Chapter Nine: A Small Setback
Staring at my mural with only a sheet around me, I remembered a simpler time. A time when this mural was something I looked at every day. Being able to work on it at any time, knowing what to expect from day to day because everything was at it should be. I had purpose. I had a job and a life. Then our world fell apart. Now we had no idea what to expect and in less than twenty-four hours we would be leaving the only place we knew. This room would never again be my home. This city would no longer be the world I lived in.
Getting to my feet, I stepped up to the wall, running my hand along it, letting my fingers trail against it as I turned and moved toward the many faces of Eric. Staring at it, I wished he had never left my bed the night Abnegation was attacked. If only he had stayed and told me what was happening. We could have run as far away as we could, avoiding the fight and so many things that had happened would never have happened. Neither of us would have had to fight for our lives and both of us would not be as scarred as we are today. Maggie would more than likely still be alive. God I wished we could go back to that night. It was a good night. Though this one had done well at challenging it.
"Baby?" Eric said groggily from bed.
"I'm right here." I replied, still staring at the wall.
"Baby, come back to bed." He replied, sounding like he was already drifting back to sleep.
Touching his face on the wall, looking at him in my bed, the mural did him no justice. Smiling, I stepped to the bed, crawling onto it. Draping myself on top of his chest, I stared down at him, running my finger from one side of his face to the other. The man himself was by far better than any drawing or painting could ever be. Leaning forward, I brushed my lips against his growing beard. It was nearly past the five o'clock shadow, but it suited him for where we were and what we were going to do. It made him more of a man than ever.
"I'm so in love with you, Eric." I whispered to him.
He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he whispered, "Love you, baby."
Pressing my lips against his chest, I relaxed, falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat beneath my ear. As long as I could hear it every day of my life, I would be happy. As long as I had him I could survive anything. He was right when he said that all we needed was each other. Maybe I had been wrong when I told Evelyn that I needed more people than just Eric. He was all that mattered to me. I wanted my family and yet, I could survive without them. But not without him.
Waking, the sun was up and I found myself alone in bed. Laying on my stomach, I gripped his pillow, pulling it under by head and took a deep breath of it. Eric filled my senses and I couldn't help but smile. Hearing the door, I turned my head to see Eric with a plate of food. He was smiling, setting the plate on the bench at the end of the bed before crawling up to me. Rolling to meet him properly, I wrapped my arm around his neck, gripping his shoulder as he kissed me passionately. He tasted like coffee, making me suck his lip. He laughed lightly, pressing his face between my breasts, his lips against the scar that ran between them before he took the barbell between his teeth, his tongue circling it.
"Careful." I told him, gently gripping the back of his neck, running my hand up and down it. "We don't want that food to go to waste."
"Maybe I want to build up an appetite." He told me before he was trailing kisses down my stomach.
Soon his arm was around my thigh, his lips against the inside of it before he gently bit it. Quivering at his touch, I gripped the sheets on either side of me, arching my chest as he pleasured me. When he finally returned his lips to mine, I swiftly reached down, gripping him, massaging him until he was hard in my grasp. Holding it at my entrance, he pushed inside of me, rocking against me as I brought my knees up, my hands at his sides. Encircling his shoulders with my arms, I tilted my head back, his lips at my neck. Moaning with pleasure as we climaxed, he dropped himself on top of me, trailing kisses from my shoulder to my neck and finally to my lips where I eagerly awaited them.
"How are you doing in there?" He asked as his kissed my forehead.
"All I can think about is you." I smiled and kissed him.
He smiled, kissing me again, "Good answer."
Laughing lightly, I ran my hand across his hair, putting my hand against his face as he stared into my eyes. "How about you?" I asked kissing his forehead.
"In this moment I'd have to say the same as you." He said brushing his nose against mine. "You're too stunning not to think about constantly."
Laughing again, I brought my other hand to his face, "Can we just stay here?"
He sighed, running his fingers through my hair, "I wish we could."
"Why not?" I asked him sadly. "I can't go back there."
He frowned at me, continuing to run his fingers through my hair, "You can, baby. They need us. And today is the last time we're going to see our family for who knows how long." Sighing, I wrapped my arm around his as I stared at the ceiling. "Pen, we need to leave this place. We need to see what's out there. We need to do it for us. For the people we care about."
