Love, Lies, Secrets and Manipulation (Divergent/Eric OC)

°61. Rough Times

(Eric's POV)

"Hey," a nearby voice calls.

I look to my right, only to find that I'm being approached by a familiar but unwanted face. Well, what do you know... It's Jacob, the little twerp who was after my girl several weeks ago. I almost forgot all about him.

"What the hell do you want?" I question in an unfriendly tone.

"Cut the bullshit. Where's my girlfriend?"

"Who?" He damn well better not be referring to Natalie.

"Heather. I know you're not stupid. Where the hell is she?"

Before I can respond with a threat Natalie is interrupting us, grabbing a hold of my left bicep. "Hey," she says, a look of worry upon her face, "what's going on?"

"I can't find Heather anywhere," Jacob says. "From what I hear, Eric was the last person she was seen with."

Oh, no, you little shit! My anger quickly takes over and I step closer to him in a threatening manner, making him take a small step back. "Take your ass out of here now, before I drag you out of here myself."

"I know you were with her," he argues.

"Eric, what is he talking about?" Natalie asks, and from her serious tone, I can now tell that she wants an explanation from me.

"Someone saw you talking with her outside the clothing store," Jacob continues, "so where is she?"

"What the hell makes you think I know?" I bark.

"Because you've snuck off with her before, you jackass! So where the hell is she?!"

"She's over there, you idiot," Natalie interrupts, pointing over towards The Pit.

Jacob and I turn to look. Heather is indeed over near The Pit; she's with a friend.

This idiot.

"Well, you found your whore," Natalie says to him. "So why don't you get lost now?"

He looks to her, surprised that she'd speak to him that way, but I'm at least glad she's informing him he's not wanted here. "You heard her," I say, taking another threatening step forward. "Get out of my face while you still have a chance."

He leaves, angry that he wasn't able to blame me for not being able to find Heather. What the fuck did he think, that I was hiding her from him? Him not being able to find his whore is none of my damn concern. We fucked once and that was it; it's never going to happen again. If he knows what's good for himself, he'll never try to approach me again—or Natalie. Next time he may just end up like Hunter.

When I turn around to look at Natalie, I see that stands there with an unhappy look on her face, and she folds her arms against her chest in a displeased manner. "Were you with her?"

Shit. I can't lie. It'll only give her a reason not to trust me again. "It's not what you think," I tell her, getting ready to explain. "I ran into her earlier. She asked me a question, I answered, and that was it. I wasn't with her. I went straight to my office after that—alone."

She takes a step closer to me, wanting to question me some more. "What did she want?"

I sigh. It's stupid, really. I don't even feel like telling her. But she's not gonna let this go unless I give her a straight answer. "She asked if a bunch of them could have permission to use the dining hall for some festivity thing tomorrow night."