Chapter 38

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Third person POV


Jewel awakens with a start, becoming accustomed to her new found surroundings. She doesn't remember falling asleep here. Then she looks to her left to see Eric's large body asleep next to her. Jewel openly cringes at the sight of him, remembering how he had acted towards her only a few short hours ago.


Eric senses that Jewel is awake but does not acknowledge her presence. He continues to pretend to sleep as she sits up from the bed and walks to the bathroom.


Jewel shuts the door tightly behind her and looks at herself closely in the mirror. Dark circles have formed under her eyes, making it seem like she hasn't slept in weeks. Maybe she hasn't. Maybe all of this has been one big cycle of never ending stress and pressure.


She splashes cold water against her face and lets it drip down into the sink. The droplets slide off her skin with ease and for a moment there is silence in her mind. A peace that she had long forgotten about. Dauntless had changed her. Eric had changed her. Jewel revels in this quiet abandon, savoring every second she can before having to open up that door and face the...beast.


Peace can never last forever, though. It is a sickening reality. With the last few droplets hitting the white marble, Jewel looks at her self again then takes a deep breath. Her palms become sweaty as she turns the doorknob.


Instead of Eric still laying the bed, he has made his way to the door so that he stands right in front of her now, looking down with accusing eyes. She gasps at his sudden presence and jumps back a little.


"Running off are we?" He asks, sarcastically raising an eyebrow. Jewel pulls into herself, wrapping clamy hands around her arms. She looks up to him, innocently and shakes her head.


"I didn't want to wake you." Her voice is a mere whisper and this angers Eric because he feels as if she is already lying to him. He grabs her right wrist, roughly and drags her to the bed, forcing her to sit on the edge while he towers over her small body.


"Did you go to the infirmary like I asked?" He demands, crossing his arms over his bare chest. Jewel darts her gaze to anywhere but his face but finds herself finally having to look at him.


"Yes." Is all she answers with. Why she is making this worse on herself is even unknown to her. Telling him everything all at once may raise his suspicions even more and that would not benefit her.


Eric resists the urge to start screaming at her and digs his finger nails into his arms. "Did you get what you needed?" He continues on.


Her hands fall limp in her lap and she nods her head again. "Yes, I took the pill." She watches him, waiting for a reaction. He only stands in front of her still, not sure whether to believe her or not. This has happened before. Him being lied to by a naive girl.


With a long silence, he finally settles on believing her and squats down in front of her so that he is eye level. Eric places a gentle hand on her thigh and notices that she slightly shivers under his touch. A pang of hurt/guilt runs through him. His actions earlier on could have frightened her and that was not what he wanted.

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