Resurgent

Chapter 4

I wake up to the sound of frantic voices and quickly sit up, but immediately regret my decision as pain pierces my head. I’m back in my room and hooked up to all of the wires again. Surrounding my bed is Caleb, Cara, Matthew, Tobias, and Christina.

Christina looks exactly as I remember her. Same short hair and dark eyes. She paces the floor and yells at Caleb with her typical fiery attitude. It’s refreshing seeing something that has remained the same, even when my world has been so completely changed.

“Can someone please fill me in?” I ask, hoping someone will hear me through all the shouting. Of course, they don’t.

“Guys!” I raise my voice this time and everyone turns to me. “Thank you. What are you yelling about? It’s giving me a headache.”

“Actually, I think it’s the lack of medicine you’ve had that’s giving you a headache. If you had just listened to us then—” Caleb tries to lecture me in his Erudite manner but is cut off by Tobias.

“Yeah, and if you had just told me that you were saving Tris then this wouldn’t have happened because I would’ve been with her.” Our eyes meet and I can see the hurt in his. I can’t bear it so I force myself to look at the floor.

“You know very well why we couldn’t tell you about this!” I don’t think I’ve ever seen Caleb so angry. “I only knew because they needed my help and I’m her brother. Whereas you…well, you’re not even family.”

“Yeah? If I recall how you treated Tris two years ago,” Tobias’s jaw clenches tight with anger, “you didn’t really act like family, so I guess that makes us equal.”

My brother’s cheeks burn with embarrassment and he refuses to look at me. I notice Cara step in closer to him and rest her hand on his shoulder. She shoots a dirty glare at Tobias.

“Um,” Matthew awkwardly interjects as he clears his throat, “can I just point out that…that it’s amazing how stable Tris is given that she’s been in a coma for quite a while. And she was literally dead at one point.”

His little speech is returned with only silence as the information sinks in once again.

“All I want is to move on from the fact that I was dead and am alive again. It happened, okay?” I decide to speak again. “It doesn’t matter who should’ve done what. What matters is that I’m here and I don’t plan on going anywhere soon. Instead of celebrating that, you’re all arguing like a bunch of five year olds!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s all about you, we get it.” Christina jokes as she sarcastically rolls her eyes. I can always count on her to lighten the mood. “So, how are you feeling? I bet you’re pretty well-rested.”

“I feel heavier than a dead body.”

A small awkward silence fills the room until Cara breaks it with a giggle. Then Caleb joins in and eventually, laughter is bouncing off the walls. Even I manage to participate. What I said isn’t funny, but under our unusual circumstances, it’s a nice way to relieve some of our stress. I smile as I admire everyone surrounding me, all grinning, and for this moment, at least, seeming happy. Everyone, that is, except Tobias. When my eyes finally rest on him standing on my left side, I realize that he is the only one with a straight face. His eyebrows are pinched together and I can tell that he’s biting the inside of his bottom lip. He looks at me as if he’s studying my entire existence.

My eyes wander from his face down to his muscular arms and inviting chest. My face grows warm as I think about what I want. Ridiculous. With the way we fought a short while ago, I wonder if he’ll even want to talk to me again. I look back into his deep eyes, which are still analyzing me. I feel frozen, like every piece of me is being exposed and ripped apart.