The Girl

Chapter Four

Man, the Gladers really knew how to party. Drums, fights, drinks. It was so lively. You'd never think this place was a prison.

"So, you get the music now?" Newt asks me.

"Yeah, I love it!" I shout back over the loud drums and cheers from the Gladers. We all gather in a circle preparing for a fight.

"Who's in?" Gally shouts. Numerous names are shouted in response by the Gladers, but I get pushed to the center in the end.

"I'll take her," A boy I'd never seen before shouts.

"Alright Jonathan, just don't break her fragile spine. We need her as a medjack otherwise you guys as shucked," Clint warns the boy. We stand facing each other for a while as the cheers grow louder and louder. I stand in a fighting stance that Minho taught me earlier. Jonathan begins to take a punch at me, and I duck out of the way. Unfortunately, a punch wasn't his intention. When I moved, my stomach left his target area but my hips didn't. He grabbed my hips and pulled me towards him. Before I knew it, his tongue was in my mouth and his hand was where it shouldn't have been. The next events are a blur. I see Minho tackling Jonathan to the ground, and Gally on top of him. As soon as his lips are off mine I bring my hand to my mouth as the tears begin to fall out of hatred, disbelief, and depression. I take off running towards the deadheads, not aware of anyone. Once I lose myself in a mess of trees, I lean against one and close my eyes. I slowly slide down the rough exterior of the tree and anxiously run my hands through my hair. What did I do to deserve this? The question burns in the back of my mind. First no memories, then a concussion, and now this? I can't take it anymore. What's the point of this? I desperately ram my knee into a tree trunk before yelling loudly from the pain and falling to the base of the tree, my legs beside me and my head leaned against the tree. I let silent tears escape my eyes. But then a thought crawls into the back of my mind out of pure desperation. The knife. I pull it out and stare into the reflective blade. Should I do it? Is it worth it? What kind of life is this? I take a trembling deep breath and whisper," I'm sorry, Newt. Minho. Alby," and bring the blade to my chest. Before I can even push the blade into my skin, I hear someone yell my name, and knock the knife out of my hand. I collapse into a crying mess, biting the inside of my lip and trying to hold back. I feel a familiar sense of comfort and hope pull me into their arms.

"Newt..." I whisper shakily between tears.

"Shhh, it's okay," He whispers back.

"I'm sorry..."

"No need for apologies. I was in your shoes two years ago," He sighs and picks me up to start walking back to the medjack tent.

"You were?" I ask, surprised.

"Uh huh. Did you notice my limp?" He asks.

"I did, I just didn't know that..." I trail off. The sentence doesn't need to be finished.

"Don't worry. I know how it feels." He pushes the flap of the tent open with his shoulder and brings me inside to the same cot I've been in since the day I got here. He tries to care for my bruised knee, but it's not easy. I attempt to blink the tears out of my eyes.

"It's okay, you don't have to hide it. It's only me here. Besides, after what happened, none of the boys would blame you," He relaxes me. When he gets up from the chair he was sitting on, I grab his hand.

"Wait-"

"I'm not leaving unless you want me too. I'm just getting water for you," He disappears for a few minutes before coming back with a beaten up water bottle in his hand. I take it but I don't drink anything, I'm still shaken up. I swallow.

"How did you do it?" I ask quietly.

"Snuck into the maze early one morning, and found the tallest wall I could. I climbed up... and then I jumped off it. I was a runner back then, but the limp was a problem. I'm glad it didn't work though. Then I never would've met you," He looks at me. I continue looking down at the cot.

"Why do you care about me so much?" I ask him, still not making eye contact.

"Because I feel like I know you when I look at you. We think the same way. When I look at you, I feel a sense of calmness. A feeling that everything's going to be okay. Which I haven't truly felt since I came to this bloody place," Newt explains, distressed. I give a small nod.

"Well, I should let you get some rest. You need it," Newt gets up to leave. I grab his arm.

"No... I mean-" I look up at him with pleading eyes.

"If you don't want me too, I won't." He lays down on the cot next to me and pulls me into his chest.

"Newt?" I whisper after a while.

"Yes, Beth?" He says sleepily.

"Thank you. For everything," I say.

"I would do anything for you, you're worth every second," He whispers back, and pulls me tighter into his chest. "Now get some sleep." And we both drift off, the thoughts of each other bringing comfort into our minds.