Recklessly (Divergent Fanfic) #Completed

Chapter 23 - Fugitives

Have I mentioned how amazing you all are? Seriously, thank you so much for reading this. It really does mean the world to me!

Corrine

I was starting to wonder if we would ever be able to stop running.

We had jumped off the train and headed into a heavily wooded area, trying to cover ourselves and our tracks. We knew it wouldn't be long before Jeanine Mathews had a hunting party out looking for us.

My chest felt heavy. And not just from the running, but from the guilt of my brother and friends being involved in this. But I'm thankful they're here, as undeserved as it might be.

"Eric, we have to stop for awhile. I can't go anymore." I tell him through labored breaths.

"The Suns going down, we should find a place to sleep anyways." He takes my hand in his, as we all follow him.

The night air is cold and unforgiving. I can feel myself shivering.

"Take my jacket." Eric says as he starts shrugging it off of his shoulders.

"No, Eric. Then you'll be cold. Just keep it."

"Now isn't the time to be stubborn, Corrine. Take the damn jacket so I don't have to worry." He places it on my shoulders and I reluctantly pull my arms through the sleeves.

"Thank you." I say quietly. He only nods in reply.

We find a small clearing, and Ricky starts to make a small fire to keep us from freezing to death tonight. We would only be able to stay here until the sun began to rise again, then we would have to move again.

Is this what our lives would be now? Never having a home. Never being able to stay anywhere. Just constantly running and hiding. I could only hope that wouldn't be the fate of the people I care about.

I sit down with my legs folded under me by the fire. I feel someone sit next to me, as I look over and see Marie take a seat.

"So, Queen of Secrets, you really did have a thing for Eric?" She smirks and raises an eyebrow at me.

"It's more than just a thing, Marie. I love him." I release a long breath.

"So it's been going on for awhile?" She asks.

"Yes. I couldn't tell anyone, I hope you understand." I turn and face her a little more.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust you, Corrine. Something bad is happening, and we were all just pawns in their game." She shakes her head.

"Jeanine wants to take out Abnegation. She wants to kill them all, Marie. I just can't let that happen. I have to do something."

"So, somehow, we are going to have to get back into headquarters, and take her out?" Marie asks.

"Basically."

"That should be a piece of cake." She says, rolling her eyes and pushing me playfully.

"I'm not asking you to go along with this. I would never do that." I tell her.

"I made my decision when I left Dauntless with you, Corrine. I'm not going anywhere." She rubs my shoulder and I pull her into a hug.

"Thank you."

"I better check on Ricky, I think someone else is waiting to talk with you." Marie motions with her head to where Eric is standing, his arms crossed across his chest as he watches me. Marie stands up and walks away.

Eric comes over, extending his hand for me to take so he can pull me to my feet. When I'm on my feet, he doesn't release my hand, instead he brings it up and places it on the back of his neck, his hands dropping to my waist. My eyes watch him carefully, trying to take in everything about him, so that if I died tomorrow, I would hopefully have this memory of his face, always. Without hesitation, he brought his lips down to mine, kissing me sweetly and slowly.

I almost pulled away on instinct, not remembering at first, that it was okay for us to be seen now. So instead, I pulled his mouth harder against mine.

"This is all worth it, if I can kiss you that way anytime I please." He says quietly.

"I hope you're right. That this will somehow be worth it." I run my hands over his hair and lightly rake my nails on his scalp.

"Falling in love with you, has been nothing but good for me. I've done horrible things. Despicable things. I was going along with a plan to kill an entire faction, because I was obsessed with power. But one thing I'm proud of myself for, is letting myself love you, Corrine." He keeps his lips close to mine as he speaks so surely. I take a deep breath that gets lost in his mouth.

"The future is so uncertain now. We don't know where we are going to be a few hours from now, let alone a year. What do we do?" I fist my hands into his tshirt, keeping him as close to me as possible.

"I think...we need to seek help from the other factions. From the Candor and Amity, maybe they'll be willing." He shrugs.

"Then we try. Surely not everyone shares Jeanine's hatred for the Abnegation." I say.

"Let's hope not. Now, we should sleep. We have to move again soon, baby." He kisses my forehead lightly. I bite my lip, my heart still fluttering each time he calls 'baby'. As cheesy as it may seem.

Eric slumps against a tree trunk, holding his arm open for me. So I sit against the cold, hard ground and lay my head against his chest. His heart beat immediately calming my nerves. He pulls my body flush against his, and wrap myself around him tightly, hoping even the smallest amount of my body heat will keep him warm tonight.

"I love you, Corrine."

"I love you." I answer, pressing my lips to his jaw.

Perhaps I'm selfish. To even be allowed to feel an ounce of happiness in a time like this. I'm scared, one of us could be killed at any moment and it would be all my fault. But, the hiding we are doing now, isn't half as painful as the hiding Eric and I were doing for months inside Dauntless.

It killed me a little every day that I had to hide the way I felt about him. We had our reasons, but that didn't make it any less heart wrenching. I love him, I love him more than my own life and I was willing to never take another breath if it meant he would be safe.

I don't care about having a faction to be apart of anymore. The more that happens, the more I start to question the effectiveness of the factions.

But I do wonder, where my place in this world is now.