Scoffing, I didn't meet his eyes, "It feels more like we're running away. Escaping the people who've hurt us." He didn't say anything, feeling him rest his head against me. Sighing, I ran my hand across his hair before started to knead the muscles in his neck. "You have every reason to run. I'll run with you. I just wished things had happened differently."
"You and me both." He replied, his hands gripping my sides.
Moving out from under him, I moved down so I could meet his eyes, "I'm with you, Eric. I will always be with you."
"I know." He replied. "But remember that we're in this together. In whatever we decide."
"We've already decided, Eric." I stated. "But I'm inclined to do whatever you want despite what I think."
"Why?" He smirked.
"Because you're so damn adorable." I smirked back, kissing him deeply.
Fooling around for a while longer, moving between the bed and the shower, we embraced the last moments we'd have in this room. We were both going to miss it here. There were so many good memories that it was extremely hard to close the door after leaving it. But we did. We didn't have a choice. We needed to get back and we needed to make sure everyone was ready for what tonight would bring.
We walked through the Dauntless halls, going to the places where we had built our relationship. The Chasm. The dark hallways. The Parlor. All were quiet and empty. A shadow of the place we once called home. Finally walking the streets back to Erudite, Eric made sure we remained unseen, slipping in through a back door before we made our way to our room. Thinking our absence hadn't been missed, we weren't that lucky when we were stopped in the hallway by Evelyn's soldiers.
"Pen." One told me. "Evelyn would like a word."
"I don't answer to Evelyn." I retorted.
They looked at each other before they met my eyes, "It wasn't a question."
They reached for me only to have Eric quickly put them on their knees. Both breathing hard, one with a dislocated shoulder. The whole encounter lasted maybe twenty seconds. Looking up at Eric, I couldn't help but smirk. My god he was sexy. It quickly faded when my arms were grabbed, wrenched behind my back, watching Eric get hit on the back of the head, sending him to his knees.
Something was wrong.
"It wasn't a question." A voice said in my ear, the smell of alcohol reaching my senses.
"Oh god." I said before I was being taken away. "Eric!"
My shoulders were starting to pulse with pain the more I struggled against the man that held me. I didn't think he was capable of such strength. We weren't even near where Evelyn's office was. It was a ruse. They should have known better than to think I'd be fooled as to willingly go to Evelyn. Instead we went deeper and deeper into Erudite, being pulled out a door I didn't know existed, down an alley and into a broken down building. From there we went into the basement, seeing a light at the end of a dark hallway, a chair being seen. Struggling against them, I was forced through the door, into the chair, my arms and legs being bound to it.
"Kent." I said as he stepped in front of me.
"Whore." He replied.
Laughing, I shook my head, "You have no idea what you've done."
"Don't I?" He frowned. "I'm about to save my son from your influence."
Anger was starting to take over, jerking against the ropes, feeling them start to dig into me. "You don't give one shit about your son. Why are you doing this?" I shot at him. "You've done nothing but beat him down. Why am I such a threat?"
"He turned from his faction because of you."
"I am his faction!" I yelled at him. "He is not Erudite. He will never be Erudite again. He's Dauntless. More than that he is mine and you will never take him from me."
"But we can take you from him."
Laughing again, I shook my head, "Jeanine tried and failed at that. More than once."
"You're originally from Amity, yes?" Adele said appearing from the shadows.
Frowning, I took her in. She had a fucking smirk on her face that I was dying to force off of her face. "Yes."
"When he came to us, he showed us a book full of drawings. All from your hand?"
"Yes." I repeated, wondering where the hell she was going with this.
"He thanked us for his childhood since that was the reason he defected and met you." She went on. "It was surprising how calm he was and how certain he was when he told us that he loved you. He was never meant to love anyone. He was raised for a job and he failed at it because of you."
"Raised for a job?" I shot at her. "You raised your child to work for a mad woman?"
"Jeanine wasn't the first." She stated. "And he's not the only one."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I frowned, shaking my head as I attempted to wrap my head around all this.
"He knew his job. He knew what he was supposed to do." She went on. A horrible glare crossed her face, "Then he met you."
