T R U S T [The Maze Runner || Newt || Book 2]

Chapter 15

Jorge tossed the wood down on the ground in a small pile, pulling a lighter out of his pack and starting a small fire. Clara sat on the opposite side of it, leaning against a piece of wood and staring into the flames, she felt a presence next to her and looked over to see Frypan, giving him a soft smile.

"Hey, Fry."

"Hey."

"What're you thinking about?"

"Winston, mainly." He mumbled, and Clara saw a few tears rolling down his cheeks, accompanied by soft sniffles, "I miss him so much, Clar."

"I know Fry, me too." She whispered, rubbing a hand on his back, trying her best to comfort him. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat, wiping away his tears

"So, what do you think they're talking about?" He asked, trying to change the subject and nodding his head over at Teresa and Theodore who were sitting away from the group, deep in their own conversation,

"No idea."

"Good thing Thomas isn't here, he seems like the jealous type."

"Oh, he wouldn't have to worry about that."

Frypan didn't say anything, instead looking at Clara skeptically, raising an eyebrow,

"Let's just say she's not his type. He's more into... well... not girls." She chuckled, earning an awkward 'oh' from Frypan.

After a few seconds, she stood up, pushing herself upwards and walking away from the group. She climbed to the top of a small sand dune and looked out into the distance at the settlement, a few odd lights and soft shouts coming from it. Thoughts of her friends in the glade flashed in her mind, of Chuck and Winston, even of Gally, despite how rude he was to her in their last few days in the glade and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. She wondered when she would be able to talk about all of them without crying. When she would be able to go a night without thinking of them. The sound of footsteps behind her pulled her out of her thoughts but she didn't turn around, not in the mood to talk to anyone.

"Clara?" She recognized Newt's voice, but she ignored his call, her anger at him still burning. "Could we talk?"

"No."

"Please, I just want to talk to you."

"Yeah? Well, I've got two words for you, blondie. Fuck off." She spat, loudly enough to attract the attention of everyone else around the fire.

"Clara, I- I'm sorry about the other night, I was being stupid, and I- I wasn't thinking about you."

"I don't want your apology, Newt, I want you to leave me alone." She muttered before walking past him, back towards the rest of the group.

"Just let me ask you one question, then I'll leave you alone." She froze in her tracks,

"What?"

"Do you regret it?"

This time she did turn to look at him, confused about what he was asking, and she noticed the glimmer of a tear threatening to fall from his eyes,

"Regret what?" She asked,

"Me."

Her breath hitched in her throat as she considered the question,

"I- I don't know, Newt." And with that she turned her back on him, walking back towards the fire and taking a seat next to Jorge, who looked at her with wide eyes.

"Hey." He said, nudging her shoulder with his own, "You okay?"

"Definitely not."

"What's going on with him?"

"He thinks I was being selfish when I sacrificed myself to save all of them in the maze and he was a dick about it, out of nowhere, so I'm not exactly dying to speak to him."

"Do you care about him?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Do you care about him?"

"Yeah. Yeah of course I care about him, I care about all of them.

"But him in particular, right? He's special to you?"

"I mean, yeah, kind of. I don't know. But he's being an asshole right now."

"Raz. Look at me." Clara lifted her head to look at Jorge before he continued, "Men? We're very, very dumb. We wouldn't know a good thing if it slapped us across the face. He's angry because he cares about you."

"Is that so? How do you know that, huh?" She scoffed,

"I know the look on his face, Raz. I've seen it on many men before in my life. What I'm trying to say, is don't let anger get in the way of something good, something real. Don't lose someone you care about over something stupid. If you can find someone special in this shitshow of a world, hang onto it. Alright?"

Clara huffed as Jorge twisted away from her, laying down on his back. On some level, she knew he was right but she decided she would stay angry for one night, the thought of having a heartfelt conversation exhausted her. She shifted down, lying next to Jorge, who was basically already snoring, much to her amusement, and she propped up her backpack to use as a pillow. She stared up at the stars for a few seconds before closing her eyes, not noticing Newt's gaze completely focused on her.