Promise Me ➵ Newt [3]

TWO | sneaking out

▬I laid on my hammock, the fabric rocking back and forth slightly. As much as I loved it here in The Right Arm's new base, with the calming ocean and starry sky and my friends to keep me company, I still found myself falling into an inevitable spiral of despair at times, especially at night.

I stared up at the ceiling, listening to the steady breathing of my sleeping friends around me. It was quite late at night, and everyone had already fallen asleep - everyone except me, that is. I had stayed awake for more than three hours now, my mind too full of chaos for me to slip into unconsciousness. 

Somewhere in the middle of the night, the gentle swaying of the hammock was about to lull me to sleep when I heard the door to the hut open.

I lifted up my head and found myself staring at Newt. He came over and laid down in the hammock with me, snuggling into the crook between my beck and shoulder.

"Hey," I whispered, running my fingers through his hair out of habit.

"Been a crazy day, huh?" Newt whispered back, his breath tingling against my skin.

"Yeah, you could say that."

There was silence for a moment. Then Newt said, "Can't believe after all that, Minho is still with WICKED. It's like life just doesn't want us to be happy."

I chuckled lightly. "Don't let Harriet and Felix hear you say that. Those two are the most elated I've ever seen them yet."

"Oh no, don't get me wrong, I'm glad we managed to rescue Aris and Sonya, but..." Newt let loose a long a sigh, his eyes sad and tired. "I just wish Minho was with them. It feels so wrong to just... have to leave him behind with WICKED after all we'd been through with him."

"We'll get him one day," I whispered. "I promise, Newt. We're not gonna leave him behind, especially not with WICKED."

We stayed in that position for a long while, absorbing each other's comfortable presence. Newt was tall enough so that his leg hung over the side of the hammock, and he swayed it back and forth. Though my mind was still busy and full of speeding thoughts, my eyes drooped, and I was about to drift off to sleep when I heard someone shift from the hammock beside me.

I squinted into the darkness and saw Thomas heading out the hut, his footsteps light and soft, almost as if he didn't want anyone to know what he was doing. He closed the door behind him gently and disappeared outside.

"He's sneaking out, isn't he?" Newt said blandly.

"Yep." I replied just as flatly, not the least bit surprised. I had grown quite used to Thomas' idiotic, impulsive actions by now.

"Well, I'm goin' with him." Newt crawled out of the hammock, careful not to squash my limbs in the process.

"Wait, what?" I said, sitting up quickly. "You're not actually gonna follow him?"

"Well, someone's gotta take care of him," Newt said. "I'm not gonna let him run off like that alone, especially not to WICKED."