ATARAXIA • BELLAMY BLAKE

[ 2 8 ]

The door flung open and in came an agitated Freya, still dressed in her guard's uniform.

Bellamy, who had gotten off from work early that day, cracked an amused smile at her entrance. "Woah, did someone steal your lunch again?"

Octavia's giggle could be heard from her bed where she was reading a book that Aurora had assigned to her as homework.

"I'm not in the mood, Bellamy," Freya said, obviously upset as she struggled to take off her jacket and and tossed it on a chair next to Bellamy before plopping down on a different one. She rested her elbows on the table and dropped her head into her hands.

"Hey, what happened?" Bellamy asked, still amused with what he mistakenly assumed to be her usual dramatics. He started rubbing circles on her back while holding back his smile.

"This creep groped me at work today," Freya admitted.

Octavia dropped her book and leaned over the railing of the top bunk. "Men are pigs," she said, her words laced with disgust.

Aurora was currently homeschooling her in the history of feminism, so Octavia had grown very fond of such phrases and using them whenever it was justified.

Bellamy's hand abruptly stopped its movement on Freya's back. "Who?" he demanded, suddenly dead serious. His tone forced her to look at him. "I'll fucking kill him."

"Which is why I'm not telling you," Freya replied, looking away.

Bellamy caught her cheek with his hand and made her meet his eyes again. "You can't just let that perv get away with it. I won't let you."

"You have to at least report him," Octavia jumped in.

Freya forced out a humorless laugh. "What, to Shumway? Or better yet my father?" she said. "They don't give a shit. They'd probably fire me for 'not being a team player' for good measure."

"Tell me who," Bellamy persisted seriously. "I'll make it look like an accident."

"I like the sound of that," Octavia seconded him.

"Stop playing, it's not funny," Freya said, getting up from her chair to start pacing next to the table.

"And I'm not joking," Bellamy said, getting up as well. He walked over to where Freya was and took her hand. "At least let me beat his ass."

Octavia clapped her hands together. "Yeah!"

"And have them float you?" Freya asked Bellamy, pulling her hand away. "No thanks."

"I'd like to see them try," Bellamy scoffed.

"Don't say that," Freya exclaimed, completely losing her cool. She turned her back to him to calm down. She couldn't take it when he said stuff like that, because lately he had been acting like he truly didn't care whether he'd get in trouble.

Bellamy sent Octavia a look, silently telling her to turn back to her book. She reluctantly picked it back up but continued to listen in on them.