All characters from Divergent belong to Veronica Roth as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.
Chapter 5 All the Way Down
"So how's the Jared thing going?" Alice asked in pretend indifference.
I shifted my focus away from Marlene, trying to shake off my irritation over her new obsessive glares. The only thing keeping me from retaliation was the sight of her still bruised face, not to mention that her second opponent had taken advantage of her previous injuries and managed to make them worse. "Going good." I said, but refused to elaborate more. Honestly I was surprised it took her a week to ask. I would've thought she would've interrogated me the day after. Either way, I wasn't planning on giving her much. I didn't want to expose Jared by telling Alice he wasn't as experienced as he'd made it seem. It wasn't her business and it didn't feel right to give her anymore details he wouldn't approve of, I'd expect the same consideration from him as well.
"He seems happier." She said casually. "I think you're tiring him out Bella because he's been late to breakfast almost every morning." She teased lightly.
I rolled my eyes, but laughed as Jared walked in just then, accompanied by Uriah and I nodded in his direction to let her know I had done no such thing. "By the way, don't say anything. I told Jared it would be our little secret."
Alice nodded eagerly. "Totally, I can keep a secret." She said, raising her hand palm up beside her head.
I arched a brow in question, I wasn't aware of what that gesture meant.
She huffed and begrudgingly explained, "It's a sign of giving you my word."
"Oh" I said, scratching the side of my head in confusion. "You could've just said so."
She rolled her eyes but didn't bother to say more, knowing there were times my Abnegation upbringing came out of me sometimes.
Taking the opportunity I turned my attention to Uriah this time. "Hey, what the hell is up with that Marlene girl? I know you mentioned she had a crush on you but she literally threatened to send me to the Factionless on our last fight. She said you were hers and no one else's. Not to mention that ever since then she's been glaring daggers at me AND she's joined forces with James and Peter. Look." I said, pointing to their table with my fork.
Sure enough, as he turned to look in the direction I pointed he caught her watching me like she wanted to stab me with the knife currently in her hand. All the while James sat proudly across from her smirking at her expression. Finally Uriah turned back to look at me, shaking his body dramatically in disgust. "I don't know, but the girl's got issues. I've never shown any interest in her so I don't know where her crush comes from."
"It's that pretty little face of yours!" Exclaimed a deep voice as he grasped onto Uriah's chin and shook it playfully.
Uriah looking supremely annoyed smacked his hand away from him. "Stop you dick, you're embarrassing me!" He grumbled unhappily trying to push him away. Everyone inside the food hall laughed at the display, I could tell this was a common occurrence as no one looked confused other than I and the rest of the transfers. "Now get out of here before I get in trouble for talking to a full member." He whisper shouted.
The guy slapped his hands away from him as he glanced in my direction. "Now wait a minute, brother. Who's this beautiful creature you've suddenly brought into our lives?" He asked, kneeling onto the seat in front of him to lean over the table. He grasped onto my hand and kissed the back of it. "The name is Zeke, and who might you be?"
I swear my eyebrows reached up to my hairline in surprise. "Uh, Bella." I said, feeling completely off guard with his playfully overbearing demeanor and the new knowledge that he was apparently Uriah's older brother.
"Bella." He said dreamily, "it's perfect." He whispered.
Uriah stood up then, tugging on his brother's shirt to pull him away from me. "Stop trying to get into her pants. You're so annoying!"
I snorted this time, shaking my head at the absurdity of the situation and continued to eat.
"But look at her!" He exclaimed, pointing at me in disbelief. "Even the way she eats is amazing!" Alice giggled and even Jared chuckled at his dramatics. Uriah didn't look at all entertained as he persisted hauling him away from me until he got to the doors of the food hall to throw him out.
"No! You can't keep us apart!" He yelled dramatically. I giggled as I saw his hand slip through the small opening of the door, dragging his fingers on the floor desperately trying to grasp onto Uriah's leg.
