tobias | ✔

twenty two - tobias

She couldn't breathe. Air wouldn't flow into her lungs no matter how hard she tried. She was paralyzed. Limbs unmoving. Heart still.

Gun pointed to her face.

Tris could still see the smirk full of malice that Eric had worn on his face until his last breath. As if he had enjoyed what he was doing.

In the haze of her dream, she could hear Christina's crying. Her eyes stayed on Eric, on the gun he held in his hands. She didn't feel as though she was breathing, but she could hear the sound of increased breathing--feel the panic of it all.

Then the gunshot sounded and more pain spread in her chest.

Eric's mouth moved and she heard, "Tris."

"Tris."

"Tris."

Her body jerked awake, the action sending rippling pain through her bones. It felt like she had ripped her stitches open, the wounds bleeding, bleeding out of her skin. Just from that, she cried out, clutching to the person who leaned over her. Tris's head laid back against her pillow, eyes shut tightly. Tobias slid his hand easily into hers, ready for Tris to squeeze his from whatever discomfort she had. His other hand scanned her arm wound, rolled up the sweatpant covering her right left, checking for any ripping of stitches.

"You're okay." Tobias said, rolling down the pant. "Nothing is bleeding. You're not in the diner with Eric. You are in my house, in my bed, with me. I'm here."

Tris couldn't talk, trying to work her lungs into giving her more oxygen with deep breaths. Minus the fact that her whole body ached, she held Tobias's gaze, just as he held hers, and tried to focus on his hand that was on her cheek. Tobias was moving his thumb back and forth on the smooth skin, and he patiently waited until her heartbeat was normal.

"Where's Beau?" was the first thing that left her mouth.

She say Tobias furrow his eyebrows, glancing up. A quick whistle sounded from his lips. Vaguely, Tris heard the whine from her dog and soft paws at her arm that laid over the blankets. Beau licked her hand and slowly, her ears cleared. She heard the small cry louder. Tris moved her hand to lay on Beau's head, combing her fingers through his fur.

"He's been here this whole time." Concern was written all over his face. "Did you not hear him?"

Every time she had a nightmare, panic blocked her hearing. It almost felt as if she was hearing from underwater. Tobias's voice was the only thing audible, for obvious reasons.

She had accepted the soulmate bond. They were officially, officially soulmates. The bond was stronger.

"No I did," the lie slipped so easily through her lips. "I just," Tris let out an airy laugh, "I'm tired."

She's been lying to him ever since she was brought home from the hospital. The nightmares had occurred in her sleep at the hospital, which Tobias knew. It was why he was so worried. It wasn't easy to lie that her nightmares had stopped, since Tobias slept next to her.

But the hallucinations. The panic. The anxiety. The repetition of the same scene, over and over again, in her mind. It was everything she kept from him.

"Go back to sleep."

No.

She hated sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, all she saw was the smirk on Eric's face, the gun he pointed at her.

"What time is it?"

"Ten thirty."

It was no surprise she slept late. Tris stayed awake until four in the morning, gaze on Tobias until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. When he did fall asleep, she turned over and grabbed her phone from the charger, clicking into the internet on her phone. Tris researched for hours, not feeling the exhaustion until the next thing she knew, she was having the nightmare.