I heard the rushing of water underneath my feet and the clash as the water hit the cliffs. The bridge of the chasm had been built back, and I stood on it, remembering.

"Had close call?" the dainty voice called from behind me.

Suddenly, it was if fear had literally gripped my throat. I couldn't breathe. I turned to see Jeanine, and upon realizing my loss of breath, threw her head back and laughed.

"Don't worry, little sister." She said as she approached me, her hands now on my shoulders. "You won't be breathing much longer anyways. This is your fault. You tried to forget. You can never forget."

She pushed my shoulders and I began stumbling backwards, and… off of the railing. I tried to scream, but nothing came out.

"Rose!" Eric shouted, as he shook me awake.

I put my head in my hands and began to weep. Eric flipped on the bedside lamp, which cast a dull glow throughout the room. He sat down beside me, and placed an arm around me, comforting me. I felt his bare skin against mine. He was shirtless, the toned muscles of his chest sticking out boldly.

He said nothing, just sat there beside me. I inhaled the sweet scent of his cologne and tried to make myself remember the smell in case I became factionless. I laid my head on Eric's chest, and drifted off into a deep sleep.

My eyes blinked open and I looked around confused. Eric's arm was draped across my waist, his head just above mine. He was snoring soundly beside him. I accidentally laughed aloud when I noticed that he was sleeping with his mouth wide open.

Eric stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Oh god," he cursed. "This is so unprofessional. I promise you that I didn't mean to fall asleep like that… or to fall asleep with you at all."

"Don't worry. This is a day at the park compared to the agony I go through when you kiss me." I said, as I laid back down, placing a pillow on my head to block out the light cast by the bedside lamp that was never turned off.

I felt Eric's body shake with a silent laugh, "You kissed back, liar."

"I was taken off guard. You probably have cooties." I joked.

"Guilty," he answered, as he, too, laid back down. "But now we both have them."

I almost fell back asleep until Eric blurted out, "You missed the rankings, by the way."

I shot up from underneath the pillow, making Eric jump up as well, "What did I get?! Am I factionless?!" I shouted.

"Think a little. If you were factionless, you wouldn't be here now." He laughed. "You were in second place, behind Jackson."

I smiled largely. "Who was factionless?"

"Two Dauntless-born and a transfer. Dauntless-born get so cocky and think they don't have to work because they were born here. They usually go fast." He answered.

I grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him impatiently. "Who. Was. The. Transfer!"

"Hmm… What was her name again?" He dragged on, tapping his chin with his finger. "Oh yeah! Kait! She's factionless."

My heart dropped. Kait… gone? Tears started welling up in my eyes.

"Calm down, you big baby. I'm kidding. Sadie's factionless, not your little girlfriend." He teased.

"Eric!" I screamed, punching his arm.

When I punched him, the slept-on hair that messily covered his face moved. He had a purple bruise on his forehead where I had head-butted him. I covered my mouth with my hand, but it failed to be enough to hide my laughter. Eric raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Look at your face!" I struggled to say between laughs. He opened the door in his room that led to the bathroom (the other door in the living room must lead to the same one), and I could hear him mumbled various curse words.

He came back through with the bag of pain serum and the needle. I groaned at the thought of being injected with another serum.

"Hey, it's better than the alternative." He shrugged. "This might seem awkward, but I need you to lay on your stomach and pull up your shirt.

I did as I was told. I heard a gasp catch in Eric's throat. I had forgotten about my scar when I was laughing with Eric. I felt his warm hand rub gently over the scar. "How could anyone hurt you like this?"

"I broke an old man's leg because I was trying to run away. It was my punishment." I answered, pushing back tears.

He continued to trace his fingers across my scar. Normally, if someone would even see it, I would pull my shirt down and probably run away. But, now, I didn't feel embarrassed or ashamed. I felt cared for.

"If I would've been there, I would've broken more than his legs." He grumbled.

I didn't respond, but jumped when I felt Eric's lips kiss my scar. "I'll never let anything happen like this again," he reassured.

He moved on from the topic, and silently pushed the needle into the skin near my hip and injected the serum. My stomach began to growl. Eric chuckled softly.

