Chapter 10

There is a woman standing at the bottom of Zeke and Uriah's apartment building, staring longingly at the plaque commemorating Eric, the Dauntless leader that fell from the top of the building. The plaque is something Sage usually tries to ignore, but she can't this time- there's just something familiar about the woman.

Zeke pushes his brother over to the girls with a composed urgency and mutters something to him before walking over to the woman and placing a kind hand on her shoulder. The other three are luckily within hearing distance.

"Did you know him well?" Zeke asks softly, curious.

"He was my son." she tells him, barely moving her eyes from the writing in front of them.

Sage notices Zeke start and he glances anxiously at Sage before taking the woman by the elbow and leading her a bit away, the two of them speaking in hushed tones. Sage goes to move closer but Uriah holds her back, "Wait."

Then Zeke and the woman walk back together straight up to the others. Sage still can't help but feel like she used to know this woman, but that's impossible, right?

Zeke puts an arm around Sage, "This is my girlfriend, Sage. Or as you know her- Maria."

The woman smiles kindly at Sage while Sage pokes Zeke in the side conspicuously. The woman goes to shake hands with her but doesn't let go. Instead she gazes at Sage with a vague curiosity and says, "Maria, I'm your mother."

Half an hour later, they all return to Zeke and Uriah's. Sage hasn't left the comfort of her boyfriend's arms since she met her mother, and has hardly spoken.

Sandra had told Sage that she gave her up for adoption, hoping she wouldn't return to Dauntless and end up like Eric, who even at a young age showed signs of being a dickhead. Obviously Sandra never used those precise words, but it was clear what she meant.

Now Sage is curled up in a blanket drinking a hot cup of coffee beside Zeke who still has a hold of her hand and Erika is sitting on Uriah's lap on the floor, I mean God forbid she actually use a chair! Suddenly Erika realises something, "You're Eric's brother!"

"Yeah..." Sage mutters, not even realizing Erika's mistake.

Zeke stares at her, "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Sage is confused, but just as she realises the mistake, Uriah has taken her hesitation as offence, "Wait," he says, defending Sage, "Zeke, I totally support this."

Erika and Sage glare at him while Erika corrects herself, "You're Eric's sister ?"

"I guess," Sage tries not to think about what he did to her before he died.

"Huh." Erika thinks about this for a second before letting out an excited yelp. "Comfort food!"

"Yes please!" Sage gasps, only realising how hungry she actually is. She grabs Erika's arm, only to accidentally trip over the edge of the rug and knock Erika's arm into the counter.

"Ow!" Erika curses loudly and then turns to Sage and exclaims, "You little shit!"

"God, sorry!" Sage apologises, trying not to laugh.

Uriah goes to hug Erika. He takes her arm, "Let me see."

Erika yanks her arm back all of a sudden, and says defensively, "No."

"Okaaayy..." Zeke says, confused. Sage and him exchange glances and she shrugs, whatever.

Uriah glares at Zeke, clearly trying to tell him something, "Let it go."

Zeke seems to remember something and nods to his little brother.

Suddenly Erika is offended. "You told him?" she demands, "And I suppose Sage knows too."

"I can honestly assure you that I haven't a clue as to what you are all on about." Sage says, "But if you'd like to fill me in..."

"Your boyfriend can tell you," Erika decides.

Later, Zeke explains that Erika once tried to commit suicide back in Abnegation. All he knows is that it had something to do with her being abused, but Zeke didn't know who hurt her.

"Oh my God..." Sage murmurs, "That's awful."

"Yeah." Zeke agrees, "But I think it's best that we do what Uriah said and let it go, you know?"

A/N

Just thought I'd let you all know that this is not the only story co-written by Erica and Aisling. We also have a Supernatual fic (in my account) called "If three's a crowd, what's seven?" and there is a Mortal instruments fic posted on Erica's account. Her name is AlaskaFox so go follow her if you're interested and check out our other stuff