It's been circa a week since I told Thomas everything. He often tries to cheer me up and it works. It feels better when he knows everything. This way he understands my decisions and stuff.
Thomas is perfect as a boyfriend. He often just kisses my out of nowhere, like in the most random situations. He just comes up to me and kisses me. I'm not complaining though.
James sometimes did weird stuff. One time he came into the bathroom and pressed me against a wall without saying anything. I was so afraid, I couldn't even move. He kissed my neck that day and than I had to hide a mark for three days.
I don't talk to anyone about it. He said he would hurt someone if I do. And I completely believe him. Thomas seems to notice that something is wrong but he doesn't know what to do because I don't tell him.
Tomorrow the box will come up and there's gonna be a new greenie. I hope it'll be a girl. But maybe James will do the same to her. No I want it to be a boy.
Besides James everything is pretty good at the moment. Thomas treats me like I'm a princess or something. It's nice. Newt, Jeff and Minho are great too. I spent a lot of time with them.
I don't do the biting anymore because Thomas would see it and I don't want him to worry. I really love him.
"A penny for your thoughts?" says Newt, sitting beside me on our wooden log.
"You don't have a penny, but sure. I was thinking about the new greenie. If it's a boy or a girl."
"I think it's going to be a boy. But another girl would be great."
"Yeah. And I hope the creators will send me a few clothes in my size and other stuff I need."
"Secretly you like to wear Thomas's clothes." Newt grins at me.
"Maybe." I smile back at him.
Thomas won't be here when the new greenie arrives. He and Minho are in the maze tomorrow. If the greenie's a girl I'm gonna be there for her. Maybe we'll become friends. That would be great.
I don't remember what being friends with a girl feels like. Guy friends are nice. I can't imagine a person nicer than Newt and Jeff. And Thomas of course. Minho can be nice too.
"Where's Thomas?"
"Shouldn't you know that?" Newt answers.
"Well I don't."
"Maybe he's with Minho."
"And where's Minho?"
"With Gally I think." Gally hates Thomas. And Thomas hates Gally.
"There's no chance Thomas is with Gally, Newt."
"You're right." Newt snickers.
I stand up and reach out my hand for him to take so I can help him stand up.
"Thanks." Newt says.
"Let's go find Thomas." I say. I'm not that kind of girlfriend that always has to know where her boyfriend is. I think privacy is important. But I haven't seen Thomas all day and I'm bored.
We find him helping Zart in the garden. Minho is also there, not with Gally. But he's just sitting there and talking to Thomas, while Thomas is really working.
"Hey Thomas, Minho." I wave at them as we come closer.
"Hey princess, how does it feel to not be the greenie anymore in a day?" Minho yells back at me.
"Great." I say before I go to Thomas and kiss him shortly. "Hi." I whisper. "Hi." He responds smiling at me.
Newt and Minho are discussing something and I sit down next to my boyfriend and help him with the plants.
Even in my head it's still funny to call him my boyfriend. I always have to grin when I say it out loud.
"Ruby could you help me with the fertiliser in the tool shed? There are small hands needed to open the box." a voice behind me asks in a kind tone.
But I know nothing about him is nice.
"Sure James." I tell the boy and stand up. What could I possibly say?
Newt looks at James suspiciously and than exchanges a glance with Thomas.
James and I walk over to the shed. He's the reason why I avoid the gardens. The others don't know that.
A week ago James came up to our group table and said sorry for the bonfire thing. He said he had been drunk that day.
After we left dinner that day, he came up to me and touched me.
He said sorry infront of the others so that they let him be alone with me anytime.
The shed is far away from the place where the boys are. It's full of tools and boxes. But there's a small part of the wall without any shelves. And to this wall I'm getting pressed against.
"Now that we are alone, Ruby, did you miss me?" James face is close to mine and he grins.
I don't answer him. It wouldn't help. He could do anything right now and that scares me to hell.
"Not so talkative today? No problem, I wasn't planning on talking anyway." his hands wander down my chest to my waist.
"Please don't." Is all I can say. My breaths become faster and tears are rolling down my face.
He kisses me. Not soft like Thomas. Hungrily. I try to push him away by his chest but he only tightens his grip on me.
I wish I could tell anyone. But James would hurt them. They are my friends, I don't want them to get hurt.
He kisses down my neck. His hands press against my hips tightly and it hurts.
I don't know what he'll do. Nobody's gonna notice. Nobody will help me.
But the others will notice that we are not coming back eventually. James said he just needs me to open a box.
James lips kiss mine again. He forces his tongue into my mouth and I try to push him away more desperate.
Suddenly the door is being opened. I hear people storm into the shed. In a second James is being pushed away from me. Arms wrap around my body and press me against their chest.
I recognise Newts smell. He caresses my back to calm me down. A few meters in front of me are Thomas, Minho and James.
