Dauntless Brothers

[Chapter 29] Answers.

"Eric." I say.

"Why would he go to all this trouble?" Tris asks me.

I walk her through the reasons.  "1. He thinks that I stole you from him. 2. He's a leader so he thinks that nothing is impossible for him. Including, getting himself a girlfriend. And 3. Because he hates me."

"Those are the most pathetic reasons I ever heard." She says.

"For you, they might be. But for me they're not." I tell her.

"How come?" She asks.

"Eric has never been popular amongst the female population of Dauntless. So, he's not ready to give up a single opportunity that comes his way." I explain.

"You mean to say...He's desperate?" She asks to confirm.

I sigh and reply. "That's one way of putting it. But "desperate" makes him seem innocent when he's not."

"What did he ever do to you that made you hate him so much?" She asks and she sounds...Angry.

"Why are you angry?" I ask her.

"I shouldn't be? You're blaming someone innocent for something he did not do!" She exclaims.

I scoff. "What? Now you're defending Eric?" I ask her.

"If he's right then, yes." She replies.

I start to protest but I stop myself because I know that this argument is going to be pointless without proof. So, I say.

"Just wait."

With this I turn my back on her and open the door to go out. I walk straight into Caleb who at once jumps to one side and I walk past him.

I go to the training room and work myself hard. Once my muscles start to ache, I go back to apartment to take a quick shower and then go have dinner.

I grab some cake and water and go sit at a table all myself. I eat in silence and go over the plan in my head. Some girls come over and sit at my table but I ignore them and stick to my thoughts.

For all I know, I could fail and make a fool of myself but if I succeed then some complications will  be taken care of.

The moment I see Eric leave the room, I get up from my seat and walk over to Tris. She's with her friends.

I lean down and whisper. "Come with me."

"Go away, Four." She says and goes back to eating.

I don't budge, so Uriah says. "Stop bothering her, man."

"Keep your nose out of..." Tris gets up, grabs my arm and pulls me out of the room.

"What's going on between us is your fault not Uriah's!" She hisses at me.

"Fine. Now come on." I grab her hand and try to pull her along. But she refuses to walk.

I give up and pick her up in my arms.

"Put me down!" She shrieks.

"Not happening." I tell her.

I carry her to Eric's office and set her down before it.

"Now for some answers." I say and open the door.

I let her walk in ahead of me, in case she tries to run but she doesn't and walks straight in. And I follow.

The moment I step into the room, Eric asks. "What do you want?"

"Answers." I say, crossing my arms.

"I'm busy." He says.

I pull out the paper from my pocket and lay it on his table.

"Does this look familiar to you?" I ask him.

A look of recognition crosses his face and I know that I was right. But like I predicted he says.

"No."

"See I told you so." Tris says to me.

"If you can prove me wrong then I'll give up Tris. I'll stop dating her. You can give her a shot." I put forth my offer.

It takes  a lot of effort to get the words out of my mouth but I do because I know that they'll help me get Tris back.

I'm staring at Eric but I can feel Tris's eyes on me.

Eric opens his mouth to say something but Tris speaks up.

"You filthy liar! I have no idea why even for second I believed your letter! I know that you're lying and you know that I'm right!" She screams at Eric.

This takes me by surprise and I stare at her in surprise.

She turns to me and adds. "I'm sorry, I doubted you."

"What makes you think that he's right?" Eric asks her, pointing at me.

"Because I know him better than you and I know that he really does love me. And when you love someone you're ready to do anything to keep them happy, even if it means giving them up."

After a pause she asks. "Does this answer your question?"

Without a word Eric walks out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Tris throws herself into my arms and starts sobbing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Shhhhhhh." I tell her and pull away to wipe away her tears.

"Don't cry. It wasn't your fault. You had every right to doubt me." I tell her.

"No I don't." With this she kisses me.

I pull away and ask. "Why?"

"Because I love you." She replies.

I smile at her and say. "I love you too."

There you go. I hope all confusions have been cleared. If not then feel free to ask :)