Ten | newtmas

forty two

Sometimes, there'll be moments in life where it feels like all the air is sucked out of the room. It may even take a second to comprehend why it feels like that, but the tension is so heavy it's impossible not to notice.

That's how it feels when Gally and Thomas lock eyes as we come out of my room.

I haven't seen Gally in nearly a week now. We've obviously been concerned, but now that he's here, I'm horrified to see how he handles Thomas. Who knows where he's been? How he's feeling?

I'm looking between the two of them. Thomas is pushing me, but he's stopped in his tracks and so has Gally. He doesn't look well—even worse than the last time I saw him. But even from far away, I can tell that the old rage isn't there.

Maybe Thomas can tell too, because when I put my hand on top of his on the handle, he doesn't look at me, but he nods. "Yeah, okay," he says quietly.

Gally's got nurses around him, and I wonder what he's out here for. Is he allowed to be with us again? Why the sudden taking him away?

Thomas moves forward towards him and I try to look as normal as I can. I'm not afraid of Gally. I'm afraid of how Gally and Thomas will react to each other.

When we get to where he's standing, Gally is still looking at us.

"Hey, Gally," I speak up first.

I don't need to tell Thomas to join. "Hi," he says from behind me.

Gally blinks a few times. "Hi," he says back to us. If he's surprised we said anything, I wouldn't blame him. Especially coming from Thomas, since their last encounter included Gally pushing him in the road.

Their past is a messy one. If Gally can't forgive Thomas, I'd understand that. But right now, the two of them are important pieces of the puzzle that is TIMI.

This got awkward quickly. Thomas doesn't say anything else, and I can't think of anything. There's no good question to ask.

"Where are you headed?" I ask, inwardly cringing at myself.

"Lunch," Gally says, followed by a cough. Has he been sick?

"Us too," Thomas says.

"Let's go," one of Gally's nurses interjects. I can't help but be thankful for it. Gally's eyes linger on us a moment longer, then he lets himself be escorted down the hall.

"That was..." I start.

"Weird," Thomas finishes the thought for me once it seems like Gally is out of earshot.

"Yeah. Weird," I say. "What do you think the WCKD pill is doing to him? He didn't just rip your head off, but could that be unrelated?"

"I have no idea," Thomas says. "There must be something in common with everyone they're giving it to. Like you and I—we have totally different symptoms. So what is it?"

"I know," I say, as Thomas starts pushing me again. "We need to figure out what that stuff does. Apparently Ava Paige likes what it's doing to Gally, but why the disappearance?"

"We'll figure it out," Thomas says.

The last few days have somewhat flown by. It's the tenth now, which means I've got Janson today, and so does Thomas. We've strategized what I should talk about in therapy, and while I'm nervous, I agreed to do it because the only way out of here is getting better.

Thomas and I have spent nearly all of our time together. We're with Chuck for a lot of it, so that always makes him happy. I've refrained from retreating and being on my own while they're not in a class, and while they are, I write in my journal to give myself something to do. I write about my progress, and I write about the Normals.