Apologies for the late update. I was on holiday. The next chapter will be the last :)
"I will make sure that nothing like that will happen again," Tobias says sternly.
"I should hope not," David replies, "Are you even able to comprehend how much danger you put everybody in?"
I listen to him shout the same sentence for the millionth time today. The look in his eyes never changes.
"If you're so angry, why don't you drug me with the memory serum and send me back to Chicago?"
Some air escapes my lungs as Four slaps my back. I look up at him and see his glaring expression. He is warning me not to push it too far with David. But it is already too late. I am at my highest raging point. And I need to let it all out.
He mouths my name. I roll my eyes.
"That's a good idea," David points at me, "But unfortunately we still need you. And so do your friends."
His office is stirringly shut out. The rest of the building seems to love light. But this room needs to be lit up by six lamps to create a place where people can actually see.
Once he called me up to his office, Tobias insisted he would go with me. Probably to cover for me. We haven't even had the chance to sit down. David did so much yelling that sitting down felt wrong.
In the end, he demanded that I do two weeks of community service. Not that a silly thing like that would ever repay him for what I did.
"Get out of my office," he commands.
We immediately scatter out of the room, not daring to look back at the grumpy leader.
I was feeling guilty when Eric tricked me into bailing him. It ultimately led me to my own embarrassment. I only arrived here a few days ago and already everyone hates me. On the other hand though, it wasn't all my fault. I didn't know that I would be releasing the most dangerous prisoner here. It was my curiosity. Always curiosity.
I straighten my back as I follow Tobias down a corridor. He turns around and I bump into his chest. If our ongoing fight about Nita is still going on, this argument is automatically made 100% worse.
"When are you going to stop putting yourself in danger?" Tobias folds his arms in front of me, growing a few inches taller.
"I don't have time for this." For some reason, I thought I was going to slip past him. Always, I underestimate him.
He stops me by grabbing my arm. I have no choice but listen to his upcoming lecture.
"Sometimes I'm not even sure why we are together," he says.
My shoulders and neck start burning. Then the heat finds my cheeks and I have to look down. If there is anything that told me I still loved him, it would be the heat that ignited in me when he said those kinds of things.
But suddenly, my walls start rising again.
"Did Nita make you say that?"
"Nita has nothing to do with this," he spits, anger rising. Should I push it?
"No, but I bet she will be so happy when she finds out about this argument. She has been waiting for this, I bet," something in his eyes flickers.
"Are you jealous of Nita? Is that it?"
"I'm not fucking jealous!"
And that's how I knew he won the fight. Because I started cussing. The explicit language evidently shows that I have no better comeback. We both know that.
"Find me when you're less whipped up,"
"I'm not gonna come looking for you," by this point, I have already started walking.
This time he didn't stop me.
SHSHSHSHSHSH
It is quarter past eleven when I reach the cafeteria doors. As expected, they are closed. The next time they will open to me will be tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I skipped lunch and dinner today. Lunch because I bailed out a prisoner, and dinner because of that meeting with David. My stomach is contracting painfully, but I ignore it.
I walk past the double doors and keep my head down when some workers pass me. Do they know what happened today? Do they know me? If they didn't before, they should by now.
I stumble upon a lonely hallway. My first instinct is to turn back and go to bed. But this time, the eerie silence calms me down. I am alone just like this space. And I belong here. For now.
The cold stone is freezing when I lean against the wall. I can feel it even through my jacket.
My eyelids are suddenly heavy. I allow myself to close my eyes for a moment, breathing in the stale air. All too soon, they snap open when a flickering light passes them.
I scan the hallway quickly in search of any living thing that could have the ability to create the flickering, but I don't notice anyone. Must be the paranoia. Or the overdose of the SP serum that leaked out earlier today.
Before I start walking back, the flickering catches my eye again. I look around, knowing that I wouldn't find anything, but then I see it.
In the vents. There is a torchlight in the vents.
Eric.
Blood rushes up to my face. I freeze. He is probably trying to get my attention, but why?
Stupidly, I start following the light. It doesn't take me much time to get there. When I do, I reach up and tap on the vent to check if it is open. It falls to the floor and I jump back. There is a hole in the wall for a small person like me to get through. I jump up and latch on, pulling myself into the space.
A quiet shriek escapes me when enormous, calloused hands grab my wrists and pull me in. I should have been expecting that.
The vent is bigger than I thought it would be. I can sit up. And I can stretch out. But before I do, I am met with Eric's face. He is staring right at me.
