To Save a City (Divergent/Eric) 2 of 3 COH Series

Chapter 17

(Hosanna's POV)

After the service, my brother insisted on stopping in the Candor shops again.  I bought vanilla ice cream last time but when he heard there was chocolate, he said we had to get some.  Eric was nice enough to buy it for the party and I smiled at him.  I think Tobias appreciated the kind gesture.
Eric and I arrive at my apartment after lunch alone, only because my brother wanted to go to his apartment to get some clothes to keep here. I open my freezer to check on the tub of chocolate ice cream. It got a little melty from the heat today and I just want to make sure it's not ruined. Eric comes up behind me and hugs me tightly. I smile and stroke my arms along his forearms, tracing the pattern of his tattoos. I feel his breath caressing my neck, my cheek, my ear. I close my eyes and sigh. I think he enjoyed coming with me today—at least, I hope so anyway. This is such a big part of my life—the most important part—and I want him to understand that.
"Can I come next time?" he whispers so quietly that I almost don't hear.
My smile probably matches the one when he announced my leadership training to the faction. "Of course," I say trying to move my mouth to form the words with great difficulty. 
He pulls me out on my balcony and we sit on the patio hand in hand in peace and quiet for a while looking out at the city.  I close my eyes and relax as the breeze blows around us.  I feel the presence of God here with us—for the entirety of the day actually.
"I feel more at peace," Eric tells me breaking the silence. 
"I'm glad," I say.  I wanted to pray for him earlier but since the elevator buzzer was going off, I didn't want an interruption.  I had to wait until the walk in to do so.  I really hope he feels free and doesn't dwell on any negative feelings that can pull him down.
I hear Eric's chair move slightly. I open my eyes to see him crouch down in front of me. He grasps both of my hands in his. "There are so many things I want to say to you. I... I love you so much. It means a great deal to me that I'm a part of your life—a place I've always been drawn to. I have something..." he starts but my front door opens, my brother arriving.
"I'm sorry," I say, sad about the interruption.
"It's okay," he says standing up. "It can wait." He kisses the top of my head and pulls me up with him. We walk back inside to greet my brother.
"Hey," Tobias says, bag slung over his shoulder. He walks into my spare bedroom to drop of his bag.
I reach up and kiss Eric gently while we have another second of privacy but my brother soon returns and clears his throat. "So, where should I keep my clothes?" he asks.
"There's some more furniture in Jude's old place.  We could move that over," Eric offers.
We all enter Jude's apartment and go to his spare room.  Tobias and Eric work together to carry the only dresser in the room while I get the nightstand.  I go first, setting the nightstand down while they follow behind me.  I go out to close the doors, locking Jude's and returning to see them both sitting at my island.  Eric is drinking what's left of my lemonade and Tobias has a glass of water.  I smile at that.  I grab a cloth to go and wipe down the new furniture.  I wipe out the inside of the drawers, and the exterior of the furniture.  I get to the bottommost drawer of the dresser to find it full of two giant books.  I slide them out, setting them aside while I clean.  When I finish, I turn to the two books.  Taking a seat on the spare bed, I open the first to see that it's not a book at all.  It's filled with photographs of Jude and Diane when they were younger.  I never realized their age difference before.  I bring them out to show my boys.  I enter my living room to see them talking and laughing together on my couch.  I almost don't want to interrupt.  I lean against the wall, grasping the picture books close to my chest and sighing.  They're getting along, genuinely getting along.  This is bliss. 
Eric looks up and meets my eyes.  "What's that?" he asks.
"I found these in the dresser drawer," I say coming closer and sitting between them.  I open the first up and show them the pictures of Jude and his wife when they were first married. 
"I can't believe he left his photo album behind..." Eric says trailing off. 
"I never heard what happened.  Did he kill himself or go to Factionless?" Tobias asks.
I remain quiet.  Eric looks to me.  "He left with Diane," Eric says.
"Factionless, then," Tobias mumbles.
I flip through the pages as they look through with me.  I finish the album, setting it on the table and open the next gasping. 
I cover my mouth with my hand and Tobias moves closer pulling the pictures nearer to his face.  "I can't believe it," he comments, just as shocked to find this as me.
I move through the pages slowly seeing pictures of Max with my mother.  She was still wearing blue.  I do look so much like her except for my eyes and dimples.  I continue to flip through the pages seeing Tobias and myself growing up.  The book stops abruptly with empty pages nearing the time of her death.  I close it, wiping a tear from my eye. 
"Why would Jude have a photo album of Max and your family?" Eric whispers. 
"I don't know," I say.  "But I'm going to give it to Max tonight."
"What do you mean?" Toby asks.
"He's coming tonight and so is Lydia and her boyfriend," I say.
He nods, clearly surprised at what we've just found. 

*****

My dinner party went well.  Abby and Julia came bringing their friends—the other three who have to test again to stay in Dauntless.  I don't think the three boys knew where they were going because when I opened the door, every one of their mouths dropped open probably from shock.  Nevertheless, I greeted them and let them in.  I learned their names finally.  Doug is the transfer—originally from Candor—while the other two Dauntless born are Luke and Jeff.  I offered to let them join us tomorrow to practice.  Eric snuck up behind me and whispered that I needed a few extra bodies to throw around this week anyway.  I didn't quite follow that. 
Lydia arrived bringing Hale, her boyfriend.  He is absolutely huge.  He's tall with a massive build, dark brown hair and green eyes, while she's shorter than me, short blonde hair and hazel eyes.  They are completely opposite in pretty much everything since he's surprisingly shy and she's so outgoing, yet somehow perfect for each other. 
This party was definitely more interesting than the last one I threw though, since the five people that would have normally been thrown out got to spend the evening with all of Dauntless leadership as well as many of my other friends.  I think those five trial members were a little in awe when they saw the other leaders making jokes.  I could actually see Doug visibly relax to a joke Max had made at Ryan's expense. 
Before he left along with most of my friends, I handed a photo album to Max. The look on his face was filled with both shock and appreciation. I hugged him before he exited my door. 
When everyone else is gone, I lounge on the sofa while Tobias showers and Eric remains.  He threads his fingers through my hair at the back of my head, pulling my face closer to his on the sofa.  Eric kisses me hungrily, lovingly, as if everything he feels for me was waiting a good part of the day to do this.  I kiss him back with the same passion and enthusiasm.  We continue on sharing our vast affection with one another until the bathroom door opens minutes later.  Eric gently, slowly moves his lips from mine to stare into my eyes.  After a moment, he smirks.  "What?" I whisper.
"We're making it work," he says grasping my hand and leaning back on the sofa next to me as my brother comes into the living room to join us.

*****What do you think of this one?  I love the part with the photo album.  It makes their childhood memories with Max and their mother become more real—no longer just a fantasy.  The part with Eric on the patio really wasn't planned initially.  I just came up with that on the spot when I first put this together, as his apprehension somewhat melted away.  Then, the interruption made him stick with his initial plan... if you know what I mean.*****

Words of Wisdom:
I feel that God has our lives planned out.  We may want to rush into things or vary from the intended path.  From time to time, there are interruptions that cause us to steer back on track.  I feel that those times are not just coincidence, it is intended to keep us on course. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