closer

heartbreak

A gut-wrenching sob disturbed the silence that had fallen upon Dauntless.

Eric burst through the door on high alert, moving as fast as his body would go until he reached his bed where Willow had just woken up. He moved her hair back and held up a garbage bin as she gagged, hunching over the side of the bed.

Two days spent in Erudite's finest hospital with the best doctors checking on her and giving her the best medicine available couldn't fix the mental damage that had been done. Three days after she had woken up, she was still feeling the effects of the trial. Peter had taken over her office work for those five days.

Once she was done emptying the contents of her stomach into the bin, Eric climbed onto the bed and pulled her to his side, rubbing circles on her stomach as she eagerly drank water. It didn't take long for her to pass out, her head resting on his chest and soft snores escaping her mouth, she was exhausted.

As per usual, Eric had to leave early for work the next day.

He left her coffee, medicine, and a sweet note, as he did every morning, on the nightstand of his apartment. Only today, she decided that she was done lounging around the apartment and wanted to get back to work.

"I appreciate the concern guys, but, I'll be fine" she insisted, batting her eyelashes at her overprotective friend and concerned superior.

"Fine. You can start today but only minimal work, next week we'll get you back to your regular load provided everything goes well" Max decided, knowing just how stubborn the young leader was. Willow happily accepted his deal, thanking Peter once again for covering for her before following Max to the cargo bay.

Three deliveries were on the schedule for today. She was to do nothing more than sign for them, oversee the installments, drop off all three receipts to Max's office, and then return home.

"What are you doing here?"

"Working, finally" Willow sighed, already knowing what the taller male was going to say.

"No fucking shot. You should be resting, this strain can't be good for your body" Eric argued.

"Laying around all day isn't my thing, I need to work. I need to feel useful. Besides, I'm not doing a full day's work, just overseeing three deliveries" she paused, glancing around the room. "What are you doing down here?"

"Don't try to change the subject. The second that paper is signed you get your ass out of here, understand?" he ordered.

"Sir yes sir" she grinned.

"Pain in my ass" he mumbled, rolling his eyes at her antics.

Eric left as the first delivery arrived. They all went smoothly and thankfully, she was back at her apartment before five o'clock. Her entire apartment was ripped apart, cleaning supplies everywhere along with garbage bags and laundry bins. Willow hadn't attacked her apartment like this since she first moved in and decided the living space needed some love.

It was almost nine o'clock when she finished. Oddly enough, she hadn't heard from Eric yet. He didn't even send someone by to make sure she got home safely and didn't need anything as he usually did on the nights he worked late.

She decided to go to him.

A firm knock on the door wasn't enough to gather a response from him, so instead, she punched in his numerical code and let herself in.

If this were a cartoon, her eyes would've popped out of her head and a storm cloud would've appeared over her head.

"Who are you?" the woman snapped, not bothering to cover herself as she lay naked on his couch.

"I could ask you the same thing" Willow stammered, ignoring the way her heart pounded in her chest.

"Did you need something? Eric's going to be back any second and we're quite busy..." her voice trailed off as she eyed the bathroom. Running water was drowning out the sound of the two girls talking, Eric was blissfully unaware that Willow was standing in his apartment.

"No, sorry" she paused, speed-walking towards the front door. "I'll just leave his stuff outside so you can bring it in later or whenever."

With that, she was gone.

True to her word, the heartbroken girl filled a cardboard box with all of Eric's clothes and the singular carnation he had left her one morning while she was sleeping along with all of his notes.

They were nothing but empty words to her.

Lies.

Meaningless.

Jeanine came to dauntless three days after her discovery to personally tell Willow that her father was now behind bars and could tell something was off with the previously lovely couple. Willow was a mere shadow of herself, turning into nothing but a machine. She worked twenty hours at a clip, barely ate food of substance, was rarely seen without a coffee in her hand, and became quite menacing. No one realized she had this side to her.

It reminded them of Eric.

She had turned into a female version of Eric.

Each time she found herself tearing up at the memory of finding that girl, she told herself 'snap out of it, you weren't dating in the first place so stop crying like a baby.' She didn't speak to him, didn't even give him a second glance. He didn't exist in her mind anymore. Willow snapped at everyone, even getting into a few fights with other girls that Four or Ezekiel ended up putting a stop to.

He was noticeably more on edge than usual. Snapping at people seemed like second nature, his punishments becoming incredibly harsh and dangerous to the point where Max had to intervene. Eric knew exactly what happened after the woman, Sallie, told him someone had stopped by to see him and he found the box full of his belongings outside his door.

He was counting on the confrontation, the chance to explain himself. But it never came.

He watched her attitude shift and the way her body looked as if she were on the brink of death, it saddened him.

For once in his life, Eric felt bad about the pain he had caused someone.