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Eric POV

We get to my apartment building and Tris seems immediately relieved to see its secure. I introduce Tris to Drew, the building doorman, and explain that she will be living with me and has the rights to grant access to the apartment.

Once we're inside the apartment, I give Tris the quick tour. Thank goodness I'm a bit of a neat freak, because she immediately comments how it doesn't look like a typical bachelors pad.

I grab out some older sweats with a drawstring waist, and a the smallest t-shirt I own. "I know this isn't the perfect outfit, but since you were sent home in scrubs I figure you might want to shower and have some clean clothes. We can get your stuff as soon as it's safe, plus I can go out today and buy you whatever you need."

"This is great Eric, thank you for everything. You have a lovely home." She states after I've shown her the guest room and private bathroom. She notices the bookshelves that line the guest room. "Wow, this is quite the collection."

"Yeah, I'm a bit of a bookworm." Rubbing my neck in embarrassment.

"I am too" she smiles. "It looks like we have similar tastes in books too. I look forward to exploring these." She gestures at the shelves with a smile.

My work phone alerts and I see its Pete. "Tris, make yourself at home, I need to take this." I step outside on the balcony.

"What's up Pete, have you talked to Eaton?"

"Better than talked, we arrested him today. He showed no concern for Tris' well being at all, but what he did show was a huge fucking temper when he tried to beat the hell out of me."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope. Dude went Hulk smash on me, took Pedrad, Max, Baker and a few others to restrain him. Broke my nose. The asshole. Speaking of Pedrad, you're not going to believe this."

"Lay it on me. Oh and sorry about the nose."

"Pedrad gave a statement. Not only did Eaton blow a fuse in front of Max, but when Pedrad went to his cell to speak to him, he admitted to wanting Tris dead. Come to find out that Eaton has also said some pretty foul shit when he drinks, and Pedrad thought it was all bullshit and bravado, but after today he wanted it all on the record."

"Fuck. That's great that we have another witness, especially given the nature of their friendship. This is huge. Hey, I need to go so that maybe I can take Tris to her house to get her things while the asshole is under lock and key. Pete, man thanks for everything. Sorry you had to deal with this today." I say, sincerely.

"Man, don't mention it. Shit like this makes my blood boil. Abusing the badge. Fuck him. Talk to you later."

I hang up and go inside to find Tris. She's curled up on the sofa with one of my books. Her hair is wet from a shower, and she's dressed in the sweats and t-shirt I left out for her. Damn she looks good in my clothes. She hears the sliding glass door and looks up with a grin.

"Good news?" She asks.

"He's been arrested. Short version is he blew a fuse, and while angry he admitted to some unflattering things. I think we have a good case against him." I reply, returning her grin.

She gets up from the couch and hugs me. I return the hug gently, I know she's still sore from her ordeal and surgery. I can feel her tears through my shirt, and I gently run my fingers through her hair to comfort her. Without releasing her, I tell her that we could go to her place to pack since he's being held. She pulls away slightly to look up at me.

"Let's go" she says firmly. She threads her hand with mine and squeezes.

"Lead the way."

When we arrive at her apartment, I realize how close we are to the precinct. It's also very close to my building as well. Chicago is a big city, but a small town at times. Tris is nervous when we get to her door, and when she puts her key in the lock she notices it was already unlocked. I instinctively pull her behind me and reach for my gun. I tell her to stay in the hall and I go through the open door. Once inside I find a woman who is likely a few years older than me, who appears to be throwing clothing into garbage bags.

"Stop what you're doing, turn around slowly with your hands up." She quickly complies.

"Who are you?" I hear Tris ask from behind me.

"I thought you left." The woman replies.

"Who the hell are you?" Tris yells.

The woman is in no rush to answer, so I jump in "Answer her or I'll put the cuffs on you and drag you in"

"Jesus Christ. My name is Lauren Bell. I'm friends with Four."

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"He asked me to be here."

Tris looks around and then notices that this woman had been packing her belongings into trash bags. "Why are you taking my things?!" She screams.

"Because I was asked to!" Lauren screams back. "My boyfriend asked me to come remove your trash from HIS house!"

Before I can react, Tris makes a move to reach for Lauren. I quickly pull her behind my back and remind her of her injuries. I tell Lauren to sit down. She takes a seat on the couch.

"Lauren. Do you see the bruises on this woman's face? The man you're calling your boyfriend is responsible for them. He's been arrested and is currently locked up. Now, I need you to tell me exactly how you know him, and how you ended up in this house today." I calmly ask. I sit down on the love seat across from where Lauren is sitting, and I pull Tris down beside me. She quickly takes my hand in her own trembling hand.

"He did that to you?" Lauren asks looking directly at Tris.

Tris nods her head, too upset to speak.

"When? He told me you were cheating on him, he confronted you and you left him."

"Three days ago. And his recollection of events is highly inaccurate. He beat me unconscious, and when he couldn't wake me up or find my pulse he drove me out to the middle of fucking nowhere and left me to die in the woods" Tris states, betraying no emotions in her voice.

Lauren visibly flinches upon hearing those words. She looks at me and begins her story. "I've known Four, err Tobias for the past 3 years. We've been involved in a physical relationship this whole time." I can hear Tris' sharp intake of breath, and she moves closer to me. I instinctively put my arm around her.

"Did you know about me?" Tris asks quietly.

"Yes." Lauren replies, not meeting Tris' eyes. "He told me you were hanging on to a high school romance and wouldn't leave him alone. I believed him."

