Pleuvoir | Eric Coulter

Dalawamput-tatlo

K a r o l i i n a

I do not know if the booming lights shining on me are the ones making me shake, or if they are the stern-faced leaders in front of me, their eyes a mask of nothingness. I see where Eric gets his emotionless face.

"Karoliina Parconn," I subtly wince when Max, the dark-skinned man in his late fifties, says my name, "Congratulations in passing your initiation."

I can only nod when I feel them burning holes into me, staring at me with their blank eyes. Max clears his throat so I look up, immediately connecting eyes with Eric who was sitting on the farthest seat, the one near the table's edge.

"You know Eric already, don't you?" Max asks and I nod quickly, not wanting to anger him, "This is Layla, Jared, Hugh, and of course, myself. We're your leaders."

Eric's face is blank. Hugh looks amused. Layla is checking on her nails. Jared just looks like a plain egotistical asshole.

I also try not to dwell on the fact that he mentioned their position and title, as if their presence aren't enough to give me a signal that they were people of high importance.

"Since you got sixth place, you only have three choices for a job," Max says, beckoning me closer to the table. I take slow steps towards them, cautious of my movements, "First is guarding the fence. The next is being a patrol guard. And the last, which I highly recommend for your rank, is a spot in Intelligence. You can approach us once you have a decision, but if you have one now, that'll be better."

I take a second to think about my options, but my mind seems to get stuck on the third choice. Didn't Four work in Intelligence?

"A-Actually," I start with a nervous gulp, "Can you tell me more about Intellige--"

"Are there any more options?" I am cut off by Eric, and when I drift my eyes to him, I see that his fists are closed tightly, his jaw clenched, "Those are shitty options for a girl who finished her Sim in below five minutes."

My mouth is agape, as well as the other leaders'. What the fuck. Did Eric seriously just say that?

All eyes are on him now, but that didn't stop him from uttering more harsh and unbelievable words, "What the fuck has Dauntless become? We're not some cheap faction. What are other options?"

Silence covers us for a while until Hugh clears his throat, "Oh-kay. But, I think Eric's right. She deserves more options, especially because of her time during the Sim."

The others hesitantly nodded their heads, all excluding Layla, the only female leader. Max flips through the papers in front of him, reading a couple of paragraphs until he stops and regards me with humour-filled eyes, "I found another option, but I don't normally give this position to women."

"What is it?" Eric asks, full attention on Max.

Is he the one looking for a job?

"A spot on the armoury is open--"

"She'll take it." Eric, once again, beats my answer. He grabs a paper and lists something, and when he's done, he looks up at me with an expression I can't read, "You're officially a worker in the armoury. Go immediately to Sammy for a briefing. Have a good day."

"But you just--"

"Guards!" He shouts, "Escort Ms. Parconn out!"

"What are you--"

A muscular man drags me out of the room and into the corridor.

∞

What the fuck just happened?

I've been asking myself that question a lot of times now, and I still don't have the fucking answer. What the hell did Eric do? Why did he choose my job? 

"You've been getting cozy with Eric, huh?"

I whip my head around, seeing Layla stalk towards me. Suddenly trembling in my seat, I feel the stares from the other people in the mess hall directed at me. 

"W-What?"

"He's been awfully controlling back at the job selections. He doesn't normally show emotions," She plops down the seat next to me and chewed her gum in a loud manner, "At least he didn't when he was with me." 

I almost choke on air. Eric was with Layla? For how long?

"Don't you worry sweet cheeks," Layla pops her gum, "But I don't have another chance with him. I'll gladly fuck him, though."

My face is showing disgust, but she shrugs it off.

"Our relationship--if you could call it that--was strictly for fun. For sex," I cringe and my hands twitch, wanting to cover my ears from her horrid word choice, "It was good, really good, until you came around."

This time, I really choke. I can't stop coughing, and I beat my chest for some relief. "I didn't do anything--"

"No, you did. You just didn't know it. You were pulling him until he got sucked in your..." She waves a hand around, "thing."

I start to get away from her, thinking she might be drunk, but she pulls me down again, "At first, it was okay. T'was alright. But then he started refusing me of it, he denied giving me sex! Who the fuck does that to Layla Perry?

"No one. Absolutely no one. So I cornered him one night after he finished tucking the initiates to bed and I shouted in his face. He didn't do anything. He calmly told me to pack all my stuff and leave his apartment. And you know what, IT WASN'T EVEN HIS APARTMENT. IT WAS HIS FUCKING ROOM WHERE HE BROUGHT THE GIRLS HE FUCKED. And I thought I was special," Layla rolls her eyes, "But sweet cheeks, don't get fooled by his looks. That bad boy aura he has has pulled many, and I mean many, girls. Although seeing what happened a while ago,"

She smirks, "I see that you know he's going to break you. But girl, you're in deep. You're going to love him anyway."