Free and Captured ~Eric love story

Chapter twenty-seven- "Let's go princess"

Mer's POV

"Look at you, still so helpless and pathetic. You're the same scared girl." he spits at him. I don't acknowledge him and lean my head against the wall, eyes closed, and try to think of something else. "Open your eyes and look at your father when he is talking to you" he growls, grabbing my jaw in his hand and squeezing.
"You thought you could escape me you bitch. You really thought you could run away. That I wouldn't come after you. I already let your brother get away, I wasn't going to make that mistake twice." His hand makes contact with my cheek again, and then uses the same hand and drives his fist into my stomach. I finally let out a cry and crumple to the ground.
"Worthless, pathetic, piece of shit." he says, kicking me in the stomach after every word. He crouches down next to me "I should have killed you when I had the chance, I won't make that mistake again."
"Please! Someone!" I cry out. Marcus laughs evilly.
"You stupid girl. There is no one who loves you, know one who cares. No one to save." He kicks me in the head and i scream he continues to kick me in the mean and i cry in pain wanting it to end.
"Mer! Mer! Please Mer!" I hear my brother's voice but my eyes are squeezed shut. "Mer open your eyes!"
My eyes fly open and I shoot up in my bed.

Eric's POV.

I sit in four's and tris' living room. Four sits on the couch across from the chair I'm in, his head against the backrest, eyes closed. Tris walks in with a bear for four and I and a coffee for herself. We don't talk, it just leads to fighting and we are too tired to fight. It's currently 1am and the 3 of us are just waiting for Mer to wake up screaming.
It's been a week since the 'accident' and it's taken a toll on a lot of people close to her, and her especially. She tried to act as if it didn't shake her and the first day she went to training, but within 2 minutes she was having a panic attack, since then she has done the exact opposite and hid herself from everyone.
All her friends are worried but she doesn't leave four's and tris' apartment. Her days consist of staring out the window, lying in her bed in the dark, taking her meds, and us force feeding her. She doesn't sleep, she just lies in bed, and when she does sleep she wakes up screaming and crying.
She has stayed with them for the past week for multiple reasons. One; it's her brother. Two; Tris is her childhood friend and she trusts her and four the most. Three; Tris said she doesn't mind waking up in the middle of the night, saying it's practice for when she has a baby.
I've stayed on their couch to help out, refusing to leave her, and she wants me here since she trusts me because I saved her. The 3 of us have had multiple arguments already but they are always about what is best for her.
We had previously been discussing her coming to live with me for a bit. Four and Tris need to continue training the initiates and they can't take care of Mer and do that. Four was opposed to it and started freaking out at me, making me yell at him and Tris telling us to shut up before we woke up Mer after having just gotten her back in bed. So here we sit. In silence, waiting for her to wake up screaming, not bothering to fall asleep.
I close my eyes for a second and then the screaming starts, my eyes fly open. I go to stand but four stops me. "I got this one." he murmurs. He leaves walking to the bedroom with mer.
"I agree with you, you know," Tris says quietly. I look in her direction. I raise an eyebrow at her in confusion. "I think it would be good for her to stay with you." she says, explaining.
I look at her shocked, "really? Why?" I ask, sitting up, curious.
"I love Mer with everything in my heart and I love four and he means the best for her, but he loves her too much. Mer went through something horrible but she needs tough love. She has had time, and I know no one heals quickly or completely, but her wallowing in a depressed state and blocking out the world is just as bad as her throwing herself back into the world before she was ready. She's had some time and she's just getting worse. I think you can really help her Eric. You can't show her that she is stronger than this, that she can fight it. Mer has had beatings before, she was abused all throughout her life. She's been whipped, starved, touched, and degraded, this was not the worst beating she's had. She was sick before this, this just happened to tip the scales. We just didn't see it until now."
I think and process all the things she said "so you think I can bring her back because i'm a hard ass and won't baby her?" I ask, slightly annoyed.
"Tris puts her cup down and leans forward. "No" she says "I think you can help her because you love her like no one else ever has."
Her words take me by complete shock. "Wh-what?"
"Mer never had parents to love her. She only had her brother's love which is one of the strongest things you can have. She also has all her friends' love, like mine. But those loves are so different from the love I know you have for her. It's not stronger than the one four has for her, it's completely different but just as strong. If that was me in that room four wouldn't be doing the same things. He is cloudy but his protective brother side. Mer needs someone to kick her out of bed not let her drone in her pain. I know you can do that because I see the way you look at her. With adoration and love and pain because she is going through this. Eric, you can't help her. I know you can."
I just stare at her. I never thought about how I feel for Mer. I knew it was more than I felt for anyone else but I never thought about what it meant. I was too busy pushing her away and the feelings away to actually what I was pushing away. "I-I" I stutter again, lost for words.
"Don't worry, I won't tell four." Tris says with a smirk and a wink.
I chuckle "Tris-" I am cut off by a familiar voice screaming.
"NO! NO! Get away from me!" I hear her cry.
Tris and I instantly stand up and run to her room.

Mer's POV

Strong hands grab me and when I look at the person all I see is him. He found me, he is going to kill me. So I didn't even think about it before kicking and screaming. "NO! NO! Get away from me!" I get away from him and run to the corner of the room, and I can't see him through the darkness.
The door bursts open, letting in a flood of light and the first person I see is Eric. I don't think twice about running to him knowing he wont let him hurt me. He hold me tight in his arms.
"Hey. You're safe now. You're ok. He can't get you."
"He over there, he wants to hurt me. He's in my room." I cry into his chest.
"Mer. It's only us. He is banned from ever coming here again."
I pull away, tears stained on my cheeks and look over to the bed. Tobias sits on the edge of the bed. He stares at the wall lifelessly well tris looks at the cut on his cheek. I suddenly realise the mistake I made. I just mistook my brother for our worst enemy.
As a kid he was always told he looks like our father and I always comforted him telling him he looked nothing like him and it only mattered on the inside anyway. Now I've done the worst thing I could possibly have done and made him think that I thought  he was our   father and that he had hurt me.
"Four," I murmur, walking to him. "Four I'm so sorry, I didn't look at you, I was still dreaming." I say falling to my knees infont if him, tears streaming down my face hoping for forgiveness.
He looks down at me and gives me a small fake smile. "It's fine, you didn't mean it. I'm fine." He gently and carefully touches my cheek. "As long as you're ok." I nod, tears still running
"Mer." Tris says, she pulls me to my feet and places her hands on my arms gently rubbing them. "You're going to  go live with Eric for the next bit. Ok? I think he will be able to help you better."
I look at Eric who is looking at me with worry evident in his eyes, and I hint something else that I can't quite put my finger on. I look over at my brother.
"Four?"
"Tris is right, I'll still be around ok. But I think Eric can help you better. As long as you're ok with that."
I nod and look at Eric, he nods and gives me a smile. I give Tobias and Tris a hug and walk over to Eric.
He grabs my hand, squeezing it in comfort.
"Let's go princess"...