"Go away!" He yelled in aggravation. "Or I swear I will slam the door on your arm!" He threatened.
"I will never give up, my beloved!" Zeke screamed through the closed doors but didn't try to make his way back inside. Uriah straightened his shirt as if nothing ever happened and walked back to us.
Alice giggled even louder and shook her head at him. "Oh, Bella. You've got another one completely smitten. You're like a dick magnet." She said crudely.
"Sorry about my brother." Uriah huffed out resuming his spot across from me. "He's clearly an idiot."
"Yes and not at all like you." I commented.
"Hey! I'm not as crazy as he is!" He defended.
"Right… not as crazy." I affirmed, though my tone was teasing. "By the way you never mentioned you had a brother."
"And now you know why." He muttered unhappily.
"Does he always act like that?" Jared asked, before stuffing his face with a spoonful of eggs.
"Pretty much. Trust me, you guys lucked out when you got me instead of him."
Alice giggled, "Oh I don't know about that… your brother is funny as hell." Uriah glared at her, making her clear her throat uncomfortably before amending her last statement. "But obviously not as funny as you."
He huffed but didn't say more, shifting his attention back to his food. They had woken up so late they only had a few minutes to eat. Fortunately, both Jared and Uriah could practically inhale their food in seconds.
We arrived at the training area early as always, noticing the mat's weren't set up and everything else was neatly put away in its place.
"What's going on?" Jared asked Uriah and Alice.
They both shook their heads, not knowing what was going on for the first time.
A Dauntless born next to us chuckled lowly, "Did you guys forget they take the initiates on a tour of the fence?"
"Oh right!" Uriah exclaimed, snapping his finger as if he'd suddenly remembered. "The fence, that means it's field trip day!" He finished happily.
"Care to elaborate?"
"Oh it's nothing big. We jog to the outskirts of the city and the trainers just show us around."
"Jog?" Jared complained, "I hate jogging. Why can't we just take the trains?"
"Because we need the cardio. Don't worry, it'll be fun. You'll get to see places you've never seen before." Alice chimed in.
It sounded like fun, and it was better than getting our asses kicked during fights. It also made sense for our trainers to take us on a tour of the city. If our faction was in charge of protecting the city then it made sense for us to know our way around it. I was incredibly curious to see what surrounded us and what the fence actually looked like.
I heard someone clear their throat nearby and we all shifted our attention to the sudden newcomer. He was tall with dark hair and a strong relatively broad body. I remembered him from our second round of fights, he'd gone up against a transfer and won, obviously, but I do remember he hadn't been unnecessarily cruel in his victory.
"Hey Felix, what's up?" Uriah asked quickly, knowing who he was already.
"Just wondering if I can hang out with you guys, James is being an ass."
"He's always an ass." Alice stated.
"Yeah but he's been an even bigger ass and he's joined forces with that transfer, Peter, and it's like they've become the evil twins of our initiate class." He said in clear annoyance, "I actually hope they pair me up with one of them so I can kick their ass next time." He added at the end.
Uriah chuckled at that. "Get in line. I can't wait to get my hands on either one of them."
"By the way Bella, you should keep your eye on James and Marlene. They've been talking about you on and off since our first fights. I overheard him talking with Peter about you too but surprisingly Peter came to your defense saying you had balls. Secretly I think he's scared of that deadly simmering anger thing you've got going on, but James seems to think you're as weak as the 'other Abnegation' girl."
"What?!" Alice exclaimed angrily for me, looking angrier than I felt. "That's stupid, she won her first two fights."
"He's probably mad because you're the only one Eric praised." Felix reasoned.
"Oh, that makes sense. James has always been so far up Eric's ass I'm surprised his hair hasn't turned brown." Uriah commented.
"Ew." I finally said, then directed my attention to our newcomer. "Well thanks, but I think I can handle them."
"Definitely, your glare alone can put the fear in anyone." Jared added helpfully.
