Haven (Eric x OC divergent )

CHAPTER 16 - my weakness

I sit here, in the testing chair. He fiddles with the computer for a moment before quickly approaching me. I don't make eye contact, what he said yesterday hurt me. I feel the needle hit my neck and I swear I hear him whisper something before I'm out cold.

-~-
I open my eyes to see I'm in my old bedroom, the gray concrete walls contrasting horribly with the oak floors. I take a deep breath as I push myself to stand from my bed. I walk along the creaky floorboards out to the hallway and I look down the staircase. The door opens and I see him stumble inside, struggling to hold his drunken body up. It must be the early hours of the morning because I get a glimpse of the red sky outside before he shuts the door sharply behind him. I quickly stand to the side, hiding behind the wall for protection. I here wobbly footsteps start at the bottom of the stairs. My breathes get heavier with every step coming closer and it hitches when I see him pear around the corner.
"There She is! Just the bitch I was looking for" his face is so close to mine, just mere inches away. I can smell the alcohol with every word he spits.
"You know what time it is?" He slurs and I swallow hard.
"No sir"
"It's punishment time."
"Please no" I beg as he unravels his belt from around his waist.
"It's for your own good"
The leather connects with my skin.
Again
And again
-~-

I wake up tears streaming down my cheeks. I look up and to my surprise Eric is still there this time. He just looks at me, like a kicked puppy. He doesn't say anything, just stares.
"12 minutes" He says quickly before looking back down at his computer. I sigh before standing and exiting the room, making eye contact with no one.

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We all sit around the table, no one speaks. We all stare blankly at our food. It's dinner time now and none of my friends have muttered hardly a word since this morning.
"So rankings" I try to start a conversation.
"Yeah" Jane replies unenthusiastically.

Truth is, the fears today really were the worst we have endured. Not even jack is speaking, that's saying something.
The rankings should be announced any minute now. Not that at this moment anyone really cares.
"Good evening initiates, here are your rankings."
Everyone's eyes follow Max as he makes his way across the stage.

Initiate ranks
1- Alex     11- Josh 21- Matthew
2- Adam 12- Kayden 22- Lucas
3- Paul 13- Harry 23- Oscar
4- Theo 14- Dominic 24- Sarah
5- Jack 15- Gina 25- Mark
6- Jane     16- Peter     26- Kate
7- Mike 17- Alvin 27- Cian
8- Danny 18- Jenny 28- Arianna
9- Diana 19- Candice 29- Shania
10- Kelly 20- Nate

Even with the hard day we've had everyone starts cheering loudly and I can't help the smile that appears on my face. I'm first. After all the awful fears I had to face I got something out of  it.
"My god al! Look your first!" Adam calls from across the table.
"Your second!" I fire back.
"We all did great guys!" Jack hollers and we all join in.
"We should celebrate!" Jane suggest.
"Let's go out and get drunk!" Danny suggests and everyone is keen on the idea.
We all get up to leave but I stop when I see my brother quickly leave the hall.
"Sounds great guys I'll meet you there" I run out after Tobias.

I see him walking down an empty alleyway and I've almost caught up to him.
"Four! Four!" I shout and he stops, turning on his heels.
I catch up and he makes a weird face at me.
"Why'd you run after me?" He tries to laugh but I can tell something's wrong.
"What's wrong?" I answer his question with a question.
"Nothing"
"Don't lie to me"
"Can I tell you tomorrow?, I really don't have time to talk about this right now" he seems really on edge.
"Fine as long as you promise. I'll see you tomorrow then" I hug him quickly before he runs off.

"Aw a little brother sister bonding was it?" My shoulders tense up as I turn quickly to see who's been watching us.
Theo.
"What do you want Theo?" I try to keep my cool.
"Well let's see... the first thing I wanted was you... but you wouldn't let that happen. The second thing I wanted was first place... you wouldn't let that happen either." His voice is calm, that's not a good sign.

He nears me, getting way to close for my liking. My back hits of a cold wall from trying to back away, but he doesn't stop moving towards me. Now we are mere inches apart his face so close to mine I can feel every breath he takes.
He leans his head down, forcing his lips onto mine. He roams his hands under my shirt and I try to wriggle away from him.

This clearly insults him as he pulls away and grabs my head hitting it off the wall.
"Son of a bitch! I gave you the easy way, but you just chose the hard way"
He smacks my face until it's raw. The bangs my head against the wall again, causing my vision to blur. He hits me everywhere I can imagine and everything just feels like one big bruise. At this point I don't have the energy to fight back. I fall to the ground in weakness.
"Theo please stop" my voice comes out even weaker than I expected.
"Aw you want me to stop?" I nod, I cuss myself at my weakness.
"Well you didn't stop that day when we were fighting did you?" I can't say anything, I feel myself slipping away slowly.
My heart falls when I feel a liquid running down my face, it's blood.
"Your nothing but a weak stiff" he pulls back his fist. I see it near my face and everything goes black.