They all sit quietly for a few minutes, then Lauren speaks again. "He's hit me before too." She whispers.

I look at her and she's still looking at the floor. "Lauren can you tell me more about those experiences?" I ask.

"It wasn't a lot. Sometimes he'd hit me during sex, but I thought he was just into rough stuff. But, there were a few times when he'd come over after a fight with her and he'd take it out on me. It didn't happen all the time, but if I didn't immediately respond to his sexual advances he'd get angry and sometimes violent." She says quietly, finally meeting my eyes.

"Why did you stay?" Lauren asks, looking directly at Tris.

"Probably the same reason you did. I thought I loved him, and him me. He made me think I couldn't live without him." I notice that Tris is no longer crying.

Lauren nods her head, meeting Tris' eyes. "That's exactly why I did too. I'm truly sorry that I got involved with him while he was with you. No woman deserves that."

"No, we don't." Tris says quietly.

I ask Lauren if she'd be willing to come to the station to make a statement and she agrees. I make a quick phone call to Pete and he agrees to come pick her up. Within 15 minutes they're gone. Tris still hasn't spoken and appears to be dazed.

I turn around so we're facing each other and ask her to talk to me.

"Ten years, Eric. Ten fucking years. At least I never got pregnant. Or married. He told me he wanted both of those things, and was angry with me that I kept dragging my feet. I think subconsciously I knew I didn't love him anymore a long time ago. I just wasn't ready to admit that to myself, or accept who he really was. I loved a memory of him." I notice she's still not crying. She's speaking with a quiet resolve, as if she expected everything she witnessed today.

"Sometimes, our minds are logical and let us know that the situation is wrong, but the heart doesn't always appreciate logic."

Tris nods in acknowledgment but stays quiet. She gets up from the love seat and begins slowly walking around the apartment.

"These pictures show our entire relationship," she makes a sweeping gesture towards a ladder shelf lined with multiple framed pictures. I'm not sure how to react, so I just wait for her to continue. "Ten years of wasted time. Ten years of lies. What a sick fucking joke." She stops in front of the shelf and reaches for one frame in particular. "This one goes with me, it's the last picture of my family together." She hands me the frame and I see a picture of Tris, her brother and parents smiling with their arms around each other, looking happy and carefree. It's a good candid shot. I jump when I hear glass breaking, and it's then that I see that Tris has thrown a framed picture of her and Eaton at the wall.

"That felt great." She says, void of emotion. I stand up and slowly walk over to where she's standing. She picks up another frame and slams it into the floor. She reaches for another one and I stop her.

"Tris, what's going on in that pretty head of yours?" I question

"Oh, it's nothing. I mean, it's great to know that the person who seemingly wanted me dead was also fucking someone one behind my back for the past 3 years. And he sent her to our apartment so she could dispose of MY things. He's trying to cover up his crime Eric. He's a fucking detective and he's doing this. He doesn't even care if I'm alive or dead." Tris is shaking, but still not crying. This can't be good.

I take a chance and reach out for her, pulling her tight against my chest, running my hands up and down her back. She's tense, but I can feel her start to relax a bit. She puts her arms around my shoulders and I can feel her fingers playing with the hair on the back of my head. God, this girl is perfect, and this asshole tried to ruin her. Tris isn't a bombshell, but she's stunning. Long light brown hair with blonde highlights, I guess the best color to describe her eyes is hazel as they seem to have green, grey and brown in them, but her eyes are by far the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen, she's got enough curves that will make men notice her, and she fits perfectly against me. I know I am crossing professional lines by allowing myself to get close to her, but I just can't help myself. I've not had a serious relationship, nor have I wanted one in years. I'm not a prude, there have been some casual encounters, but no one has kept my interest. I'm only 25, so the fact that I've not really been in a hurry to settle down shouldn't be an issue. Tris intrigues me, her bravery and strength, her spirit and her mind. It's definitely more than a physical attraction here. I have to be careful with her, she's dealing with a lot and my main priority is being with her in whatever capacity she needs while putting that asshole away for what he's done to her.

We've been standing here holding each other for quite awhile. The quiet is broken by a chuckle from Tris. I pull back and look at her. "What's so funny?" I smirk.

"I was just thinking that I kind of lucked out since the whore was here, she packed most of my stuff for me." I can't help but laugh and Tris soon joins in. We laugh until we're out of breath.

"I never knew you could be so crass, little lady. It's kind of hot"

"There's a lot to learn about me Coulter."

"I'm looking forward to it, Prior."

Tris hugs me close to her again, and sighs. "This is the first time I've been happy in this apartment. I was miserable with him. He made me question everything about myself. He tried to ruin me."

"You never let him. You'll always be better than that."

"I hope so. I'm glad that I have that appointment tomorrow with Dr. Kang. There's a part of me that feels happy and free now that he's in jail, but I know theres stuff I need to deal with. I think it'll help me heal."

"I think so too. If nothing else, it's good to be able to talk freely with someone who has no preconceived notions. A lot of people feel that talking with a friend or loved one is enough. While it can be quite therapeutic, there will always be a measure of bias based on feelings."

"Your mind is amazing Eric." She says, looking up to meet my eyes.

"You're amazing." I say it before I can even think.

She just looks me for the longest time, never taking her eyes off of mine. "Not quite yet, but I will be." She says with a serious tone. "I definitely will be." she sighs.

She pulls away from me with a huge grin. "Now, let's break stuff!"

And break stuff we did.