A Different Divergent Tale (Eric and Tris)

Chapter 10

Eric insists on getting me vitamins and health supplies immediately. Since we really weren't in the infirmary very long, we have about thirty minutes to an hour and a half until we meet up with Christina. I let him lead me to the place he prefers. He actually asks the sales clerk what would be good for me. The man is shocked and happy to be of service, showing me the best options. I end up leaving with everything I need and more.
"Why don't we drop all of this off at my apartment to free up my hands? I can also rummage through my cupboards to see what I need," I say.
"Do we have time for that? It would take me forever to make a list of everything," he questions.
"I'll be quick, I promise," I reply.
We go up to my apartment, dropping everything off on the dusty countertop.  I start by walking around the kitchen opening every door and drawer viewing every item—or lack there of.  There's surprisingly a lot of cookware, dishes, flatware... etc.  The pantry has empty containers for storage.  Then I move on to the refrigerator.  It's working—good.  I move to the little bedroom.  Only the bed, no furniture, no sheets.  I open the door inside.  It's a small closet, no hangers.  I walk to the hallway and open the closet.  Threadbare towels greet me.  No cleaners.  I notice there's a bucket with a scrub brush, though. I look into the bucket to see miscellaneous cleaning supplies as well, just no cleaners.
I check the bathroom, nothing underneath the sink or in the drawers.  I wave my hand in the shower to see that the door is completely transparent.  I cringe.  Yeah, I need to go to the hardware store to see what I can do about that.  I see a large bathtub and think I could probably go for a swim in there if I knew how to swim. I step out of the bathroom and realize there is no washing machine here like at Eric's place.  It's clearly intended to be here since I see the water hookup and vent for a dryer.  I nod that that is one of the top priorities.  Crossing the hall to the main bedroom, I see my duffel bag with clothes sitting on the mattress.  No sheets are on the bed, also no furniture.  I notice there's a lock on the window, or perhaps it's a door.  I step closer to see that it is in fact a door leading to a balcony.  That's pretty nice.  This place feels like it's not for me though.  I think I'd prefer something smaller, more compact.  I turn around and notice a square space protruding out of the far wall.  I open the door to the space to see a large, empty closet with no hangers and nod. I think that's everything. 
I walk out, heading to my living room.  I notice there are some bar stools at the island for seating.  I step closer and realize the rest of the room is completely empty.  I wonder where Eric went... I start to look around the empty space and remember how for some reason, my mother wouldn't let me paint the living room.  She wanted fresh coats of paint on the walls every few years.  I always helped her paint the whole house, even our kitchen right next to the living room.  But never the living room proper.  I wonder why... I smile thinking that I get to paint my own living room and a thought occurs to me.  This is starting to feel more like home.
My front door opens and Eric steps in slamming the door behind him.  "Yeah, sure.  Just walk in," I say sarcastically.  He snorts.  "Where'd you go anyway?"
"I just switched my laundry," he shrugs nonchalantly. 
"Now you're impressing me," I tease.  I actually see a smile and a slight blush cross his cheeks.  "So how do you dry them?" I ask surprised.  I didn't see a second machine.  I reach for my keys and start walking to the door. 
"You're done?  That took less than five minutes," he asks surprised.  I nod.  "No list?"
I point to my head stepping out of the door.  He follows me out and I lock it. 
"So... dryer?" I question again. 
"Same unit," he shrugs as we walk down the hallway. 
"Really?  I didn't even know those existed," I reply excitedly. 
He just nods.  "They cost a little more but it definitely saves time," he tells me. 
I think about how I've got several choices of things to look over in terms of washing machines, furniture and others. 
"So you have a mental list?" Eric asks.  I nod.  "How can you keep everything straight?"
"I don't know.  It's like when I walk through the whole store, I kind of see what's missing in my cupboards and buy that," I explain. 
"You've got a photographic memory," he states. 
"Not exactly," I say.  "It doesn't really do me any good for study or anything.  I still have to read every word.  It's more like familiar objects and shapes.  I've only noticed it for housework and donations, things like that.  It's as if I'm geared to be a housewife or something."
He grins in reply as he presses the call button.  The elevator opens a second later and we step in.  "So... you chose leadership, though?" he questions. 
"Yeah," I nod. 
"Would you rather stay home with children?" he asks curiously. 
"Um..." I laugh surprised, blushing.  "I hadn't really thought about it."  A moment passes as I mull the question over.  "You know, I've always wanted to make a difference in the city.  But if everything is running smoothly—you know, after I fix all of the problems," I state laughing sarcastically.  "I think, if I found the right guy... one that doesn't make me uncomfortable.  Someone that cares about me... I think I'd want to start a family.  I don't think I'd even mind staying home to raise them.  That's what my mom did anyway until we went to school and I think she's a great mother."
