Thomas's POV
Ever since we got to the Safe Haven, I've noticed that everyone was a lot happier. We were slowly rebuilding, making sure to keep everyone safe. People were smiling, laughing, running around. It was almost like everything was back to normal.
Everything but me.
It seemed as if everyone else had moved on. But I couldn't. Every night, I lay awake thinking about Newt. There was never a night I didn't think of him.
I sighed as I kicked off my blanket and stood up, careful not to wake up anyone else in the hut. I stepped outside and took a deep breath. As I started to walk through camp, I thought I heard crying.
I walked slower, paying more attention to the soft whimpers. I followed the noise to one of the huts for female maze survivors. I peaked inside, instantly finding the source.
In the corner, there was a girl, tossing and turning. My heart sank as I heard her mumble incoherent words as she continued to toss and turn. I jumped away from the window when she quickly sat up. I held my breath, still hiding as I waited to see what she would do.
I peaked back into the hut to see her pull her knees up to her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. I was tempted to go in and comfort her, but I realized how creepy that would be. It was already creepy that I was watching her. If I went inside the hut, I'd creep all the girls out.
I waited for her to lay back down, but she showed no signs of going back to sleep. After I decided it was officially cross the line that I was still watching her, I headed back to my hut.
I laid back down, but couldn't stop thinking about that girl.
* * * * *
The next morning, I was walking to breakfast when I saw the girl from last night. She had bags under her eyes, her hair was tossed to the side, and her arms were wrapped tightly around herself. I noticed how she always kept a few feet between her and the other girls.
I continued to watch throughout breakfast to see she was barely eating. When I looked closer, it was as if she has barely eaten anything since she got here. Her clothes were baggy and you could tell she had lost too much weight, too quickly.
"Thomas?"
I jumped when I felt Minho kick my foot under the table. I looked over to see Minho, Frypan, and Brenda watching me.
"You okay?" Brenda asked.
"Yeah," I stuttered. "I'm fine. Just didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I guess."
Frypan and Brenda went back to talking about a new group of people Vince had brought in, but Minho was still watching me. I sent him a reassuring smile before going back to slowly eating my breakfast, continually sending the girl soft glances.
I couldn't help but watch the girl. She never spoke to anyone, but she hung out with some of the girls from one of the other mazes. When my curiosity got the better of me, I found Sonya.
"Hey," I said, pulling her away from her job of gardening. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure," she shrugged as she stood up, wiped her hands on her pants, and followed me.
We walked a few steps away from the gardens so no one would overhear us. "Everything okay?" She asked when she saw the look on my face.
"Yeah," I said, reaching up and scratching the back of my neck. "I need to ask you kind of a weird question." I cleared my throat when she nodded for me to continue.
"Who is that?"
Sonya followed my finger, a small smile forming when her eyes landed on the girl.
"That's Y/N," she said, turning back towards me. "I don't know much about her."
"Wait, she wasn't in the maze with you guys?"
"Nope," Sonya sighed. "I heard she wasn't in any of the mazes. She's been with Vince all this time. I'm not sure how he found her, but he seems pretty protective of her. The whole time we've been with them, Y/N hasn't said a thing to anyone. The only person who talks to her is Vince. I honestly don't think I've ever seen her eat either. The only other thing I know about her is the fact that she has nightmares. Every night."
When I didn't say anything, Sonya shrugged and walked away. I sighed as I looked over at Y/N before finally turning and walking the other way.
* * * * *
I was struggling to fall asleep when I thought I heard someone walk past the hut. I sat up and quietly got out of bed. I peaked my head out the door, my breath getting stuck in my throat when I saw Y/N's retreating form walking down to the beach.
I started to follow her, slowly catching up to her. I bit my lip, suddenly aware of how creepy this was when she sat down on a fallen tree trunk. I started walking slower until I caught up to her. I hesitated and finally decide to clear my throat when I was standing a few feet from her in hopes of not scaring her.
I felt guilty when she jumped at my sudden appearance.
"Hi," I said awkwardly. I reached up and scratched the back of my head. "I'm Thomas. Do you mind if I sit by you?"
"Umm, sure," she stuttered. I smiled before sitting down not too close to her. She eyed me before turning away and watching the waves.
I thought about the different ways I could start a conversation, trying to decide how best to approach it. Instead of thinking it through, I did the next best thing.
"You have nightmares," I blurted.
She looked over at me with wide eyes. I bit my lip, instantly feeling like a complete creep.
"How did you. . ." She stuttered.
"I was walking by the other day and. . . And I heard you."
"Oh," she said under her breath, looking away with red cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Y/N." I sighed. "I didn't mean to freak you out. I just. . . I thought. . . I actually don't know what I thought."
"How did you know my name?" She asked softly.
"I asked Sonya about you."
I watched as Y/N slowly smiled. Her cheeks turned red the longer I stared at her. She quickly looked away, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
We sat there, neither one of us saying a word, as the sun started to rise.
After a little, I tore my eyes away from the waves and looked over at Y/N. I studied her profile as she continued watching the waves. Her cheeks were sunken in, she had bags under her eyes and her eyes were glossy.
"How long has it been since you've slept?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"I can't remember the last time I slept normally or throughout the night." She said, her voice sounding dry and emotionless.
"Really? How come?"
"Do you remember much about your life before the Maze?" She asked instead of answering my question.
"No," I stuttered. "Not really. I mean, mainly just flashes."
"You're lucky," she sighed. "I remember everything. I remember when the Flare hit my town. I remember who it got first and who it got last. I remember when my dad came home from work with it. . ."
Her voice broke as tears built up. I wanted to reach over and comfort her, but I hesitated. Instead, I sat and listened.
"I remember how weird he was acting. He was already half-gone by the time he had gotten home. He was trying to fight it or at least trying to stop himself long enough for us to get away. We didn't."
She closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath. I was about to tell her it was okay, that she didn't need to keep going, but she spoke up before I could.
"Next thing I knew, my mom was infected. She then infected my brother who infected his twin. They infected my younger sisters. It all happened in less than ten minutes."
She finally opened her eyes but didn't look at me. She continued to watch the sunrise as she finished her story.
"I did the only thing I could think of. I ran downstairs to our safe room my dad had built when all this started. I lost track of how long I was locked in the basement, my family upstairs. I didn't dare open the door. I was too scared."
She took a shaky breath as her expression slowly started to change. "Then, one day, someone knocked. I hesitated to open the door, but I eventually did when the person told me it was safe. That's how I met Vince. He and his group were searching neighborhoods for survivors when they saw that my house was the only one in the area that had power. After they found me, they brought me back here to their camp. Vince saved my life that day."
I didn't say anything as I let that all sink in. Her family turned and she was stuck in their basement for who knows how long. . . No wonder she has nightmares.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered, not sure what else to say. She cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably. "I didn't mean to. . . I was just. . . I'm sorry, Y/N."
"It's okay," she sighed.
I finally reached over, surprised when she didn't pull away as I grabbed her hand. I smiled as she was the one to intertwine our fingers.
"You're safe," I whispered, squeezing her hand slightly. I wasn't sure what else to say, so I didn't. I glanced at her before going back to watching the waves.
We watched the sunrise, hand-in-hand, neither one of us saying a word. As the sun raised over the mountains, I could hear the camp slowly start to wake up. I knew I should go and help get ready for the day, but I didn't want to leave Y/N.
I was surprised when she spoke up as the camp got louder.
"Thank you, Thomas," she whispered. "I know we're safe here, I just. . . No one's made the effort to help me other than Vince."
I smiled when she looked over at me. "Well," I said, squeezing her hand. "Now you've got me."