I gave a small smile, elbowing him playfully when our trainers made their grand entrance wearing their own joggers and running shoes. I guess they were all ready for today too.
"Listen up!" Yelled Jacob, immediately catching everyone's attention. "Today we're taking a look around the city. As potential future members of Dauntless we want you to be aware of what's out there if we expect you to keep our city protected. Make sure you keep your eyes open once we leave the compound. Make sure you remain near at least one of your instructors. If you get lost or deviate from our course we will not make a move to look for you. Trust me, it's an easy way to become factionless and it's happened before." He said the last part in irritation. He was right though, after what we've been through so far it would be stupid to lose your position in Dauntless because you weren't aware of your surroundings. "And also make sure you take a water with you." He added absentmindedly, gesturing to the bucket next to him. "We'll be jogging the entire way."
A chorus of complaints sounded when everyone realized we would have to run the entire time. I wasn't looking forward to it either. I mean, I liked running but our city was pretty big and I was sure we would be running miles on top of miles by the end of the day.
We did as we were told, each grabbing a bottle of water as we lined up next to the door to the training room. We moved together like a swarm of bees behind our trainers, looking around as we were guided to the exit of our compound reaching the metal fence that led us completely out of Dauntless. My eyes caught a tall wide muscular form in one of the towers right next to the exit. I knew exactly who it was and immediately looked away before I caught his attention. Instead I followed after Rosalie as she guided us through a set of stretches to prepare us for our run. I was hoping he wouldn't find me in the crowd but as soon as the guard at the fence yelled up to the tower to open the gates for us I immediately felt his stare on my form.
I got back on my feet as the fence doors slid open and resisted the urge to look up. I didn't want to be berated by Tobias again for acting stupidly. Catching Eric's attention the first time had been a supremely stupid move, one that I continuously made now without even trying.
"Keep together, children!" Rosalie yelled, as she stood next to the opened gate making sure we were all moving. Taking her running position at the back of the group.
I ran with my friends and the newcomer. I wasn't quite sure how to feel about him yet. He seemed to be honest but I also knew I couldn't trust just anyone that suddenly appeared in my life, even if said person was known by Uriah and Alice. His previous association with James and Peter also made me extremely wary. They were both dicks for no reason other than the fact that they wanted to appear better than everyone else. I didn't understand why they had a need for that. Why couldn't they just mind their own business like everyone else? I was sure if they did they would probably rank higher on the scoreboard without needing to belittle anyone. Even now I could see them at the front of the group running right behind Jacob as he led us through the city.
Every five minutes or so we would stop and Jacob would give a little speech with more frequent stops as we ran through the dilapidated Factionless buildings. It gave us enough time to catch our breaths and prepare to start running again. I was thankful for each break.
I mean not for myself but for Jared. He kept huffing and puffing the entire time. Thanks to him we had all slowed down considerably in order to keep him in the group. He was lucky I considered him my friend already or I would have surely left him behind.
We learned that we Dauntless routinely policed the Factionless. Guards who worked here were the most active as fights for scraps of food amongst the Factionless was frequent. We were informed that those who ranked the lowest after initiation would inevitably end up working here. It wasn't exactly a critically acclaimed job position and I had to agree wholeheartedly. I'd be sure not to score low enough to end up in this dump.
After what felt like forever we finally reached the city's concrete walls, the only thing that protected us from the outside world. Our trainers guided us to a ladder that would gain us access to the top and we all took turns until everyone reached the top. All I could see was Amity's farmland, it's members tending to the crops that would feed all factions. They were the only ones allowed to leave outside the walls and even then they were each handpicked by their leader.
"What's out there?" Alice asked in thought.
"Werewolves." Jared joked.
"What the hell are werewolves?"
He chuckled as he watched my bewildered expression, "Half man half wolf creatures. I don't know, I read them in a book I found when I was a kid."
