Revolution -Eric Coulter-

Chapter 21

Riley was still walking towards her room but had managed to circle the building multiples times on her way there. Her brain refused to shut off. There were so many different thoughts in her head. Al was dead. He had killed himself, and it was her fault. She refused to speak to him, and then he jumped. The fear landscapes were tomorrow, and she was going to fail. They were going to figure it out, and then they would kill her. In Tobias's fear landscape, the mere sight of her father caused her to freeze. They would see her as weak, and Dauntless would send her to Factionless. Although, being Factionless was a lot better than being dead.

Down the hall was Eric, who was heading back to his apartment. His eyes caught sight of the girl quickly, and he noticed that her head was down. She didn't see him. Riley was still wearing his clothes, and he smirked to himself. Changing his path, he began heading straight towards her. She didn't notice him, too busy stressing about everything else. She continuously ran a hand through her hair causing it to become frizzy. "Riley," Eric called to her. The girl jumped and took a shaky step back. She hadn't been expecting anyone to speak to her, especially Eric.

Riley felt her cheeks flush as the reminder of the previous night came to mind. They had yet to speak after what happened. "Hi."

Eric's eyebrows pulled together at her tone. It was tense, almost scared, "is everything okay?'

"Oh, yeah," Riley rushed out not wanting to worry him. "Everything's fine."

He tilted his head to the side, knowing she wasn't being honest. Riley hoped he wouldn't question her, but it was Eric. "Something happen?" The hesitation in her response gave him the answer he needed. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Riley chuckled. "No, I'm fine."

"Then what's wrong?"

Her eyes went to a figure walking down the hallway. They were wearing blue and had bright blonde hair. It was Jeanine Matthews. "Is that Jeanine Matthews?" Eric glanced behind them and noticed the women. He grumbled something under his breath and quickly pushed Riley down a separate hallway and away from the woman. "What is she doing here?"

Eric continued to guide her, and Riley had a feeling she knew where they were going. "She's here for the evaluations tomorrow."

"Why is she here at night then?"

Eric glanced at her, "do you always ask so many questions?"

"Yes," Riley shrugged. "My brother said it is a gift and a nuisance."

Eric chuckled as they turned down another hall. Officially out of sight from Jeanine. "Well, Four was right about one thing."

"Yeah, well," the words were ripped from her. She stopped walking and quickly spun towards him. "I didn't say it was Four."

Eric swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped around her. He pushed open his door and gestured for her to come inside. Riley hesitated, unsure if entering was a smart idea. However, she wanted to and finally stepped inside. "You didn't have to. I'm not an idiot." He slipped off his jacket and threw it on a chair. "We were in the same initiation group. He didn't go by Four then." Riley stared at him, nervously bouncing on her heels. "You can sit if you want." She nodded and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. Riley tried not to look at the sheets, wanting to keep her focus on the conversation. But it was hard, and images of them kept flashing in her mind. 

"But Tobias was a transfer?" Eric smirked, and Riley put the pieces together. "You were a transfer?"

He glanced down at her, "I was."

Riley couldn't imagine him in any other faction. He was a Dauntless, and everything about him screamed it. From his looks to his attitude. But there was something about him that Riley could see somewhere else. "Erudite?"

That caused him to laugh. He shouldn't have been surprised that Riley was able to guess. "Erudite," he confirmed. Riley wanted to imagine him in the Erudite blue but couldn't.

"I'm guessing you and Four weren't friends then."

"You would be correct."

Riley couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. They were clearly not friends now. They were too different. But she hoped for a moment they had been. "I promise he isn't all bad. He's a good person."

"No, you're a good person," Eric corrected. "He's an ass."

She knew there was more between them than a difference of opinions. "He wasn't always." Tobias was a different person now. He was taller, muscular, and rough around the edges. But he was still her brother, and she loved him more than anything. "He's Dauntless, but he's still good."

"Is that why you really came to Dauntless? Cause he was here?"

"No," Riley assured him. "No. It wasn't." Eric remained silent, "he told me I had to leave on my choosing day. Go anywhere else. He didn't care. As long as I left Abnegation." She pushed her hair behind her ear. "I was going to pick Abnegation anyway. I was scared to leave. I knew what it would look like if I did. But when I got up there, I just followed my gut. I wanted to be Dauntless." She looked down at the ground. "It isn't true what they say about Abnegation. They're good people." They wouldn't hurt anyone. Riley knew that, and she needed him to know that.

Eric sighed but couldn't stop what he said next. "I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah," he slowly sat in front of her. "Anyone that gets thrown over a bridge, and their biggest concern is someone else shows who they are. Abnegation is selfless." Eric's words slowed as if a dangerous thought entered his mind. Riley had no idea how right she was at that moment. She glanced at his eyebrow and noticed the injury had scabbed over. It was hardly noticeable now. "How's your abdomen?"

"It's fine," she muttered. The reminder of that night had nearly left her mind, but she quickly remembered everything. She remembered Al's dead body and felt a pain in her gut.

Eric noticed her change, "what is it?"

"The people who attacked me," she began. "One of them was Al."

"Al," Eric blinked placing the name. "The kid who jumped?"

She nodded, "I think I was the last person to talk to him." Riley regretted what she said. "I wasn't nice to him."

"Why would you be nice to him?" Eric was confused, "he tried to kill you."

"I know-"

"Then why are you upset that he's dead?"

Riley wasn't sure what to say. "Why would I be happy about that?"

"Because he tried to kill you," Eric's voice was loud. "You would be dead if I hadn't found you."

She flinched at his harsh tone. Wanting to see where he was coming from was hard. Riley knew Al would have let her fall, but she wanted to believe he did it out of fear. "He was just scared. I knew him, and his actions were of someone who was scared."

Eric scoffed and shook his head. "Maybe you are Abnegation."

Riley turned to him, slightly surprised that he would say something like that to her. Eric was angry, and the conversation had changed quickly. She pushed up from his bed and ignored the look in his eye. The guilt and silent plea she would sit back down. "I'm Dauntless," Riley spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "Don't mistake my kindness for weakness. You can be both good and brave. You don't have to treat everyone horribly." With that, she stepped towards the door and walked out of his apartment. She should have known better than thinking that Eric believed in her. He didn't. He never thought she was Dauntless. He always saw her as that girl from Abnegation.