Holding On||Peter Hayes (Divergent)

Chapter 2

Heavy grunting and a sharp slam of a door made me jolt awake. Rubbing my eyes, I slip out of bed and walk out of my bedroom door towards the living room. My father had just come back from the pit doing whatever the hell he does there, which consists of: excessive drinking, picking fights with the other Dauntless, chatting up women and earning himself new tattoos.

His blonde hair stuck to his forehead, which dripped with sweat. He smelt of alcohol. The stench was dominating, however I was used to it. This is always how my father is. Dad looked to me, his ocean blue eyes bloodshot. "Piper, come give your daddy a hug," his words were slurred and his voice unsteady.

"No, Dad. Go... go have a shower." I folded my arms and stood up straighter to radiate confidence. To show I wasn't afraid of him. But I was.

"Don't tell me what to do!" He yelled, jumping up and walking towards me. I stumbled back, hitting a wall. All the breath in my lungs was knocked out of them. I gasped. Dad raised his arm and hit me across the face. I screamed, collapsing to the floor.

"Dad!" I cry.

"DAD!" AJ shouted, bounding out of his bedroom and towards our dad, who was approaching AJ ready to strike him too. AJ ran into Dad, throwing his body on the floor. I crawled over and pinned Dad's arms down. Our dad yelled curse words and phrases of all sorts. We kept him that way until he fell asleep, halfway through saying he never wanted us.

AJ huffed, lifting himself up. He grabbed ahold of my small hand and pulled me off the ground. My twin brother examined my cheek. His finger lightly touched the tender areas of my face, making it sting. I hissed, swatting his hand away. "Do you have enough concealer?" AJ asked.

"Is it that bad?" I frowned.

AJ shook his head. "It's just like all the others,"

***

The Dauntless table in the school cafeteria was always full life. New drama sprung up here and there, making our time spent on this table more eventful. Marlene, my best friend, was playing a game of cards with me and Uriah. It was called 'BS', and so far I was winning with two cards left in my hand. It was Uriah's turn. He was inspecting the deck of cards he had in his hand, pulling out two of the selection he had.

"Two Queens." He said.

"BS!" I cried. Uriah groaned, picking up the deck of cards upon the table. Marlene and I howled with laughter at the boy's defeat. It was now my turn. I smirked, placing my last cards upon the clear surface.

"Two Queens."

"BS!" Uriah blurted out. I rolled my eyes, picking up my last two cards and showing him the two cards. Uriah swore, adding my two cards to his deck. "I really hate you, Piper."

"Ditto." I smiled, flicking a bit of my cake at Uriah.

An Erudite woman dressed in a neat, crisp blue suit entered the cafeteria, bearing a clipboard. We were taking our Aptitude Tests today. They're usually held in school, where there were special rooms to hold the equipment. Marlene and I shared an excited look, listening out for our names. She said the names of two Abnegation, two Amity, two Candor and then she started on the Dauntless. "From Dauntless: Piper Jones and Adam Jones Jr."

AJ flushed as his full name was said. He was named after our dad, Adam Jones Sr. Everyone in Dauntless calls him AJ. It's a habit and to hear his full name was a rarity. It brought him a sour feeling, hearing his father's name as his own.