Second Chances (Eric and Tris)

Heavy Minds: Part 10

Eric POV-

While Tris was in the shower getting ready for the day, Eric went into the kitchen to make the coffee and looked through the fridge at the food he had bought the night before. He grabbed out a few bagels and popped them into the toaster all the while thinking of waking up with Tris in his arms. She had not tried to move away from him. He was not sure what this meant. He knew what he wanted it to mean, but he also knew that he did not want to be a rebound, those never lasted. He would be there for Tris, and show her who he really was, and make her fall in love with him the right way. Eric was busy in his musings that he never heard Tris come out of the bathroom and into the kitchen until he felt her hand on his arm. He glanced up at her slightly startled.

"Are you just going to keep adding cream cheese to that one slice of bagel or are you going to put some on the rest?" Tris said motioning to the bread in his hand. Eric glanced down and chuckled. He had not realized that he had been adding cream cheese to the same bagel which was now about an inch thick. Scrapping some off, he added it to the rest of the bagels. Handing Tris hers, they sat down to eat. Eric glanced up only to narrow his eyes. Her tank top showed off the fresh bruises that Four gave her the night before. They were now darker and more formed than they were last night. Eric's thoughts went to what he would say to Four when he came across him. He had promised Tris that he would not 'hit' him, but his words could cause just as much damage. Shaking his dark thoughts away he got up, draining his coffee as he went. "Come on, we gotta get going."

"Eric, are you alright? You seem off. Is this about last night? Or this morning?" Eric just raised his eyebrows at Tris.

"No. There is nothing wrong. Just a lot on my mind." As Eric went to walk by Tris, she saw his glance flash to her bruises.

"Eric, I am fine. Please, just let it go." He turned back to Tris with one of his trademark blank looks.

"We are going to be late. We have an early meeting." Eric walked passed Tris and towards the door. Tris sighed and followed.

Tris POV-

Guilt plagued Tris as she and Eric walked towards the leadership building. She knew that Eric was just concerned over what happened to her last night, but that was all her fault. She had come home, thrown herself at Eric and dumped all her problems on him, like it was up to him to fix them. How could she do that? She just hoped that they didn't run into Four today. She had no idea what Eric would do. She had no idea what she would do. Would she stop him? At this point she just didn't know and she wasn't ready to find out. There was just too much to process, and she needed more time. All she knew is that had someone told her a week ago that this was how her life would be right now she would have laughed in their face. Thankfully she and Eric got to the leadership building without incident and they sat down at the conference table. This time, Eric sat down next to Tris. They were the last to enter the room, and Max raised his eyebrows at the sight of Tris's arm. "Problems with the living arrangement?" Max said looking at Eric, his voice as hard as steel. Eric's voice was equally hard when he answered.

"No sir. Tris can tell you about that if she so chooses." Max moved his sight to Tris.

"Did Eric do this to you?" He demanded, motioning to her arm. Tris shook her head.

"No." She answered hoping that would be enough to end it. Under the table Eric shifted ever so slightly and she felt his hand rest on her knee. That action calmed her racing heart and gave her the courage she needed. "It was Four." Max raised his eyebrow again.

"I trust that if the matter needs further attention Eric you will handle it." Eric gave a short nod. With that Max let the matter drop. "Now for the reason for the meeting. There has been an issue with the weapons stock. I need you, Tris, to start taking a daily stock of what we have so that we know if some continue to go missing. From what we figure, for the last few weeks, small amounts of weapons have started to go missing and they are starting to add up. We need to know where they are going and how many have gone missing. This needs to stop and we need to punish the person responsible. Report back to me in a few days to tell me what you have found out. If you need additional help, ask Eric or Barb." Tris nodded and the meeting was dismissed.

Tris went down to the armory and started to take inventory of the current weapons and was checking it against what Max said there should be. She was already finding many discrepancies. They were not large, but they were there. She was not sure what to make of them. She marked down every one that she came across. Pretty soon her stomach was telling her that it was time for lunch. As if reading her mind, Eric popped his head into the room. "Lunch?" Tris nodded her head. They walked together to the pit. 'So what have you found so far? Anything?" Eric asked as they filled their trays. Tris was explaining to him what she had found when she saw his shoulders straighten and stiffen. Her heart started to pound. Only one thing right now could make him act like that. She stopped talking when he walked away. She watched him walk directly over to Four who was standing with Christina and Will by the far door. People stopped talking as Eric walked passed them, as his stride was fierce and his facial expression matched. Everyone knew that a show was about to happen. Tris hurried after Eric, not sure what she was going to do, but knowing that she needed to be over there. Eric came to a stop about 6 inches from Fours face.

"I am surprised you showed your face down here, you piece of shit." Eric said, his voice deceptively calm.