Count On Me ➵ Newt [1]

TWENTY-TWO | griever attack

▬The next day, I was escorted to the Slammer along with Thomas by Newt. The roles had swapped - now instead of Newt ignoring me, I pretended as if he wasn't there, scowling the entire time. He opened the door to the Slammers and Thomas climbed into one of them while I stood by one side with crossed arms, refusing to enter the pit.

"Rose, come on," Newt said quietly. "I'll get into trouble if you don't get in."

As if I cared.

I continued standing by one side, pretending as if I hadn't heard him.

"Rose, please," he said again.

Still, I said nothing. I stood in place like a stubborn rock, adamantly refusing to move. My eyes stayed glued to the ground, looking everywhere but him.

"Rose..." Newt stepped forward. "Come on, we'll settle this... whatever it is between us when you're free to leave, alright? Please."

I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, shoving his shoulder in the process. He winced, but said nothing as I climbed down into the Slammer, careful not to exert any pressure onto my injured arm. Newt closed the door and locked it, looking as miserable as he could get.

"Just one week, Rose," he whispered to me. "I'll be back."

And he was gone.

-

I was really starting to fear boredom now. It had only been half a day and I was lying on the ground, staring up at the wide expanse of blue sky, with nothing to do. The white fluffy clouds inched across the sky slowly, bobbing here and there in the wind.

Just one week.

How the shuck was I supposed to survive in this stupid, lonely cell for one week? It seemed impossible.

I was contemplating bashing my head against the Slammer wall to end my misery when I heard faint footsteps from above the door. I sat up straight and saw Chuck and Jeff peeking through the wooden door above me.

"Hey, Rose!" Chuck said cheerily. He unlocked the door and passed me a plate of plain rice and a glass of water. "How's it going down there?"

"I'm having the time of my life," I said dryly and shoved spoonfuls of the rice into my mouth.

Jeff hopped down into the cell, clutching his med-kit. "Well, you have about six more days," he said with an infuriating grin.

"Don't remind me," I muttered. 

I continued eating my food and sipping water as Jeff checked up on my injured arm and replaced the bandages. I winced several times and even nearly dropped my sad plate of rice at one point, but I clenched my teeth and bore through the pain. When he was done, he climbed back out the door and locked it.

"Come on, Chuckie," he said, patting the kid on the back. "Newt'll have our heads if we linger here for too long."

At the mention of Newt, my face tightened and I scowled. Jeff noticed and he glanced at me awkwardly. "Ah, right... sorry 'bout that," he said sheepishly.

"Whatever."

Jeff and Chuck left to visit Thomas in his Slammer next door, and I heard them conversing with each other, the faint clink of glasses and porcelain as they handed him his portion of food and water. After a few minutes or so, I heard his Slammer door swing shut and Jeff and Chuck finally left, leaving me alone with my thoughts again.

The next few days went by in a boring blur. Thomas had already been released from his cell since he only got the punishment for one day. I tried not to feel salty about it, but in the hellish state of boredom I was trapped in, it was incredibly hard not to.