Broken, But Brave

Chapter 19: High Expectations

"I've never felt so helpless in my life. Not even when I was stuck with Marcus. I barely got any hits in. She had me on the ground so fast and she just kept punching and kicking. She wouldn't let up. I was curled in a ball like a child just waiting for it to stop. I'm pretty sure she'd have kept going if Merkley hadn't gotten to us." 

Eric stayed quiet while thinking of the right thing to say. He could only imagine what Belle was feeling. Annabelle never took losses well, and while the overall goal of the mission had been achieved, the fact that Evelyn continued to evade her made it all the more shameful of a loss. 

"You're mad." 

Annabelle rolled her eyes at Eric's response.

"I'm always mad after a loss, Eric." 

"You're not mad about the loss. You're mad about something else. Tell me." 

Annabelle let out a tired sigh as she contemplated how to put her thoughts into words. 

"I don't mind losing battles. It happens. Sometimes the enemy is just better. But I'm not used to losing fights. Hand to hand combat is my specialty. And yet the only two people who have ever beat me are my own parents. Isn't there something just so fucked about that?"

Eric said nothing in response. How could he when he couldn't even begin to comprehend what Annabelle was feeling? She spent her entire life being hated by one parent and now was wanted dead by the other. How she managed to love anyone or anything at all was beyond Eric. Not wanting her to wallow in her self-pity any longer, Eric gently lifted her chin with the knuckle of his index finger, forcing her to look him in the eye for the first time thus far. Annabelle put on her best smile for Eric, trying to reassure him and herself that she was alright. Eric's hand traced along the side of Annabelle's face, following the curve of her black eye and hovering over the deep cuts on her lips. He hesitated before brushing his fingers lightly over the marks covering her neck. Annabelle watched as Eric's jaw and biceps clenched every now again when coming across new bruises and marks. When he finally couldn't look any longer, Eric moved his gaze above Annabelle's head and pulled her in close to his chest by her arm. Annabelle loosely wrapped her arms around Eric's torso while he held her as tightly against him as possible. 

"She's never going to fucking touch you again, Belle." 

"She might. I'll need to be close when I kill her." 

Eric chuffed at the remark, feeling both a swell of pride and fear at Belle's words. He knew that she meant them now more than ever, but he also knew that Evelyn wouldn't hesitate to kill Belle either if given the chance again. The marks on Belle's neck proved it. 

Eric placed a kiss atop Annabelle's head and held on a little tighter, hoping that Annabelle's next encounter with Evelyn might never come. 

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About a week had passed when Annabelle finally returned to assist with training. She had refused to leave her dorm until all of her visible injuries had faded away, only seeing Eric and Tobias in the days that passed. While Eric helped console her from her tactical loss, Tobias had been her greatest source of comfort in her mother's latest show of hatred for her. After the first couple of days in the solitude of her dorm, Annabelle quickly cracked under the realization of her mother's recent murder attempt. As much as she tried to act as if she was unbothered by the fact, it soon became apparent that there was only so much family trauma she could shove deep into the depths of her soul. But her time spent with Tobias reminded Annabelle that not everything about her life had been bad, and she hadn't struggled through it all on her own. She returned to Dauntless life the following week feeling stronger and more sure of herself than ever.