Ordinary Acts of Bravery [A Divergent Fanfic]

Chapter 40 - I love you

"A strong friendship doesn't need daily conversation or constant togetherness. As long as the relationship lives in the heart, true friendship will never part."

It was not fun with a broken hand. The stomp on my hand had broken two fingers, luckily none other. I blew out a breath and sat back down on the bed. I had my back turned to Eric who was gathering my hair. After a few days, with multiple tries, he had become fairly well at putting it in a ponytail, but I really hated it, being this reliant on everyone else was not my favorite thing.

Eric placed a kiss on my temple when done and climbed off the bed. I watched him from the corner of my eye as he got dressed again. It had been a week since the attack. Roxy was alive but had lost everything else. The love of her life and their unborn child. She had been in and out of consciousness the first few days, now she could stay awake for longer periods of time.

"Octavia—tonight, Four and I are going to take the initiates out for a game of protect the flag." Eric sounded less excited by the word, and I tried smiling reassuringly at him before pushing away from the bed. "I won't be home before after midnight—"

"I know." I chuckled and placed a hand on his chest, gently padding it twice before moving into the living room. Eric followed and caught me from behind, yanking me back to him. I yelped in surprise as arms wrapped around my midsection. "Eric!" I groaned and hit his forearm. He only chuckled when lowering his head to my shoulder. He took a deep breath and tightened his hold for a few seconds before letting go again.

"I needed that for good luck—" He shrugged when I spun around to face him. I raised an eyebrow. If he needed that for good luck, then what was the round of sex he began this morning? I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. He only grinned wider and I turned away from him. Even though he was this laid back, I knew he had been a little anxious, if not annoyed, because he had won against Four last year, but feared he wouldn't win this time. And he hated losing to Four. It was the one thing that could set him over the edge.

We said our goodbyes in the doorway. Eric had been quick to turn away, but I grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and pulled him back to me. "Not so fast you!" I ordered, raising to my toes to better reach as I kissed him again. Eric stole a few more before hurrying down the stairs. He was already late. He and Four had to prepare for the game. I chuckled, watching him run down the stairs were unlike him. He had always been calm and collected, moving through dauntless as if he didn't have a care in the world.

When I reached the pit, I steered toward the infirmary, hoping Roxy would be awake and up for another visit. I had visited her whenever I could. The hallways were luckily quite empty, so it didn't take me long to reach the infirmary. It was becoming a familiar road.

I pushed the door open with my shoulder, mindful of my cast and slipped into the infirmary. It was unusually quiet. I blew out a breath, eyes traveling over the few persons in there. On a bed in the end laid the first jumper. I recognized her because she was the abnegation girl. She looked quite rough. I felt sad for her as I steered towards the red head lying in the bed next to her.