"They're not real right?" Alice asked with a shiver.
Felix snorted and laughed, receiving a slap on his chest from Alice.
"Technically we don't know." Jared continued. "We don't really know what life was like before the war." He said sensibly.
Uriah snorted too at our conversation. "And here I thought I was the funny one."
"Let's just say our founders built the fence for a reason." A deep voice suddenly spoke up next to me. I turned to look at the voice in surprise, not having realized anyone had been standing there to begin with. Jacob in turn threw me a mischievous smile, catching me off guard. "Though I still don't think we should rule out werewolves completely."
I chortled at his last comment. Finding it incredibly funny that he had been listening to our entire conversation this whole time.
He smiled one last time before moving on, yelling at some idiot boys who thought climbing on the metal fencing was a good idea.
"Well that was embarrassing." Alice commented, having realized one of our trainers had overheard our idiotic conversation. "We should head down now. I heard there's a restroom on the ground near the guards office and I really have to go."
"We should all go too." Jared suggested.
We all got up, thinking it a good idea to take a restroom break before we started the trek back to Dauntless.
I turned to follow after my friends when I caught a movement in my peripheral. I instinctively held my ground but it hadn't been enough as I felt her hands push me off to the side. I grasped onto said hands using her as an anchor to keep me on the wall except all it did was pull Marlene along with me, both of us now falling to our deaths. I desperately looked around me for something else to grasp onto.
"Bella!" I heard someone yell.
My breath left my body as the edge of the cement wall hit my cheek, I tasted blood and I was sure my lip was busted too. I would've fallen over but at the last minute I had held on to the metal wire keeping the upper half of the wall secure, while my other hand grasped onto the edge of the wall. I tried to pull myself up but I belatedly realized there was extra weight on my leg. Unfortunately Marlene had managed to grasp onto my ankle as she fell and was now dangling off the side of the wall with me. I did the stupid thing and looked down, gasping in fright when I realized how high I really was. I didn't scream but I was internally panicking when my grip on both the wall and the wire started slipping with Marlene's weight pulling me down.
"Hold on!" I heard a male voice yell, feeling a firm grip holding onto my wrist trying to pull me back to safety. I looked up, finding Felix struggling and grunting with the effort of holding onto both of our weights.
"I'm slipping!" Marlene yelled from below.
She wouldn't be missed, I sardonically thought. Funny how during a life or death situation I still found a way to be a bitch. If there weren't so many witnesses I would have kicked her off of me myself.
"I got her other hand!" yelled Jared. I let go of the wire I'd been desperately holding on to when I felt his hands on me. With Jared to help they quickly pulled me up but at the last hard tug to pull me completely over the ledge Marlene's grip slipped from my ankle and we all heard her terrified scream as she fell to her death.
Without the extra weight pulling me down I flew forward falling on top of Jared and Felix. All panting together in exhaustion now safe and back on the ground.
"Oh my god, Bella!" Alice practically sobbed as she reached for me. Her and Uriah looking terrified at what had just happened.
"Move!"
No sooner had I heard his voice that Tobias appeared, squatting down to the floor, worry etched on every inch of his face. I could tell he was barely hanging on to his self control as he watched me struggle for breath.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah." I said, breathlessly "I'm fine."
Not being able to help it he reached for me, grasping me under my arms to haul me up to my feet but as my weight fell on my right foot I yelped in pain and almost fell back down to the floor but Tobias slipped his arm under mine to hold my weight up.
"My ankle hurts." I informed him, trying not to sound as much in pain as I was, but Tobias knew better.
"What happened?" Rosalie asked.
"I don't really know. I was following my friends, heading towards the ladder to get back down and then Marlene pushed me. I instinctively held onto her but then we both started falling. At the last second I held onto that wire to prevent myself going over the ledge." I said, pointing to the object I was referring to.
"She pushed you?" Rosalie asked in clear disbelief.
"Yes, she pushed me." I said firmly.
