Only Annie | Eric Coulter

6 - The Truth

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"I had to lose it all 

So I could understand

I was just a boy 

In the shadow of a man."

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|| A N N I E

"You weren't kidding, were you?"

The sentence pops out of my mouth before I can think about it. Eric's shoulders shake at how much he's laughing, and it's not a full-blown one, but rather it's a silent laugh filled with eye creases and tears.

"You should've seen his face, Annie. I swear, I've never seen someone look so fucking scared. That had to be recorded or something. It was legendary."

I'm glad he's smiling again. Albeit behind doors, he's back to his former self. Eric is truly back.

...  

"I don't understand what's the point."

"Really? You're going to ask that, now?" I murmured back, trailing my lips all over his stubble.

Eric groans from beside me, trying to shield his face. He's ticklish and sensitive, and he doesn't like being peppered with kisses. "You're such a scam. Why can't we stay here? It's Saturday, we can chill and watch whatever's on the tellie. Maybe we can even eat out, somewhere private. I know a good place."

"Come on, Eric. The daycare's needing more hands on board. It's basically graduation for the older kids."

"I hate parties."

I laugh at his bluntness. "You sound like Four. Eric Coulter is the life of the party."

"Back in Erudite, yeah." He turns to face me, eyes glistening from sleep. He reaches a hand to curl a stray hair that found itself dangling on the side of my face, "Dauntless is pretty different from Erudite."

I lean against him, pressing my ear on his chest so I can hear the thumping of his heart. "What's important is that we got out, right?"

Wrapping his arms around me, Eric presses a chaste kiss to my temple, "Hell yeah. Dauntless is much, much better."

...  

|| E R I C

I don't know how long I've been standing in this fucking spot, looking like a decorative statue.

All around me are children, running up and down, left and right, crashing elbows and tripping on their feet. What the hell am I supposed to do? Join in on the fun?

I'd rather have a heart to heart with Four.

"You look like the boogeyman every child has nightmares about."

Grimacing, I uncross my arms and turn to Annie. "You forced me to do this."

She puts her arm up, and presses a button on her watch. A recording of my voice echoes throughout the tiny corner we are on, "Alright, fine. I'm going to that stupid party. You owe me a date to Max' wedding anniversary."

"Deal."

"Remember?" She smirks triumphantly, and the sneer on my face gets wider.

"I'm done arranging things, I've helped pasting all those damn balloons. Come on, Annie. Let's go home and sleep."

"It's three on the afternoon, Mr. Coulter." She dramatically makes a noise of disapproval and places her hands on her hips, "We still have to greet all the kids!"

"Yeah? They can say hello to my fist." Although it's a murmur, I know she heard it. She hears absolutely everything. The glare on her face is enough evidence.

I raise my hands in the air as a sign of surrender, and when she pulls me to the group of kids in the middle of the room, I cringe. Fuck, someone save me from this hell. I'm so fucking bad with kids.

Once, I made a kid cry by smiling at him. Never approached a kid again.

"Right. Are you guys enjoying the party?"

A chorus of enthusiastic yeses fills the air. I can't help but smile at Annie. She's a wonder, really, and she's the exact opposite of me. Kind, bright, happy. A girl that lifted your mood by just being around you.

"Very good! Okay, now I want everybody to make small groups of three. And, we're going to do a little activity. Sound good?"

The kids' level of interaction with Annie is fascinating. It piqued at my brain, and I'm having a hard time trying to wrap my head around the situation. Just imagine if Annie had her own children. She'd stay up late preparing for their clothes, and she'll fuss over the tiniest bit, for sure. She's a huge worrywart.

"Eric, I need your help."

Aah. I was hoping to escape the room quietly. Clearly, my plan didn't go too well.

I went back to my spot beside her, almost dragging my feet, "Yeah?"

"There's one of the kids who uh, who just experienced something... heartbreaking. I-I don't know how to approach him. I know you're not fond of kids and such, but I can't ever get him to speak up. And now he isn't participating and shielding himself away. Eric, I--"

"Shh." I press a finger to Annie's mouth, and I breathe a laugh, "Stop talking. Do your thing. I'll handle this."

She nods, and slips back into the group of kids.

Gulping, I stare at the child she'd talked about. He's not a child, but not yet fully there either. He is a scrawny little guy, probably in his early teens, trying to get the attention away from him by sitting on the farthest chair I had placed in the corner.

Walking towards him is hell. Fuck, I'm getting tongue-tied just thinking of what to say to him. Hey, how's it going, kid? Everything going fine? Hi?

I clear my throat, and he shakes in fear. I loosen my shoulders, then proceed to take a seat on a chair across him.

"Hey, kid," I say, trying to make it soft as possible, "How're things?"

He swallowed, "Everything's fine, M-Mr. Coulter."

"Look at me."

He does, and my eyes twitch at the resemblance. Fuck. It was me. It was me in his tear-filled eyes. I was wearing all things blue and prim, and was sporting black and violet bruises under. I was there, taking every blow, every kick, every punch, from the bitter man who raised me. I was there, sitting with shoulders slumped and head down, waiting for release.

"What's your name?" I croaked through bleary eyes, "What's your name, kid?"

"My name's Jaxon, Sir."

"What the hell happened to you, Jaxon?"

And he's crying. Tears freely escape from his eyes, and one by one they splatter on his tattered jeans. "My mum just died. She... she was a patrol guard."

"Where are you staying now?"

"At my Uncle's." He hiccups, "He makes me do all the house work. Says it's payment for my stay there. He has five kids, and all of them take turns... they do horrible things to me. I can't-I can't go back, Sir."

That fateful Saturday, I was happy that Annie pulled me out of bed.