Haunt

Ch. 6- Our Little Secret

The night dragged on and on, a never ending nervous tick thumbing in my ear. Eric left the room, eventually, giving some peace. He woke me early the next morning with a rough shake. The next thing I know, he's shoving me out the door.

Eric walked along with me, across the pasture, to my house. We said nothing to one another and the whole thing seemed strange to me. I tried processing the events of the night and couldn't put a single piece of it together.

He had taken me in, which seemed to make sense, since I was technically trespassing on Dauntless "territory" as he put it. But then after, he lashed out at me. I wonder if that was just habit from being apart of an aggressive faction, maybe that's how they handled things over at Dauntless, by physically assaulting those who did wrong.

Then what really threw me was the way he seemed to change moods in all too quick a time. It's like he became a different person...

But as we made the walk back to my house, he stayed behind me, never once speaking. From time to time, I would peek over my shoulder to look at him. His eyes stared straight ahead and his jaw sat in just that way that I knew best not to talk.

Funny, how in such a short amount of time of meeting him, I already knew a little something about him. Something dangerous...

My parents were completely stunned to see me but even more so to see Eric. My mother gazed in awe over my shoulder at the bulky figure who stood behind me. Her eyes became transfixed by him.

"Your daughter went running off last night." Eric spoke with his authoritative tone. He stood close behind me, heat emitting off of him.

"I would advise that you take a more careful watch over her, as Dauntless do not take kindly to trespassers."

He gave my father a firm nod before stepping off our porch and walking back the way we just came. I watched him leave, like I had done the first time we met, which was only yesterday but it seemed like a lot longer ago.

When I looked back to my parents, there was a scar of disappointment on each of their faces.

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"What was he like?" Kayla presses me as I lie on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

I let out a long sigh, tired of talking about the same thing. I would much rather fall into a deep sleep and forget the whole thing ever happened.

"He's a Dauntless leader."

She groans in exasperation.

"Obviously, but what did he say? What did he do?"

Flashes of him hitting me come back and I turn over, burying my face into the pillows.

I want to forget.

But I can't.

"He didn't DO anything, Kayla! Please, just drop it. I'm tired of talking about it. Mom and Dad have hounded me for the past two hours over the same thing."

I feel the bed rise as Kayla stands. Her quiet steps walk to the door. She pauses for a moment, looking back at me with a sad expression.

"We were worried about you."

The door shuts and so do my eyes.

If they were so worried, why didn't they come look for me?

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Dinner is completely silent. No one says a word but I can feel the sideways glances all three of my family members are giving me.