Life in Abnegation wasn't all bad. Sure, the food was boring, the cloths were boring, the work was boring. But there was also a small sense of freedom that came with living on the very edge of society, being surrounded by open forest and fields compared to the bustling city that encapsulated so many of the other factions. Still, Annabelle Eaton would have given anything to be a part of city life, even if her current circumstances weren't as horrible as they turned out to be. The young girl wasn't entirely sure how long she had been sitting out in the fields, just listening to the birds chirp from the trees nearby and running her fingers through the tall dry grass. But she wasn't worried. She knew that her brother, Tobias, would call her in when it became necessary. Before her father realized that she spent half the afternoon daydreaming instead of sitting in her room with nothing to do.
After their mother died when Annabelle was just four years old, something had shifted in their father. Marcus Eaton became more prone to anger, and he showed that anger through the bruises and scars he left on his children's bodies. Well, Tobias' body. It only took hitting Annabelle one time before Tobias ensured that would never happen again. Not on his watch. Without Tobias, Annabelle knew she wouldn't survive long in that household. She dreaded the day that she knew she'd have to.
"Annabelle! Annabelle! He's home early. Hurry!"
Startled by her brother's words, Annabelle bolted from her laying position in the fields and made a mad dash for the house. She could see the small figure of her fourteen-year-old brother anxiously waiting for her to make it back to him so he could usher her safely back into her room before her father realized she had left the house. Annabelle always felt horrible that Tobias took her beatings for her despite always being the one to break the rules, but he'd hear none of it. He told her that she deserved to live and be a kid like he was able to for a short time before their mother died. And so, he always ensured she had time outside to play and be free, even on days where it could only be for a few minutes.
Annabelle made it to Tobias just in time, but not before their father had already seen her running in from the fields. Tobias turned upon seeing her fearful expression, but paid Marcus no real mind as he pushed his younger sister into the house and slammed the door shut behind him.
"Quick, go to your room and lock the door. Move your bed or your dresser in front of it too."
"Come with me. Then we'll both be safe."
"You know that will only make it worse when we eventually do come down. Just go. I can take it."
Tears filled Annabelle's eyes at her brother's words as her eyes scanned his already bruise ridden body. Tobias was tall for his age, but still incredibly scrawny, as Abnegation work didn't call for much strength. The door behind Tobias opened and all eyes turned to Marcus Eaton once again.
"Annabelle, go. Now!"
Without another moment's hesitation, Annabelle ran up the stairs to her bedroom where she followed her brother's previous orders. She locked and barred the door before running into the furthest corner of the room and huddling into a tight ball. It was silent for longer than Annabelle expected before she heard the first slap echo through the cement walls of the small house. Annabelle flinched, but refrained from covering her ears. It already wasn't fair that Tobias took the beatings meant for her. She didn't do him the dishonor of also saving herself from hearing his pain. She felt bad enough for not being strong enough to face her father herself. She wasn't going to allow herself the sweet relief of not hearing his rather either though when her brother had to deal with both.
The sounds of each slap, kick, and punch made its way to Annabelle's ears like always, but then she heard something that made her blood run cold. Something she didn't typically hear when Marcus took his anger out on Tobias. A cry for help.
"Anna! Annabelle!"
A sudden surge of bravery that Annabelle didn't even know she had in her sent the small girl racing towards her door and moving her furniture out of its way so that she could make her way down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she froze completely frozen at the sight before her. One thing Marcus was always very careful about was never drawing blood. Scars and scabs from blood were much harder to cover up than bruises or burn marks. But he seemed to have lost all notion of this as blood streamed out of Tobias' nose and a large gash on his head. Marcus stopped his tirade for only half a second upon recognizing his daughter at the bottom of the stairs, but Tobias was thinking faster.
"Anna. Get help. Run."
Tobias's words were slow and quiet, as if the energy just to speak was almost nonexistent. But if Annabelle was good at anything, it was always obeying her brother's orders. Before Marcus even had time to make a move to grab her, she was already at the back door and making a run for it to find help. She couldn't go to anyone else in Abnegation. She knew better than that. So, she'd have to run far, into the city far. She had noticed the sound of her father's footsteps behind her for a while, but after running for what had to be close to fifteen minutes, she finally realized that he had given up and some point and lost her.
The sound of the train on the tracks overhead told Annabelle that she was close. The brightness of the sun reflecting off the glass buildings in the city told her that she was even closer. Upon reaching the city center, Annabelle stopped and took in her surroundings, not failing to notice that she also was hardly even out of breath, a fact that she was sure would save her in future encounters with Marcus. But her main priority was still getting help for Tobias. The thought of her father incurring more damage the longer she was gone sent a chill down her spine. Her eyes scanned the many faces walking through the city center, looking for one that would be both kind and discreet, but also strong. Just then, a certain boy caught her standing by the tall fountain at the center of the market. He was tall and definitely had some muscle under his blue Erudite clothes. He held a stoic, or perhaps just a thoughtful expression on his face, yet also had a softness to his eyes that made Annabelle feel safe, like he could and would protect her.