"Meeting me was the best thing that has ever happened to him." I snapped at her. "If it weren't for me he'd be dead." I stated. "He was succeeding at his job. He was finding and killing the Divergent. But he was outsmarted and misinformed about the capabilities of what we could do." I went on. "He was going to be executed for all the wrongs he has done. But I stopped them. I saved his life. Since then we've saved each other. We're happy. Why can't you just leave us the hell alone?"
"Leave us." Kent told the room.
Watching as the few men left, as well as his wife, he shut the door before turning to me. Frowning at him, in the next second my vision speckled as he backhanded me. Tasting blood, I licked the corner of my mouth, spitting the blood in my mouth at his feet. He opened a book that was on a table as he rolled up his sleeves. Furrowing my brows, I didn't know what he was going to do. He was Erudite. They were known for their brains not their brawn. But he was a known abuser. But if he kept this up long, I'd miss my window, and I would be stuck here. I just hoped Eric would leave with the others. He couldn't stay here. He needed to get as far from here as possible.
"Why are you really doing this? You don't care about Eric." I stated.
"You're right." He replied. "I never have."
"You are a real piece of work, you know that?" I shot at him. "If you have never cared about him then why are you doing this? It doesn't make any sense."
"Does it have to make sense to you?"
"Yes!" I yelled. "Tell me why I'm here, Kent."
"I don't have to tell you anything." He replied, turning back with a blade in hand. "I've never done this before, but I feel like I might enjoy it."
There was something familiar about the look on his face. About the way he was carrying himself. Then it clicked. "Were you Dauntless?" I asked him. He raised his eyes and met mine, danger in them. "You were." I nodded. "That actually makes sense. No wonder you can be so cruel."
He laughed, stepping toward me, fingering the edge of the blade. "It doesn't matter where I came from. I am loyal to my faction."
"What will torturing me give you?" I frowned at him. "All I see in your future is death."
Laughing again, he shook his head, "My boy won't find you in time for you to see it."
"Eric." I told him. "His name is Eric. He's not your boy or your son or anything else. His name is Eric."
"I truly believe you love him."
"And I truly believe that you are a crazy son of a bitch with a death wish." I retorted. "Even if he isn't in time, if you kill me he'll kill you without a seconds pause. You and your cunt of a wife."
Hitting me again, I felt the blade underneath my chin, his face close to mine. "Do not speak of my wife that way."
"What are you going to do, Kent?" I smiled at him. "Are you going to cut me?"
He leaned back, eyeing me before undoing one of my arms, forcefully turning my arm over and secured it again. "Yes." He finally replied before swiftly raking the blade across the soft flesh.
I attempted to not make a sound but by the fifth cut, a scream erupted from me. It seemed that's what he was waiting for, taking a step back. Looking down, blood was running down both sides of my arm.
"You bastard." I told him through clenched teeth. "Tell me why I'm here!" I yelled at him. "You're going to kill me anyway so why not just tell me?" Turning back to me, he held a pot, steam pouring from the top of it. "You've got to be kidding me." I said before the liquid was poured over my wounds. "Jesus! Enough!" I screamed. "Is this like unfinished business from Jeanine? Did she order you to finish the job if she were to die?"
He didn't reply but put two more cuts into my arm. "Seven."
"What?" I told him, trying not to shake from the pain.
"Seven is the number of times you should have died by now."
Shaking my head, I still couldn't figure out what the hell was happening. I needed to get out of here. I needed to get back and I needed to leave this fucking city. By now Eric would have gone for help. But my family alone wouldn't be enough. If Four was smart then he would go to his mother. At the same time that would only raise unwanted attention toward our little party. The more I thought about it the more I realized that I was screwed. If they knew what was good for them then they'd just leave. But I knew that Eric wouldn't. He would never leave without me. I needed him to go. I needed him to survive.
Without another word, he turned and left the room. My adrenaline started to wear off and pain started to pulse through my arm. Looking at the cuts, the blood kept dripping, the edges and surrounding flesh red, some of it sloughing away from the cut. There was no blistering yet, but it seared with pain every time I moved.