I look back to Eric and he's staring at me.  "What?" I laugh.  "Do I have something on my face?"
"No," he says softly, smiling. 
The elevator doors open and he ushers me out, guiding me gently toward the far side of the Pit.  I've never crossed this whole expanse before and it really feels like there's no end.  As we walk through on the left side of the huge oblong space we call the Pit, I notice there are hallways branching off constantly.  They're similar to Four's area.  In between each on the path in front of me are several shops, varying from clothes, to shoes, to jewelry, prepared food... I see a small grocery store. I look above where we're standing and there are several levels. Last night was the first time I realized that but I see several more as we continue forward. I think I can see up to six levels above us. There's a massive sign on the far wall, the end of this side of the Pit. Dauntless Home is on the wall but the sign is centered between the second and third level. I can see that all six levels are part of this one massive store. There must be a stairway inside connecting each floor.
"Yeah, that must be the big one," I say in awe.
"It is," Eric nods.
"How much time do you think we have?" I ask him since I never checked the time earlier.
"Like ten to fifteen minutes," he tells me glancing at his watch. "Unless she takes two then add an hour."
"Yeah, she did say an hour or two," I nod. "What should we do in the meantime?"
"We could walk around here or go into a couple smaller stores. This general area is where most of the home goods are located. There are a couple hardware stores too but nothing as big as that one," he explains motioning with the nod of his head.
"Where do you usually shop?" I inquire.
"The big one," he shrugs.
"Is the selection better or something?" I assume.
He bites his lip for a moment before answering. "Zeke's mom works there. The employees work on commission. They get a decent regular pay but I like to buy from her," he explains.
"Aww, that's very selfless of you," I whisper teasingly. He blushes and turns away. "So where does his father work?"
He looks back at me kind of sadly, almost as if he doesn't want to answer the question. I start to dread the answer as he voices it.
"He died," he tells me softly. I frown. I never even thought to ask the Dauntless-born about their family. That thought makes me so sad. I feel like I'll have to make a genuine effort to get to know them.
"Come on," he pulls me. "Let's walk around and window shop, at least. You might see something you like."
"Oh, alright," I agree.
We walk on the opposite side now. I see a hardware store with bathroom fixtures and I decide to step in. Eric follows me. I go straight to the glass and window section, hoping what I'm thinking of will be there. I see new shower doors available but I didn't measure yet. I'll make up my own tool box eventually but not yet. As I continue on, I see that there's a stack of exterior glass blocks. I walk past that to find window treatments and I see it. "Oh, good. They have them," I say excitedly.
"Looking to demolish and remodel already?" Eric asks laughing, almost surprised.
"This is what I want," I motion to the selection of films. "You can put them on glass to make it more opaque."
I peruse the options. There's textures, reflective, and frosted. I pick the last one up and look at it rolled up in the package. Eric grasps a sample card with every variety hanging on a chain.
"What's this for?" he asks intrigued.
"My shower door," I answer grabbing the applicator and special cleaning spray. "I'm done. Let's go check out."
I walk to the cashier and place my options on the counter. He smiles and rings them up quickly. After swiping my point card, I grab the bag and thank him. I step out of the store.
"That took you two minutes. How do you even know what that was and what are you doing with it?" he laughs baffled.
"I'm thirsty," I say realizing that. Even last night at the dance, I wasn't even feeling thirsty.
"Let's get you something to drink then," he says. "We can go over there." He motions to a small cafe. I notice there's seating outside of the shop and we'll be able to see Christina coming from there.
"Alright," I agree following him over there.
We walk up and look at the menu. "I have no idea what anything is," I mumble.
"What have you had before?" he asks me.
"Water, milk, coffee. I don't like it black. Cream and sugar is what Christina said. The two drinks you gave me..."
"So before Dauntless, you've had water and milk?" he confirms. I nod.
"Why don't I just get you something to try?" he offers. "You can wait over there and keep an eye out for Christina." He motions to a table and I nod. That's really sweet. Maybe Eric is a big softy after all.
I take a seat at an empty table that has a good view. Not many people are out here surprisingly. I do see one of the new members pass by—Gabe I think his name was. He has a septum piercing. He nods to me as he passes through. I wave to him. I recall he asked why I was joining with the Dauntless-born for zip lining. It looks like he's warming up to me or at least being friendly. I smile at the thought.
