The next morning I woke up lying in an unfamiliar bed that smelt like mint. I looked around with a confused expression before a sudden pain erupted from my stomach.

The memories of last night came flooding back.

I'd been attacked. They'd tried to throw me over the edge. But Eric stopped them. And took me to a safe place.

I looked to my right but the other side of the bed was empty. I leaned back into the mattess, gently touching the bandages thag covered my torso. I enjoyed the comfort of his bed for a few more moments before slowly sitting up right.

I shakily sat up and picked up a different scent that smelt like someone was cooking something. I eased into standing but the pain in my torso wasn't so compliant.

My pale brown eyes scanned his room. I'd hardly had a chance to look around yesterday due to the shock and fear. It was as neat as the living room but still homey.

I looked down at the nightstand where a framed photo stood. It showed a quaint family of four, all blonde, fair skinned, and wearing blue. I instantly recognized one of them as Eric, but it looked more like it could have been his studious twin brother. The Eric in the photo had no tattoos or piercings. In fact, he was sort of skinny and nerdy looking. But his smile was bright and happy.

In the picture, his parents stood behind him, and a younger boy, maybe six or seven, stood beside Eric. I could only assume it was his brother.

I didn't know he had a brother.

I took a few more steps, trying to get used to the pain in my torso, but ended up having to lean on Eric's desk for help where there was a mass of papers strewn about. The one that my hand landed on was half out of a vanilla folder and titled 'Classified' in bold letters.

I shouldn't have felt compelled to look through his stuff, but I barely hesitated before opening and reading the file. It had the word 'Divergent' written all over it. My eyes flitted across the page. The part that stood out the most was one simple sentence.

'Kill on sight.'

I felt my breath hitch at the sight. I tentatively slid the paper further but a loud bang followed by cursing suddenly sounded from outside the room. My hand instantly retracted as though being burned. I quickly reset the folder as it had been before and tried to shake the anxious feeling.

Act natural. No one suspects you. Yet.

I cautiously walked out into the kitchen to see Eric with his hand under the faucet with cool water running and a pan with egg parts clinging to the sides laying on the ground. Two separate plates with generous servings of scrambled eggs sat upon the grey granite tops of the kitchen.

"You ok?" I asked curiously, bending down slowly to pick up the pan by the handle. The skin on my stomach burned in protest.

Eric turned in surprise as if he had forgotten I was in his apartment.

"I'm fine. I just burned my hand on the dam pan," Eric explained as he shook out his red right hand.

I laughed softly before gently placing the pan in the sink. There were only a few inches of space between us but I didn't make a move to back away. I was tall but he still towered over me without even trying.

"What's so funny Candor?" Eric asked, not joining in my amusement as he dried his hand with a towel.

My grin only broadened. "It's like Eric vs. Frying Pan and the pan won," I explained.

Eric tried to keep a straight face but the corner of his mouth defied him. "Still a comedian huh?"

"I'm here all night," I replied, not missing a beat. "Or morning, I guess."

He scoffed before looking down at my torso. I suddenly felt self-conscious under his steel gaze.

"How's the stomach?"

"I'll live," I shrugged, placing a gentle hand over the bandage only to find that my shirt was badly stained with dry blood. "Could use a new shirt though."

"I'll grab you one real quick," He said, pushing off from the counter. He paused before leaving and gestured to the counter. "I made some, uhm, eggs."

He disappeared into his room and I took a seat in one of the bar stools. While slightly burnt, the eggs were still edible and were seasoned generously. They and soothed my growling stomach. There was also some fresh toast and a muffin out as well but I only grabbed the toast.

My appetite had yet to return but I figured I should at least try to get something down.

I glanced nervously at the door that led to his room, hoping he wouldn't notice I'd gone through the papers on his desk.

I stood back up from the bar stool as I noticed a bookcase case in the corner.

Books? That was the last thing I thought I would see in Eric's apartment.

Eric reappeared from his room with a black shirt in hand. I ran a hand down the spine of a specific book with gold lettering.

"I didn't know you liked reading," I noted as he approached.

"Not all Dauntless are dumb brutes," Eric said before handing me a soft black t-shirt with white detailing around the shoudlers. It was certainly a few sizes too big for me but I didn't mind.

"Thank you," I said, taking it gratefully and quickly slipping it on.

Suddenly, something clicked. The clean, neat apartment, all of these books, and he'd been wearing blue in that picture......

I turned to him with wide eyes. "You're an Erudite transfer," I said more so than asked. A flash of what looked like surprise flitted across his features but it was mixed with something I couldn't quite name.

"I was," He answered distanly, his handsome features darkening.

His demeanor had dimmed so quickly that I wondered if I'd said something wrong. He'd mentioned having family issues of his own but I had no idea of their severity.

He stiffly took a seat on one of the bar stools and I sat on the arm of the sofa across from him.

"You know you can talk to me about it," I offered kindly, knowing I was treading into unknown territory.

"Talk to you?" He echoed with quirked brow.

I shrugged. "I'm a good listener."

He starred at me for a moment with those strong blue eyes. They seemed to pierce straight through my pale brown but I held his gaze. It wasn't a challenge of dominance. I just wanted him to know that it was ok.