Trying not to focus on the pain, I counted them time and time again. I didn't know why seven was the number. What had happened seven times that should have killed me? The pain made it hard to focus and the room and hallway leading to it was quiet. Too quiet. What the hell were they doing? What were they hoping to gain from this? The only explanation was Jeanine. She'd known them and Eric since he was born. For all I knew she had sought out his parents as a failsafe in case we escaped. But when? Was it before or after we thought he was dead? When did she make them her rabid dogs? To save their own skins? Why?
"Help!" I yelled, though I didn't think it would do any good. "Somebody help me!"
Attempting to move in any direction, the ropes around my wrists and ankles left no room for movement. Screaming my annoyance, I continued to struggle against the ropes, needing to find a way out of here.
Hours seemed to pass but I had no idea how accurate that was. To pass the time, I attempted to count it, but that did nothing but annoy me further. Returning to my initial plan, I started screaming again, hoping some passerby or soldier or anyone would hear me. When it was starting to grow unbearable, I started to struggle again, screaming Eric's name. I was still screaming when the door opened and Kent walked in with an evil smirk on his face.
"He's not coming for you." He told me.
"I know." I retorted.
"But you want him to." He stated.
"Actually no, I don't."
"No?" He said with a raised brow. "You don't want him to come sweeping in to save your life?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"As much as I would love him to come in on a white horse, I'd rather he just stay away."
"Why?"
"Because." I retorted with annoyance.
His brows furrowed and he looked at me accusingly, "What do you have planned?"
"What are you talking about?" I shot back at him. "I don't want him to come because I don't want him to see you ever again. I don't want him to ever have to deal with you again. I want you and your fucking wife to die!" He chuckled, the blade once again being placed under my chin. "Do it." I told him. "Do it and get it over with. I only hope that I can watch Eric kill you when he finds out what you've done."
Feeling pressure, he was going to kill me, only before he could, the lock on the door shattered as it was kicked in. Factionless soldiers flooded the room and Kent was quickly taken away. I was untied and helped to my feet. Several stepped aside and Evelyn appeared.
"Pen." She said with worry, gently taking my head in her hands. "Are you okay?"
Wrapping my arms around her neck, I couldn't help but need a little comfort. Not only that but I was grateful to her in this moment. If she had been but five minutes slower, she might be bringing a corpse back instead.
"Thank you." I whispered into her ear.
"Are you hurt?" She asked, once again taking my head in her hands.
Furrowing my brows, I shook my head, "Just a little."
"Where?" She frowned. I held out my arm. "Pen…" She said taking it in both of hers.
"It's fine." I told her shaking my head.
"It's not." She replied. "Come on."
Wrapping her arm around me, she led me from the room. Reaching the street, she ordered two of her men to find Eric and Four, and bring them to her office, and to let the rest of my family know that I was okay. Not arguing with her, I let her lead me through the halls and into the library. I was happy to sit in one of her chairs and to have the door close behind me. I actually felt safe here in this moment. That seemed wrong considering what was going to happen tonight. Looking out the window, the sun was still high in the sky. Nodding to myself, I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Pressing my thumb near the crook of my arm, I tried to slow the bleeding of the cuts in front of it.
"Here." Evelyn said handing me a glass of water.
"Thank you." I said taking my hand from my arm and accepted it, drinking it quickly.
"What happened?" She asked as she grabbed a cloth, wrapping it around my arm.
Shaking my head, I shrugged, "I don't know. I was grabbed in the hallway and forced to that room. Eric was with me but he was hit and before I could see what happened I was already apart from him."
"What did his parents want?"
I shook my head again, putting pressure on the cuts, "I don't know. The only explanation I can think of is that they were working as a last resort for Jeanine. To rid the world of the Divergent. She's dead but maybe that's what triggered everything. Maybe that's what made them seek Eric out and to cause all this trouble."
She looked at me a long moment before nodding, "That honestly makes quite a bit of sense."
"Really?" I frowned.
"Really." She replied with a small smile. "They wouldn't be the first to rise against us in an attempt to finish her work. They want to hurt those who killed their leader. Many still believe in what she was trying to accomplish."
"Why? Don't they know that it won't work? The Divergent aren't to be feared. We're the reason that this city exists."
"There's a lot we don't know." Evelyn told me sadly. "All I know is that people are still afraid and they're acting out."
"Are you telling me that you can't control them?"
"I'm trying to, Pen. But it's not as easy as it sounds."
