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

68. Unexpected

—Two Weeks Later—

(Natalie's POV)

Red.

Dark red.

Blood.

I am covered with it.

His blood.

My hands are stained with it, and they won't stop shaking.

The front of my shirt is soaked with it. It's even smeared all over my forearms. And I can still feel the splatter of it all over the side of my face.

It all happened so quickly. One second he was standing right in front and next to me, and then he was gone. Just gone.

I can remember it all. The sound of the loud shot. How fast he went weak and collapsed to the ground in front of me. How heavy his body felt. How warm and how quickly the blood oozed out of his head, spreading all around us.

Dead.

And there's no fixing it.

There's no changing it.

He's dead. Gone.

While my hands continue to shake as I sit here in shock, I have to endure hearing the girl across from me on the ground, wailing in agony. As if seeing her doing it isn't gut-wrenching enough.

Her loud, sharp cries. Her anguish. Her distress. Her world falling apart.

Her pain might be the biggest thing in the room right now, but I was the one who just went through something traumatic. I am the one who went through it all. I am the one who will be changed forever after tonight. Because tonight, I witnessed just how deep we all are really trapped in this; and I realized... we were fools to think we were all getting out alive.

Death.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

This wasn't how tonight was supposed to end.

We were supposed to be free. We were supposed to be returning home. Alive.

All of us.

—————————————

18 Hours Earlier

My sanity has not left me, but I'm afraid the only reason for that is because I am able to work out my stress physically.

There is a small physical therapy room attached to the med bay, which has exercise equipment that aids in helping me keep my mind occupied and my body somewhat active. I'm restricted from doing heavy exercise, of course, due to being pregnant, but I don't need heavy. I just need active. And since I'm not allowed to leave the vicinities of the med bay in its entirety, coming in here is my only valid option.

Actually, that's a lie. I was informed that I am allowed to return to my cell that I was imprisoned in my first three and a half days here, but there's no way in hell I would ever go back to being trapped in there. So I've traded my prison here at Erudite for a much larger one. But, at least, I have somewhat of an ounce of freedom now.