The Fourth Eaton

Chapter 12 🔪 Rumors

Of course, she doesn't know about Marcus. And I hope she never will.

Snap out of it, Camilla. Of course she wants to be your friend, otherwise she couldn't have expressed her concerns about hurting me when we were fighting! Your past doesn't matter. All that does is the present.

We walk into the dining hall, and Julia pulls her arm from mine. "Let's get some food in us."

I smile in response and start towards the line, Julia a little in front of me.

Suddenly, I feel something crash into me, with enough force to knock me over. I flail my arms, trying desperately to regain my balance, but to no avail. I land on my bottom, and sit dumbly on the cold stone ground, staring up at what hit me.

But it isn't a what. It's a who.

A boy who is with dark hair and bronze skin is standing above me, a look of concern on his face. He reaches out his hand and I stare at it hesitantly.

The Erudite boys in school used to do this; knocking me over on purpose, then reached out their hand as a show of politeness, only to pull it away once I grazed it.

But, for some reason, I feel like I can trust this boy to not do the same. So, I take his hand.

He hauls me up with surprising strength, and lets go of my hand once I'm steady on my feet.

Now that I'm standing beside him, I can see that he's only an inch or two taller than me. He flashes me a grin that's so infectious, it makes me want to smile right back at him. It exposes his pearly white teeth, which shine in the light.

"My apologies." He says, not breaking eye contact with me. "I was trying to catch my idiot brother. Mum's looking for him for that crazy prank he pulled." The boy shakes his head, as though he is disappointed in his brother, although I catch a hint of a smile on his lips, and a sparkle in his eye that can only mean that for him, it's all good fun. "I'm Zeke."

Wait. Zeke. This is Tobias' best friend. That means that his "idiot brother" is Uriah. The two most notorious pranksters in Dauntless, as of the time being.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Cammi."

His eyes widen. "Cammi. You're the second stiff transfer to Dauntless, aren't you?" When I nod, he leans in, his lips beside my ear, and whispers, "Four's little sister?"

So he's told his friends about me, like Tori said. I can feel my mouth curl into a slight smile involuntarily. "Yep, that's me."

He pulls back and laughs. The sound is low, like Tobias', except it sounds more carefree, somehow. He raises his arm and slaps me on my back, which makes me wince. It's not his fault; I'm guessing he doesn't know about Marcus, but I can't help but internally curse as Zeke's hand connects with my scars, some of them still pretty fresh.

"You should know that I'm one of the people Four trusts. He doesn't tell me all his secrets, but he does open up to Shauna, Tori, and I more than anyone else. Girl, once Four gets started on the topic of you, he can't stop. He absolutely adores his little sister, and would do just about anything for you."

I stare up at him, my mouth slightly agape. I know that he would do anything for me, and I for him, but, somehow, hearing someone else say it brings a warm feeling into the pit of my stomach.

I'm snapped out of my reverie by Zeke continuing. "And I've been so excited to finally meet Four's amazing sister who is supposedly even braver than him, and Four's really brave."

"Wait." I stop him, emotions getting lodged in my throat. "He said all of that about me?"

Zeke laughs again. "Of course he did! I told you, he adores you."