Closer

Chapter 7

I bursted through the doors of the infirmary fuming with anger. I can't believe he hit me. He fucking stabbed me on purpose! The medical staff all looked up from what they were doing with wide eyes. "A little help here?" I asked as blood continue to drip down my side. I was in no mood to be polite. A woman, a few years older than me, made her way over. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail, showing off the several piercings the lined her ears.

"What the hell happened to you, Initiate?" She followed the trail of blood up my leg and to my side.

"Eric." Was all we needed you say as a look of realization came across her features. This must not be the first time Dauntless' youngest leader had put someone in the infirmary.

She motioned for me to follow and I complied, following her to a room in the back. The white walls were lined with metallic metal equipment. There was a table in the middle covered was a long sheet of protective paper.

"Sit, Sweetie," she patted the table and I carefully maneuvered my way onto it, hoping to spare myself some pain. I wasn't successful as pain shot through my torso when I sat. "I need you to take your shirt off so I can look at it."

I looked at her hesitantly. I’d prefer if I didn't have to, but I didn't see an alternative. I lifted my shirt over my head, placing it down next to me. Her pretty features twisted into a frown as she inspected it.

"What's your name?" She handed me a towel so I could wipe the excess blood away.

"Alex." I stated.

"I'm Lizzy," Lizzy grabbed a pair of latex gloves from the counter behind her. She pulled them on with ease as she looked at me. "This is pretty deep. I'm gonna have to stitch it up." I just nodded in response. I forced back a chill from the cold air around me that my sports bra didn't protect me from. 

She gathered all the materials she needed, giving me a shot in the side to numb the pain before she began. “So you want to tell me what happened?" I knew she was just trying to strike up a conversation to fill the room with anything but silence.

"Not really." It was nothing personal I was still pissed about what happened and I wasn't sure the complaining about it would make any difference.

"Well, you said it had something to do with Eric, right?" She pressed further with her questions as she continued to thread the needle through my skin. It didn't hurt. It fell strange though. It was as if I was broken and I was being sewn back together.

"He made me stand in front of the target as he threw knives at me," I said through gritted teeth.

"Eric's one of the best knife throwers Dauntless. There's no way he would've hit you unless…," she paused, she frowned as she connected the dots, "he hit you on purpose…"

"Exactly."

What she did next took me by surprise. She chuckled and shook her head. “Is that funny?” I asked confused. Last time I checked, stabbing someone was not something to laugh about.

“No! No, not at all. It’s just very… Eric,” She glanced back up at my face before continuing her stitching. She didn’t speak with the same distain for Eric as everyone else did. 

“Are you friends with him?” I didn’t think he had any, to be honest.

“Yeah,” She rolled her eyes. “I knew him back in his Erudite days. He was a handful back then too. And he’s found even more violent ways of expressing himself,” she smirked. 

“You call this ‘expressing himself’?” I looked down at my almost closed gash. Eric needs fucking therapy if he expresses his feelings by throwing knives at people.