Thomas pushes James against a wall again and again. Minho and him are saying something to him. I can't hear it.
Thomas punches James. He falls onto the ground by the impact. Then Minho punches him.
I advert my gaze and cry into Newts shirt. He slowly stands up with me in his arms and we leave the shed.
We walk to the bathroom and Newt sits me down against a wall.
I calm down enough to look at him. His expression is filled with concern and anger. The second thing probably not towards me.
He doesn't ask me if I'm okay, he probably knows I'm not.
"Did he physically hurt you?" he asks me in a stern voice.
I lift my shirt a bit and we see weird coloured hand prints on my waist. Newt gasps. "Shit." Is all he says.
"You have to see a medjack."
"Jeff." I say weakly. I only want Jeff to see this. Not Clint. It's private.
"Okay we'll go to Jeff."
-
"Who did this?" Jeff asks us. He's concerned. We never had something like this. Not that he knows of.
"James." Newt answers him, with clenched teeth.
Jeff looks at me shocked. I avoid his eye contact.
Before he can ask anything else, Thomas and Minho come storming into the hut. Thomas is beside me in a second, wearing a worried expression.
He helps me lay down on the bed. When Jeff lifts my shirt, Thomas sees the blue handprints. His eyes widen in shock.
"Fuck! I'm gonna kill him." he stands up but Newt stops him with a hand on his chest.
"Don't Thomas. He'll get his punishment."
Thomas reluctantly walks back again. He takes my hand and cups my face with the other one.
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let him alone with you. I-"
"No, It's not your fault Thomas. It's not like this was the first time." Oh. I shouldn't have said that. The boys faces fall. Everyone looks at me shocked.
"What?" Thomas voice is just a whisper.
"I- sorry. He threatened me to hurt someone. I couldn't tell you."
"Oh god, Ruby." Newt says, he looks so sad it makes me want to hug him.
Thomas takes me into his arms. I let a few tears fall onto his shoulder.
I look at Minho, Jeff and Newt behind him. I realise that I could have told them. They would have understood.
I don't even notice how exhausted I am, till I fall asleep in Thomas arms.
-
"Wake up Princess, it's greenie day." a voice pulls me out of my sleep.
"Shut up Minho, I don't care." I answer him, with my eyes still closed.
"Fine, but you're gonna miss it and it only happens every month."
"It's morning Minho. The box comes up after lunch. And shouldn't you be running?" I finally open my eyes.
Minho is so close to my face that I yelp.
"Minho!"
"I switched places with another runner. I don't wanna miss the second girl."
I scoff. "But Thomas is running right?"
"Don't worry, you're the only girl that matters to your boyfriend."
"Aw Minho. That was nice." I look at him surprised.
"Why do you act so surprised? I am nice."
"Of course. Tell that to yourself until you believe it."
"Are you coming now?"
"Yes I'm coming."
"Great."
-
"Hey Newt." Minho and I stand next to Newt. The gladers are all standing around the box.
"Hey Rue, how are you feeling?"
Great. I haven't thought about James till now.
"I'm alright. Uh, what happened to James?" I hope he's not walking around like nothing happened.
Newts face darkenes "He's in the slammer, but not much longer. We'll banish him at sundown."
"Oh." He's getting banished. Because of me.
Minho sees my expression "He deserves it Princess."
I nod at him.
"When is the box coming up?"
"It's already there. Will open any moment." Newt answers my question.
I look down at the box. And it opens. Slowly I get a better look at the inside.
There is someone. It's not a girl. The boy is shielding his eyes from the sun. He has brown hair.
"Goddamnit. Now I have to run two days in a row and it's not even a girl." I hear Minho complaining beside me.
I watch the boy interested. He slowly takes his hands away and looks up at us.
Gally jumps down and helps the boy out of the box. As soon as he's out I jump in and search for anything with my name on it.
There it is. A small wooden box. My name is written in black letters.
I take the box and disappear into the bathroom after saying a short 'bye' to my friends.
In the box are a few t-shirts, two pants, underwear, tampons and a letter.
Wait. A letter?
I take the piece of paper and slowly open it.
Dear Ruby,
if you and the others want to live, come to the blades tomorrow at 12 am. The runners know where they are. Pack up food and water. We probably won't need any weapons but just take some in case. Don't show this letter to anyone unless you are inside a room. Wicked's watching you. I hope you can convince as many gladers as possible. Be careful and don't act suspicious. Trust me.
Please be safe
A good friend
What? Why me? How do I tell the others. Who do I tell first? A good friend?
It's past lunchtime. I'll wait for Thomas to come back. I'll tell him, Newt, Minho and Jeff first. They'll know what to do.
I hide the letter at the bottom of the box and put it under my hammock.
Now I just have to wait.
-
After I told Minho, Newt and Jeff to meet me in the homestead in 15 minutes, I waited at the maze doors for Thomas.
