I walk down the narrow hallways in the Dauntless compound, on my way home from the office.
After I passed initiation Eric asked me to come to his office and when I got there he and Max offered me a position as a leader. I didn't even know that there was a position open but I didn't care; I had wanted to be a leader even though Four tried to talk me out of it. After a few months he finally stopped glaring at me whenever I mentioned that I had leadership stuff to do or that I had to meet with Eric, as he was my leadership trainer. I was happy that he had forgiven me for taking the job an even though we hadn't moved any further on in the relationship than we were at during initiation, I was content.
I finally arrived back at the apartment Four and I shared and found that the door wasn't locked. Four and I always locked the door, even when we were home. I pushed the door open and walked into the apartment expecting to see Four sitting on the couch watching TV, however he wasn't there. I checked the kitchen and the bathroom and like the living room they were both empty. I heard the sound of squeaking coming from the bedroom and walked quietly over to the door and pushed the door wide open. I froze in the doorway and my mouth hang open in shock. There, in our bed, was Four with some girl underneath him. They hadn't noticed my arrival as they were far too engrossed with each other and I couldn't help the burning sensation coming from behind my eyes. Determined not to let the tears fall from my eyes I hit the door with my hand and they both turned and looked at me. Four looked like he was about to say something but I didn't give him the chance. I ran out of the apartment and when I finally stopped I realised that I had ran to the one place I least expected to end up. I walked over to the door I had sub-consciously ran for and knocked. The was a deafening silence for a few second but eventually I heard movement coming from the other side of the door. The door swung open and the Eric stood in the doorway wearing only a pair of black sweatpants. Without meaning to my eyes studied his torso; his abs were far more defined than Four's and the same went for all his muscles. Every bit of him that I could see was just big. My eyes finally locked with his and he was smirking.
"Enjoying the view?" He asked and I don't know why but I couldn't hold the tears back any longer and allowed them to spill from my eyes and run down my face.
His expression turned from teasing to concerned and he reached out to pull me to him. He wrapped his arms around me and I could feel his body heat radiating into me. He pulled me into his apartment and closed the door behind us with a kick. He released me and pushed me down onto a black leather sofa and disappeared from my view. When he reappeared he held a glass of water and I took it from him, our fingers brushing slightly.
"Tris what's wrong, what's happened?" He asked, his usually hard voice disappeared and in its place was soft but deep one. I looked up to him and met his soft grey/blue eyes with hints of silver.
"I walked into our apartment and I found him with another girl, in our bed." I tell him and more tears spill from my glassy eyes. Eric pulls me close, his body tense with anger, and rubs circles on my back to sooth me. It starts to work but the image of Four with another woman makes me start to cry again.
"Do you want to stay here tonight?" He asks me, his voice sounds choked as if he is trying not to say something else.
I look up into his silvery/blue eyes and become entranced but still manage to nod my head without breaking eye contact. He pulls me off the couch and pulls me towards the bedroom. He rummages around his drawers and eventually walks back over to me with a black t-shirt and a pair of shorts. He leaves the room to allow me to change in private, the clothes are rather big and the shirt reaches lower than the short do making me smile slightly but it soon vanishes; I change quickly and pull my hair out of the loose ponytail it was in and it falls in front of my face. I walk over to the door and enter the living room to find Eric sitting on the couch with a pillow and a blanket.
"You should take your bed; I'll sleep on the couch." I tell him and he looks up to me, his eyes still full of concern.
"Don't be daft, I will be quite comfortable here, you can sleep in my bed." He replies and I open my mouth to try to convince him but he beats me to it. "Tris, honestly I will be fine. Now go to bed." He says and offers me a small smile.
I sigh in defeat and walk back to the bedroom. I climb into his king sized bed and fall asleep instantly.
XOX
I wake up in the early hours of the morning. I open my eyes and am confused by my surroundings. This is not my apartment. It is at this point I remember where I am and why I am here, I can feel the tears threatening to fall from my eyes but I refuse to let them spill. I let my feet fall to the floor beside the bed and walk towards the door. I walk through to the living room and find Eric, shirtless, standing in the kitchen with his hair sticking at odd angles and it makes him look a lot younger. He notices me walking towards him and sends me a small smile.
"How are you feeling?" He asks with a soft and smooth voice that sends shivers up my spine.
"Don't let me walk by the Chasm on my own and I should be fine." I reply when I reach him; I lean on the island in the middle of the kitchen.
"Do you want some coffee before we head down to breakfast?" He asks me; I nod my head and watch him as he makes two cups of steaming hot coffee. He hands me mine and leans on the kitchen island. We stand there in a comfortable silence and I look out at the city through the window making up the entire far wall. "There is a high chance that you might see him at breakfast and if you do he will almost certainly want to talk to you; will you be alright?" He asks, drawing my attention back to him. It amazes me how thoughtful he can be when he needs to be, I went through initiation with him being a complete jerk but ever since we passed initiation he has been kinder towards all of us who passed, except Peter. He even apologised to Christina for hanging her over the Chasm but explained that it was just to show her not to give up; amazingly she forgave him and now does his tattoos for him, when she's not working at the clothes shop.
"I know." I reply, "Can I sit with you and the other leaders, he is less likely to talk to me with you guys there, especially you." I finish.
"Of course you can, you're almost a full leader now you can sit with us whenever you want." He tells me with a small smile on his face.
After we finish our coffees we take turns showering and then head down to breakfast. When we reach the mess hall Eric gives my shoulder a small squeeze before walking into the hall, I follow him in and I spy Four sitting with my friends. I walk over to the leaders table with Eric and they greet me happily. I give them all a forced smile as I sit down next to Eric.
I thought I was going to get lucky and Four wasn't going to come over but just as Eric and I stood up to leave he walked over to us before we could move any further.
"Tris can I speak to you for a moment?" Four asks me.
"She doesn't want to speak to you Four so leave now before you make a scene." Eric replies and I mentally thank him, I have no idea what I want to say to Four right now.
"I wasn't speaking to you Eric. So but out." Four replies his voice laced with lethal amounts of venom.
"What's going on here?" Max asked and we all turned to him.
"Tris and I had an argument I'm trying to sort it." Four replied.
"Argument? There was no argument. She walked in on you and some girl in bed and then she ran to me, she was crying most of the night." Eric replied
"Tris let me explain." Four pleaded. I stepped behind Eric and gave him a tap. He understood my gesture and ignored Four and said goodbye to the other leaders before guiding me out the hall.