Discoveries ✔ (Divergent Fourtris Fanfiction)

Chapter 16

Tobias

I enter the control room just in time. Zeke is already there, talking to Sam and Rick. They fill him in on the afternoon's events. By the sound of it, nothing important has happened. I take a beer out of the fridge and get ready in my seat in front of the monitors, letting Zeke finish the talking.

I'm lost in thought when he sits down next to me.

"You're having a beer?" he asks instead of greeting me.

I know it's unusual for me. "I felt like I needed one."

"You had a bad day?" Zeke opens the tap of his own bottle and takes a large gulp.

"Kind of," I say, aware that it's an understatement.

"Well, if you want to talk about it, we've got all night."

I'm thankful for his offer and that he doesn't try to force me to tell him at once. We sit and watch the monitors, but we can't spot anything suspicious yet. Instead, we agree to go through the material from Monday night later, when we can be sure nobody's going to disturb us in here.

We wait for time to pass. At half past ten, Zeke gets up to fetch another two bottles of beer for us. At eleven, it's my turn to get new drinks. Half an hour later I get us some water because at least I can already feel the effects of the alcohol. After the intense training and just a small dinner, it works its way into my brain quickly.

I appreciate the silence between Zeke and me. It's interesting what it does to me: Oddly enough it makes me want to talk, makes me want to share today's anger with him. It's an impulse I'm not used to having.

"I got into a fight with my girl today," I begin without knowing where this is going.

Zeke nods in understanding. "That's always annoying. Shauna and I don't often get into fights, but if we do, it's usually a hard time for both of us."

"I found out something and kind of overreacted. I didn't give her much of a chance to explain herself."

"What was it that you found out?"

I hesitate before answering his question, "That she told someone about our relationship."

"What kind of someone, friend or enemy?"

"Friend. I even met said friend today, and she promised me she wouldn't tell anyone."

"So what's the problem if you have her word?"

I sigh. Growing up, I was taught to always say whatever the person opposite needed to hear. And Christina's words seemed exactly like that, making it, ironically, more difficult for me to believe they are true and not just purposefully used by her to get rid of my distrust. Unfortunately, I've learned from Marcus that one can mask a hell of secrets with words, using them like a blanket to cover all the darkness underneath, using them like a key to lock in the truth in our cold Abnegation house, so that up until today, even after leaving him and his lies behind, I have issues when it comes to trust people and their promises. Except Tris.

I don't think I can explain this to Zeke. I'd have to tell him too much about me, so I keep my darkness covered and the door locked and say, "You're right. But we still got into a fight about it, and I wasn't able to find her all day to tell her I was sorry."

"Then you'll go see her as soon as you can. You can go once we're done here. Is it your first fight?"

"The second one."

"Well perhaps then you already know what comes after fighting," Zeke grins, raising his eyebrows. I must look puzzled, so he adds in a conspiratorial whisper, "Make-up sex."