divergent-excerpt

need to talk to you about . . .” I glance at Will and
Christina. I can’t corner Tori now; they’ll ask questions.
“. . . Something. Sometime.”
“I am not sure that would be wise,” she says quietly. “I
helped you as much as I could, and now you will have to go
it alone.”
I purse my lips. She has answers; I know she does. If
she won’t give them to me now, I will have to find a way to
make her tell me some other time.
“Want a tattoo” she says.
The bird sketch holds my attention. I never intended to
get pierced or tattooed when I came here. I know that if I
do, it will place another wedge between me and my family
that I can never remove. And if my life here continues as it
has been, it may soon be the least of the wedges between us.
But I understand now what Tori said about her tattoo
representing a fear she overcame—a reminder of where
she was, as well as a reminder of where she is now. Maybe
there is a way to honor my old life as I embrace my new one.
“Yes,” I say. “Three of these flying birds.”
I touch my collarbone, marking the path of their flight—
toward my heart. One for each member of the family I left
behind.
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