GRIEF OF HIS HEART - A Novella

five

He can't sleep. Can he ever, though?

Not really. He sees her face every time he closes his eyes. And then Chuck's frightened face behind it.

The past months have been awful. Rick drags him out of bed. Forces him to eat. Forces him into training. Drags him back into bed before he stays in the cafeteria, not touching his food and just staring at the wall and repeating things in his mind.

"Do you really have to go wrestle?"

He had grinned at her. "Wanna join?"

"Yes, please. My favorite hobby." She rolled my eyes. "I'll watch."

"You'll distract me by watching." He moved in front of her. Touched her shoulders.

She blushed. "Then you just... make sure you don't get distracted."

His name got shouted by a few boys. Both of them sighed before Gally leaned in and kissed her on the lips, long, and cupping her face.

"You better win." She whispered.

"For you, I will." He smiled, placed one last kiss on her forehead, then left.

"Ew." Chuck had pulled a face. "That was disgusting."

"You're not going outside today," Rick decides. "Last time, you nearly died! We can't afford all these losses, kid. What got in your mind to keep standing there when they started firing?"

I give up, had gone through his mind.

Then Jasper pulled him away from the battle field and brought him here, where he got a confrontation from Lawrence. He didn't even hear it.

Just like he doesn't hear Rick right now.

"Gally." He gives the boy a push. "Listen."

"Busy."

"Busy thinking about nonsense. Just listen-"

"Don't call her nonsense."

"Kid, it's been a seven months. Get over it. She ain't coming back and you've got to continue living. There's plenty other women on this earth."

His stare is so angry that Rick holds his hands in the air.

"Alright. Sorry. Shouldn't have said that," he admits. "But as I was saying, listen. Next week, there's a protest to get inside the walls. You're allowed to come with us."

~

That's Thomas.

He recognizes the boy he also never really liked immediately. And there Fry is. Two people are yelling at Thomas, but he doesn't recognize them. He does see Newt.

"Them," he mutters to Jasper. "Take them with us and I'll start working normally."

"Sure," he agrees simply.

They continue driving, but Gally's gaze is fixed on Thomas, who follows their car with his eyes.

It happens quite fast. Thomas rushes forward while the rest yells for him to stop, as always, and then WCKD starts dropping the bombs.

Gally and the others collect the little group in their vans and just like that, they're driving back to Lawrence.

Everyone gets pushed out of the car. He just watches through his mask, scanning for the red hair. He doesn't bother the man that has jumped on top of someone and started punching, yelling 'where is she' until the girl he doesn't recognizes stops him.

"Let's all calm down here!" Gally then yells, raising his voice for the first months.

A very frustrated Thomas looks around. "Yeah? Who the hell are you?"

Sighing, he takes his mask off. All eyes are on him. They stare at the bags around his eyes. At the hair that desperately needs a cut. At his more hollow cheekbones. "Hi, Greenie," he mumbles.

"Gally?" Frypan steps forward.

"You know this guy?" The man from before wonders.

"He was an old friend," Fry replies quietly, never taking his eyes off Gally.

A crack in his chest. An old friend.

Just when he thought he couldn't blame himself even more. Now they've also turned their backs on him after what happened with Val.

Or perhaps...
"Is she with you guys?" He urges. They all know who he means. "Tell me she's with you guys. Or somewhere- anywhere safe."

Newt looks down. Swallows with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry, Gally."

Great.

His heart sinks. Then, he nods. "Alright. Fine. Too bad. Let's just... I'll show you guys around- why are you here?"