"So if she was the one that pushed you then how is she the one now dead?" She asked suspiciously.
I resisted the urge to slap her as I answered. "Are you asking me to explain the laws of gravity? Because they don't teach us that in school." I answered sassily.
She narrowed her eyes at me and opened her mouth to respond but Tobias cut her off. "Enough!" He yelled, "we can discuss this back in Dauntless. Everyone head back down and wait at the bottom!"
Everyone quickly scurried away, my friends lingering until the last possible second until they were forced to follow after everyone else. Rosalie glared at me one last time before she haughtily turned away.
"She can't jog back to the compound." Lauren deduced correctly.
Tobias opened his mouth to speak but Jacob beat him to it.
"I got her." I was surprised at his quick offer. I looked at Tobias noticing he was not at all happy about it as his jaw clenched in anger but didn't object as he watched Jacob squat down in front of me to allow for me to climb onto his back. He stood back up as if I were a simple backpack and headed for the stairs. "Hang on tight." He ordered, climbing down the ladder effortlessly.
When we reached the bottom, my friends got closer looking over me.
"Here." Uriah said, handing me a paper towel to clean my busted lip.
"Thanks." I said with a smile but flinched at the feel of my skin stretching open.
"Guess you won't be able to grace everyone with your smiles for a while." Jacob smarted.
"It won't be a problem. She doesn't smile often anyway." Jared commented with his own blinding smile. "I'm just glad you're ok, Bella." He said in relief.
"Yeah me too… though it was a close one." I admitted, and boy did I hate to admit that. Now that the shock was wearing off I only wished I could kill her myself, and not because her grip on my ankle slipped.
Catching up to us Tobias neared to speak to Jacob. "Can you handle the tour through the other half of the city?"
"Yeah, she's not that heavy."
"We can trade if you get tired." Tobias offered anyway.
"Sure, sure." He said breezily.
Tobias looked hesitant to leave me but did so anyway knowing now was not the time to express our feelings over what happened.
The trek back to Dauntless continued just as planned. Lauren took over, stopping several times throughout our run to explain this or that. Meanwhile, Jacob never once complained nor looked even remotely tired of carrying my extra weight. I was suddenly grateful for him and feeling a little bit guilty for having to bother him in this way. With that in mind, I decided to speak my feelings on the matter.
"I'm sorry you have to carry me the whole way back but also thank you for doing it."
He chuckled as he ran, not missing a beat or sounding out of breath at the effort. "I offered." He said matter-of-factly, as if that made everything better.
"Still," I insisted "you didn't have to but you still offered."
He shifted his eyes to look at me as he spoke, "Well, I couldn't let one of our best get kicked out for an injury she gained from surviving her own murder."
I frowned at his words. "It sounds crazy when you put it like that."
"It is crazy… but I'm not at all surprised. Dauntless can be very cutthroat sometimes, especially since Eric took over initiation. "He's made it a lot more competitive than it used to be."
"It wasn't always like this?"
"No." He said, frowning in thought. "My initiation was four years ago. There was competition to be first place, or to at least rank high for a chance at a good job but there wasn't the fear of getting kicked out for scoring low. Back then you didn't make Dauntless if you couldn't follow the rules or you clumsily fell into the chasm, but no one was actually trying to get rid of the competition permanently. Shit's different now." He finished.
I detected anger in his tone and I had to ask, "so you don't agree with the new rules?"
He sighed and looked away, debating whether to answer me or not. "No." He admitted in the end. "I have a little brother, Seth. He's the sweetest person you could ever meet… I hate to think he will have to go through the same process as you when his time comes in two years." His jaw clenched then and I sensed he wanted to say more, so I remained quiet. "I almost want him to defect just because of it. He'd fare better in Amity or even Abnegation."