When I see him I wave him over. He quickly says something to the other runner and joggs over to me. Before I can explain the situation to him, he kisses me with his hand in my hair.
I kiss him back but after a second I break the kiss and hold eye contact.
"Hey darling, what's up?" he notices my stern expression.
"I have to show you something. In the homestead."
"Uh okay, what do you wanna show me?"
"Surprise." I just say. The person from the letter told me wicked is watching. I can't say anything suspicious.
Luckily Thomas follows me into the homestead without another word. I close the door behind us and take the letter out of the box.
"We can talk now, they can't watch us in here." I give him the letter.
"Who's they?" He takes the letter and frowns at me.
"Just read the letter, okay." I don't know what to say. He will understand when he saw the letter.
"Okay."
I watch his expression change while he reads it. The frown on his face deepens.
When he finishes I can't read his expression.
"Do you know where the blades are?" I ask him.
"Yes I know, that's not the problem."
"What is the problem?"
"We don't know if we can trust this person. And trust me when I tell you that most of the gladers won't believe someone who works with the creators."
"No Thomas we don't know that. It could be a spy or something. Someone who wants to help us."
"There has to be another way."
"What if this is our only chance?"
"I don't know Ruby, but how do you explain that to the others?"
The door is being opened.
"Trouble in paradise?" Minho walks in, followed by Newt and Jeff.
I give Thomas a last look before I take the letter, give it to Newt and close the door.
"I found this in the box with supplies for me. Read it."
The three boys read the letter and look from Thomas to me and back.
"Ruby is right, we should do what the person says. It might be our only chance." Thomas then says. He looks at me and forms the word 'sorry' with his mouth.
I smile at him. I'm glad he changed his mind.
"We have to hold a gathering." Newt announces. "In here. Ruby and Jeff, go get Alby and the other keepers.
Jeff and I walk out of the homestead and search for Alby, Zart, Winston, Gally, Fry and the others I can't remember.
-
"If we can trust this person, there is no other way we can get out of here alive." Alby says to the other keepers.
The last 15 minutes we discussed the letter and if we should listen to it. Most of the keepers want to go tomorrow. Gally and another boy ,I don't recognise, are against leaving.
"It could be a trap, Alby! We can't risk our lives." Gally tries to convince Alby.
"If we never risk something we won't ever get out of here." Thomas responds to Gallys argument.
"Yeah of course You want to go, Thomas. First you run into the maze and break the rules, now you want us all to go in there!"
"Gally, that has nothing to do with this. Besides Ruby found the letter, not Thomas." Newt defends Thomas.
"So now we are trusting the girl?" Gally points into my direction angrily.
"Leave her out of this, Gally!" Thomas aggressively says.
They really do hate eachother.
"Look, I just want us to survive. If the creators want us dead, they can just kill us. Why would they send me a letter?" I take a step towards Gally.
"I don't trust you! You are probably one of them and now you are trying to get us into the maze!" Gally takes one step forward too. There is only one meter left between us.
"You're just scared! I'm trying to help you. People will die if you don't let me help!"
In a second he pushes me and I fall to the ground, hitting my head on the floor.
I hear loud voices from above me. Now they are completely out of control. And I probably have a headache tomorrow.
I hear the door being opened aggressively. Then I see Thomas bending down and helping me up.
"Are you okay? Jeff come over here!" Thomas watches me worried.
"I'm okay, I'm fine." I tell Thomas and Jeff.
Thomas doesn't seem very convinced but he helps me stand and we walk over to Newt and Alby.
After I assure everyone that I'm fine, they tell me that a few gladers won't leave with us. It's because of Gally.
Alby tells Thomas to go and map the maze because the creators would get suspicious if he doesn't.
I keep him company and sit against the wall of the map room, while he draws the maze.
I watch him as he draws. A few strands of hair are hanging in his forehead. He looks pretty.
After a moment he looks up "Darling, I can't concentrate like this."
I don't advert my gaze instead I smile at him playfully.
He stops mapping and lays down his block. I feel butterflies in my stomach and get slightly nervous. Without saying anything he walks over to me, knees down and kisses me.
I react fast and bury my hands in his hair, while I push my body against his.
Because it's hard to kiss in this position we switch places so that he sits leaning against the wall. He motions for me to sit on his lap and I do.
His hands are somewhere between by thighs and my hips as he pulls his knees up, so that I'm being pushed against his chest more.
When the kiss becomes more intense, I hold on to his shoulders to steady myself. His grip on my hips tightens and I press stronger against him.
The kiss is passionate and I can't get enough of it. He obviously can't either.
We have to interrupt the kiss eventually because we need to breathe properly. When we part he looks up at me dreamily.
"I love you, you know." he tells me, smiling softly while holding eye contact.
"I know Thomas, I love you too."
A/n:
This chapter is longer because I couldn't stop myself from writing the kissing scene hsaha
I'm excited for them to leave the maze ahh
xx