Sequel to "You Make Me Brave"!! Please read that book first!!
Elsie and the gang have escaped the Maze! Now what? A city built on talent-and-behavior-fueled segregation and the mystery of it's lore and meeting their expectations is what.
As the gr...
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"Elsie, hey," Gally grabbed my hand when I woke up the next morning. "What happened? I got up to go find you last night and Four said you were here."
I was still a little dazed and confused. I looked myself over and that's when I saw blood stains on my pants.
Gally must have already seen them because he looked the most concerned he ever has.
"Did someone hurt you?"
Images of last night filled my head. Granted they were dim and dark but the things I did see were scary enough.
Eric's piercings reflecting the dim light of the training room light I had on. His tattoos I could just barely make out in the dark.
I never dared to look at his face. Because I didn't want to know what he'd do if we'd made eye contact in that moment.
"Elsie? Hey," Gally stroked my cheek to get my attention again. I must have spaced out. "What happened?"
"Overworked myself," I mumbled.
"Okay. That explains the black out. What about the blood?"
"It was dark. I didn't have all the lights on. I dropped a knife on my leg and cut myself."
"Bullshit. The nurse said you didn't have one scratch. But you have bruises. And this."
Gally lifted my chin and held a metal tool tray up in front of me. That's when I saw pink hand marks on my throat.
My eyes started watering and the nurse who was watching in the corner of the room ushered Gally out with the excuse of me needing more rest.
She frowned at me. And for a Dauntless, she was kind and gentle. Like at some point she could have been Amity.
"You wanna tell me what really happened?" She asked quietly. "It's just you and me in here. And everything you say is confidential unless someone's hurting you."
I began softly crying. A mix of fear, pain, and violation overwhelmed me to the point of no control.
Eric did what Zart was probably planning on doing his entire time in the Glade. It finally happened.
I didn't want to speak. I didn't want to be awake. I didn't want to be seen by anyone. I wanted to be left alone. I wanted to be comforted. I didn't want anyone asking questions.
The nurse eventually came to the conclusion that I need time to process the attack on my own before I was able to explain it to anyone.
So she flicked the lights off, save for a little lamp on my bedside table, and entered an office in the back of the room and shut the door.
My day was spent mostly alone in the infirmary. For meals, Christina would bring me a tray of food and an extra dessert to try and cheer me up.
She also tried sitting with me for breakfast and lunch but I didn't say much. Just listened to her talk about what they'd been doing.