His admittance stunned me for a minute. That had been a huge revelation… a thought that some might consider dangerous to our faction system. Again, defecting was legal to do but heavily frowned upon. Our faction system thrived on keeping everyone contained in their own boxes. The choosing ceremony was used as a way to make people think they had a choice when that wasn't the case at all. The serum told you what you were and where you were supposed to go. It's why I had forced my test results to show I was supposed to go to Dauntless instead of Abnegation. "I'd discourage him from Abnegation if I were you. It's a terrible place to be if you have a personality, or if he has a wicked sense of humor like I suspect you to have. I suggest going to Amity instead."
"Is that why you left?" He asked curiously, "because I wouldn't exactly say you're a funny person."
I couldn't help it, I pinched his arm in retaliation.
"Ow!" He complained, missing a step in surprise before he smoothly caught himself, laughing loudly and catching the attention of the person running ahead of us.
"See I am funny." I deadpanned, causing him to chuckle again.
"I don't think that counts and you still haven't answered my question."
I debated on what to tell him. Obviously I couldn't tell him about Tobias so I chose to go with something that wasn't exactly a lie. "I'm not kind." I admitted. "I hated helping people and I hated that we had to lower our heads to please other factions. I don't know if you are aware but Abnegation is treated like shit. They take advantage of its people, they treat us like we're the scum of the earth while also expecting us to clean up after them like slaves. Back in school we were always picked on and through it all we were supposed to take it all with a smile."
We remained quiet after my declaration. If you didn't come from Abnegation I could see how hard it would be for someone from the outside to understand, but it didn't lessen it's importance. A normal person would have never dared to speak of their experience in their past faction, especially someone that came from Abnegation. They would have never had the courage to speak up for themselves, but that wasn't me, I was a whole different breed.
"That's fucked up." He finally declared.
"I agree." I said quietly.
By now we could see the gates surrounding Dauntless' territory. I was glad we were almost there, my arms were getting tired of being wrapped around Jacob's broad shoulders this entire time.
"I hate to do this but… if you ever repeat anything I've just said I will personally push you into the chasm myself." Jacob piped in at the end.
I giggled at his threat and nodded in agreement but couldn't help making my own threat. "Ditto." I said, it's not like I could threaten him any more than that. He was my trainer after all, but Jacob took it in stride and threw me a grin as we joined everyone else at the gates.
Speaking of gates they opened ominously, screeching as they were wheeled apart. We remained quiet as Jacob walked forward, joining the other trainer's at the front but my body automatically tensed as I identified the tall figure waiting for us at the entrance to Dauntless.
His eyes roved over me, his jaw clenching as he saw my facial injuries, not to mention the fact that I was currently being carried by one of my instructors.
"Why the hell is Eric here?" Tobias growled.
"Because I told him." Rosalie said happily, walking with a pep in her step.
I resisted the urge to yell profanities at her, quietly looking around me I could tell I wasn't the only one. The other two instructors looked about ready to throttle her.
"All these years we send our initiates on a tiny jog around the city and you come back with one dead and another one injured." Eric spoke angrily, glaring at all four instructors… including the snitch, but ultimately zeroed in on Tobias. "You're supposed to be the one in charge, Four."
"Yes, and we've also never had to account for attempted murders among our initiates but it somehow happened this year. I wonder if it has anything to do with our new rules." Tobias smarted back.
Eric clenched his jaw in clear anger but shifted his focus onto Lauren. "Guide the initiates back to their dorms." He ordered.
She nodded and yelled at everyone to line up. Watching Eric's deadly form everyone scurried away, quickly following her orders. My friends hesitated for a second but once I nodded at them they moved away too, glancing at me in fear as they disappeared through the doors.
"Follow me." He ordered us as he entered Dauntless and guided us through a side entrance. No one spoke as we climbed the metal stairwell lit up by one single red bulb at the top, the pounding of their feet on metal making an ominous sound that echoed in the darkness. "Why isn't she walking?" Eric finally asked once we reached the top.
