Bad Dreams | Newt x Reader

Chapter 102- How to Save the Unsaveable?

Newt's POV

I tugged my brown jacket closer to myself, glancing nervously around the deserted park. The moon peeked through the clouds above, allowing enough visibility that I would be able to see Cranks coming. Alone on a rusted metal park bench, I felt exposed and vulnerable. Exactly the image Harvey wanted me to appear as. Hesitant steps on the gravel drew me to look up. 

Her arms were folded across her middle defensively, her footsteps slow. She wore all black, a testament to her identity as the Wraith. Beneath her hood, the distant city lights gleamed in her eyes.

Something like shock dissolved a part of the soul aching misery ebbing away in my chest. "You came."

"I was bored," she answered cruelly, face unreadable as I flinched.

"Can we talk?" I placed my hand on the bench next to me. "Just for a little while?"

Slowly, the Wraith took a seat at the opposite end to the bench. Almost self consciously, she smoothed her palms on her jeans. The sleeve of her jacket rode up, revealing a new scar on her wrist in line with the other three. "About what?"

"I'm sorry—"

"So everyone keeps saying," snapped the Wraith, her head turning sharply to glare at me. "Y/n is gone. The sooner you accept it the better for both of us. I'm sick of you damn fools trying to wake the dead."

I swallowed and risked inching closer. "Ever since you left, I lay away at night thinking about what I could have done to change the outcome of you leaving. Everything I could have done that could have possibly helped you. Being there for you, making sure I was there to defend you from their horrible comments, making sure you knew that at least one person cared deeply about you."

The Wraith only stared off into the distance. Words erupted in a torrent from her. "You're jealous of Élliot. You can't handle the idea of anyone else having Y/n. The second she began to run to him, you knew it."

"If anything, I'm glad he is there for you. He has your back no matter what."

The Wraith scoffed, folding her arms tightly across her stomach. "You wouldn't have her back now. Your morality is too strong for the blood on my hands." The Wraith glanced down at them. "What, seven hundred people? Hardly anything compared to what I have planned."

I shook my head, inching closer again until there was only a person width between us. "I would and I always will. None of this is her fault."

"It was her weakness that pushed her over the edge. She is a shadow of my power."

I shook my head, my eyes beginning to burn. "She was so strong to resist you for as long as she did. If anyone bears the blame, it's the Right Arm, including myself. And Wicked of course. So many horrible things have happened to her. I would have given up long before she did. I know no one stronger than her. None of this is her fault, she's a victim."

"No, she isn't. It doesn't matter anyway, she is gone."

I moved closer again until there was little space between us. "Do you know why I fell in love with her?"

The Wraith lowered her eyes to the ground. 

"Because she was magnetic in every way. She was good, her strength and joy were contagious and inspiring. She could brighten anyone's day. She made me forget all the bad, even for a little while. She protected me and helped me become a better person." I could no longer contain the tears, letting them spill down my cheeks. "And I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for hurting her."

The Wraith's lip wobbled and she drew in a breath.

Hope seized my heart. Somewhere deep in there was Y/n. I knew how to help her.

Carefully, I reached out and offered my hand. I let her come to me and gently interlace our fingers as we had done so many times before. Her hand began to shake violently until I wondered whether she would pull away. She didn't.

"Do you know what happened to the other man in Harvey's story? The one who hurt her and pushed her towards the villain? She killed him."

I squeezed her hand lightly, revelling in the rightness of it. "You're not going to hurt me. It's okay."

"No, it isn't." Tears had begun to trickle down her cheeks. Slowly, the Wraith leaned towards me until her head was against my shoulder. With one of my arms, I held her close to me and with the other, went for the needle hidden behind me.

"Everything's going to be okay," I whispered in her hair. "You'll be okay. I'm here."

Burford had shown me how to use it. All I had to do was jab it in the exposed skin on the back of her neck, inject her with the drug and pray she wouldn't turn on me.

A quiet, strangled whimper left her, cracking my bleeding heart. 

I hesitated. There was a very real chance she would take this as a betrayal, and that would shatter whatever was left of us.

"I'm sorry," I whispered again and felt her nod weakly. I pressed my lips to her forehead.

Her teary eyes were all I could see as she drew back. A spike of alarm shot through me and I focused on her mouth instead. Her heavy breathing filled my ears, she sucked in a deep breath and buried her face in my shoulder again.

"Forgive me," I whispered and jabbed the needle into her neck.

The Wraith jerked back but it was too late, the needle was empty. Raw betrayal cloaked her face. She stumbled to her feet, dazed and eyes fever bright. "What the hell was that?" 

I dropped the needle and rose to my feet. "Y/n?"

"No," the Wraith answered, her face falling entirely blank. "I already told you. She is gone. All that's left is me. Well done, Newt, you tricked me."

With a whisper, shadows swallowed her and she disappeared.