Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 23

"It's okay," she whispered, shrinking back into herself. "I didn't."

Gally hummed, moving closer. He didn't ask as he sat beside her, and Emma found herself grateful for that. If he had asked, she would have sent him away. It wouldn't have been what she wanted, but it was easier that way. "You okay?"

"Yeah," her response was automatic. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Is that a joke?" Gally's tone was sharper than usual. "You've been avoiding m-" he stopped, "everyone for days."

She kept her eyes on the Homestead, where Jordan was crawling into his hammock. "Sorry." And she was. Emma wasn't trying to ignore everyone, but she felt guilty. She destroyed an entire harvest of tomatoes. The Glade needed those.

Gally watched her closely, carefully, sadly. "No one blames you, you know? For the tomatoes."

Emma sighed, biting her lip. She took a moment to respond, wanting to gather her thoughts. "I know." Because she did know. Frypan still made stew for dinner that night, just without tomatoes. There weren't that many, truthfully.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Gally." Which was a lie. That much was obvious. "It's just-" Emma didn't know what to say.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She made an unknown noise low in the back of her throat. Gally seemed to understand what she meant. "Okay." He wouldn't make her talk if that wasn't what she wanted.

Emma pursed her lips, letting the silence consume her. It wasn't painful, not like before. Having Gally beside her eased all of her fears. She never felt safer than by his side.

But she couldn't tell him. Gally had a tendency to overreact and become rageful. The last thing she wanted was for Gally to go after Jordan, who would retaliate. He wasn't against physical retaliation. What if he hurt Gally? Emma would never forgive herself. It would be her fault.

Her mind began to spiral. Gally must have seen her expression shift. Instantly, he moved closer. He placed a hand on her back. It was gentle and caring. "Emma-" Without thinking, she leaned into his side. Her head rested on his shoulder; side pressed to his.

Gally tensed, not having expected it, but he relaxed rather quickly. His hand dropped behind her, keeping himself balanced. Emma stared ahead, head pressed into his shoulder. It was comforting being this close to Gally. He was warm and friendly. He felt safe and welcoming. "I'm sorry."

He glanced at her, but she didn't look back. "What for?" For being a problem, she almost said but didn't. "You don't have anything to apologize for. If you did, I would be the first to tell you."

That caused her to laugh. "Would you?"

Gally chuckled, "I'd be the first to yell at you. Better?"

"Much. Thank you." Emma smiled to herself, already feeling her mood improve. She wondered if that was all it took, a simple conversation with Gally. "Thank's for being here."

"Yeah," he murmured. "Nowhere else I'd rather be." The small smile on her face only grew at his words. The silence returned, but it was welcomed. Emma sat pressed into Gally's side, head on his shoulder, and the thought of Jordan was long gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the following morning, Emma had decided to brush off everything that had happened. There was no point in hiding, fearing that Jordan would bother her again. If he did, she would deal with it. Until then, Emma wanted to live freely in the Glade.

"Hey," a soft, gentle voice pulled Emma from her thoughts.

The Gardner looked up from her spot on the bench to see Chuck. His cheeks were flushed from being out in the sun all day. Sweat dripped down his forehead and collected on his eyebrow. "Hey, Greenie. How are you?" It felt like she hadn't seen the boy in a while.