with her favorite aunt. My wife, God rest her soul, loved her very much and insisted the girl should be allowed to stay inside the room. No one thought she would understand it anyway. But then, while the doctor explained what could be done and which procedure would be better Tris spoke up and asked the doctor a series of questions that to be honest I couldn't understand. The doctor looked at her a little shocked. At first, he tried to dismiss her but then he started talking to her like to a colleague. He told us later that he never spoke to anyone, not even doctors, the way he spoke to Tris. Tris didn't just understand the situation from a medical point of view, but she offered him alternatives that would be less invasive. The doctor actually considered one of her suggestions and for a while my wife's cancer stopped spreading. For the next two years Tris barely left the hospital. She remained there reading one medical book after the other. By the time my wife started a new set of experimental drugs, a year after her diagnose, Tris talked to the doctors who treated her like she was one of their own. Whenever a doctor met her he or she dismissed her, but not for long. Soon she became very well known in the medical community for her insight and I might say expertise. Doctors from all around the country were made aware of this incredible preschooler that put experienced doctors to shame. They came to Chicago and offered their help, pro bono, only to hear the little girl's opinion. After my wife died several doctors in the country still came to visit her. Between the ages of seven and twelve Tris wrote medical articles about experiments she was conducting in one of the learning hospitals here in Chicago. She helped find cures for diseases and was a recognized name in the medical community throughout the country. She never did it for the fame though. She couldn't care less. Her only goal was to help people. This is why and how on June thirteen, after Tris turned twelve the dean of Harvard University knocked on her parents door to discuss with them the bright future of their daughter. By pure chance I was there that day and was part of that conversation. My brother and his wife told him that they didn't have the money to send their girl to Boston to study, not to mention they didn't want to leave their daughter alone there. But we all knew that that's where Tris would have felt among her own. I offered to give him the insurance money I got after my wife died. She made me promise I would give it to her to study to become a doctor and help other people. It wasn't hard for me to say yes to her request, when it was Tris who gave me and my children two years with my beloved Maggie, instead of the two months her doctors originally gave us. After I offered them the money the dean spoke up and told us that they wouldn't have to pay anything. That Tris would receive a full scholarship. Even someone who would be around her 24/7 to make sure she is well taken care of. Someone like a personal assistant. That same night her parents told Tris about the offer and she accepted. Everything that girl ever wanted was for her parents and brother to be proud of her. She pushed herself to her limit and beyond and whatever she started she excelled at in no time. I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's the truth. If I wouldn't have seen most of it with my own eyes I might doubt it too. Then, two years ago, Tris was in New York and she was given yet another award. Her parents rarely managed to go to these events. I often went on their behalf. But that time they wanted to be there. Unfortunately, their plane crashed and they died. Tris was devastated. For weeks she was a mess, blamed herself for it. Of course, it wasn't her fault. Severe turbulences brought the plane down, there was nothing anyone could have done."