"So this has happened before." I frowned harder. She sighed and nodded at me. "To other Divergent?" She nodded again. "Have any been killed?" She met my eyes but didn't respond. "How many?" I asked.
"Enough." She replied.
"Why haven't we heard anything about it?"
"Because I knew what kind of panic that would bring on. The rest of the Divergent would act against those who were attacking them. The peace that I've been trying to create would be shattered."
"Maybe it has to in order for this all to work."
"Pen." She smiled sadly.
Nodding, I took another deep breath. "Okay." I told her. "What's going to happen to them?"
"They'll rot in a cell until I decide to either kill them or keep them in a cell for the remainder of their days."
"Either one would be fine with me." I stated.
Her eyes fell on my arm. "They look painful." She commented.
"Very." I nodded. "The cuts alone would have been fine, but he poured near boiling water over them." Her brows furrowed heavily. "If you've never experienced it, it hurts like hell, and I wouldn't recommend it."
"Why would he torture you?"
"To cause me pain?" I replied as I shook my head. "To try and teach me a lesson before they killed. To hurt Eric. To hurt you. I don't know why, Evelyn. All I know is that I want them dead. More now than I ever did before." She nodded and sighed. Only before she could say anything, the door burst open. "Eric." I said as I stood, immediately finding myself wrapped in his arms. "Baby, I'm okay." I told him as he shuddered with anger.
"Where are they?" He shot at Evelyn. "I will kill them!"
"No." Evelyn said and stood from her chair. "I'll take care of them."
"Let me see." Four said holding his hands out to my arm.
Meeting his eyes, I shook my head, "No, it's fine."
Eric met my eyes and worry crossed his face. Unable to meet either of their eyes, Eric gripped my wrist as Four started to gently unwrap the cloth that was wrapped around it. Looking at Evelyn, she gave me a small reassuring smile. Feeling both men tense when they took in my arm, I looked up at Eric, reacting too slowly as he darted from the room.
"Eric, don't! Eric!" I yelled after him. "Tobias." I added looking at my brother. He rushed off and I turned to Evelyn. Shaking my head, I felt tears in my eyes. Then my name was said again and I turned to see Simmy. "Simmy."
"Sit." She told me.
"Your little healer is fascinating." Evelyn smiled.
Laughing, I nodded, "That she is." Though as soon as it came, I couldn't help but stare at the door, wanting Eric more than I could describe. "I'm okay." I told Simmy as she probed my wounds.
"I'll be back. Stay here." She told me and disappeared.
There was a long moment of silence before Evelyn broke it. "I see you've invited all your friends to stay in yours and Eric's room."
Looking at her, a pit falling in my stomach, I nodded, "We all feel better when we're together." I told her. "All this is new and with all the close quarters, it's nice to have a place where we can just be together."
She nodded, "I'm glad you all remain close. Even Tori was seen staying with you."
"She was my first family member after Claude and Henry. She's been there for me since the beginning."
"Since she told you what you were." She nodded.
I nodded in return, "She means the world to me. As does the rest of my family."
"I know." She smiled. "I'd give my life to feel half the love you all share, for my son to feel that way about me."
Feeling a small measure of guilt, I looked at her sadly, "I know. I feel sorry for you, Evelyn. But until a day such as that arises, Tobias has me. He'll always have me."
"Thank you." She told me.
Jumping, we both spun to the door as Four shoved Eric through it. "Let me go! Tobias!"
"Sit down!" Four yelled and shoved him in the chair next to me.
Eric leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he rubbed the knuckles of his hand before resting his mouth against them. He hadn't looked at me once. Watching him, I knew that he wasn't here. He was somewhere else, imagining his parents' blood on his hands. Unable to take the silence, I moved to my knees in front of him, rubbing his arms.
"Eric, it's okay. Everything is fine." I told him gently.
"It's not okay." He frowned, covering my hand with his, finally meeting my eyes. "It's so not okay that I don't even know where to start."
Leaning up, my hand found the back of his neck, putting our foreheads together. Taking a deep breath, he took one as well, releasing it together. Smiling, I kissed him slowly. When I started to lean away from him, his hand quickly found my neck, keeping me in place and kissed me again.
