Blue Eyed Man

Chapter 12

Tris's POV

I drop Tyler off at Eric's early the next morning. She sets her stuff down in the room that Eric pointed her to. I hate leaving her for a week, but I can tell she's excited. Plus, I have to see what's going on in Erudite. There's been buzz in the faction since my initiation. Eric, Four and I have been working to figure out what's going on. We know Max is involved somehow, but we're not sure how. Whatever it is, Jeanine is in charge. Eric and I have been talking about what could possibly be going on while Tyler is exploring his apartment.

"I'm not sure what it is, Tris, but whatever it is, it can't be good," Eric states worriedly.

"I'm going to be in Erudite for the next week. I'll report what I find out."

We spot Tyler in the kitchen. She appears to be after a cup from the top shelf, but is too short to reach it. Eric smiles and does something I don't expect. He walks over and lifts her up so that she can reach the cup. She laughs as he picks her up. She grabs the cup, he puts her down and she smile and says, "Thanks."

I can't help it. I smile too. I know that my husband despises this relationship. He has hated Eric since their initiation. While their relationship has been better, they still resent one another. While I don't like Eric myself, I think that his company has been beneficial for Ty. That's all I care about right now.

As I start to slip out the door, I feel like I should be worried leaving her with Eric, but somehow I'm not. I turn back to tell Tyler goodbye. She and Eric wave and give me a thumbs up. I've never seen Eric have a bigger smile. I think she's been as good for him as he's been for her. I turn back around and walk out the door.

Eric's POV

This'll definitely be new for me, but we'll see how this goes. I've taken care of her during training, but this a little bit different. Luckily, I have today off, so we'll both be able to adjust to this.

"Have you... uh... had breakfast or anything?" I ask. I'm not sure what to do here, but I can get the kid breakfast. I'm somewhat handy in the kitchen. I've learned the more stuff I can cook, the less I go into mess hall and the less I interact with people. It works.

"Yeah. Mom had me eat something before we came here," she replied to me.

Ok, so I don't have to worry about that. What exactly am I supposed to be doing?

"I don't have to work today if you want to train before lunch."

Her face lights up like a light bulb.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes," I say laughing.

We head to the training room. We decide we are going to spar today. By the end of round one we are both laying on the ground exhausted. There was no clear winner. Second round I won. Didn't take too long. We go about three more rounds taking breaks in between. By the end, we are covered in bruises, bleeding and all together tired and in pain.

"How 'bout we call it a day, kid?" I say out of breath. Poor thing just nods her head slowly and gently. I'm not even sure she can move. She's struggling to get up. I just carry her back to the apartment. She wraps her arms around me and lays her head on my chest.

We get showers and then just sit on the couch because our sore bodies won't allow us to do anything else. It's 8:30 at night and we're both already ready for bed. I can see how heavy her eyes are. She's trying her hardest not to fall asleep. I pull a pillow onto my lap and let her lay her head down. Soon, she is asleep. I watch her. She is so peaceful. She seems so fragile but yet is so strong. In that moment, my only job, I have decided, is to protect her.