STATIC → newt , tmr [EDITING ; VERY SLOW UPDATES]

chapter viii

"I-I thought you were dead, I looked everywhere ... You look just like your father ..."

Tiago stood up quickly, his legs shaky, and made his way slowly towards the woman. He couldn't register anything except her face, still fresh in his mind from the last time he'd seen her. She hadn't changed much. As soon as he stood in front of her, Tiago froze up again. He blinked twice, and before he could think anymore about the consequences his actions could have, he reeled back his fist and punched her straight in the nose.

Tiago felt himself restrained from all sides. People were yelling again, and Tiago could hear Vince's voice above them all.

"What the hell are you tryna pull, huh?!" Vince's face was in front of Tiago, but he couldn't focus on anything except his own breathing. He could only see red. "That woman is one of our only doctors here!"

"Let him go," Tiago heard the woman groan. Vince paused, turning to look down at where she had landed in the dust. "I deserve it, Vince, just ... Let him go."

Tiago couldn't think of anything better. He felt the people restraining him let up, and he immediately turned on his heel. He walked back past Brenda, through the group of teenagers, and kept walking. He couldn't think straight. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see properly. All he could think was, Keep walking, do not turn around, don't stop, just go. He had no idea where he was going, but Tiago knew he had to get away from every person he could see. He wasn't sure what he would do if someone tried to stop him from leaving.

Eventually, Tiago reached an isolated spot. He shook his head, trying to see straight, and only then did he realize that his eyes were filled with tears. Whether they were from sadness or rage, he wasn't sure. He stopped walking, standing in place. He could see colors other than red again. The orangey-brown ground, the green shrubs around him. He took a ragged breath in, trying to sort out his thoughts.

"Tiago."

Tiago immediately turned, shoving his tears back, and saw Newt standing a few feet away from him. The blond's face was contorted into an expression that Tiago couldn't quite read.

"What―" He couldn't breathe again; he felt his chest heaving with the effort. "I can't breathe," he muttered. His vision was starting to blur, the tears appearing without him knowing when or how.

"Hey," Newt said, his voice drifting softly into Tiago's ears. He felt Newt place a hand on his arm while he was trying to blink back tears.

"I can't breathe," Tiago said again, the sentence coming out as a gasp.

"Okay, hey, look at me. Tiago, look at me."

Tiago raised his eyes, and he found Newt's own eyes staring right back at him. Tiago continued to drag breaths between his lips, but he focused on looking at Newt, ignoring his surroundings. Neither of them said anything more, which helped Tiago immensely. He could hear bugs chirping all around him. He blinked slowly, not noticing how the tears that had built up earlier were not slowly dripping down his face. He could feel his breaths becoming more even, his chest rising and falling slower than before. When he eventually looked away from Newt's gaze, he found that his vision was unblurred, the world clear again.

"Hey," Newt murmured, reaching up and tilting Tiago's face down again. Alarmed, Tiago made to pull away, his stomach tightening with that specific feeling again. Newt didn't let him, muttering a few quiet words of reassurance, before moving his other hand from Tiago's arm up to touch his face. Tiago watched the concentration in Newt's eyes as the blond carefully began wiping the tears from his face.

"Who was that woman you punched?" Newt asked quietly, carefully, obviously not wanting to set Tiago off again.

Tiago didn't answer straight away. If he was honest, he'd spent so long staring at Newt's face that he'd forgotten why they were even out here alone in the first place. He quickly remembered and forcefully jerked his head out of Newt's hands, taking a few steps away from him. Newt frowned, clearly confused, but it looked more like concern to Tiago.

"No one important," Tiago answered, his voice equally quiet but for a different reason. He was angry. Anyone could sense that.

Newt raised his eyebrows. "Well clearly she's important enough to punch in the face." Tiago glared at him, which only made Newt shrug. "I'm just trying to understand, so I can help. You're clearly upset, and she was clearly the reason."

Tiago shook his head. "I'm not upset," he defended uselessly. Newt's eyebrows only rose higher. Tiago clicked his tongue. "I'm ... angry," he finally conceded.

"Why?" Newt pressed.

"Do you really have to know everything about me?" Tiago groaned, gritting his teeth. "You're getting on my nerves with your ... face, and your voice, and your ... everything else."

"Now you're not even making sense."

"Will you just shut up?" Tiago cried out, his hands going to his hair and tugging harshly. "Why should I tell you anything? I've known you for, like, forty-eight hours, I don't see why I should explain myself to you."

Newt was quiet, his eyes on Tiago's hands looped in his own hair. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and before Tiago could move Newt reached up and yanked Tiago's hands from his hair, holding them tightly between his own.

"You're anxious," Newt muttered. "Just tell me why you're angry."

"Why?" Tiago demanded. He didn't try to move away from Newt, which Newt saw as progress.

"Because it'll make you feel better."

"So you're an expert in emotions now? Some sort of therapist?"

"I've done my fair share of calming people down." Newt paused. "Back in the Maze, it was all boys. Teenagers. We all got angry, all the time. It was exhausting being one of the only people with any bloody common sense. It meant I had to break up all the fights, I had to see the different sides of an argument. So yeah, I'd say I'm pretty well trained in understanding emotions."

Tiago didn't meet his eyes. His gaze was on his hands that Newt was still holding. He licked his lips, tipping his head back and staring up at the sky. Newt didn't say anything, didn't press any further. Eventually, Tiago sighed and met the blond's gaze once more.

"She's my mother."

― ➶ ―

a bit of a shorter chapter, but only because that's a perfect cliffhanger lol. sorry that this one took so long!! i had a really busy week, and even now i'm writing this half an hour before i have to go out for a dinner reservation. i've been writing this chapter sporadically on and off throughout the week, so sorry if there are things that don't match up. i don't have time to proofread today lol. i also erased and rewrote the scene where tiago hits his mother like 4 times because i was constantly unhappy with it :( but i got there eventually!! it's still not the same as i pictured it in my head, but it's as close as i think it's gonna get.

i would also just like to clarify a few things about the scene with tiago and his mother: tiago is not a violent person. this was purely a display of incredibly strong emotions he was feeling, and he acted on pure instinct. he thought his mother was dead, so for him it was like seeing a ghost. if someone i thought was dead, i can't imagine my reaction would be much different. i also want to reiterate that i don't condone tiago's actions, and i'll say now that they are going to have consequences further on in the story.

anyway, i hope you enjoyed the chapter!! thanks for the encouraging comments :) i feel bad whenever i don't update now, which i haven't felt for years lmao.

don't forget to vote and comment!! it motivates me a lot to see people enjoying the story :D see you in the next one!