Her

Chapter Twenty

Dawn bright forth a variety of warm colors in the sky. The morning was filled with silence as the other Gladers snoozed onward, including Newt, who was lying beside her.
She was at first confused by the sound of nearby water, but soon remembered that their eyes were overcome with slumber last night before they had gotten the chance to leave the creek.
Alby had assigned her to assist Chuck in some garden work as her ankle healed. She kissed Newt's neck and cheek before using her crutch to stand so she could wake the young boy up.
Chuck was heavily asleep when she found him, and breathing quite loudly. She patted his arm and his eyelids slowly uncovered his bright eyes.
"Sorry to wake you, but we gotta start our garden work Chuck."
He nodded, still tired, and followed her to the rows of thick plants. They stood and picked plump red tomatoes and collected them in their baskets as the sun rose higher in the sky. By their third basket, Chuck asked,
"What's it like to have your memories back?"
"A little stressful, but I guess I'm glad to have them. At least I know a little more about what's out there."
He stared the the dirt and softly stated,
"I don't remember my parents, but I hope they're looking for me."
Despite her doubts, she reassured him,
"I'm sure they are, Chuck. Don't worry, we're going to make it out of here."
She looked up and saw Alby raging towards her. Fear entered her body as she saw the furious expression on his face growing closer. This was by far the angriest she'd ever seen him.
"Alby, what's wro—" she began.
Still speechless, he forcefully grabbed her arm and dragged her to one of the Homestead buildings.
He slammed the door behind them and narrowed his brows,
"I know about you and Newt."
Her face went numb,
"Who told you?"
"It doesn't matter. What does, is that I specifically told you that this is no place for that kind of relationship, and what do you do? You did it anyway!"
"I'm sorry, Alby. How can I fix this?"
"No Greenie. You're not getting off that easy. No amount of work in the Bloodhouse is going to redeem you. From now on, you're no longer a runner."
Her heart sunk into her stomach,
"Please, Alby. Please don't do that."
"I told you the day you got here that there would be repercussions to breaking the rules, and lately you've been acting like a real Slinthead. You've gotten yourself stung, created a fucking crack in the sky...and not to mention you were almost stung again. I can't have irrational behavior in here, and especially not in the maze. If I so much as see you speak to Newt or step one foot towards the maze, you're out of here."
He swung the door open and left her still in shock. She sorted through her mind as to who could've told Alby about them.
"Gally," she muttered in anger.
She swung her crutch as fast as she could towards him. He stood by the Homestead hunched over a sketch for a new hut. She earned his full attention by angrily stating to his back,
"You're a dick!"
He turned and narrowed his brows,
"Excuse me?"
"I can not believe you told Alby, you no good lowlife asskisser! You're no better that the Grievers!"
He angrily folded his arms and defended,
"You might want to check your facts before you go calling people names, shuck. I didn't tell Alby shit."
"You are so full of crap! I'm not a runner anymore because you told him about me and Newt."
He replied in an annoyed tone,
"Why the hell would I tell Alby? You're fucking crazy."
"Because you're a lousy jerk! And for some reason you enjoy causing me pain! You hate me!"
"I didn't tell Alby!"
"Yes, you did!"
"I wouldn't do that!"
"Yeah right. You know why you would do that? Because you're a—"
He yelled over her, now fully enraged,
"I wouldn't do that because I love you!"
The words formed in her throat were obliterated by the statement. She stood with her cheeks a bright red and attempted to say something,
"I...Gally...I don't—"
"Forget it," he mumbled at the ground before stomping away.
She heard footsteps increasing in volume behind her, and her ears were soon filled by the sound of Newt's accented voice,
"I heard yelling, what was all that about?"
She touched her palm to her warm face, still stunned and answered,
"I just yelled at Gally for telling Alby about us..."
"You did what? I told Alby."
Her eyes widened as she looked at him,
"No you didn't. Tell me you didn't..."
"It was the only way..."
"Only way for what?" she asked with more volume.
"...for you to stop running."
She could feel tears attempting to push their way out,
"I can't believe you, why would you do that?"
His eyes filled with pain as he tried to explain,
"I blame myself every bloody day for that fucking moment you were stung. You could've died, and if anything ever happened to you...I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
"First Alby tells me I'm not a runner, then Gally tells me he loves me, and now I find out that you're the one who screwed me over..."
"Gally said what?"
"I doesn't matter! Because now, basically everything's fucked."
"I was just trying to protect you."
All of her frustration and agony built up in her chest as she stated without thinking,
"I don't need you, Newt."
Unable to fathom what she had just uttered, she stared at the desolated expression on his face as she felt a teardrop softly roll down her cheek.
She turned away from him and ran as fast as she could, disregarding the stabbing pain in her ankle. The world whipped around her until everything was a blur. She directed straight towards the Deadheads and hurtled herself past the thick tree trunks until she couldn't bare the throbbing in her ankle any longer.
There she sunk to the dirt floor and sat among the buried corpses.

                *Chapter Twenty of Twenty-three*