After the Death Cure ( The Maze Runner )

Chapter 9

We sit in silence for the next thirty minutes or so.

 I start to feel the cut on my back get even more painful. Whatever those medics put on there numbed the pain so much, I forgot I even had it. I lean forward in my seat to keep the cut from being touched.

 The thought that the fight with fake Newt could have gotten worse worries me. What if I hadn't punched him? Would they have let him stab me?

 I find myself moments later asking the question out loud.

 "I think that WICKED knows what you're capable of. Maybe that's why Joshua was so irritated when you let fake me beat you. When you just sat there and wouldn't do-"

 "Yeah, yeah. And I cried like a little baby I get it. But what if I just sit there, and let him stab me?"

 "You won't. I know you won't."

 I agree with him. Why would I just let someone stab me to see what WICKED's reaction would be? Besides, I'm trying to find a cure, not a death wish.

 "Do you remember everything?"

I think so. "Yeah."

 "No, I mean everything. Me and you. Every detail. Why I went into the Maze. When I proposed. The day I asked you out..."

 He stops talking, and I want to know what he was going to say, "What?" No answer, "What?"

 "When I saw you in WICKED. When I was in the pod, and I knew what you were about to do. That killed me. I had never experienced such emotional pain in my life. You were going to forget me, and you could've died."

 "Yeah." I don't want to talk about it anymore. I remember seeing him in the pod, trying to get out. He was so angry.

 He just stares at me, waiting for me to say "I'm sorry" or something. I won't apologize though. Why would I?

 He's still staring.

 "Do you remember how you used to be?"

 "No."

 He grins, and looks down in his lap, at his hands. "You were always so happy. I rarely saw you frown. But I knew when you were upset. You were like an open book."

 I look up at him. I can feel the hurt show up on my face. And he notices what he's done.

 "I mean, it's not your fault," I look straight ahead, now ignoring him as he continues, "You have all these things going on, I know it's-"

 "Slim it, Newt. You're only digging yourself a deeper hole...I'll try harder to be the person you used to love." And the staring again. I hate it. It makes me feel guilty when I shouldn't. Yeah, that might have hurt his feelings, but what about mine?

 "You know that's not what I-"

 I give him a sharp look, and he stops talking. He just looks down at my feet. Look at your own feet.

 Now I'm just getting angry for no reason. He probably didn't mean it that way.

 We sit in silence. Always with the silence. I look over at him, and he's picking at his fingernails, obviously trying to find words to say. I love you. I wish I had the guts to say it. I'm sorry. I wish I had the guts to say that too. I'm so bipolar right now.

 "I'm sorry."

 "I'm sorry too." I answer almost immediately. Like I've been waiting for him to say that...and I have.

 We're both staring at each other, and I feel a bit awkward now, so I look away.

How far away are they? We've been traveling for about three hours by now. And it's another hour and a half before we arrive.