"Marlene hung onto her leg before falling to her death." Jacob explained, speaking for me.
I hated that they were talking about me like I wasn't there but as an initiate I clearly had no power here. Eric was the one with the power to kick me out just for scratching my nose wrong and if Rosalie was the one that told him about what happened I was sure she hadn't painted me as an innocent victim.
After his question he silently guided us to the infirmary. At the sight of Eric everyone scurried around, two of the bravest one's walking forward asking if he needed anything.
He pointed at me in irritation. "What do you think?" He asked condescendingly instead.
In her defense the attending nurse nodded without inflection and guided us to a private room at the back. "I'll send in the first available doctor." She said quickly, leaving the room and not bothering to wait for a reply.
Smart girl.
Jacob placed me on the bed as best he could and took a step back, no sooner had he done so that Eric's simmering anger finally broke.
"What the fuck happened!" Eric roared, his anger palpable in the small space.
"Marlene tried to push Bella off the wall but Bella held onto her. They both started falling over the ledge but Bella was able to hang onto a metal wire that keeps the upper half of the wall up. Marlene managed to hold onto Bella's leg at the last second but ultimately lost her grip and dropped."
Rosalie scoffed at Tobias' explanation. "At least, that's what she says."
"Did you see it?" Tobias asked her in irritation.
"No, but I didn't need to. She's clearly lying."
"Why do you think that?" Jacob asked this time.
"Because Marlene wouldn't do that."
"Oh and you know Marlene so well?" Jacob asked condescendingly.
"Enough!" Eric yelled in annoyance, stopping their bickering while I sat on the hospital bed watching their back-and-forth argument. Eric looked at me then, his gaze burning my skin as he took a closer look at me. "Why did Marlene push you?" He asked me directly.
"She was jealous of me."
He arched a condescending brow at me. "Really?"
I sighed and looked away, but my gaze eventually drifted back to his, I just couldn't help it. "This is embarrassing to admit but… she thought Uriah was interested in me. She told me so while she was choking me during our fight. She also promised she would personally make me factionless… though with what happened today I guess she decided to take a more deadly approach."
I could've sworn Eric looked like he wanted to laugh at my last comment but his face remained as angry as always.
"That's a stupid ass excuse." Rosalie butt in. "There's no way Marlene would have tried to kill her over a boy."
"It wasn't just because of the boy. Bella beat her to a pulp after that. A Dauntless born losing to another Dauntless born isn't so bad, but a Dauntless born losing to a transfer? Marlene knew that would drop her score immensely, not to mention her second fight didn't go any better." Tobias added.
Rosalie opened her mouth quick to respond when Eric raised his hand to cut her off, ending her rant before it started. He had been watching me the entire time but didn't change his expression as he asked, "Did you push her?"
"No."
He nodded in acceptance.
"What?!" Rosalie exclaimed angrily, "You're going to believe her just like that?"
He barely glanced in her direction as he responded. "Seeing as how I personally witnessed the Stiff almost kill Marlene during their first fight. Yes, I am."
"But Eric…"
"Are you questioning me?" He asked instead, glaring at her as if he were about to actually commit murder in front of our eyes. I was sure he'd do it too.
"No, of course not." She said, thoroughly chastised dropping her eyes to the ground.
"Good. Now go tell Lauren she can let the initiates go to the food hall."
She nodded and turned away but as soon as she was out of Eric's sight she turned back, glaring at me as if she could force me to disappear by sheer will. Great, just another person I would have to look out for.
I heard Jacob lightly snort as he too witnessed her childish behavior but unfortunately Eric only saw his.
"You too." Eric ordered next.
Jacob however just smiled unbothered by his glare and walked away. Except he threw me a little parting wave, so different from Rosalie's silent death threat.
He changed his focus to Tobias now that he was the only one left. "You need to make sure this doesn't happen again. Let the rest of the trainers know before I decide to remove you all and get a new batch. Go see where the doctor is and send her immediately."
