OVERTHROW - Eric Coulter

Chapter 15

"Will you punish me?" I asked, leaning against the wall, looking at him with boredom.

"Shh." was all he said as he continued typing on a large glass screen.

He took me to the intelligence room and had me wait for ten minutes. Then he came out and told me to follow him, and now we were outside Dauntless. He took out the screen, and I waited for a long time.

I rolled my eyes. "Will I lose points?" I asked.

He let out a deep, loud breath and set the screen aside to meet my gaze. He didn't look happy; he was really focused on whatever he was doing, and I was interrupting. I smiled innocently without showing my teeth.

"If you don't shut up, yes." he replied, then continued checking the screen.

I rolled my eyes, shifting my gaze, getting lost in the wax of the sidewalk, in how the sun reflected off the dry cement as I tried to find my true purpose in life.

Soon Jade would go to Genesis, and my first place on the leaderboard would be just a dream. She'll misinterpret things, and to be honest, I don't even know what's going on. Eric and I have nothing, maybe there were false illusions, but now there's nothing.

I feel exposed, as if I were in a dream in the middle of Dauntless and entered completely naked, giving rise to a very unpleasant sensation. All this originated thanks to Andrea, if Jean is right.

But when did I start distrusting a friend?

They may be my first friends, but I have great affection for them and trust them. I hope Jade is lying.

"Ready, let's go." announced the blonde, turning around to continue the walk.

Without saying a word, I followed him. We moved away from the train tracks and turned left.

In our field of vision, several members of Dauntless appeared, their faces unfamiliar to me. When they saw Eric, one of them whistled towards the large metal gate. An enormous gray, open-back truck appeared, with the Dauntless logo on its doors. A dark-skinned man got out and went straight to Eric, showing a smile as they greeted each other and shook hands.

I was the odd one out, the person who shouldn't be there. Most of them looked at me with disdain, others with furrowed brows. I had a great urge to tell them that I was here because of the leader they treated like an incarnate god. However, I chose to ignore them and wait.

"Already replaced Genesis, and you have a new one?" I could hear the mocking laughter of the man.

"She's no one, she's punished, and she's serving her punishment." Eric's voice showed total disinterest.

I discreetly rolled my eyes. "Initiate, get in the passenger seat. Take care of this." he said, turning to me. I approached them and took the screen.

I thought I wasn't an initiate anymore; just a while ago, I was Grace.

Without looking for trouble, I did as he asked and sat down, holding the screen with both hands. The last thing I wanted was for it to break; it seemed too important to make a stupid mistake again.

I leaned back in the seat and let out a sigh. I wanted to sleep. On the pilot's seat, there was a jacket, a typical Dauntless jacket that only Eric wore. I closed my eyes and breathed calmly. I could smell the scent of the blonde, his fragrance mixed with his natural essence.

I'm truly crazy; I can't understand myself. I was supposed to be ignoring him, and now I'm completely absorbed in his scent.

"Grace, what are you doing here?" Genesis's voice interrupted my thoughts.