ᵗʰʳᵉᵉ 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 ⁿᵉʷᵗᵐᵃˢ (ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉᵈ)

Death And All His Friends

I tell him reluctantly about what Dr. Goodman did. 

"I'm sorry." He says. 

"It's-I'm fine." I say. "I'll just go."

I rise to my feet but have to press my hand to the wall to keep from falling.

"Newt, just sit down." Aris sighs. 

I shake my head. "Nope. Nope, I'm fine. I can-" Then, I fall, hitting my head on the side of the sink. "OW!" I cry. 

I bring my fingers to the side of my head. There's blood on my fingertips. 

"Newt, oh my god." Aris says. 

"I'm fine." I say, trying to stand again. 

"Jesus christ." He sighs. "Just please go get stitches."

"I'm fine, Aris." I say, though my head is throbbing. 

"Know what, stay here." Aris says. "I'll just go get someone."

"Aris, if you do that, I'll punch you." I say. "I don't trust any of these slintheads to touch me."

Aris groans but lets me pass him. I walk out the door, keeping my hand against the wall. I walk outside and sit on the cliff.

"I'm so sorry, Tommy." I whisper. "It's all my fault. I'm so sorry I got you killed. I didn't mean for it to happen. I should have held on tighter. I should never have let you go."

"It's not your fault."

I turn around. It's Thomas. But he's holding something. Someone.

"T-Thomas?" I ask. "Are you real? You can't be real. You're dead." 

I look at the person in his arms. It's Minho.

"Okay, yep, I'm losing it." I say. "You're both dead and hallucinations." 

"I'm not dead." He says. "And neither is Minho. He's almost dead though. We need to do something."

"Thomas, are you actually real?" I ask. "Are you really real? Because I watched you fall." 

"I fell, but I lived." He says. "It hurt like hell but I lived."

"How did Minho live?" I ask. 

"No idea." Thomas says. "I found him unconscious in the middle of the desert." 

"This is insane." I say. "I thought you were dead. I thought I'd lost you." 

"Never." Thomas says. "Now, we have to get Minho some help."

"Shuck no." I say. "Lay him down."

He does and I kneel beside him. 

"Tommy, why did you come back here?" I ask.

"I couldn't just leave you here." He says. 

"But you could have escaped." I point out.

"Not without you." 

I smile. "Okay, let's see."

"Hey, what happened to your head?" He asks.

"Nothing, I'm fine." I say. 

He touches my cut and I wince. 

"Not fine." He says. "Can't we please just go in and get you both help?" 

"I don't trust them." I say. 

Thomas sighs. "Fine."

I lean over Minho and check his pulse. It's weak and thready. 

"No, you're right." I say. "We can't help him. We need to bring him inside."

Soon, I sit on a hospital type bed, getting my head stitched. Minho's in the other room. Thomas sits in a chair by the end of my bed, looking through some kind of magazine. A handsome doctor with vivid green eyes steps away. 

"Okay, all done." he says and he leaves. 

I hop off the bed and sit on the arm of Thomas's chair.

"Let's go find Minho." I say. 

"Not yet." He says. 

"Why?" I ask.

"There's one thing I have to do first." He says. 

He pulls me against him and kisses me. 

"I missed you." He says. "I'm sorry I let go."

"No." I say, shaking my head. "It was my fault. I should have held on tighter."

"Just shut up." He says and kisses me again.