Madylin blinked, her vision blurry as she looked to see Thomas standing hesitantly in the doorway. He looked just as uncertain as she felt.
"Hi," she replied, her voice slightly raspy.
"Can I come in?" Thomas asked, gesturing to the empty space beside her on the bed.
She nodded silently as she struggled to push herself up. Thomas entered and tentatively closed the door behind him before sitting next to her cautiously.
They sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Thomas spoke up. "I just wanted to check on you. You seemed upset earlier."
Madylin's blue eyes widened in surprise. "You were watching me?"
Thomas looked sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's kinda hard not to..." He trailed off, "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the cause."
Madylin shook her head slowly. "It's not your fault. There's just a lot of things going on lately."
He thought back to his earlier conversation with Newt. "So I've heard," he responded, not taking his eyes off her. What was it about her? Thomas couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity with the girl of the Glade. "Everything feels so disorienting," he blurted out before pausing. "But for some reason, being around you feels...familiar. Like I've known you before."
Madylin studied Thomas, taking in his features as if seeing him for the first time. Something about his eyes, the slope of his nose, the moles scattered on his face, but she didn't respond, even if she felt it too.
Instead, she sighed heavily, running a hand through her ginger hair. "What I wouldn't give to have Nick and Mason here," she mumbled mostly to herself.
Thomas's brows furrowed in confusion. "Do you want me to go get them?"
"They both died,"
"Oh I'm sorry—" Thomas started before remembering Ably's mention of Nick's name. He hadn't paid much attention at the time.
"Why? It's not your fault," The ginger retorted sarcastically.
Thomas felt a pang in his stomach at her words. "No, but—" he tried to explain himself.
