A Different Divergent Tale (Eric and Tris)

Chapter 75

I step into the cafeteria for dinner and look up to the leadership table. Eric's eyes immediately meet mine and he rises, coming straight for me. He picks me up and kisses me, wrapping his arms around me.
"God, I've missed you," he whispers breathlessly.
I smile at that.
He caresses my cheek. I can tell he instantly notices my hair as he takes a lock between his fingers and smiles.
"I love it," he tells me.
I grin at that and touch his hand holding my cheek. He releases my hair and looks over my nails.
"You really did the girly things today, didn't you?" he smiles.
I shrug in reply but I'm grinning. I can tell he likes it.
"You look beautiful, by the way," he says gently releasing me and escorting me to the line.
"Thank you," I reply softly.
He looks my arm over as we stand in line. I close my eyes. He knows.
"Where?" he asks softly.
"This one," I say motioning to my left arm right below the elbow.
"There's no bruising," he points out. "That's good for him."
"No. He didn't hurt me. He just was... trying to control me... or not listen. I don't know. It's obvious he was drunk," I tell him grabbing a tray.
He doesn't.
"Not hungry?" I ask.
"Eh, mine's at the table," he waves dismissively. "How do you know he was drunk?"
"He was slurring his words and he reeked of alcohol," I tell him taking four slices of pork loin. I get the mashed potatoes with gravy and a double helping of the green beans. I grab a slice of the cheesecake with cherries. Those were good this morning. Eric gets two more.
"Hungry for dessert?" I tease.
"For me and Ryan," he shrugs.
I nod.
"So..." he says softly as I grab a tall glass of milk.
"What do you want to know?" I ask.
"Are you okay?" he inquires gently.
"Yeah, just disappointed that he pushed me to send him to prison," I shrug.
"Yeah," he nods. "That was stupid."
I nod as well as we approach our table. Eric takes the two slices of cheesecake and puts one on his tray and the other on Ryan's. Max slides down and makes room for me.
"Thank you," I say softly.
"Where'd you get the cheesecake?" Ryan asks excitedly. Eric answers him.
"No problem," Max says gently rubbing my back. "You did good."
"Thank you," I respond softly. I smile at that. I thought so, too. I was quite calm on the outside but my heart was racing and I was freaking out internally. I'm glad the girls were with me. They helped me keep my cool about the whole situation—even afterward and today.
I start on my food and I'm grateful for the questioning hiatus.  Eric tells me he and Ryan spent the day playing sports with Uriah and Zeke. 
"Oh?  What sports did you play?" I ask curiously. 
"Basketball and baseball.  Apparently Eric is exceptionally skilled at both," Ryan answers. 
"He played baseball as a child," I mention. 
"Captain of my team," he nods. 
"How'd you get so good at basketball then?" Ryan asks. 
"Don't know.  I used to play in gym class," he shrugs.  "I was always decent at sports.  I kept in shape and tried to eat well."
Ryan nods. 
I glance to Max. 
"Your friend, Will, is making a whole other page for the paper.  He said they were playing soccer out there two," he tells me.  "Not those two, though, it would seem."
I nod in understanding. 
"Don't the schools play frequently?" I question since Eric was on a team.  They had to have played other students. 
"They do," Max nods. 
"According to Zeke, Candor and Erudite have teams that play," Ryan informs us before starting on his cheesecake.  He's absolutely savoring each bite.  I think it's his favorite. 
"Why doesn't Erudite report on those?" I inquire eating a bite of mashed potatoes. 
"Good point," Max nods. 
"Eh, Jeanine is too busy causing trouble to put something in the paper guys want to read," Eric says teasingly. 
I chuckle at that.
"Maybe we should play the other factions some time.  I bet that'd be fun," Eric comments. 
"And entertaining," I add. 
"What?  Do you want to watch me play, sweetheart?" he grins. 
"You are pretty entertaining," Ryan agrees nodding.  "That last catch and throw when they were bunting was phenomenal.  I couldn't have done that move."
"Thanks," Eric laughs. 
I grin and hope we can do some fun things like this in the future. 
Lydia joins us and apologizes profusely.  I think she feels guilty—like if she were there this wouldn't have happened or she would've been the one to send him packing.  I tell her it's alright.  It's taken care of.  She forces a smile but I can tell she's really upset.  I try to calm her down and even hand her my dessert.  It looks like it helps a bit.  Eric and I leave shortly after. 
"You want a dessert?" he offers. 
I shrug in reply. 
He checks the line but they're all gone.  So, he decides to take me to a bakery and insists I get whatever I want.  I look over the intriguing dessert cases.  Everything looks incredible. There's tons of chocolate and vanilla concoctions—some with fruit, others with creams or chocolate slivers sprinkled on top.  There's some sort of white layered cake with a mix of berries that I decide on.  Eric orders two and a cup of tea for each of us.  We take our seats and they bring them out to our table. 
