Infallible

Chapter 13

"We need to have another talk."
"About?"
"You know what about, Rae. About who you were with last night."
"What?!"
"I work in the control room. Don't try and deny it, I saw you two with my own eyes."
"That's none of your business, Four."
"You are an initiate. I'm your instructor, therefore responsible for your safety until you pass initiation. That makes it my business."
  Rae looked at Four, searching his face. They sat in the small exam room, getting ready for Rae's next simulation.
"My safety isn't an issue."
"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into. And here is not the place to talk about it. But we will be talking. Today. Got it?"
  Sighing, Rae nodded. She leaned back against the chair, preparing for the needle Four had in his hand as he approached her.
Of COURSE Eric "knows" the guy who works the control room.

***

  Rae spent the evening in the Pit with Deidra. The noise of the place masked their conversation, which they were thankful for as they had lots to catch up on. Rae spent a lot of their conversation trying to keep the focus off of herself.
"How many times? Where?!" She asked her friend.
"I don't know, a lot of times? And I could tell you where, but then I'd have to kill you." Deidra joked.
"Do you looove him?" Teased Rae.
"I don't know, I think so!"
Rae opened her mouth in surprise. She hadn't expected Deidra to say yes. They had only known each other about 5 weeks, yet she was happy for her friends. It was refreshing to see two people falling love in a hardened place such as this.
"I'm so happy for you!" She nearly had to shout over the dull roar of the Pit. The two girls hugged, then Deidra asked,
"What about you lady?"
"What about me?" Rae tried to play stupid, but Deidra didn't bat an eye.
"You know who I'm talking about. Do you love him?"
Rae wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't describe the way Eric made her feel. Excited, alive, brave, and desired. She dreamt of him, the way his eyes seemed to slice right through her soul and the way his touch electrified her skin.
"I don't think I know what love is." Her best and most honest answer.
"How do you not know? You were born and raised in Amity. You have to know."
Rae shook her head. "There's a reason I left."
"So is it like, awkward when you see him naked?" Deidra asked, changing the subject and making Rae laugh.
"Oh my god it's not awkward! Okay maybe the first time it was a little awkward, but the second time not at all! He's fucking sexy."
"Ahhh, that's so WEIRD!"
"You wouldn't say that if you saw him naked." Rae winked.
They got to bed later than everyone else. Rae hadn't been asleep long when she was shaken awake by Four. He led her quickly to his nearby apartment, and he made it clear once inside that this would be a quick visit.
"How did it happen? How did you, of all people, manage to get yourself involved with Eric?"
"I don't know Four. It just happened." Rae shrugged.
"Eric does not 'just happen'."
"You think I planned this? Trust me, I'm still getting my head around it myself."
"You need to make it UNhappen." He glared at her, eyes wrought with sincerity.
"Why do you care Four? Is it really just my safety?"
"Before you flatter yourself, tell me how much you really know about Eric?"
"I really don't know anything about him yet. It was kind of my plan to get to know him, over time... You know, like people usually do?" She didn't have to tell him they had already slept together. She still didn't know why he thought any of this was his business.
"I want you to listen to me carefully, because I'm only going to warn you once. Jeanine Matthews, head of Erudite, is hunting Divergents. Have you ever asked Eric which faction he transferred from?"
Rae only stared at him. She had just assumed that Eric was Dauntless born.
"I thought so. Well it may surprise you then, to know that he came from Erudite. From a very upstanding Erudite family. So tell me, why would Prince Erudite defect to Dauntless?"
"Ummm... have you met the guy? He has Dauntless written all over him. He was made for Dauntless." Rae was struggling to reason with him.
"Or maybe he's smart, like Jeanine, and really good at playing his part while remaining her faithful pet."
Rae stood, angrily. "What are you trying to say? That Eric is some Divergent hunting spy for Jeanine Matthews?! That's insane."
"It gets worse, Rae-"
"I don't want to hear anymore, Four. I'm not sure what kind of issues you and Eric have with one another, but leave me out of your conspiracies."
She turned to leave but Four caught her arm and spun her to face him once again.
"Damn it, this is not a conspiracy, or some childish grudge. If I'm right, and Eric has been planted here by Jeanine to find Divergents, then you are putting yourself first in line to be killed when the time comes."
Unable to stand another moment, Rae pulled her arm from his grasp and fled his apartment.