"Can we go?" He asked Evelyn.
She smiled and nodded, "Yes."
Gripping his arms, he helped me to my feet, pulling me tightly against his side. Turning to Evelyn, I smiled, "Thank you."
She nodded, her smile growing slightly. Feeling Four's hand on my shoulder, Eric kept me glued to his side as we left the office. Rushing back to our room, both men's eyes were constantly darting in every direction. Every time Eric thought he saw something suspicious, he'd tense and then relax again.
When we finally made it through the door, I rushed into Claude's open arms, "I'm okay."
"What happened?" Henry asked stepping up to Four. "Was it him?" He added with raised brows, pointing at Eric.
"Stop." I frowned at him.
"Was it his parents?"
"Henry." I shot at him.
He met my eyes before his moved to my arm. Claude was holding it, gently looking at the damage. In the next second I was moving, being thrown off balance as Henry attacked Eric. Feeling arms, Claude was pulling me back as the two men went at it.
"Stop it!" I yelled. "Dammit. Four!"
"Let them go at it." He said but was watching them closely. "This has been a long time coming."
Henry was on top of Eric, punching him repeatedly before Eric got the upper hand. Knocking him to the side, he kicked Henry's ribs until he fell onto his back. Straddling him, he started to punch the shit out of him. Only it didn't end there. They carried it from one side of the room to the other, breaking through everything that got in their way. It ended when Eric kicked Henry in the chest, sending him slamming against the already broken window. It caved under his weight and in the next second he was falling through it. Screaming, the rest of us rushed forward but Eric was already there, partially out the window, yanking Henry back through before we could even help him.
"Are you finished?" Eric shot at him.
He was lying on the floor, breathing heavily. "Yeah, I'm done."
Eric held his hand out to him, still glaring at him. Henry glared back before accepting his hand, getting back onto his feet. "And yes, it was my parents." He replied. "But if you think I had anything to do with it, I'll toss you right back out that window."
"I don't." Henry replied, taking a deep breath. "I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt Pen. You love her. More than that, she loves you. But you're not dumb enough to think that you're the only one who loves her."
Feeling annoyed, I glared at both of them, holding my arm out in front of me. Eric met my eyes, raising a brow at Henry. "No, I'm not. I know you love her. You've loved her longer than me." Then he was stepping toward him. "But I won the girl, and you need to get over it. Stop antagonizing me. Or her for that matter. We've all been fighting amongst ourselves and a lot of that has been because of me. I'm sorry about that. But we're all family in this room. You all more than me. You've done a good job at looking out for each other. You can't lose that now. Not when we're so close to being separated. When this is over you're still going to need each other."
Smiling, loving him in every way, I stepped up to him, "It's not just us. You're a part of this family and everything you've said applies to you too." He smiled and kissed me. Wrapping my good arm around him, I put my lips against his ear, "I love you."
Hugging me tightly, he pressed his lips against my shoulder before my neck, holding me as if I were the most precious thing he had. God knew that he was mine. "Let's get you looked at."
"Simmy was grabbing things but we left before she got back." I told him.
"I'll find her." Terra said with her hand on my arm.
Smiling, I hugged her tightly, "Thank you." Keeping Eric's hand, I walked to the bed, dropping down on the end of it. He bent his knee, sitting next to me, his leg pressed against my thigh. Looking at him, I smiled, "We should have stayed in our room."
He looked at me, his expression almost guilty, "I know."
"Does this change anything?" Henry asked.
We all looked at him before all eyes were on me. "I don't think so." I told them. "Evelyn did ask me why we were all in the same room. But she didn't seem suspicious about it, just curious."
"And your arm?" Henry frowned. "Maybe you should stay here until it's healed."
"We're only going to get one shot at this." I told him. "I'm going. Where's Tori?"
"She didn't say." Four replied. "She just said she'd be back before it was time to leave."
"Has anyone talked to Tris or Christina or anyone else?"
"No." Eric replied. "Most of the day has been spent looking for you." He added running his hand down my hair.
Meeting his eyes, I put my hand against his face, kissing him deeply. "I love you, Eric. I'm sorry about what happened."
"Don't apologize for that." He frowned. "It wasn't your fault. It was mine. Once again."