I smile and thank the waitress.  This looks fantastic.  I take a bite and it's much lighter than a Dauntless cake—or even the cheesecake.  It has like a whipped cream on a more delicate, fluffy cake.  It has four layers and the berries are mixed in somewhat with fresh ones on top.  I sip my tea and sigh at how incredible they go together.  The one is sweet, the other bitter but they somehow match and make each more mellow and enjoyable. 
"This was a good idea," I tell Eric across the table from me. 
He smirks in reply.  He reaches out for my hand lacing our fingers together and I'm honestly feeling so much better about being in his presence.  He asks me about my night last night—the good parts, I'm sure.  I tell him what we did and how we had a great time.  He talks to me about what he and the guys were up to.  The place with the wings sounds good and I'm definitely interested in playing games at the other some time.  We continue chatting and eating this fabulous dessert.
We head home when we finish, not without him stopping somewhere for a pair of cleats in his size and basketball shoes. As we cross the Pit, I feel like people look at me differently. Instead of being the new young leader who somehow got lucky, I get the feeling they see me as a strong leader who deserves where she is. That thought brings a smile to my face. We rise up in our elevator. As we exit on our floor, Eric asks where we're going.
"My place or yours?" he offers.
"We can go to yours if you want," I suggest. I'd like to get out of my place for a while.
He nods and leads the way opening his door for me. I smile in reply and step in. He enters, closes the door, sets his keys and card down before kissing the top of my head and going down to his bedroom.
I slouch onto the sofa lazily—kind of drained today. I almost wish I would've gotten a massage but Lynn said it was a guy that did hers. I'm not too keen on another man touching me—hence, the problem last night.
I hear Eric putting his things away in his closet prior to him coming out with the boxes and bag. He breaks them down in the kitchen and throws them into the recycling bin. He strides over and turns on his stereo. He picks a mellow jazz that's quite soothing. I grin at that.
He takes up the seat beside me and pulls me closer to him. I feel a gentle kiss to my temple as he gets situated—his arm around my shoulders holding me closely and his other hand grasping mine. He playfully separates my fingers with his before he settles in and sighs contently.
I smile so happy to finally be here with him.
"I missed you," he whispers softly kissing my temple again.
"I missed you, too," I reply.
"I was thinking about you constantly," he admits.
I glance up at him. He's grinning but serious.
"So was I," I divulge. "But it was nice spending time with the girls. It's very different from other interaction. They're very supportive."
"Oh? And I'm not?" he questions teasingly.
"I didn't say that," I point out.
"I know," he smiles. "I know what you mean, too. It was nice."
There's silence between us for a moment. He sighs and pulls me closer to him in a tight hug. I bury my face beside his neck.
"Are you going to tell me about it?" he asks softly.
"I'm surprised you didn't call me right away," I mention.
"I didn't know until just before you walked into the cafeteria," he admits.
"You're handling it well," I mention shocked. I figured he'd be furious.
"That wasn't my first thought," he divulges.
"Oh?" I laugh lightly not surprised whatsoever. "And what was your first thought?"
"To go down there and beat him senseless," he shrugs.
I chuckle at that.
"You've restrained yourself quite well," I point out.
"Yeah, you can thank Max for talking some sense into me," he nods.
"What did Max say?" I inquire.
"When he finally told me about it, he said that it was your first sentencing, that you did well, and that I shouldn't mess with it," he tells me seriously. "I thought he was right. I don't want to discourage you. You did a better job that I would've in the same situation."
"You handled the thing with Lena well, though," I mention.
"I probably bruised her," he admits.
I nod. She did look like that hurt... but he had told her repeatedly. So did I with Aries. I see his point.
"Thank you," I reply softly.
I hold onto him for comfort. I bury my face deeper into him and I can't help but cry. He kisses my head and holds me gently. He rubs my back in a soothing motion. It does help to calm me down.
"Oh, man. If my hormones being adjusted makes me a crier, I'm going to be in serious trouble," I laugh wiping my eyes.
"You're fine," he insists. "Having some big, scary, dirty old drunk man hit on you forcefully is kind of nerve wracking."
I nod. It was.
"You held your own well," he tells me. He turns my chin and makes me meet his eyes. "You did the right thing in a moment of stress and confusion. You did exactly what you should've done. I'm proud of you."
I stare at him in disbelief searching his eyes. He's serious. I smile in surprise. He really is the marrying type. Christina is right. I better hold onto him.
Eric leans in and kisses me gently. I melt into the moment so incredibly grateful to be here with him like this... the man of my dreams.