The Other Side of the War (Tobias Eaton X OC)

Chapter 11

URIAH'S LIFELESS BODY sent shivers down Storm's spine. He was breathing, but that was about it. Contusions covered his face to the point where it was difficult to make out his facial features. Bile began to rise in Storm's throat and she had to fight to keep it down. Before Dauntless, Storm never felt bad about her brutality. She always thought of herself as a sociopath, but now she was just a mess of uncontrollable emotions.

Looking at him now, the plate of cake in her hands seemed too little of an apology.

Now she was truly starting to see the monster she had become. Storm's eye's surveyed the infirmary; checking to make sure that no one else was here to see her moment of vulnerability. She took small steps towards Uriah, not wanting to get too close. Storm gently placed the cake on the table next to his bed. I'm sorry. She couldn't bring herself to say those two words aloud, her pride was too strong.

For a second she paused, just staring at the boy. He was the first person to ever conjure such debilitating guilt in Storm. And in a moment of weakness she reached out, gently touching Uriah's hand.

Storm had never ran out of a room faster. The possibility of him waking up and seeing her made her want to jump off the chasm. Before her mind could process her surroundings, her body slammed into anothers. Two strong hands gripped her waist to keep her from falling to the ground. She latched onto the arms for stability.

The dark-haired girl froze in discomfort, but not in her usual way. She wasn't repulsed by the man's touch because she knew exactly who was clasping her waist without even looking up. Four had grabbed her so many times she could recognize his touch anywhere. What made her uncomfortable was the butterflies in her stomach that formed every time she was close to him.

Strom looked up at him for a small moment and instantly regretted it. His deep brown eyes were mesmerizing to the point where she could easily be entranced by them. Storm had to force herself to look away and take a step back.

"What are you doing here?" Four furrowed his eyebrows.

"I was getting my scratch checked out by the nurse," the lie slipped off her tongue easily.

"Really?" He crossed his arms unconvinced.

"Really. And what are you doing here?" Storm retorted.

"Making sure your opponent is still alive."

Painful silence ensued. The tension between them could not be broken, not even by the sharpest sword in the world.

"So you go to the infirmary for a scratch but not when your wrists are split open," Four's tone was harsh.

"Fuck you," Storm spat before walking past him. She aggressively shoved his shoulder to get her anger across.

Four sighed in annoyance as his jaw clenched. He didn't intentionally try to agitate her but her recent behavior made it hard to be sympathetic. Every day she was becoming more and more like Eric, but it was not in Four's nature to give up. Especially not on Storm. He had seen the good in her, the way she cared for ember and her smile back at the fence, even if the moments were fleeting. In spite of her cruelty and psychopathic tendencies, he couldn't bring himself to see her as evil. Because she wasn't. Whatever mission she was given to complete by Erudite and Dauntless, Four knew he had to stop.

So despite his better judgment, Four followed her. It was like their two souls were attached by an invisible string. The more they fought against each other, the more the string fought to pull them together.

"Storm," he called out to her as he quickened his walking pace.

The girl whipped her body around. Her lowered eyebrows and narrow eyes made the frustration in her body very evident. "What?!"