So this is where he was all day? Hiding in vents?
His face is more confident than it was when he was in the cell. His eyes look more alive. I could either blame the fumes he was inhaling or the boredom that was seeking him out during the days when he was locked up. Either way, he looks different.
He is wearing a black jacket. And there are a couple of guns strapped to his belt. So he changed his outfit.
He doesn't say a word. He turns around and starts crawling deeper into the vent.
I follow him.
We make clanging noises when our boots touch the metallic floor. Sometimes, there is talking beneath us. Sometimes, there is deadly silence. When he slows to a stop, I hear nothing. That's good, right? Nobody will find us this way… unless he is trying to kill me. Then that's bad.
I almost don't notice as he jumps down from the vent. A heavy thud sounds beneath me. I wait for a few seconds. Should I follow him? If I do, there will be no turning back. If he is planning something, I will not be able to overpower him.
I jump down.
Before me stands a Dauntless rebel. He helped make the deaths of hundreds of Abnegations possible. He is the person who was impressed by me when I beat the crap out of Molly. He was only impressed when I wasn't.
I wrap my arms around myself as he smirks. He withdraws his guns and lays them out on a table. For a second, I thought he would use the weapons on me.
I feel my heartbeat calm down slightly and take my chance to look around the room. It is a small space. No windows. Two tables. One door in the shadows. The lights on the ceiling are dim. This room hasn't been used in years. A thick coat of dust on the table justifies me.
"I'm leaving" is the first thing he says, "I found a way out."
He folds his arms, making his biceps bulge slightly. It is noticeable even through his black jacket.
"What if I tell David where you are?"
This could either be really right or really wrong. Surely, if I bring back one of their prisoners, everyone will start trusting me again. David…. Tobias.
"Then you'll have to find your way out of here first," he murmurs. That would sound like one has trapped me in a room, without me knowing any exits or escape routes. But he makes it sound like I could escape at any minutes, and before I could inform anyone of his whereabouts, he would already be gone.
I nod along slowly, taking one last glance around.
"Come with me," he whispers so quietly that I begin doubting whether I even heard him at all. But I know I have, because his whole face softened.
"Come with…?" I trail off, shaking my head slowly. He clears his throat.
"You don't belong here. You don't conform to those people. You want to feel like you're home,"
"I won't feel at home if I go back," I say truthfully.
"I never said we'll be going back," he answers. This catches my attention. I stay silent, allowing him to continue, "Louisiana."
I stare at him dubiously.
"Who's Louisiana?"
Eric chuckles slightly, leaning against the table as he looks down at me.
"It's a state… like Chicago is… except it is not being experimented on. I'm just saying… maybe you and somebody else would like to move there." I assume by 'somebody else' he means Tobias. The mention of him makes me frown.
"Even if we do relocate to Louisiana… you will still be a criminal," I say cockily. His proud smile never leaves his face.
"That's my problem, baby. Don't worry about it."
Before I can answer, he starts walking towards me. In a second, I stand taller and unfold my arms. He could be suggesting the best idea ever but I still hate him. He is still a murderer.
"How long did you stay in the corridor for after I left?" he asks, placing his hands on the wall behind me. His face is so close to mine that I can smell his breath.
"Not long," I answer, leaning up just enough for our noses to touch. He narrows his eyes, counting each freckle on my nose.
"Not long," he repeats, "It doesn't take long for the serum to get into your system."
"The SP serum?" I am still unsure of what exactly the serum does. It tries to corrupt the murder genes, right? If they even exist.
"Yeah," his voice is low as he traces my jaw with his finger, "Have you not realized that you are extremely comfortable with having me around?"
I have noticed. And I never tried to push him away.
"I like you like this," he whispers, cradling my cheek with his hand. I shiver under his touch, "I thought that Divergents could reject the influence certain serums have on them."
"Who said that I want to reject the serum?" I lower my voice to his level. Even the tattoos on his neck melt at my words.
Why am I letting myself do this? It could be the serum, but I know I can control it. Maybe I would like to conform just for a minute. Get away from all the reality. Eradicate my "murder" genes. Allow the serum to make me a better person. Allow myself to be happy again.
Something in my core tightens when he runs his hand down the open space on my chest until his fingers reach the zip of my jacket.
Eric's husky voice travels down my ear canal, evicting a small moan from my mouth.
"I never thanked you for bailing me out."