Count On Me ➵ Newt [1]

TWENTY-FOUR | bloody inspired

▬My eyes flickered open and the wooden floorboards of the Homestead's ceiling greeted me, my blurry vision slowly clearing up as the seconds ticked by. There was a numb throbbing in my left shoulder, sending insistent but subtle shots of pain down my arm. Every part of my body was sore, especially my neck and legs, and they ache despite me laying still on the bed. A soft groan escaped me as I shifted my head to the side and glanced around me.

Newt was in a chair beside my bed, his head resting on the mattress beside me. Though his dishevelled blond hair hid his face from view, I could tell he was sleeping as he snored lightly, chest rising and falling steadily.

I shifted again and the bed creaked, the wooden legs wobbling under my weight. The sudden movement and noise shook Newt awake and he glanced up blearily, his bloodshot eyes ringed with exhaustion. His tired gaze met mine and he blinked, sitting up. He slipped his hands below my back and helped me sit up, taking care not to hurt my injured shoulder.

"What happened?" I asked, and cringed at how raspy my voice sounded.

"You passed out from the pain," he said. "Jeff and Clint patched you up as best as they could, but most of the storage supplies were damaged in the attack."

He handed me a glass of water from the bedside table and I sipped the cool liquid gratefully, glad to have something to soothe my dry throat with.

"Tommy's going through the Changing," he continued, looking grim. "Teresa sort of freaked out a bit when he started the bloody screaming, but we assured her it was normal. Gally's just waitin' for him to wake up."

"Why?" I asked.

Newt shrugged. "I dunno. I think he wants to punish him. Speaking of which, he's taken over control of the Glade now. He gathered all his buddies and allies to help him. I would've stopped him, but... I didn't wanna leave your side."

I frowned as I set the glass back down, the water sloshing around.

An uncomfortable silence settled between us. I glanced down at my blanket and fidgeted with them, only just noticing how filthy my fingers and nails looked. Newt looked down at his lap, not saying anything either. I knew what we were both thinking: even though we still cared for each other, we had hurt each other so much in the past few days that I felt as if we would never be able to mend the awkward dispute between us. And most of it was my fault.

I sighed, blowing away the loose strands of hair that hung in my face.

"Are the others okay?" I asked, mainly to break the unbearable silence between us.

Newt nodded. I thought he looked a little disappointed over the sudden change of subject. "They're fine. You want to visit them?"

I nodded, and with his help, I got out of bed and trudged out the Homestead, where I glanced around the Glade with wide, curious eyes. The Gladers were all sitting around the place, their postures hunched and weak. Everyone looked tired and beat-up with their weathered faces and gloomy expressions. The empty grey sky didn't help either.

"Why does everyone not doing anything?" I asked Newt as I looked around, confused.

"The supplies didn't come up this week," he replied in a low voice. "And Gally hasn't exactly been all nice and cheery to everyone when he took control."

He placed a hand on my lower back and led me to the Slammer, where Chuck and Minho were already at. We kept our heads low, trying to stay out of Gally's sight just in case. Minho nodded at us in greeting when we approached while Chuck gave me a broad grin.

"I would hug you but I don't wanna hurt that shoulder of yours," he said, a goofy, toothy smile shining through.

I smiled back at him. "Good that."