OVERTHROW - Eric Coulter

Chaptet 27

Ian's words echoed in my mind over and over again. "Every time you approach the number one spot, you gain more enemies." And just like James, I have to watch my back. Jade seemed very committed to her promise, she'll avenge Genesis and kill me, she might throw me off the chasm when no one expects it, and Eric won't save me from another stupid thing I do.

And it's not just her, James probably hates me now, rejected a night of wild sex with him, and feels offended by the wasted exotic drink; Eric might fulfill his promise and gouge his eyes out, torment him, and before madness catches up to him, he might kill me or take it out on me.

After vomiting on Jade's boots and before she could lunge at me, my friends dragged me away from the scene so I could take a bath, brush my teeth, and Ian gave me mouthwash to settle my stomach, something that worked. I slept for half an hour with the guys taking care of me.

I woke up and they offered to go to the pit, something I declined, telling them I needed to finish the paperwork. Ian insisted on accompanying me, not taking no for an answer.

"The next fight you'll have will be with Hall, aren't you worried?" he asked as we walked through the halls of Dauntless.

"A little, I need to practice." I shrugged. "You've fought him before, any advice for me?" I raised an eyebrow, looking at him mockingly.

"Yeah, he's got a good right hook. You won't beat him with strength but with agility." he nodded.

"Yeah, I remember your nose." I laughed.

"And I remember your eyebrow."

"Oh come on, it's better now."

"Actually, yeah, I'm glad I never fought you."

"You got lucky." I chuckled. "But what worries me the most is the next stage." I sighed.

"Why? Does Grace freeze with her fears?" he raised an interrogative eyebrow.

"I don't even know what I'm afraid of." I scoffed.

Both of us finished descending the stairs to the second floor. I opened the door, entering first, followed by him. Almost directly ahead were the four walls that were tormenting me.

"So?" he asked.

"I don't know how I'll respond to fear, I don't know how we'll face our fears." I rolled my eyes.

"It'll be like the aptitude test, we'll be in a simulation, just relax, Grace." he shrugged casually.

Oh great, how do I explain that I'm Divergent and if we discover what I am in this simulation, they'll kill me? Damn, I'm dead. If it's not Jade, it'll be James, and if not James, it'll be Dauntless for being Divergent... Maybe Eric will end my life, ironic.

"Right." I smiled. "Here it is." I opened the door, thankful it was unlocked.

I entered completely, followed by Ian, who regarded the place with disdain. "How depressing." he remarked.

"I know, and you didn't even see it at the beginning, more than 15 piles of files." I sighed. "I'm becoming immune to the dust." we chuckled at my comment.

He nodded, turned to look at me, and had a tender smile without showing his teeth. We locked eyes, and despite the light, I couldn't perfectly discern his eyes, but I could distinguish their greenish hue, and if we compared them to mine, his were more intense in color.

And although Eric's eyes were the ones that made me sigh, I couldn't deny that his were very beautiful.

I don't know how long I spent looking into his eyes, but I think it was long enough for him to approach slowly, with care, fearing I'd pull away, and truth be told, I wanted to, but he was already caressing my cheek and close enough. He had shifted his gaze to my lips, an intense look that made my hair stand on end.

I didn't wait another second, his lips connected with mine, his full and soft lips moving in sync with mine, which clumsily tried to keep up. I didn't stop, I didn't want to, I felt comfortable and at ease.

I wasn't sure if I could classify it as my first kiss, since James forced one on me. But I felt good this time, although it didn't last long. Sadness quickly invaded me, pity and disappointment were a bomb in my heart because I didn't feel anything, that whirlwind of emotions when you kiss the "right" person, those fluttering butterflies in the stomach and that sigh of being in love, I couldn't feel it. At least for me, it was just a kiss with Ian, and I regretted reciprocating because I was opening a locked door, and someone else had the key.

I pulled away, stopping and taking his cheek while keeping my eyes closed. His two hands held my cheeks as our foreheads touched with a sigh. "I know." he whispered. "I'm not that knight in shining armor you're expecting."

My heart sank, the bitter taste in my mouth along with the lump in my throat made me press my lips together.

I was never anyone's favorite, in Amity, no one paid attention to me, and not just because they feared my father; I was never considered attractive, and even though my self-esteem was low, I didn't show it.
Now, I have in front of me a tender, affectionate, sincere, and handsome man who loves me, who gave me a kiss even knowing that I'm on a different channel than love.

"I..." I left the words hanging in the air, unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry, I'd be lying if I told you I'm looking for that knight in shining armor, because I'm not, I want to finish the two stages."

"I hope I can wait for you," he chuckled, separated his forehead, and brought his lips close to give me a kiss on the crown of my head.

I smiled without showing my teeth, lifted my face to see his eyes. He took my cheek and caressed it while smiling in the same way. He leaned in again and gave me another kiss on my lips, a slow and short kiss, a kiss that seemed to be the last.

****

I had finished about half an hour ago, everything was clean, and the only thing cluttering the room was the garbage bag with the documents, the table, the chair, my father's file on the wooden surface, and me. As soon as I finished the last stack, I ran to the trash, late but managed to find it, sighed, and placed it on the table. I've been pacing around the room for thirty minutes, unsure of what to do. Part of me refuses to listen to Tiana; my curiosity is greater than my survival instinct, the one that tells me to forget about Norman Cyprian.

But, who should I listen to? While it's true that Norman claimed I was in danger for choosing Dauntless, I should confront him. Go to Amity and ask who I'm in danger from, I need to know who I'm up against and, in the process, find out why I was in Dauntless, and apparently, if my theories are correct, I was also at least for a while in this faction, which is now my home. I sighed loudly, just one trip to Amity, and I forget about the faction.

I tied up the garbage bag, opened the entrance door, and dragged it out with difficulty. Freya had given me strict instructions: once the documents were finished, I had to take out the garbage bag and leave it outside the door; someone would come to collect it. I went back for the document and placed it under Eric's wool sweater; being larger than me, it was easy to go unnoticed. I grabbed the screen and left; I needed to hide the document under my bed or among my clothes until it was safe to go to Amity.

I climbed the stairs, pretending and disguising the fact that I had a personal and private document from a former Dauntless in my hands; I was probably violating more than five rules at the moment. I definitely needed to read the regulations. I arrived at the room; Roy, Stefan, and Grey were in there, chatting quietly in a corner, unaware of my presence. I calmly walked to my bed, knelt on it, and with my heart racing, lifted the mattress, placing the document underneath. I quickly wrapped the first blouse I found in my bag around it, dropped the mattress, and sat on it.

I sighed again, but this time the sound made my roommates turn around. I smiled. "It's been a tiring day, isn't it?" I said nervously.

They smiled more out of politeness and went back to what they were doing. Why couldn't I have had a normal family without a dark past?