Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 18

Emma's mood was slowly starting to sour.

Five days ago, Jordan spoke to her alone in front of the Homestead. Like before, he was becoming a bother. Since then, he had spoken to her three more times, each time making sure she was alone. It was always awkward, but it was slowly becoming something else. Whatever Alby had said to Jordan, he hadn't let it go. It unnerved her.

It didn't help that it rained again. Emma was woken up by the constant dripping on her head. She huffed, throwing herself out of bed in order to get ready and start the day earlier than planned. In annoyance, she grabbed the door and yanked it open, momentarily forgetting the door hinge wasn't properly secured.

The entire door shifted, causing her to gasp. She tried to steady the door, not wanting to wake anyone. Once it was steady, Emma groaned and tossed her head back. The day had yet to start, and already she wished it was over.

Taking a deep breath, she let go of the door. "Everything okay?" The unexpected voice caused her to jump.

Emma looked at the culprit, placing a hand on her chest. "You scared me."

"Sorry," Gally muttered, eyes on the door. "Is it broken?"

"No, no, it's fine."

But it wasn't fine. He could see clearly that the hinge was broken. Gally brushed past her, entering the room without permission. Emma pursed her lips, watching as he inspected the door. She noticed his wet hair, an indication he had just showered. "Why didn't you say anything about this?"

"It's not a big deal." And it wasn't. It wasn't worth bothering him about. Everyone in the Glade bothered him about fixing the smallest things. A broken door would have been brought to his attention the moment it happened by anyone else. Gally turned to look at her, but his eyes caught sight of the ceiling. It was dripping water. Again, he walked past her to get a better look. "Gally-"

"How long has that been an issue?"

Emma sighed, knowing she wasn't getting out of the situation. "A few months."

He spun around quickly. "A few months?" All she did was shrug. "Anything else I need to be aware of?"

Emma thought about the wobbly bed leg but decided to keep the information to herself. "No."

Gally rubbed his jaw. "Wait here. I'm going to get my toolbox."

"Gally-" but he was already out the door. Emma sighed dramatically, slumping on the bed. The last thing she wanted was to burden Gally with more work. It made her feel guilty.

It took Gally only a few minutes to grab his toolbox. He was back in her room in record time. She stood up, moving out of the way. "If things break, you can tell me about it."

"I didn't want to be a bother," she explained. "You didn't like me at the time." Gally's lips pulled down in the tiniest frown. Emma had been dealing with a leaky roof for months because of him. "And I know you have a lot to do."

"It's what I do," he reasoned, setting his toolbox down. He wanted to fix the ceiling first. That was the biggest issue.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Gally went to push the bed out of the way but stopped seeing it wobble. He stood back up, sending her a pointed look. Emma smiled sheepishly, shrinking into herself as Gally resumed working.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another day, another night Emma found herself struggling to sleep. One leg hung over the side of the tree hut, her back resting against the post. It was dark out, but there were no stars in the sky. However, it didn't matter that it was dark. Her eyes were closed. She was exhausted but couldn't sleep.