Annabelle wished she had the luxury of approaching him like a normal human being, but time was of the essence. Being careful to be quick, but without drawing too much attention to herself, Annabelle made her way over to the boy and gently grabbed a hold of his sleeve to grab his attention. He looked down at her almost in anger first, but it quickly turned to concern when he saw the look of distress on the young girl's face.
"I need help. Please. I don't have a lot of time to explain. Will you please come with me?"
Under normal circumstances, Eric Coulter would never run off to an unknown location with some random young girl, especially not one from Abnegation. But the desperation in her eyes pulled on something in his own chest, and he suddenly found himself nodding in agreement.
"Okay. Yeah, lead the way."
Eric found himself impressed with the small girl's stamina. Despite wanting to stop for air a few times himself, he never did, as she showed no signs of slowing down. Finally, the pair reached Abnegation as rows of grey, cement houses lined the dirt roads edging near the forest landscape of the city. Eric came to a sudden halt as he noticed the girl do the same and she turned to him slowly with fear in her eyes.
"What I'm about to tell you, you can never tell anyone else. Promise?"
Again, Eric would normally roll his eyes if anyone came up to him with such a dramatic statement. But something about this girl stopped him from doing just that.
"Okay."
"It's my dad. He beats my brother. My brother gets beaten on my behalf."
Eric stiffened at Annabelle's words, but remained silent, not wanting to interrupt before she divulged all necessary information.
"Normally it's just some hard punches, then I patch my brother up. But, he went too far today. My brother told me to run and get help. He never does that."
Annabelle paused then and looked back towards one of the houses just a few doors down.
"I don't know what we're about to walk into. But I don't think it's going to be pretty."
Eric pondered Annabelle's words for a short moment before straightening his posture and nudging his head forward, gesturing for her to lead the way. Annabelle gave a slight nod in thanks and then jogged forward towards her house. Both stopped at the door and Annabelle motioned for the boy to be silent as she listened for any sign of Marcus or Tobias. After a few seconds, they heard a sharp slap. Without any hesitation, Eric slammed through the door while Annabelle stood behind in the doorway. Marcus stopped at the intrusion and all eyes turned downward to Tobias laying helplessly on the ground. He was still conscious, just barely.
"Big mistake Annabelle."
Both Eric and Annabelle turned to look back up at Marcus, his full attention now on his daughter who continued to cower behind her protector.
"Big mistake."
Marcus hardly took a step towards her before Eric took one towards him. One swing of the fist was all it took to send Marcus stumbling back, clearly shocked to be the one taking a hit for once. Eric took the moment to look back at Annabelle and give instructions before returning to the larger task at hand.
"Grab your brother. Quick."
Annabelle made quick work of doing just that as she ran to Tobias' side and mustered all of her strength to pull him up beside her and lead him out of the house and out towards the fields. Marcus had recovered quicker than anticipated and Eric doled out a few more punches while taking a couple himself. Annabelle assumed he must have done enough damage, because soon enough he joined her in helping carry Tobias out to the fields where Annabelle kept a medical kit for her brother's patch ups.
The trio was silent as Annabelle went to work on her brother's wounds. Eric watched with intent focus at the skill with which Annabelle worked. For a girl no older than twelve years old, she seemed incredibly mature for her age. He was sure that had something to do with the life she seemed stuck in. When she finally finished, Tobias leaned his body into Annabelle's allowing himself his first true moment of rest all afternoon. One of his eyes had swollen shut from Marcus' beating, but with his other, he took notice of Eric for the first time.
"Thank you."
"Eric."
"Eric. Thank you. I think I might owe you my life."
"How long has this been happening?"
Sensing her brother's exhaustion, Annabelle took over answering for the conversation.
"About eight years. It started after our mom died. He only beats Tobias. He would beat me, if he had the chance, but Tobias always steps in. This is the worst its ever gotten."
"What do you think brought it on?"
"I don't know. I guess it has been progressively getting worse over the years but... this was incredibly sudden."
"How often does it happen?"
"It varies. But at least three times a week."
Eric didn't seem to have a response to that, so he sat in comfortable silence with the siblings for a while longer before noticing the setting sun on the horizon.
"Hey, I have to go. Are you guys going to be okay?"
"Yeah, we'll be fine. He always passed out by sunset. We'll go in then."
Eric nodded in understanding before standing up and making his way back towards the city center.
"Thank you."
The sound of Annabelle's soft voice stopped him in his tracks as he turned to look her in the eyes once more.
"Truly, I don't know what would have happened if you didn't help. So, thank you."
Eric felt a tightness in his chest that he wasn't sure he'd ever felt before. This girl was quickly growing on him more and more by the minute. It was the only explanation that could prompt his next statement.
"I'll come around a few times a week. In case you need me again."
Annabelle was at a loss for words at Eric's offer, so she instead just gave a grateful smile which he returned before leaving the fields and returning to his home at Erudite.