"i'm sorry," he said. "it's my fault this is happening to you."
"We'll find a way," she repeated.
When Thomas falls in love with an immune, will he be able to let her go and send her up to Group A?
All rights go to the brilliant author James Dashn...
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they sat in the middle of the bed, facing each other and talking for the rest of the night.
thomas told her about his past and how he was taken away from his mother when he was just a kid. "she had the flare and my father was already passed the gone. he wasn't himself anymore and it was only a matter of time before my mom was too. i lived here in this building ever since then."
she listened intently and held his hand to comfort him. "and then you started to work for them?"
"i did. i helped them because i thought i could find a cure for what happened to my parents. i thought by doing a blueprint i could help people but then i allowed my friends to go to the maze without me. i watched them through a screen every day and since then i felt like i was doing more harm than good."
"chuck," she said. "you watched him too?"
"yeah," he said after a few seconds.
"how is he?" she asked. "is he okay? was he scared?"
thomas nodded solemnly. "he was scared but he's a tough kid. i watched him closely until i knew he was going to be okay. the other boys there, they watch out for him too."
"it's crazy to think that tomorrow i'll be seeing my little brother," she said sadly. "but we won't know it. we won't know that we're family."
"this won't be forever," said thomas. "chuck knew it too. he knew that the sooner the blueprint is finished the sooner he'll be able to leave the maze. someday he'll remember you. just like someday we'll find each other again. it's the stuff that's between that will be the hard part but it won't be forever."
"what if they don't finish the blueprint?"
"we can't think that way," he said.
she laid down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "i don't remember a lot of things from my past but i do remember my mom and her smile. the kind of smile that could make anyone smile back."
thomas couldn't help smiling. "i know what you're talking about. you have the same smile."
she looked over to him and smiled. "you do too. anyway, that's all i can remember but i wish i remembered more. i wish i was able to tell chuck more about our parents. i just want things to make sense again but that's asking a lot these days. there's nothing we could do."
"we can hold on to the things we do remember," he said. "hold onto them and never let go."
"it doesn't matter how tightly we hold onto them," she sighed. "they're being taken away tomorrow."
thomas laid down on his back next to her but his head was turned to her; she didn't notice so he got to revel in her beauty, from her soft skin to her full eyelashes. he didn't have to ask to know she was thinking about chuck, because whenever she does her eyes become distant and her body still.
he didn't interrupt her thoughts, because it was only a short matter of time before they're taken away. after a few more minutes, she rolled over and laid her head on his chest. she wasn't saying anything so he knew she was asleep. he laid awake, wanting to enjoy the moment while it lasted but eventually he fell asleep with his fingers entwined with hers.
in the original version they kissed but i wanted to save that for a later time 😏
