Divided // The Death Cure [Book 3]

Epilogue

"Hi, Newt," I said, sitting down next to the tombstone Thomas and I had put in the dunes a few years back. My hand rested on my five-month-pregnant belly as I started to tell my best friend about my day. 

"So it was Aly's sixth birthday yesterday. I can't believe how it's been six years already. It feels like yesterday that I woke up in the Maze. Do you still remember what you first said when you came out of the Box? 'Cause I do." I laughed shortly. 

"Anyway, Charlie did this adorable thing the other day that I just have to tell you about. I was in our cabin, folding the laundry and he came in and began to help. He just grabbed a shirt and tried to fold it. It wasn't any good but he's never done that before! I don't think Aly ever did that when she was Charlie's age. He's so smart, Newt." I sighed, resting my head on the trunk of the tree I was sitting against. Minho had planted it shortly after we had placed the tombstone. It had been a small sapling at first, but now, it had grown out into a beautiful tall tree. 

Thomas, Aly, Charlie -our four-year-old son-, and I had often sat under the tree during the summer. It was close to the beach so the kids could go play and my husband and I could watch them from under the tree. 

Things hadn't always been good these past six years. The year that followed Newt's death had been hard on everyone. We had lost a great friend in a tragic way that I thought I could never overcome. I barely slept and when I did, I woke up screaming or crying. Thomas had been there for me through it all, and Aly had been my lighthouse. Her innocence and happiness had guided me through all the darkness and eventually, after a year, I realised I wanted another child. 

I talked to Thomas about it and he immediately agreed, confessing he wanted nothing more than to experience pregnancy with me. I realised then that he had missed the majority of my first pregnancy. He had missed the first kicks, the ultrasounds, the talking about baby names and our baby's future. And most importantly, he had missed the birth. 

I would never blame him for that considering the circumstances, but it made me so much more excited to get pregnant again. And it didn't take long either. 

Thomas had loved every aspect of it, even getting up early in the morning to take care of Aly while I was puking my insides into the toilet. He had been so excited when I told him about the first kicks of our unborn child and he had spent countless evenings with his hands on my stomach just waiting for the baby to kick. And they did, so many times.

We had talked about baby names for hours. We knew we wanted to name them after someone we lost, and Thomas had opted that we'd name them after Chuck. I instantly agreed, and soon, we came up with Charlie. It resembled Chuck's name, but it was still different. We didn't have to come up with a girl's name since it could be a name for either gender. 

And now, Charlie was four years old and Aly had just turned six, and I was pregnant with our third child. It hadn't been planned, but I was over the moon to have another member added to the family. 

Aly had been the first child of her generation, but it hadn't taken long for another one to follow. Emily and Gally had started dating and about six months after that, Emily had gotten pregnant with their son, Alben. He was named after both Alby and Ben.

Marissa and Minho had ended up together as well, they had gotten married a while ago but they didn't want to have kids. Instead, they had taken it upon themselves to take care of the orphan children that lived in Safe Haven. I highly admired them for it. 

After all these years, Kasey had become the younger sister I never had and I loved her to death. She and Frypan had dated for a short while, but they had broken up on good terms, realising they were better off as friends. And that's exactly what they were. 

"Hey, babe," a voice woke me up from my thoughts and I looked up, finding Thomas approaching me with a smile on his lips. He had grown a scruffy beard and his hair was slightly longer than it used to be, but every time our eyes locked, I still saw those honey-brown eyes I fell in love with in the Glade all those years back. 

"Hi," I grinned as he sat down next to me. He interlocked our fingers as they rested on my thigh. "You okay?" 

"Yeah, I just missed you," he smoothly said and I giggled, nestling my head in the crook of his neck. 

"Where are the kids?" I questioned softly while I watched as the sun began to set in the far distance. 

"With Minho and Marissa, playing football on the beach with the other kids," he answered. I nodded.

The sky began to turn a deep orange and I sighed before jumping slightly. 

"What's wrong?" Thomas asked. 

I chuckled, patting my stomach. "The baby kicked," I said, taking his hand and putting it on the exact spot where the baby had planted their foot against the inside of my belly. A couple of seconds later, they kicked again and Thomas smiled broadly, rubbing my covered skin with his thumb. 

"I will never get used to that," he whispered. 

"Me neither," I said, nestling against him. "I'm so happy." 

"Me too," he agreed, planting a kiss on my hair. "I love you." 

"I love you too, so much." 

"Mommy!" a loud voice shouted and the next second, my daughter flung her arms around my neck, hugging me closely as my son jumped on his father's back. 

"Hey, guys. How was football?" I asked them as Aly planted herself on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her and she placed her ear on my stomach, something she loved to do whenever she had the chance. She once told me she could hear the baby talking to her. 

"Awesome! I won!" Charlie exclaimed. 

"You did not! I won!" Aly objected. 

"Okay, okay. You both won. How's that?" Thomas interjected to prevent yet another fight. 

"Okay," they said in unison, Aly's reply accompanied by a small pout. 

"How about we watch the sunset together?" I suggested. 

"Yes!" they cheered happily, sitting down cross-legged in the sand in front of me and Thomas. 

Thomas scooted closer to me and wrapped an arm around me. 

At that moment, I couldn't believe that this was my life. I lived in a beautiful place at the beach, with my husband, daughter, son, and unborn child. All of my friends had morphed into one big family and I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else. 

For the first time in my life, I was fully happy. And all that was because of Thomas. 

***

Hi, everyone! It's been a while since I posted the last chapter, but I really wanted to write an epilogue, so here it is! Thank you so much to everyone who has read this book. I enjoyed writing it so much and it's safe to say it made me fall in love with the Maze Runner series even more. I hope you enjoyed this trilogy and if you did, please let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you, everyone, who voted and left comments, I see every single one and I appreciate them so much. It's the entire reason I love writing these books. I love you all and thanks again for this amazing experience❤