Bad Dreams | Newt x Reader (Being Edited)

Chapter 63-Trials of my Sanity/Self-Control

Warnings: arguments, mentions of murder

Karma existed and the world was more than happy enough to punish me. Perhaps it was my own fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or perhaps it was Vince's fault for deciding to make Y/n go with the scouts.

At least Thomas and Fry were here, it almost cancelled out the simmering tension with Y/n.

"What happened to your face?" Tommy asked, glancing in the mirror as he drove.

A massive black and purple bruise stained her swollen cheek. Another similar one marred her neck. While the one of the cheek could have been made by anything, the one on her neck was dealt by a hand. Illusions had hidden it from sight.

Her hand—covered in scrapes and cuts, drifted lazily up to prod it gently. "Oh, that. It's nothing."

A tinge of irritation clamped down on me.

Y/n saw it and laughed, the bruises visible in the mirror vanished. "Of course they're not real, you really think anyone could get close enough to hit me? Sorry, attention seeking habit. I'll break it, don't worry."

The tension in the car increased tenfold.

"So, Vince wants us to go to some abandoned Wicked centre. He wants to set up a stronghold for the Right Arm." Thomas shifted awkwardly, glancing out the window in search of a way to defuse the ticking bomb. "Nik was pretty resistant to it."

Y/n hummed in answer.

"Why is that, exactly?" Thomas asked. "Is it because of how close it is to Denver?"

Poor Tommy, blissfully unaware he added another load of explosives to the car. When I glanced in the mirror, she was staring out at the burnt country.

"Nik doesn't have anything against Denver." Y/n's voice was flat, but strained. "She died there."

No need to define who 'she' was. Lillian.

Some time later, Y/n drooped left and Fry wrapped a loose arm around her. Asleep, the illusion bled away, revealing the extent of damage dealt to her body. Still, I couldn't shake the doubt.

By the time we pulled back into camp, Y/n had fallen into a deep slumber. Hair dipped into her eyes, hiding her damaged skin. In her sleep, she looked peaceful.

"I'll get Alex," Tommy said and hurried out of the car.

Alex ran his hand over the second last of her injuries—a bad ankle sprain, before turning her attention to her face, where the lesser of her injuries was. Beneath his glowing red fingers, the bruise on her cheek faded and healed.

Y/n stirred, blinking and slapping Alex's hand away. "What the hell?"

"Y/n, why didn't you come to me for help?" Alex flung out his arm to prevent her ducking past him and making an escape. "I swear I'm here for you no matter what."

She glared at him and battered his arm away. "Leave me alone."

"Isolating yourself won't help anything."

Rolling her eyes, she went to walk away. Alex caught her wrist and tugged her into a hug. Surprisingly, she didn't fight as his arms wrapped around her and held her close. Her chin tilted up, resting defiantly on his shoulder. Her face remained stubbornly blank.

"You need to apologise, Y/n."

"Go to hell," she snapped and tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her.

"You're only hurting the both of you."

"I'll apologise after he does. He had no right to try and force me to go to Denver."

Alex sighed. "You really hurt him."

"He hurt me first."

Giving in, Alex changed the subject and carefully released her from the embrace. "What the hell happened? Who did this to you?"

Y/n stared at her feet like a scolded child. She mumbled something.

"What?"

"I got jumped...by a Crank."

All of us stared at her.

Y/n dropped her shoulders a fraction, relinquishing her proud stance. "It's embarrassing."

Alex sighed, defeated as usual, and went on his way back to where Nik watched on.

"Can't you tell the truth for one second?" I demanded the second he left.

My friends glanced between themselves and began to shuffle away.

Y/n's temper boiled over again in response. "Because it's none of your goddamn business! And has it ever crossed your mind that the truth might be too much for you to bear?"

I tried to speak but she barged on.

"Spoiler, it is. When you found out, you wanted me to erase the knowledge of it. You wanted me to."

"That's not true. You're just trying to manipulate me."

"You couldn't tell the difference between a truth and a lie if one was blue and the other red. Keep digging into my business and I swear I will kill you. My secret buried is more important than your life. What, don't believe me? I will kill you, just like I killed Harvey Wells, and Myra Lee, and Li—Livia."

"You killed Harvey?" I whispered. "But I thought you..."

"Pushed him right over the edge," Y/n mimicked the fall with her hand, "right into the fire below."

"But why?"

"Hypocritical reason, I'm afraid. Ah, another of my problems to hate me for." Y/n shifted, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "How's that for truth?"

"I don't believe you."

"Ask Nik."

Irritation washed over Nik's face and he placed his spoon back in his bowl. "She told you that?"

"After threatening to kill me. Do you think she—"

"If I were you, I wouldn't hang around her." Nik stabbed a chunk of soggy carrot. "Just leave her be."

"Why'd she do it?"

"He was Corrupt, tried to kill her. Same happened with our other friend Myra."

The name again, I hadn't heard it before. More barely revealed secrets buried in Y/n's past. I wondered how much was there tucked away, waiting to lunge out and consume us when we least expected it.