Eric arrives back and places two colorful drinks on the table. He also puts a plate down with possibly some sort of dessert on it in front of me. He takes the seat beside me.
"Strawberry or peach?" he asks.
"I don't know. They both sound good," I say. "Take your pick," he offers.
I look at them and can't decide so I just grab the closest one. "Thank you," I say taking a sip. "What is this? It's absolutely delicious."
"It's called a smoothie. It's a fruit and yogurt drink," he explains.
"And this?" I ask.
"I don't know. Some sort of healthy cookie. This place is the only one nearby and they only offer health food," he says jokingly. "The ones in the cafeteria are loaded with sugar. These are probably like eating a protein bar, I would think."
I smile and nod taking one. I take a bite and close my eyes. It's incredible. Eric was downplaying this and I wasn't expecting much. "I don't know what you're talking about. This is fabulous," I say covering my mouth while I chew.
Eric laughs reaching for the other one. He has a bite. "Not bad," he nods. "Better than what I was expecting."
I smile at him and take another bite. When I finish chewing, I examine it out of curiosity. "Are those oats?" I ask.
"Yeah," he replies.
"I can't believe they made oats taste so good," I comment.
"Not a big fan of oatmeal?" he asks.
"Not a big fan of food," I shrug.
"Plain oatmeal, right?" he asks. I nod. "Yeah, just thinking about it makes me lose my appetite." He winces. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
"I didn't think you did," I say meeting his eyes. Eric smiles at me.
I take another sip of the drink and I can't help but say, "You know, I remember baking some sort of sweet bread with my mom once. It had dried fruits and nuts in it. The smell of it baking is what I imagine being intoxicated to be like. I just couldn't stay out of the kitchen. I wanted a piece of that. The house smelled like it for days. Anyway, after it cooled, we wrapped it up and took it to Factionless. I was young and kind of jealous that someone else was going to eat it. But then, we gave it to a family. A little girl about my age got to have some of it. After that, I kind of felt like I didn't mind them having it. I wanted to bake another one and give it to them next week. It was probably the only thing they ate. I was disappointed that I never saw them again, never got to ask that little girl if she enjoyed that bread." I pause and take another bite. "This tastes like how I imagined that bread to be."
"Wow," he sighs. "I will never complain about food again."
I chuckle. "Am I turning you Abnegation, Eric?" I tease.
"Maybe," he says softly. I meet his eyes and realize he's serious.
"I know it sounds crazy... but... what is the point of our faction system?" I ask.
He sits back and sighs, as if really thinking this question over. "You know, our faction system is based on separating our society. Different points of view matter more to each faction. You can only think of that one concept as most important. The others don't really matter in comparison. You can't think about the others and if you do, you certainly don't speak about it."
He stops speaking and sits forward in his chair resting his arms on his legs and leaning forward, closer to talk to me. He looks as if he just had an epiphany. "But... when it actually comes down to it, this city is more about control... population control." I blink in surprise.
"Maybe I am a threat to the faction system," I whisper sadly. "Maybe I don't mean to be and I have too many traits that I just don't fit in and I infect everyone else with my thoughts."
"I don't think that makes you evil," he says. "Intentional actions that harm others make a person evil. And I know someone who is exactly like that."
We stare into each other's eyes for a moment. He doesn't think I'm the problem. He thinks Jeanine is—his own family.
He leans back in his chair and sets one arm on the arm rest. He looks away from me, biting his nail, I think. "I can't believe that thought never occurred to me before. I feel kind of unintelligent for never drawing that conclusion," he says turning his gaze toward me once more.
I notice a pretty woman in a tight, low cut, revealing dress approach us from behind him. She has very long, blonde curled hair. She's wearing lots of makeup but she's incredibly skilled at applying it. She gives me sort of a sinister look before fixing her gaze on Eric. Her figure is something I would only have in my dreams and I feel self-conscious, looking away.
"Hey there, Eric," she says in a seductive voice.
He sighs irritatedly. "What do you want, Lena?" he asks flatly. He knows her.
I look back at the encounter to see her perched on the arm of the chair beside Eric leaning forward and flaunting her figure. I feel a bit jealous at how beautiful she looks. I'm just wearing a plain T-shirt and jeans. Perhaps I should've worn something nicer today. I look back to Eric to see he's not even looking at her. His eyes are fixed in front of him.
"Oh, I think you know what I want," she giggles breathily. "Why don't you take me up to that big apartment of yours and we can have some fun?" She leans forward and puts a hand on his chest.