Tobias clenched his jaw tightly at the idea of leaving me here alone with him but ultimately nodded and begrudgingly left the room when Eric tilted his head to the door having no other option.
I had to admit that being alone in a room with just Eric made me extremely nervous. Other than his watchful stares I'd never once interacted with him one-on-one.
Eric moved forward and I tensed slightly, waiting for his next move but he surprised me by reaching over to the doctor's table. He pulled out a square packet from a tub and opened it, removing the alcohol swab from inside. He reached forward and lightly wiped my cheek.
I resisted the flinch at the sting caused by the alcohol on my open flesh. I think it was solely due to my current state of shock. I looked up at his eyes but for the first time he wasn't looking back at me. If anything he was looking at my cut as he gently wiped at my cheek. His eyes were a beautiful green color and I wondered whether he ever smiled because even now he was glaring at my cuts like they had offended him greatly.
"Does it hurt?" He asked lowly.
"Which injury?" I smarted.
His gaze shifted up to mine and I could've sworn he looked irritated at my response. "Let's start with the leg." He answered as he opened another packet.
"It hurts but it'll be fine… It has to be." I said the last part more forcefully. This time I did flinch and hiss when the alcohol touched my lip.
"Sorry." He said instinctively, looking a bit caught off guard once it slipped out. He also didn't look like someone who ever apologized and his unsettled frown sure showed it.
I in turn pretended not to hear it. He dabbed at my lip and I remained still, completely confused as to what the hell was happening right now. He started to pull away but he surprised me again when his index finger lingered on my bottom lip for a beat longer than it needed to before he slowly grazed it down my neck. His eyes analyzing the faint bruise I still had around my neck from Marlene's chokehold. He trailed his fingers over my shoulder and down my arms. I quietly watched the slow trail of his fingers, completely engrossed in its movements. His fingers stopped around my wrists, over the bruises that were now appearing from where Felix and Jared had pulled me back up.
"You look like shit, Stiff." He finally said, looking up at me.
That's it? I threw my head back and laughed, that was the understatement of the year. "Ow!" I exclaimed flinching in pain when the skin on my lip stretched painfully. I gently prodded it and my hand came back with blood. "Don't make me laugh again." I complained.
I swear his lip twitched as he watched me. "I wasn't planning on it." He said as he handed me a tissue. He was reaching for another alcohol pad when there was a sudden knock at the door.
He quickly moved away from me before they entered.
"Bella." Esme called in recognition, I would've responded in greeting if Eric hadn't of rudely asked what had taken her so long. "Sorry, it's a busy day today but Bella doesn't look to be in too much pain."
"I'm not." I said quickly before Eric spoke for me. "Just my ankle hurts a little but it's probably just a sprain."
She nodded, moving to my foot. She pulled out a pair of scissors from her pocket and cut through my leggings. I could see another bruise quickly forming already. "It might actually be broken. There's bruising."
"It's not, it's just a hand print. See." I said pointing to where you could clearly see the imprints of Marlene's fingers.
She quickly grasped onto my hand before I could pull it away and turned it, examining the handprints there too. She glanced at my other arm, finding more there and finally up to my face, only to find more bruises on my neck and the cuts on my face. "Looks like this year's initiation is going well." She commented underhandedly.
"It has its moments." I said, my mouth twitching with the need to smile but I really didn't want my lip to bleed again.
"Just to be safe we'll take some x-rays on your ankle to make sure everything's ok. I'll be back in a few minutes." She informed me, not bothering to even glance in Eric's direction as she left the room.
I turned to look at him then, watching him analyzing my foot now. "You don't have to stay."
His eyes blinked away from my ankle to look up at me, I could see from here how tense his jaw was set. He hesitated for a moment before he simply nodded and left without another word.
I released a harsh breath, finally a reprieve from being in his presence for longer than I needed to.
Come on world, give a girl a break!