𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 ೃ⁀➷

chapter six

After the Murphy situation, the camp was tense and unsettled. People moved cautiously, avoiding eye contact, as though afraid of what might trigger the next outburst. The atmosphere was thick with unspoken fear and mistrust, especially after the accusations and violence that had transpired. Murphy's actions had left scars, not just on the camp's fragile peace but on the relationships within it.

For Eve, the aftermath was suffocating. She felt the weight of her decisions pressing down on her, guilt gnawing at her from every angle. She had been torn between loyalty to her brother and her complicated feelings for Murphy, and in the end, everything had unraveled. The whispers around camp about Murphy only deepened her isolation, making her feel like she was trapped in her own mistakes. She couldn't shake the memories of her father's cruelty, which seemed to have shaped her need for safety and trust in all the wrong places. Every night was haunted by memories she couldn't escape, and now, Josh's anger only made her feel more distant from those she loved.

Josh, on the other hand, was seething beneath a veneer of quiet rage. He couldn't forgive Murphy, and he struggled to understand why his sister had put herself in such a vulnerable position with someone he viewed as dangerous. The betrayal cut deep. Though he wanted to protect Eve more than anything, his inability to fix the situation left him feeling powerless and more isolated than ever.

I was sitting down under a tree, accepting life as it is.

"Stop." It was Bellamy's voice that caused my train of thought to cease.

"What?" I asked in confusion, my eyes looking up to meet his.

He glanced at me for a moment before adverting his eyes back to the forest, "Stop blaming yourself."

"I'm not." I lied, kicking at a twig near my feet.

"You've had the same pained look on your face for the last 20 minutes." he argued, looking back down at me.

"You've been watching me for 20 minutes?" I teased, trying to take the attention off of myself.

Slowly, the crowd in the middle of camp dispersed, everyone moving toward their tents for another night of restless sleep. It was impossible to sleep out here, the ever-constant threat of Grounders looming overhead.

//

My friends and brother had disappeared at some point, but for once I didn't follow. Instead, I followed after Bellamy who had made his way toward the outskirts of camp.

He was leaned up against a tree by the time I reached him, his head in his hands. I remained silent as I approached, my only tell being the twig that snapped under my feet. Bellamy's head shot up, his hand instantly reaching for his gun that no longer held any bullets.

Despite me knowing that the magazine was empty, I could help but feel my heart skip a beat as I stared down the barrel of the weapon.

When he realized that it was only me, and not a Grounder-or Murphy— he lowered his gun. "Be careful, Eve." He breathed, slipping the weapon back into his waistband, "What are you doing out here?"

I shifted my weight between either foot as I spoke, "I wanted to ask you a favour." I mumbled, afraid of his response.

I was surprised when he leaned back against the tree with a sigh, "What?"

"I want you to teach me how to defend myself...shoot a gun, actually use a knife, fight someone off, I don't know, whatever. " I announced, feeling more confident with my request.

Bellamy studied me for a moment, he seemed to do that a lot. "You seem to be doing okay considering you killed Atom for me."

I shot him a look as I shook my head. "That had to be done. I want to learn how to actually fight, Bellamy. I'm tired of being viewed as some naive freak who doesn't know anything. I want to be able to defend myself and I want Josh to be able to live his life without worrying about me."

Never did I expect that the person I spilled all of these feeling to would be Bellamy, but here we were. Bellamy was silent for a moment, thinking over what I said. "Okay." He finally answered, giving a small nod which elicited a grin breaking across my face.

"Thank you." I breathed, grateful he hadn't shot me down like I had expected him to.

"But just so you know," He began, pushing himself up off the tree so he was standing up straight, "You're not a freak...and your brother will never stop worrying about you."

I let out a small laugh, "I can live with that."