The Hooded Girl

Chapter 9: The Building

NEWT'S POV
Rhea is hiding in the shadows. That's for certain. And I might be imagining it but I think Quill is flirting with me. I want to leave for my regular talk with Rhea-or not even a talk, but just being around her where I don't have to put up any false hope for everyone else-but I can't see or hear her.

"Where the shuck is Rhea?" Minho asks.

"She's in here. Trust me," Quill says, flashing me a grin.

I have to admit though, Quill isn't bad looking. She's got short blonde hair and forest green eyes, as well as tanned brown skin. She's at least at my shoulder, the shortest of the girls.

"Where?" Minho looks around, brows furrowing. "She's not a chameleon or something, is she?"

"Unfortunately not." Everyone whirls around to see that Rhea is next to Aris-even though I could swear that she wasn't there before-head tilted towards Minho beneath her hood. Her voice is laced with sarcasm, and it makes my lips curve up slightly.

Aris laughs and places a hand around her shoulder once more. I wonder if those two are more than friends, and the thought of that makes my stomach churn.

"Holy... Where did you come from?" Frypan asks, shooting me a clearly freaked out look.

"I can walk through walls," Rhea says, and I honestly can't tell if she's joking.

Thomas clears his throat uncomfortably. "Did you... did you see him do it?"

Silence fills the space, and we all know what he's talking about. Who that him refers to. I clench my fists to get rid of the sick feeling invading me. A dark cloud passes over us and Rhea stares at Thomas for a while.

"He told me to tell you and he owed you his life for saving him. And to Minho that you shouldn't let your past haunt you," Rhea says, then sighs and looks towards Frypan. "And he told me to tell you that he still hates your food."

Frypan gives a small smile.

I wonder if Winston said anything about me. As if reading my thoughts, Rhea gives me a slight nod, and I wonder what Winston has to say that she doesn't want to say it out in the open.

"So you did," Quill finalises. You did watch as he pulled the trigger.

Rhea nods, toying with the zipper of her jacket. "I couldn't stop him. I would've wanted the same."

Everyone's silent. There's a pressure building up in my head, and I stand up, walking out of the cave. Guilt washes over me, mixing with the anger and frustration that I've been harbouring this entire time. I shouldn't have passed him that gun. Maybe we could've gotten something to help him. Or something.

I stand a distance away from the cave, but even so, Rhea finds me. She stands next to me and watches the sand swirl in the air.

"Hey," she says softly, glancing up at me, her hood tilting back slightly so I can catch a glimpse of her blue eyes. "Is this okay?"

I nod, because Rhea has never made me feel like I have to pretend to be someone else or hold up some false hope for everyone else.

Rhea exhales shakily, crossing her arms over her chest tightly. "Winston wanted me to tell you something too, you know. He wanted me to tell you that the wall was in the past and that you can't let it hurt you anymore," She says, and my eyes widen.

My gratitude that she didn't say this in front of the rest makes me sway slightly. I can't imagine the questions that would have gotten thrown my way, or the way that Minho would probably leave just to not remember.