The Leader

16

***

I sit up from from the chair slowly, blinking my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. I wipe my eyes with my palms, but the tears continue to pour.

"Rori," Eric says, his voice soft.

My head snaps in his direction. A pained expression adorns his face, making me want to pull him to me and hug him.

More tears well up in my eyes as the events of my sim flash around in my head. Not emotionally ready to face Eric or endure his questions, I bolt out of the simulation room. He calls my name but I continue running, not stopping until I am inside in the dormitory.

I unlace my boots and crawl into bed, pulling the covers over my head. I do not feel like talking to anyone, nor do I feel like being spoken to. After what seems like forever, my eyes get droopy and I drift off to sleep.

***
The sound of laughter wakes me from my sleep. Footsteps seem to halt at the foot of my bed, and so does the laughter.

"Shh, Rori is asleep," Tera says.

"She missed lunch," a male says. "I'll go get her a to go tray."

The sound of footsteps leaving the room relaxes me a bit. I peek out from under the covers, making sure Tera is the only one in here. She is sitting on the edge of her bed, unlacing her boots.

I sit up slowly and say her name.

Her head snaps up and her eyes widen. "What happened?" She stands up and sits on the end of my bed, a look of complete and utter concern on her face. "Was it your fear landscape?"

I nod.

"May I ask what happened?"

I replay the events of my fear landscape, not leaving out a detail. She listens attentively, not speaking up until I finish.

"It sounds like you're afraid of Eric rejecting you."

"Eric has already told me he likes me," I say, squeezing my pillow to my chest, "so I'm not entirely sure why I'd be afraid of him rejecting me."

"Maybe, deep down, you're afraid that his feelings aren't genuine," she says. "Yeah, he told you he does, but what if he's faking?"

"Maybe you're right."

"That's just my interpretation." She pats my hand. "It's your fear, not mine. You've gotta figure out what it means and work on it."

"Thanks for talking with me." I wrap my arms around her. She seems a little shocked at first, because she is usually the one initiating the hugs, but recovers and hugs me back. "I really needed to get that off my chest."

"Anytime," she says with a smile. "Oh, and you probably need to talk to Eric. He's probably beating himself up over what happened."

"I know." I frown and lower my eyes to my lap. "I'll try and talk to him after dinner."

"You can do it," she says.

The sound of footsteps entering the room interrupts our conversation. I lift my eyes from my lap and they land on Finn, who is currently holding a to go lunch tray.

"Hey, freckle-face," Finn says, a bright and contagious smile on his face. "You missed lunch so I thought I'd go get you a tray."

"Thanks, Finn." I smile at him as he hands me the tray and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. "I don't know if I've told you guys this, but I'm really glad I chose Dauntless."

"And why's that?" Finn questions, raising his brow.

"I have the best friends in the entire world." I set my tray down and pull them in for a hug, a small smile on my face.