Hope for Us (NEWT) [COMPLETED]

Ch 14 - A Broken Boy

"You—you remembered," Newt said, surprised.

Sara's lips curved into a smile. "No, I already knew it." She lowered her voice as he gave her a confused look. "I just wanted you to be the first to know." She was carefully wrapping his ankle in new gauze.

He raised his eyebrows and blinked a couple of times. "Why me, though?"

"Because... I don't know—I just... trust you more," she replied, and it sounded more like a question.

Newt frowned again. "Greenie, you barely—"

"No, no. Sara." She wagged her finger at his face. He managed to let out a small laugh, which lifted Sara's heart up a bit.

"Fine," he dragged the word teasingly, with that lovely accent she was so glad to hear again. She couldn't get over it. In fact, she could hear him talk all day long and wouldn't get bored. "Sara," he emphasized, and she gave him an approving nod and toothy grin.

The moment was brief, however, because his face morphed back from the smile to his typical, emotionless expression. Sara debated whether to say something that had clawed at her mind ever since the morning of the day before.

"I was worried about you, you know..." Sara trailed off, nervously looking down at her lap to avoid his gaze.

When she looked up, his face displayed an odd mixture of disbelief and confusion. It seemed like everything she said caused him to make that face and only that face.

"Don't be." He shook his head. "Why do you worry so much about me?" he asked, somewhat uncomfortable.

It was that last thing he said that angered her. "Well, I saw you. It's not easy to suddenly enter a place you're not familiar with, and then see someone in that much pain. It's not easy seeing a huge group of teenage guys living this kind of nightmare."

She felt idiotic. Had she really just told him that it wasn't easy to see him suffer? She couldn't compete with what Newt already had to endure.

"This is already too much for me," said Newt, passing a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry you had to see all that. The last thing I wanted was to have someone feel bad for me. Don't waste your time on someone like me." He narrowed his eyes as they bore into hers.

Sara suddenly grew irritated, probably more than she should've been. "You need to stop thinking like that! You're worth so much more. No one deserves this kind of life, so we can't lose hope that we'll get out of here!"

Newt's voice quickly rose in volume at her outburst. "You already know my opinion on that! But you don't know me. If you're waiting for me to 'share my feelings and concerns' with you, then you're shucking jacked in the head. I don't need you to worry about me. It's not gonna change or fix anything. You're a bloody Greenie—you'll understand soon."

"Calm down," she said, frowning at him, but that only made it worse.

Newt shook his head. "Don't tell me to calm down. You did your job—I'm all good now. This buggin' foot better start healing on its own. I can't miss that many days of work here."

"Why? You can't even walk," she said, gesturing to his foot.

"'Cause there's no room for loafers here," he replied abruptly. Sara was stunned at how much fury emerged from him, which shouldn't have surprised her since she sparked it.

A growing feeling of constrained anger boiled inside of her as she turned to leave the hut. "Fine! You don't want help?" She nodded her head sarcastically. "Perfect! I'm out. So sorry to bother you. You're right, what do I know?" She placed a hand on her chest in mock apology.