He shook his head and crossed his arms over his broad chest. "How do you do that?" He asked with narrow eyes.

My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?" I asked, tilting my head.

His eyes narrowed. "You make yourself seem so.... trustworthy," He pointed out without accusation.

"I am," I shrugged. "I can't say that I don't lie sometimes, lying is necessary, but I don't betray trust. Former Candor and all."

Unless I have to.

I'd only lied to him once and as of today, that lie had saved my life.

He looked at me a little longer before exhaling loudly through his nose.

"I used to be Erudite," He began, "Grew up like any normal kid with two good parents and a little brother. A picture perfect Erudite family."

I watched him carefully. He'd shed his tough cloak for the first time, revealing a vulnerable part. I almost held my breath, thinking that any sudden sound may cause him to revert back into his stoic stance.

"Then my brother came home one day from the doctor with ALS," He continued, his gaze fixed on the floor. "He passed after three years when I was fifteen."

I didn't breath a word. I let him speak and listened intently. A part of my chest began to ache at the last part. My family and I weren't close but the thought of losing one of them, permanently, was unthinkable.

"I watched my brother slowly fade away as he got sicker and sicker and once he..... We fell apart after that," He continued quietly, his eyes drifting off. "My mom disappeared and dad turned to the bottle. Then I turned seventeen, became Dauntless, and never looked back."

It grew quiet as silence settled over the room for a moment. I stood up slowly and took a seat next to him on the second bar stool. His back was turned and he made no move to turn.

Without thinking, I leaned forward and rested the side of my head against his muscular back. He tensed at first but relaxed as I gently wrapped my arms around his chest losely. I wondered if he could feel my heart speeding up.

"What about you?" He asked. I almost flinched in response as I felt the vibrations of his voice through his body. I hesitated before responding.

"I, uhm, I was Candor," I began. "But I was also a liar."

I felt his large hand come to rest upon mine, sending a sudden wave of electricity down my spine.

"I don't know why but I just could never be the perfect Candor. I just couldn't always be honest about absolutely everything and in Candor, that's almost the same as being a crazy person or a criminal. My school, my class mates, and even my family treated me like an outcast," I explained. "It made me violent at times and, at some point, I just stopped talking so no one could pick me apart anymore."

"For a time, I thought there was something wrong with me. My family sure made it feel that way. And I'm sure what my Dad said in the paper is true. They are probably relieved I left Candor so they wouldn't have to feel ashamed anymore."

It was quiet again as I saw the faces of my parents in the back of my mind. My mouth felt dry after I finished speaking. I don't remember the last time I had spoken so much.

"They're fucking idiot's for that then," Eric said suddenly and I inadvertently laughed at his blunt language. "They'll see that someday."

My grin remained. "And you'll see your brother again," I said and I immediately worried that I'd said the wrong thing as he tensed under my touch. I could feel his powerful shoulders tighten. "He's watching you up there, I promise."

His head turned to the side, peering at me from the corner of his eye. "You really believe in all that?" He asked.

I nodded. "I believe there's a place all good souls go to after we die."

"You think I have a good soul?" He asked in surprise. His deep voice sent vibrations through my body that were oddly comforting.

"Of course," I replied without hesitation.

He shook his head slowly. I couldn't see his face but I could sense he didn't agree. Eric sighed through his nose. His body tensed up just enough for me to notice.

"I've... I've done things Ferris. Bad things," Eric began. "Most the time I was just following orders but, I still did them."

My mouth twitched thoughtfully. I knew Dauntless did the dirty security and enforcement work that none of the other factions went near. Whether it was coralling unlawful and violent factionless or detaining criminals within the factions themselves.

"I understand," I said after a couple seconds. "But those things don't make you inherently bad?"

Eric didn't respond at first. So I kept going.

"A bad person wouldn't have saved me last night or bandaged me up. They wouldn't have checked up on me after I escaped Xanthus that one night. Or make me a cute breakfast," I listed off kindly.

Eric only snorted softly before checking on his lightly burned thumb and index finger. We settled into a comfortable silence. Enjoying the warm comfort of each other's bodies and presence.

I pulled away after a long while.

"I guess I should get going," I said, glancing at the time. "Before people think I've been murdered."

He stood up, leaving my embrace. "That's not far from the truth," He pointed out.

"Those guys better hope I don't find out who they were," I said seriously as I stood up with him.

"Or what?" He asked curiously.

"Or I'm going to throw them into the Chasm myself," I replied without humor, my expression too serious to be sarcastic.

Eric nodded in approval. "Call me if you need any help," He offered as we walked to the door.

He opened it for me and stood half through the frame due to his massive size. I stopped just before crossing the threshold of the door.

I turned to look up at him and suddenly placed a gentle kiss on the side of his cheek. I couldn't meet his gaze as my cheeks flushed pink.

"Thank you Eric," I said quietly, keeping my eyes low before scurrying out of the door.

I walked back briskly. Double checking the hall before I went across the chasm. Even though it was day time and plenty of people were walking about. I still half expected another masked attacker to appear from out of no where.

I entered the intiate's quarters only to be ambushed by an exasperated Rency who was convinced I'd been kidnapped after not returning yesterday night. You should have seen her face when I told her that I had stayed the night at Eric's.