Escape to Paradise/Newt, book 2

Chapter 5

I closed the door to my room, my throat sore and raw as I sat down on the bed. My body ached, my wrists sore from straining against the leather bands in the testing room. I was emotionally drained, so I climbed into bed, letting the blankets comfort my body, hugging me and letting it calm me down. I wasn't even able to fall asleep immediately. I just laid in bed for a while before giving up. I sat up for a moment, before giving in to the heaviness in my chest and walking out of the room. I walked down the empty corridor to Newts room, slowly opening the door. It was dark inside, the only noise was the light snoring coming from Newt. I shuffled my way through the room, pulling up the sheets and sliding in beside him. The sheets rustled and there was a sleepy groan next to me.
"Hm? Emmy?" He groaned, tossing in his sleep.
"Yeah, it's me." I whispered. He yawned, rolling over, still partially asleep, so he was facing me.
"Everything all right, love?" He asked, his voice rough and low from just waking up.
"Yeah, I just had a nightmare." I lied. He was quiet for a moment, before pulling me into his arms. His arm found its way to my back, holding me close to him as he lazily rubbed siècles between my shoulder blades. He kissed the top of my head as I rested my cheek on his chest. His steady heart beat and breathing calmed me down almost instantly. He was warm, and it was nice to be close to another person like this. I'd had moments with my friends where we would sit next to each other or hug, but it's not the same as Newt. It was like he wanted to shield me from the entire world. And for once, i was glad that he would. After a few moments, his soft snoring returned, just barely a whisper in the quiet room. I buried my head under his chin, and he leaned his head towards mine in his sleep. I couldn't help the tiniest hint of a smile that crept it's way onto my face.
And with that thought in my head, I drifted off to sleep.

~~
(Ha, it looks like Gally's eyebrows.)

The next morning I woke up early. Not ridiculously early, but enough that I could slip away from Newts room to get changed. I normally don't care if he sees me in the morning. He doesn't seem to mind my unbrushed hair or puffy eyes. Today, I don't want him to see my arms. I had fallen asleep in my short sleeve T-shirt, and you could see the purple bruises dotting my arms. I didn't need him to see that, not yet. So I slipped through the door and crept down to my room. I pulled off the old shirt, and put on a new, clean shirt with long sleeves that covered all the marks. I ran my fingers through my hair, enough to make it look clean, but not like I had just brushed it.
Then I snuck back to Newts room. He was laying the same way, so it wasn't hard to sneak right back under the covers with him while he slept. His hair was getting long, almost covering his eyes. I laid on his chest again, trying to enjoy the quiet of the room, and the comforting lull of his heartbeat. A few minutes later newt stirred in his sleep, his eyes fluttering open for a moment.
"Oh. I forgot you were here." He grumbled, his voice still low and rough.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. Like I said, nightmare." I fibbed. He nodded, his eyes slowly closed.
"Well we can't have that, can we. I'll scare the bloody things away." He mumbled, and I rolled over to stand back up. Newts arms wrapped around my waist, keeping me trapped to the mattress.
"No, come back." He yawned. "What if I have a nightmare?" He smiled, sleepy eyes looking up at me.
"Okay. Just a little bit longer." I said, laying back down. We ended up laying with my back to Newts front, his arm around my stomach as his head nuzzled into my neck. It was amazing. Yeah, we had cuddled a bit inside of the maze, but not really like this. Not like there wasn't a job to go to or a glade to run. It was just, relax. Sleep in and breathe in the smell of each other. Obviously I was supposed to be at a computer right now, but I wasn't in a rush. Not after last night.
The though of sitting at a desk while Janson and Ava watch me work was enough to make my blood boil. So I laid there, and a part of me knew that Newt wasn't sleeping anymore.
Neither of us wanted to move. So we didn't.

It's short, I know. It's really really short, but I'll try to make it up next chapter. Thanks for reading my little griever hedgehogs😘