The Safe Haven

More Questions, No Answers

I found myself wondering the island early in the morning. The sun was shining a sliver of light, leaving a trail of pink and orange hue over the night sky. I found peace when I was unaccompanied, I guess because I had been alone for so long. Of course, I enjoyed the company of all these wonderful people. However, being alone was comfortable for me.
I continued traveling the island, wondering along the shoreline and letting the sand dirty my feet. As I was avoiding to step on the tiny crabs that covered the shoreline, I noticed a large, sharp edged rock pointing out to the sea. It rested just a few feet away from the shoreline, and I didn't hesitate to climb on it. The stone wasn't cold like I expected, but rather warm and comforting. Sitting there and entranced with how the sea created a perfect replica of the shining sun, I didn't hear the footsteps.

"Mind if I join?" Asked a familiar voice.

I turned around to see Newt and his rambunctious hair. Its layers were tossed about his head, like he just had woken up. I covered my mouth to quiet my laughter, but I couldn't help myself to blush at the sight of him. He looked rather dashing to me with messy hair.

"How did you find me?" I asked as he settled himself next to me.

"I didn't get much sleep, as you can tell," He said, gesturing to his entire self," I saw you leave your bed."

"So you're following me now!" I joked.

He laughed cheekily as he ran a hand through his hair nervously. I reassured him by giving him a gentle kiss to his warm cheek before looking back to the masterpiece unfolding before me. I felt Newt's hand wrap around my own, causing me to look at him, knowing something was wrong.

"You like it here?" He asked with worry.

"So far. It's definitely better than where we were before."

Newt nodded in agreement, but something was still bugging him.

"Newt, tell me what's wrong."

He sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. "I feel terrible. It's almost like I regret coming here." He stopped to look at me for any signs of..anything I guess. But I was expressionless, I wanted to hear what he had to say. He started again, this time he kissed my palm gently and rubbed the spot where he laid his lips. "Last night, Thomas told me some things. What he said made me think.."

"It's okay Newt," I said reassuringly," You can tell me."

He took a deep breathe before continuing," He told me he had images of me dying, over and over again. It just made me think..What if I wasn't supposed to live?"

Oh no. He couldn't really think that, not Newt. I could feel the lump in my throat start to grow, but I held it back, not wanting to worry him. I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me, how much I cared for him. I wanted to tell him that I couldn't live without him. He needed to know that he was cared for and that people needed him. Thomas needs him. I need him. I wanted so badly to tell him that I loved him. But I chose not to, instead I said," Maybe we all weren't meant to be here. Some of us any way, but we're the lucky ones. And we can't regret that because we fought to be here."
Newt looked away from me, but still had a tight grip on my hand. I turned his head, with my free hand, to face me. His dark eyes were almost glowing a dark red from the sun hitting them.

"You deserve to live Newt. Thomas can't live without you and neither can I. If you can't see that well..," I paused, looking for the right word and remembering what Newt had called me once," If you can't see that then you're just a shank!"

I earned a giant grin from Newt as I used his word against him. To my dismay, he jumped off the rock and landing in the water with a big splash. Before I could question his choice, his long arm reached into the water, bringing it up and splashing the salty water all over me. I jolted back only to feel the rock leave from behind me and splashing into the sea below. I stood up from the water and could only hear Newt laughing loudly at my mistake. My body was completely drenched. In redemption, I moved to Newt and collided into him. He instantly fell into the water with a giant sploosh.

"Take that!" I exclaimed.

I proudly placed my hands on my hips and showed myself off to nobody. But in my moment of victory I felt my legs fall from beneath me and I fell into the water again. Newts laugh erupted into the air, but stopped abruptly and I felt his wet hands touch the burn on my neck.

"We need to clean this Nora." He said with obvious concern.

Newt and I strolled back to the camp, everyone was starting their day with random tasks. As we neared the edge of the camp the asian boy, Minho, was happily walking directly to us.

"Nice to see your shuck faces!" He greeted, ruffling Newts already messy, damp hair. "Ready to start some chores?"

"I'd be happy to, but Nora needs medical attention." Newt said, gesturing to myself.

"Damn, nasty burn." Minho winced at the site of my ear. I quickly covered my ear with my free hand, trying not to disgust anyone else.

"Minho! That's rude." Newt protested.

Minho only shrugged and whisked away Newt to an older man named Vince. Minho led me to some sort of shack built into a tree on the edge of the woods. It was close enough to the camp to hear the mumbles of people's voices, and to see Newt working hard. His skin gleamed with sweat as he tirelessly worked under the beaming sun. I watched Newt as Minho began applying some cream on my tender skin, every so often I would wince as he touched a sensitive spot. As he was finishing applying the cream I could feel him hovering over my shoulder, and he laughed, I guess to himself but it was obviously towards me.

"What's so funny?" I asked defensively.

He waved his hand and said,"Nothing shank. I can just tell you have an eye on somebody."

I felt my cheeks heat up immensely, and I quickly looked away from Newt.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to play it off. Newt had to know I liked him, he kissed me after all.

"All I'm saying is you're drooling." Minho laughed most of what he said, but I got the idea.

"Yeah? So what. I like him. He's the best damn thing in this world right now and I don't want to give it up." I paused to look at Minho, who was now very serious. "Not right now, anyway."

Minho grabbed a cloth and a bandaged and sat sound next to me. We both stayed silent, I guess because there was nothing else to say. But Minho had proved me wrong.

"I'm not teasing you. I'm just..glad. He looks a lot happier, not that he wasn't before. But things were chaotic for the past few years until now."

We both faced each other now, I was curious to know more.

"What happened? Before he met me?" I asked, playing with a blade of grass.

Minho huffed and scratched the back of his neck, I guess to recollect his memory. But it almost seemed like he was hesitant to say something, and I definitely wanted to know.

"It's a long story, I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear about it."

"Well, what about Newt?" I asked.

"That shank? He surely isn't an open book." He playfully said. I shoved him a little, trying to get a serious answer out of him. "Okay, he's..well he's Newt. You can trust him with anything, and he's loyal and kind.."

Minho stopped, as if something had blocked his path of thought. But he soon realized that I was still listening. "A long time ago, he was broken. I'm just happy to see that he's happy."

A long time ago, he was broken. I wanted to know more, but Newt was headed to where Minho and I were sitting. I decided I would ask about it later, when I could ask as many questions as I could muster.

"I see you guys have done nothing but sit on your asses." Newt said.

"Ah, I was fixing your girlfriend over here." Minho said, gesturing to me. I couldn't tell if Newts face was red from Minho's comment or the blistering sun, but he definitely looked appalled.

"I'm messing with you slinthead!" Minho exclaimed, giving Newt a pat. "Let's go get you something to eat."

Newt sighed in relief and turned to face me. "Hungry?" He asked.

"Yes." I said, remembering that food had existed, and my stomach rumbled loudly at the thought.