He stood, pacing as anger filled him. "Baby, it wasn't your fault."
"It was. Now you have another set of scars." He replied angrily.
"Eric, you didn't ask for it. We just need to get out of here." Four told him calmly. "By this time tomorrow we may be in a situation ten times as good as this one."
"What if we're not?" Eric replied. "What if it's worse and she's…" He started.
"I'm not as weak as you think I am." I shot at him. "I'm not something small and fragile that you need to protect. I love that you protect me but I can take care of myself."
"Like today?" He frowned.
"Are we really going to fight about this?" I frowned back at him. "I'm more than willing to let you be the man and take care of me. But I can handle things myself, Eric."
"I know you can, Pen. But this really is my fault. I can't help but feel guilty about it. Ever since Jeanine's death, things have been escalated and all of it has been because of me."
"No." I said getting to my feet and stepped up to him. "It's your parents fault. They are the ones responsible for all the bad that has gone down for us. But we're going to leave them behind and everything will get better. I'm fine. I probably won't even scar."
"You're gonna scar." Henry interjected. Both Eric and I shot him a glare. "Sorry."
"I'll tend to it and then I'll be fine." I told Eric. "Simmy will make me right as rain."
"What about Simmy?" Claude asked. "I'm assuming she's going to be staying here."
"Yeah." I nodded. "If you wouldn't mind keeping an eye on her."
"Of course." She nodded.
Sighing, I nodded, "Thank you."
We all looked at the door as Simmy burst in with an annoyed look, Terra trailing behind her. "I told you to stay." Simmy frowned at me.
"I'm sorry." I replied quickly.
"She's crazy." Terra told me.
Smirking, I couldn't help but laugh, "Your personality is truly showing itself."
"What did you expect?" She replied with a raised brow.
Sitting me back down on the bed, she set to debriding the dead tissue, making me cry out more often than I would have liked. Eric paced in front of me, his brows furrowed heavily. Every time I cried out he'd move toward me, only to stop and step back. I was tough. I could handle this. But the pain was fucking intense. More for him then me, I held my hand out to Eric. He swiftly gripped it and sat next to me, running his hand down my hair, pressing kisses against my temple as tears started to brim when the pain was starting to get to me.
"Jesus." I said bowing my head, gripping Eric's hand as hard as I could. Jerking a little, Simmy shot me a glare. Nodding, I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
"Don't you have anything to numb her?" Henry asked with an agonized expression.
"It's fine." I shot at him. Though I knew that none of them believed me. I was shaky and sweaty, too afraid to look down at my arm.
"Hold still." Simmy commanded.
Nodding, I endured a few more minutes of debridement before she meticulously applied a salve to help it heal. The cuts were superficial and didn't need stitching or anything. Finally looking down, it didn't look as bad as I thought it would. Definitely pink and painful, but not nearly as grotesque as I had been expecting. The salve was cooling and soothing, making relief finally move through me. Then she pressed gauze against it before wrapping it tightly.
"It's not as bad as you all think it is." She stated. "It might have seemed bad with her carrying on like that, but she's okay."
"Thanks." I smiled at her with furrowed brows.
"Hey, you're lucky. The water must have been sitting around for a little while before he used it on you."
Nodding, I took a deep breath, "What do you think about it scarring?"
"With this salve?" She said and shrugged. "Minimal."
Smiling, I nodded at her, "You think?" Then I couldn't help but frown. "Good. I'm sick of scars."
"It doesn't matter." Eric told me softly, running his hand down my hair.
"It does matter." I frowned at him. "We done?" I asked Simmy, pulling my arm from her hands.
"Yeah." She nodded. "You know the drill." She told me, handing me the container of salve and all the gauze and wrap.
I nodded, "I do."
Everyone was quiet before Simmy broke it. "I'm not gonna linger. Otherwise I'll just cry. I know you're leaving. I'm okay that you're leaving me here. Just…take care of yourself." She told me and left.
Bowing my head, I put my hand over the bandage. Eric pulled me against him, hugging my head to his chest. Gripping his bicep, I buried my face in his shoulder. It was becoming real. This whole thing was growing more and more real by the moment. In just a matter of hours we were going to leave this place. We didn't know what lay beyond the walls, but I had to hope that it was better than this. It had to be.