Broken, But Brave

Chapter 19: High Expectations

"FUCK!" 

Annabelle slammed through the doors leading into the Dauntless compound following her team's assignment in the city. To say she was unhappy with the outcome would be an understatement. 

"How the fuck did she get away again?! We had her surrounded. She didn't even have her guards to back her up this time!" 

"I know--"

"Where the hell were you Merkley?!" 

"Commander, we were handling Evelyn's backup in the other alleys. We did everything according to plan. It's no one's fault. She's just...good." 

"Get the hell out of my face Merkley. Report to medical for post-op inspection." 

Anyone else might have been insulted by Annabelle's current attitude, but Merkley knew that she didn't mean anything by it. He'd been on enough missions with the commanding officer to know that she just needed some time after a failed op to blow off some steam. He gave an understanding pat on the back which anyone else would have been too terrified to attempt, then made his way to the medical wing as ordered. 

Annabelle avoided all of the crowded areas of the Dauntless compound as she made her way to her apartment. Upon entering, Annabelle threw her bag onto the couch then headed straight to her bathroom to inspect the damage. For a while, Annabelle kept her head hung low, too ashamed to see the results of her fight for herself. She braced herself against the sink and stared into the empty basin. 

'Whatever happens, we aren't going to cry. She doesn't get to break us.'

With that thought, Annabelle took one large steadying breath and lifted her head in order to meet her own gaze in the mirror. She immediately grimaced as she looked at the fresh bruises littering her face. Her right eye was already rimmed black, her cheekbone was swollen and protruding awkwardly from its usual position, and her lip was split in three different spots. Anna moved her gaze lower to find the large hand shaped bruises encasing her neck. She couldn't bring herself to look at those for more than a minute before lifting her shirt and seeing the real damage. Annabelle's abdomen was a conglomerate of black and purple that hurt if she so much as breathed. Nothing felt broken, which was a miracle, but she wouldn't be working out for the next few days either. Annabelle felt tears filling her eyes but forced them down. She wouldn't give Evelyn the satisfaction.

The sight of Eric suddenly behind her caused Annabelle to quickly lower her shirt once more and begin splashing her face with water to try and lessen the horror of her appearance. Eric didn't say anything. He didn't even move. He just waited for Annabelle to finish refreshing herself before she slowly made her way over to him. She kept a fair distance between them still, not in any mood to be touched right now, but the fact that she hadn't walked away completely told Eric he was okay to start speaking. 

"What happened? We lost you on comms pretty quick there." 

"We each made the drop on my mark. I knocked the detonator out of Evelyn's hand immediately then was fighting against her and the other guys in her alley. Knocked them out pretty quickly then chased after her. Turns out both of my parents have really good right hooks." 

Eric sucked in a breath, clearly not appreciating Annabelle's dark sense of humor at this moment.

"Your stomach looks like it took more than just a right hook." 

Now it was Annabelle's turn to tense up as she recalled her fight with Evelyn. She was glad Tobias wasn't there to see it. Or Eric. Neither of them would look at her the same. It's what she assumed anyways. She found herself looking down at her feet, unable to look Eric in the eyes when she told him how pathetic she was.