Abused ≫ Newt [2]

Chapter 22.

Screams haunted Emily's sleep. Screams of pure pain-agony. The screams of an innocent boy, going through some the most intense pain one has ever felt. The sounds made her blood run cold, shivers run up her spine, the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She tried anything and everything to block out the noise, but nothing seemed to work. The worst thing about it was: she knew who those screams belonged to. They were coming from Alby.
After two days of laying in complete silence, the Changing was only just getting to the unconscious boy. He was screaming bloody murder all day; each scream only convinced Emily more that, when he gained consciousness once more, his vocal chords would be ripped to shreds.
Her vision was pitch black, her ears ringing from the blood-curdling screams that were sure to be haunting everyone's dreams that night. She longed for herself to wake up, did everything she could to do so, though nothing worked. It seemed as if she was trapped inside the dream world forever.
And then, she began to hear something else above the screaming. A voice- a girl's voice. She was speaking in a low, quiet voice, repeating the same five words over and over again.
"Everything is going to change."
Almost as if the voice has triggered something in Emily's mind, images began flashing before her eyes. They moved far too quickly for her to make them out, and she felt a prick of frustration. It was as if a slideshow was playing in her mind, though someone was messing with the controls, making the images move too quickly.
And then they began to slow down. She began to make out some of the pictures, and felt her blood run cold at the horrifying images. One stopped in front of her eyes, started playing as if it were a video. It was a room in the Homestead, and she was looking down on it as if she were watching it through the eyes of a beetle blade. She strained to see who the bed was occupied by. Almost immediately, she recognized the boy as Alby. His mouth was open in a silent scream, his dark eyes glazed over with pain, maybe even insanity. Black veins bulged out of his dark skin, and she could basically see the blood pumping through them. His chest rose and fell harshly as she breathed, almost as if he were having a hard time breathing all together.
And then she began to hear the screams again. They were worse this time- louder, sounding more insane, more blood-curdling. Alby's body began convulsing, his limbs flailing, the bed rattling on the floor as he shook. His eyes rolled in the back of his head, the white orbs seemed to be glowing. His screams were cut off by what sounded like a choking sound, and then Emily's vision went black.
The horrific sound stopped, replaced by complete silence. Emily sat in the darkness, longing for her to either wake up, or be pulled into another, though much more happier dream.
"Emily?"
Her eyes shot open, she sucked in a deep breath as she was pulled back into consciousness.
"Are you alright, princess?"
It took a moment for her to recognize who had spoken, but then his face began to come into focus. Newt stood over her bed, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. He wore nothing but a pair of sweatpants, and Emily couldn't help but stare at his toned torso. A small smile fought its way on to her face, her eyebrows raised as she slowly felt herself calming down.
"Yeah," she breathed. "I'm fine."
Newt stared at her for a moment before, with a slight shake of his head, climbing into bed next to her. He slid under the thin blanket that covered her, wrapped his arm around her small, shaking body.
"You're shaking like a bloody leaf," he said softly. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Just a bad dream, is all," Emily stifled a yawn, already feeling her eyes beginning to droop as Newt's body heat warmed her.
"I'm right here, love." He leaned down and kissed her forehead softy, his lips lingering on her skin as he spoke. "You're safe. I'll never let anything hurt you."
Emily noticed for the first time that complete silence hung over the Glade. She could hear the crickets chirping outside, which was not usual nowadays. She debated on whether to ask Newt about Alby or not, eventually deciding against it. She reached up, grabbing his hand and entwining their fingers as she laid them across her stomach. She let out a deep sigh, feeling herself slowly relaxing after the horrifying dreams she had experienced, and gazed down at their entwined hands.
She squinted her eyes in the darkness as she noticed something unusual about Newt's hand; there was something tied around his wrist. A poorly cut piece of brown fabric, somehow made into some sort of bracelet. She let go of his hand, running her fingers along the piece of fabric.
"Newt?"
"Hm?" his voice was scratchy, his words laced with sleep. He opened one eye, the brown orb glowing in the darkness.
"What's this?" Emily asked, wrapping her fingers around the bracelet on his wrist. Newt opened his other eye, suddenly seeming wide awake as he pulled his arm out of her grip.
"Nothing," he said quickly, rubbing his wrist with his left hand. "Just some extra fabric I found layin' around."
"Why is it around your wrist?" She reached for his hand again, but he pulled it out of her reach. He sat up in the bed, his eyes wide, and Emily began to feel a stab of panic.
"I had nowhere else to put it, so I just tied it around my bloody wrist," Newt said. "Don't worry, Em. It's nothing."
"Newt," she raised an eyebrow at him, sitting up beside him. "Show me your wrist."
He hesitated for a moment, a brief look of panic washing over his face before slowly reaching his hand out to her. Emily grabbed the loose piece of fabric and slowly pulled it up his arm. The dim light caused her vision to become disoriented, but she knew that what she saw was no illusion. Thin, red cuts stretched across Newt's wrist, already beginning to scab over. They weren't deep, but it was enough to trigger something inside of her. She stared at the cuts, already beginning to feel the tears forming in her eyes.
"Why?" was all she managed to choke out. She was completely lost for words, too focused on the cuts on his wrist.
"Because I thought I lost you again, that's why." Newt pulled his wrist out of her grip, slowly pulling the cloth back over the cuts.
Emily shook her head, unable to form any words as she fought to process what he had just said. The cuts were recent, made not even three days ago, and she hadn't noticed it before then?
"Hey. Please don't cry, princess. Not over me." She hadn't even realized she had been crying, but then noticed the hot stickiness of tears running down her cheeks. Newt reached up and ran his thumb over her cheek, wiping a tear away. "I'm sorry."
Emily shook her head, closed her eyes. It was twice now that Newt hurt himself over her, and she couldn't bare to see him hurt. She reached for his hand again, pushing up the fabric and revealing the cuts once more. She pressed her lips to his wrist, kissing the cuts multiple times. Her lips lingered against his broken skin as she spoke, "I love you, Newt."