Stay Away | Eric Coulter [1]

forty

ERIC

    "What do you know about that Eaton girl?" Jeanine asks as soon as our meeting draws to an end.

"Not much," I answered dryly, hoping it'll give off the impression that I've never spared a second thought for Vanessa Eaton in my life.

I make my way towards the Pit, hoping Jeanine would start to lose interest in the matter and move on to something else. Fuck, anything else.

Jeanine raises a brow at me, "She's a pretty girl."

I scoff at her statement, "So?"

"A young man like you would surely take notice."

"I don't see how this is relevant," I snap.

Annoyingly, Jeanine simply smiles. "All I'm trying to say is that we all get attracted to pretty things." The fact that she'd just referred to Nessa as a 'thing' irks me to no end, but I refrain from showing it. "Surely, you've observed something- whether intentionally or not."

"You seem to be under the impression that I have the time on my hands for bullshit like that." I answer, "Are you insinuating that I'm not pulling my weight here, Jeanine?"

"You misunderstand, Eric. You do plenty around here." She places a hand on my shoulder, "I do, however, think it'll be worth our time to look into the Eaton girl."

"The reason being?"

Jeanine lifts a shoulder, "Call it a hunch." She says, "See what you can dig up on her and I want eyes on her at all times."

I scowl at her, "That's a little bit much, don't you think?"

"Eric, I think she may be useful to us." Jeanine says, "If you prefer not to be involved in this, I could always get Max to-"

"I'll do it," I reply, perhaps a little too quickly, and Jeanine's smile broadens.

"Excellent. I want to know everything there is to know about her by the end of this week; who her friends are, who her enemies are. Everything." She says, "If nothing else, it'll help with the Abnegation front. I'm sure Marcus Eaton wouldn't want to see his daughter hurt."

I resist the urge to tell her that Marcus Eaton doesn't give a shit about his children. The guy's a monster, I sincerely doubt he cares about anything other than himself.

"I'll see things through," I answer instead.

With a nod, Jeanine turns on her heels and makes her way off the compound.

Feeling someone's gaze on me, I look over my shoulder to see Four watching me carefully. From the dark look on his face, I'd say he's heard more than he was supposed to. Sensing he has a lot to say, I brush past Four.

"My office," I say, not waiting for him to follow as I continued down the hallway.

I leave the door open for Four when I get to my office, rounding my table and sinking into my leather chair with a sigh.

Four slams my door shut behind him when he enters, standing before me with his arms crossed and a disapproving gaze that makes me feel like I'm a fucking six-year-old that is getting reprimanded for eating more candy than I was allowed.

"Spit it out, then," I grumble.

"You said you would keep her safe," He spits, "And now she's in danger because of you!"

"I'll fix it," I grit out, my mind still racing from my conversation with Jeanine.

"How?" He demands, "Jeanine has her sights set on Nessa. From what I hear, once she's made her mind up on something, there's no dissuading her."

"I'll figure it out!" I snap, "I will never let anything happen to her."

Tobias pinches the bridge of his nose, "I don't like you. I never have," He says, "But the one thing you and I have in common is that we both want what's best for my sister. You care about her. You said you'll do anything to keep her safe, that's something I don't doubt and I trust her with you. Don't make me regret it."

I stay silent as I watch him leave my office, shutting the door harder than necessary.

My gaze is still stuck on the door long after he leaves. I knew what I had to do to keep her safe. No matter how much I didn't want to do it.

✧

    I'm sitting on the edge of our bed with my hands clasped in front of me when Nessa returns.

"Hey," She greets.

She's smiling at first, but she must've noticed the look on my face because it soon disappears with a look of confusion taking its place.

"Eric? Is something wrong?"

I grab the handle of the duffel bag I've packed full of her stuff and plop it at her feet.

"You need to leave," I say as curtly as I can manage.

It kills me to see the way her face falls, but I grit my teeth and channel the ruthless persona I've always been known for.

Nessa stares down at the bag, blinking rapidly, to push back her tears. After she finally composes herself, she raises her glassy eyes to meet mine.

"Is there a particular reason why you're asking me to leave, or is this it?" She asks, her eyes never leaving mine.

I stay silent, simply holding her gaze. Mostly because I worry that if I open my mouth, I'll end up begging her to stay.

I nudge the bag with my feet, "What are you waiting for?"

Nessa narrows her hurt-filled eyes at me, "An explanation." She replies, "I think I deserve one."

I shrug, "What can I say? I get bored easily."

Instead of storming off in anger like I'd expected her to, Nessa scoffs. Right in my face.

"You're so full of shit."

I raise a brow at her, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," She swoops down to scoop the bag up from the ground and throws it over her shoulder.

I clench my fists to stop myself from yanking that damn bag out of her hands and unpacking it for her, putting her stuff back where they belong- with me.

"Whatever the reason is for ending our relationship, Eric, I can already tell you that it isn't worth it."

But you see, that's where she's wrong. Nessa is worth it. She's worth everything.

"Are you done, initiate?" I snap at her.

Nessa simply rolls her eyes at me, "I'm not going to stay where I'm not wanted. But you better figure it out fast, Eric. I'm not going to wait around forever." She states, looking too smug for my liking.

Jealousy rears its ugly head at me and though I know she's just trying to goad me, I still can't help the rage that boils in me at the thought of her with someone else.

Before I could even get another word in, Nessa spins on her heels and exits the room, shutting the door behind her with a resounding click.