The First Glader

32

Gally stepped closer. "What did she say?"

Thomas hesitated.
He wasn't sure if Ada would want him to repeat her vulnerability.
He wasn't sure if he even could without feeling like he was betraying something.

"Nothing important," Thomas said instead.

Gally's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't lie to me, greenie."

Minho stood up, folding his arms. "Back off, Gally. They just talked."

Gally whirled on him. "Ada doesn't talk, Minho. Not like that. Not to him."

Minho snorted. "Maybe she's finally realizing he's not a horrible human being."

Gally looked like he might punch Minho next.

Newt jogged over, sensing the rising tension. "Hey! Enough. Thomas, go help Zart. Gally, go build something before you spontaneously combust."

Gally didn't move.

His glare stayed locked on Thomas. "Stay away from her."

Thomas clenched his jaw. "Why?"

"Because she's the only stable thing this place has left," Gally said. "And you're not stable."

The words stabbed deeper than Thomas expected.

Gally left without another word, breathing hard, furious.

Thomas turned to Minho and Chuck helplessly. "What did I do?"

Minho clapped him on the shoulder. "You existed near Ada. That's basically like setting off a bomb in Gally's head."

"Great," Thomas muttered. "Exactly what I wanted."

Chuck tugged him toward the Gardens. "Come on before he throws you in the Slammer himself."

Thomas followed, but the whole time, his mind kept circling back to Ada.

Why was she avoiding him?
Why did Gally think she was "off"?
What exactly had shifted last night?

When Thomas dragged the last bucket of water to Zart, he glanced toward the Maze.

Ada stood there.

Alone.

Her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the walls as if waiting for something only she knew how to predict.

Thomas froze.

She didn't look at him.
But her shoulders lifted slightly—like she sensed him.

Then she turned and walked away.

Not fast.
Not angry.
Just... retreating.

Avoiding him.

Again.

Zart noticed Thomas's stare and hummed knowingly. "She does that sometimes."

"To me?" Thomas asked.

"To anyone who reminds her of something she's trying hard to forget."

Thomas's chest tightened. "What does that mean?"

Zart didn't answer.

And Thomas suddenly felt the weight of something he hadn't expected:
Not just curiosity.
Not just connection.

Guilt.

Whatever he stirred in Ada last night—
it scared her.

And for reasons he didn't understand yet, she was hiding from him because of it.