"Practice walking on your crutches and I'll make you breakfast." He said, opening the door wide and bring my crutch to me.

"Why do I even need a crutch? My legs are fine." I asked.

"You can't put pressure on that side of you. It might hurt the stitches."

I nodded in response. He stayed beside me, ready to catch me if I fell. I stayed steady though, well steady-ish. I took a seat at the bar stool, while Eric's began cracking eggs into a pan.

A loud knock sounded at the door. Eric opened the door, spatula still in hand. Max stood in the doorway, a furious expression on her face. He clutched a newspaper in his hand so tightly, it was starting to crumble.

"Explain this," he shouted, thrusting the newspaper at Eric.

Eric grabbed it and started to read. I saw his eyes widen and his mouth hang open as he read. "Max, you can't believe this bullshit!" Eric said, giving him back the paper.

"Do we have to take a trip to Candor and have a truth serum test?" Max bellowed.

"It's not necessary, but I would GLADLY take it to clear my name," Eric argued.

Max walked over to me, handing me the paper. "Let's see if you can make sense of this."

Dauntless Leader Sleeps with Mental Initiate, the headline read. It was from the gossip column. I remember reading from it when the assistant brought them to me.

Dauntless initiate Rose Matthews has had a mental disorder and was taken into private lessons since she was a young girl. Upon transferring to Dauntless, she spilled an elaborate tale, including accusations that Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews, her older sister, tortured her in cruel and unusual ways.

When asked about these accusations, the leader was quoted as saying, "My sister is a poor child, who cannot help how she is. She is in her own fairytale world and cannot decipher it from reality. I am not mad at her for saying these things, but concerned for her. I urge everyone who hears her stories to please ignore them."

Apparently her stories have gotten her the special treatment of Dauntless leader Eric Kallian. As Dauntless initiate Edwin Waterson has told us, Matthews has told Kallian her stories and convinced him to have sexual relations with her, out of pity.

I put the newspaper down and covered my mouth in shock. "It's… I didn't lie." I stuttered, tears spilling down my cheek.

Max sympathetically laid a hand on my shoulder. "I know. Four told me about seeing your back. I wish I could do something about this, but we can't break ties with Erudite. We need their resources."

Max said his good-byes and then left. I was still crying, when Eric sat the plate of eggs and bacon down in front of me. "Don't cry, Rose. Everyone knows you're telling the truth. They know I'd never sleep with you."

I ignored his joke. "Why can't she just leave me alone?"

"Because she has a mental disorder and tells untrue stories." He answered.

I laughed and wiped away tears. "I see why you don't let people see the real you. You make terrible jokes."

"Just eat your eggs and shut up," he grinned.

His shirt was still off, and that probably didn't help the whole "sleeping with me" thing. Eric's muscles were enormous. It seemed like every inch of his body, there was some curve or dent in his skin. His hair was unbrushed and still had that just-woke-up look. I liked it best when it looked like this.

"Stop staring. I know I'm hot, but c'mon." He laughed. I hadn't realize that I was staring so obviously. "I'm going to put on a shirt, so you'll eat and stop gawking at me," he laughed as he walked into his bedroom. I took my first bite of the food. Eric was an amazing cook. I thought of his story of having to cook for himself his whole life. A tear slid down my cheek when I thought of the poor little boy being so alone.

"Why the hell are you crying now?" Eric shouted. He had pulled on a black shirt that hug his body tightly. It had the Dauntless flames in red.

"You're a good cook," I answered, continuing the meal.

"My cooking is so good, you're crying?" he asked.

I shrugged and Eric laughed. He was laughing so much now. I remember when he would only sigh. Now, that I noticed, there was more color and life in his cheeks. He seemed… not lonely.

His hand touched my arm underneath my shoulder. "I did this, didn't I?" I looked down to see the scar where his knife had skimmed me.

"Eric, that's most minor scratch on me." I tried to reassure him.

"I still did it. I still hurt you."

"Yeah, and I put that humungous bruise on your forehead." I laughed.

Eric had gone to the Pit to buy me a pair of pajamas. I ended up reading one of the books from his shelf and falling asleep after reading the first paragraph. Healing is exhausting.