Stay With Me

23

The rest of the night was spent tossing and turning and waking up in a cold sweat. Minho was always there to comfort you and put you back to sleep. You dozed off as he caressed your hair and left small kisses on your forehead.
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It was uncomfortably cold in the room. You we sat upright in your bed. At least, you thought it was your bed. It was too quiet, the old wooden walls of the house didn't have the familiar creak to them.

You pulled away the sheets and gingerly stepped out of bed. Where were you? This couldn't be the homestead, could it? And if it was the homestead, why was it so quiet? You made you way around the bed to the small window.

You couldn't see anyone outside or hear anyone working. Where were your friends? The other gladers? Minho?

You could feel the dull sense of calm you had felt when you rode into the Glade in the box settle over you. You didn't mind, it was better than panicking. Slowly, you made your way to the door. Slowly you turned the handle. Slowly you pulled it open. When the wooden slab was completely open and the hallway was revealed to you, so was the girl. She stood in front of you with her hand outstretched, like she was reaching for a doorknob.

She stared at you with a look in your eyes you couldn't quite name. It was a mixture of sadness and fear. Something like disbelief, but not quite.

She moved slowly. Everything moved so slowly here, as if normal movements would shatter the person making them.

She placed her hands on either side of your face, creasing her brows. She touched your cheeks, your nose, your eyebrows, your shoulders. Inspecting you.

Finally, her eyes met yours again, and you found comfort within them. You knew her. Of course you knew her, she was your best friend. And this was your room, and this was the Glade. You smiled slightly at her.

Her voice shook as she spoke, her eyes glistening with tears but her mouth set in a wide grin.

"Eliza?" She asked. The name was familiar. You knew it was yours, even though it couldn't be. Your name was Y/N. But you nodded anyway.

She wrapped her arms around you in a tight embrace. You felt your own eyes well up with tears as she sobbed in your arms. You weren't sad. But you knew you couldn't stay. She mumbled repeatedly into your shoulder.

"You're back, you're back..."

You smiled against the fabric of her jacket and whispered her name, your best friend in the entire world's name. The sound of it sweet on your tongue, a word you hadn't said in a while. A word only your heart remembered.

"Sonya."
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You woke up from the dream confused and scared. Minho rolled over in your bed and put his arms back around you. You didn't wake him up or try to fall back asleep this time. Your brain was awake, and you were horrified by the things you knew were yet to come.
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You went about your day in a daze, like a fog was wrapped around your brain. You hardly spoke and you barely acknowledged your friends or the other gladers at all.

Minho had been forced to stay in the Glade today, the keepers were having a gathering to discuss the new girl. He hadn't seen you for a while, not since you woke up for work that morning. So he hadn't had the time to notice that your eyes were cloudy and your expression was vacant.

Frypan was busy with the keepers, so you were on your own in the kitchen, your only company being your thoughts.

You knew too much and had nobody to tell it to. Chuck walked into the kitchen to grab a snack. He waved at you and you absentmindedly returned the greeting.