I look away embarrassed. In the blink of an eye, I think about how I assumed Four was involved because of how he looks and my heart clenches sadly that maybe Eric is the same as my thoughts. He is incredibly attractive and I'm just a little girl compared to him. Molly's taunting words repeat in my mind, "You've got the body of a child." I look down at my lap in shame.
"Hands off," Eric says angrily. I look back to see his jaw is clenched.
"What's the problem, baby? You've never minded before?" she looks to me and laughs. My thoughts are confirmed.
I see him grab her by the hand and push her away. She stumbles in her heels and shakes out her hand. "That was the first time you ever touched me and it will be the last. If anything else of yours ever comes in contact with me again, then it will be broken. You've been warned," he says not even rising from his seat.
She makes an angry face in my direction. "Fine," she says. "I'll go find someone else to warm my bed tonight."
I watch her retreating form staring.
"Stupid Dauntless floozies," Eric mumbles in an angry tone. "Hey," he says softly. "Tris." I feel pressure on my chin and I focus meeting Eric's eyes close to mine. I look away embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he apologizes.
"For what?" I say with my voice wavering.
"I'm sorry that girl made you feel as uncomfortable as she makes me feel," he says gently.
I look back to him to see he's moved back a bit, not invading my private space. I sigh shakily.
"Old girlfriend of yours?" I ask as evenly as I can.
"No. She's... she's been spreading lies about me since I got promoted to leadership. She has propositioned me before, which I've always rejected. Several women like her in the compound have done the same. I haven't had a girlfriend before. No one night stands either. No any nights or days with anyone for that matter," he says evenly.
I blink confused and meet his eyes once more.
"She's never gone so far before. Usually I tell her to get lost and she scurries away. I don't know what got into her today. Maybe she's believing her own gossip and can't remember I'm not one of the hundreds of guys she's been with," he says cringing.
"Eww," I say.
"My thoughts exactly. I don't think she's even one of the girls who've come knocking on my door. I always slam the door in their faces," he laughs. "She would've known that I don't have the big place."
"Are you serious or just messing with me?" I ask confused.
"I can go down to the vault and get some truth serum if you want," he offers.
"What?" I ask confused.
"Candor has a serum that they use for their final initiation. They inject their initiates with it and make them tell every secret. They have to answer every question truthfully. Dauntless leadership has our own personal stash we use occasionally for interrogation. I'd give it to you if you don't believe me," he says.
I meet his eyes again. He is serious. "You have never had a girlfriend?" I ask disbelievingly.
He shrugs. "A girl kissed me once in school. She had a crush on me and followed me around like a lost puppy. She had the worst attitude and I couldn't stand her. She was dared or something, I don't know," he shrugs. "Anyway she kind of stole my first kiss from me, not that I kissed back or anything. Actually the encounter was kind of like that." He waves his hand where she stood moments ago. "There's nothing else in my history with girls other than that."
I nod. I believe him. I just don't understand what that girl was doing and why she would do that.
"What time is it?" I ask yawning.
"Christina is ten minutes late," he says.
"Oh. She did say an hour or two. What should we do in the meantime?" I ask.
"We can talk or we can shop?" he offers.
I yawn again and stretch my arms. "I don't think you have time for a nap at your apartment," he says chuckling. "You tired?"
"A little. I don't know why. It's midday," I say slowly.
"It could be those meds. I mean, look how much you've eaten," I glance down to see about one bite of the cookie left and I drank more than half of the beverage.
"Huh," I say rubbing my stomach. "Normally with that much I'd have stomach pains."
"Pains?" he asks worriedly. I bite my cheek. "What?" he asks.
I sigh. "You and Christina," I mumble.
"Huh?" he says confused.
"You know my tells," I admit.
"We should play cards," he grins mischievously. Then the expression drops. "Pain from eating?"
"Yeah," I admit.
"Did you eat too much for lunch?" he asks guiltily.
"No," I shake my head. "My parents were worried about food. They didn't force me or anything. I'd eat a few more bites than I should just to make them happy," I explain.
He rubs my back and I sigh. That feels really nice. "I hope this medication helps," he says.
"Me, too," I yawn.
"Are you comfortable?" he asks. I nod. "Why don't we stay here for a while? Or we could go inside and take a nap in the mattress department." He laughs.
"No, this is fine," I chuckle, too.
I realize his chair is pushed closer to mine and his arm is still around me. "Falling asleep, huh?"
"No, I'm not. I'm just... closing my eyes... for a minute. They're... just... heavy..." I mumble. I feel my head rest on something soft and I sigh comfortably as I drift off.