Freefall | Eren x OC

Chapter 59: The Scars of Her Trauma

You walk into work on Wednesday and go up to your desk as you do every morning and afternoon to check in and check your work emails. This routine has been working out well enough for you as with Tengen gone on his prolonged vacation, you have no reason to fear anything. You even defiantly began not wearing the bracelet, as you began to regain control of your autonomy.

Your eyes scroll the countless emails you receive on a daily basis that have nothing to do with you when your eye catches a company-wide email sent out by Ethan, a colleague of yours who's taken on your job duties as you work exclusively with Paradis Devils.

ATTN: STAFF OF PLAYER BEAT RECORDS

Lord Uzui-sama has given the go-ahead to announce there will be a company-wide party to be held next Saturday at the Shiganshina Convention Centre. Attendance is mandatory and every staff member is allowed to bring a plus one. Lord Uzui-sama will grace us with his presence and will be handing out employee awards so please be sure to show your reverence for him.

Also, Lord Uzui-sama will be in the office today after his prolonged vacation so please show him your most profound gratitude and respect when he returns.

Thank you,

Ethan

You feel your breath become sharper as you take in the email contents. You'll be expected to attend an event where Tengen will be, skulking through the crowd, handing out awards, making speeches. You haven't seen him since Eren decked him before taking off with you and you already know in your heart that he'll seek you out one way or another.

You feel a deep dull throb in your wrist and instinctually rub it. Your body's scars must have imprinted on it because every time you think of Tengen, it starts its throb again, with or without the diamond bracelet wrapped around it. Your eyes widen in sudden horror, you aren't wearing your bracelet. You idiot.

You quickly get out from under your desk, suddenly feeling like you can't be on this floor a second longer, and briskly walk over to the elevators. They're taking too long to get to you and you feel the panic set in, that same panic when you stood in that lonely hotel hallway and prayed to see an elevator before the doors opened behind you and you were dragged back inside kicking and screaming. You begin to feel clammy, and you curse their slowness under your breath. What if Tengen's on one of them right now? What if you're the first person he sees when the doors open? What if he grabs you, will anyone even look up? You panic and quickly make your way over to the fire escape stairwell.

Walking in, you observe the lifelessness of the concrete walls and look down through the railing to see all the floors you'll now have to walk down. 

"Fuck," you whisper as you begin your descent, your heels clacking on each step as you rush down.

After the first 10 floors, you groan heavily and move to take off your heels. You sigh as the discomfort dissipates and keep making your way down another 20 floors, passing employees loitering and smoking every now and then. As you finally make it down to the 4th floor, you groan in exhaustion, your heels banging into your hip as you limp down. You stop just before you come upon your final step and plop down, your body completely drained from the rush of adrenaline it went through.

You rest your head on the railing, feeling completely defeated and tired. You close your heavy eyelids, just needing some sort of release from the anxiety you're feeling. You feel yourself doze off for a few minutes before you hear the door to the fourth floor open.

"Rose?" you hear Eren call out for you.

"Mmm??" you mumble as you come to. Y

ou open your eyes to see Eren standing in front of you, his face seeped in concern as he takes you in, sleeping in the emergency stairwell.