Star-gazing: Eric Coulter

Chapter 10

Layla looks down to her lap, "I'm so so sorry." She cries, breaking down and thinking the mess she's made is unfixable. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"
"It's fine, I can clear this up." She looks terrified, "It wasn't your fault."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
"It wasn't your fault, baby."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"It's not, I'm disgusting. I'm sorry." She cries and cries, tears streaming down her face. The fucking hormones.

I shake my head and get up from the bed that is a clear depiction of her physical state right now. I walk around the edge of the bed to my wife and crouch in front of her. She looks away so I grab her chin and pull her face back to my direction.
"You're not disgusting, you don't need to be sorry because none of this was your fault, you were having fun and drunk a bit too much. Now you're ill, I'm always here for you, you're beautiful and I love you." I pause for a second, "And let's get you cleaned up, we need to supervise visiting day later." She smiles very slightly at the end of my sentence and wraps her arms around my neck, I cradle her in my arms, gently rocking her side to side.
I just hope to god her fucking parents don't show up again.

Four's pov:

Fuck Eric. I hate him.

I run up to my apartment to grab some books to help to teach to initiates the lesson we were supposed to inform them on in the first half of phase one. I see Layla and Eric's apartment door closed and decide to check that they're actually coming down at some point today.
One knock.
Two knock.
Three knock.
There's no response until I hear a loud, echoing, "Fuck off, Max!" It's Eric, of course it is. Layla isn't that rude.
"Get down stairs, we're training today!" I yell back through the door. "I don't care what state you're both in, if you're not downstairs in five—"
The door swings open (nearly off the hinges) and a furious looking Eric stands before me; his hands tucked tightly over his chest and a stern look on his face. He keeps the unimpressed gaze on me as I plainly look back at him.
"For gods sake, Eric." I swear, shaking my head, "Don't fucking make me do this alone, it's your job."
He waits a second before answering, "I am your senior, don't use that tone with me ever again. Or I swear on my wife's life, I will throw you off the chasm with no remorse." I hear a faint noise behind him and glance around. Layla's in the back bedroom laying on a bare mattress, she looks deathly pale. (Almost zombie like).
"We'll be down when we're down. Now, fuck off!" He says, slamming the door back in my face.
That was so helpful.

Looking at the time on my phone, I quickly grab the theory lesson plans from a pile of paper in my office and jog back to one of the classrooms— making sure I'm a couple minutes earlier than the initiates, so I can set up. As I enter the classroom, Tris is there...
"Can... erm can I help you, initiate?" I stutter, I know I shouldn't feel this way towards her but there's just something about her— like a connection between us both.
She looks up at me with curious eyes. How do I respond to that?

Eric's pov:

Why is Four such a dick? He seriously needs to get laid and live a little. He's too tense all the time, like what that fuck? Does he really think he can boss us around? We're a superior status to him, he can't talk to me like that. The little pussy.
Even after everything he's done to Layla, getting her team taken and almost fucking killing her— he's lucky I haven't killed him yet. Because I am this close to doing it despite what Layls says.

I slouch down onto the bed (without the covers and sheets because they're in the washing machine) and sit next to my wife.
"Layl you have to get up." I try to talk to her softly but I'm still pissed at seeing Four's face outside my apartment earlier, so it comes out a bit hoarse.
"Five more minutes." Some colour has come back to her face which is good, she looks a lot less dead now.
I chuckle at her antics and shove her to the edge of bed, where she dramatically rolls off. I hear a thud on the floor and peer over the side where I'm too slow to realise she's pulling me off too. I land on the wooden floor with my two arms out either side of her head and our faces aligned.