Chapter 30 ━━ Promise Me

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Katherine's head is snuggled into Newt's bare chest as his hands are caged around her figure, his fingers tracing random patterns on her back. The couple is still laying under the sheets very naked as a big smile sketched on Katherine's face.

"You tired?" Newt asks. His voice sounds nothing more than a whisper.

"Not much." She replies, looking at him with a lazy smile. "Another round?"

Newt chuckles, slightly shaking his head. "You're one crazy shank."

"I know."

"And the most beautiful girl in this whole world."

"You're rambling now." The girl laughs, patting his cheek.

"I'm not rambling." Newt pouts.

"Yes, you are." She says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

A knock on the door gains their attention before Frypan's voice roars from the other side of the door.

"Guys, they're back with Teresa!"

Katherine groans before burying her face into Newt's neck as she hears Frypan's retreating heavy footsteps. "I don't wanna go."

"Me too."

"Five more minutes?" She asks, placing a kiss on his neck which he shivers.

"We're going to be late." He reminds, moving the strand of hair out of her face, mesmerizing every single bit of her in his mind.

"I don't care." Katherine goes for another kiss which he accepts without second thoughts.

"And you look bloody great on top of me." He adds, not breaking the kiss.

She hums in response before their lips move in perfect sync, losing themselves within the kiss and not having any clue about the doorknob turning.

"Kat, have you seen my-" A high pitched girly scream fills in the air before the door shuts shut with a thud making the couple break out of their moment. They hear Thomas mumbling a string of colorful cursing words under his breath from the other side of the door before his heavy footsteps jogs out of the hallway to oblivion.

"We forgot to lock." Newt chuckles.

"We did." Katherine nods before both of them burst into laughter.

"Had fun?" Brenda smirks knowingly as Katherine and Newt make it out of their room, hands interlaced.

Katherine winks at her in return as Newt just smiles before they head to meet Thomas with his arms crossed and a disgusted expression glued to his face halfway to the meeting room.

"First of all, you two are disgusting." Thomas comments with a grimace on his face at his twin sister and blond friend. "And I'll do anything to get that image out of my head."

"Prude." Katherine sticks her tongue at her brother playfully.

"Whatever." He rolls his eyes with a scoff.

They enter the meeting room and Gally pushes Teresa down in a chair, taking off the bag that was placed over her head.

"And here comes the traitor..." Katherine sings, sitting on Newt's lap.

Teresa's eyes trails across taking everyone's hateful glares into her vision to finally stop at Gally with a rather confused look. "Gally?"

"Here's how this is gonna go." Gally says, ignoring her and calmly grabs the chair next to Thomas. "We're gonna ask you some questions, and you're gonna tell us exactly what we need to know. We'll start off simple. Where's Minho?"

"You guys don't seriously think..." Teresa uncomfortably shifts in her chair, stealing looks at Thomas then and there silently pleading for mercy.

Gally steps forward and slams his chair directly in front of her, blocking her view on Thomas. "Don't look at him. Why are you looking at him? Look at me. He's not gonna help you. Now, we know you have Minho in the building. Where?"

"He's with the others in holding. Sublevel three." Teresa tells quietly, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"How many others?" Newt asks.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Teresa speaks. "Twenty-eight."

Gally glances over Brenda, who is sitting next to Jorge, twirling a card in her fingers before putting it back on the table.

"I can make that work."

"No. No, you guys don't understand. The whole level's restricted. You can't get in without a thumbprint ID." Teresa explains.

Thomas leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "That's why you're gonna come with us."

"Well, I don't know. We don't necessarily need her. Right?" Gally stands up, moving his chair out of his way before striding to the table and picking up a scalpel. "Not all of her. We just need her finger."

"Gally, back off." Thomas orders, blankly.

"What, are you squeamish?" Gally asks, pointing the scalpel towards Teresa. "I guarantee you she's done a lot worse to Minho."

"I like that plan. She deserves it." Katherine remarks, leaning against Newt's warmth.

"That's not the plan." Thomas pulls the metal blade out of Gally's grasp. "Back off."

"It won't make a difference. Do whatever you want to me. You still won't get through the front door. The sensors will pick you up the..."

"We know. We're tagged. Property of WICKED." Thomas crouched in front of the girl handing her the scalpel. "You're gonna help us with that, too."

~~~

"Try to relax." Teresa instructs as Katherine takes a seat on the chair, pushing her hair to the side. "This is gonna sting."

"Just get it over with." The brunette twin sighs, playing with her long fingers, trying to distract her mind from the sharp pain arising on the fresh-cut Teresa's making on the back of her neck.

Katherine watches in amusement of Gally and Frypan complaining over how Teresa enjoyed the little operation she did to remove the tag out of their necks as Thomas stands next to them, wiping the blood on his neck with a tissue and ignoring Teresa at all cost.

"You and Newt seem to have a healthy relationship." Teresa chuckles nervously. "You're literally glowing."

"Thank you?"

"How's Thomas reacting to it?"

"He's truly happy even though he always acts like a jerk every single time he sees Newt and me together. But I know that there's a part of him wishing it was him and you instead of Newt and me." Katherine says in a dull monotone voice. "You didn't just betray us, Teresa. You broke my brother. I'll never forgive you for that."

Katherine squeezes her eyes as a wave of pain hits her neck. "How's Vera?"

"She's fine." Teresa replies. "Vera is by Minho's side, taking care of him."

"Yeah, I heard." Katherine smiles softly as her eyes set on Jorge and Brenda who are hugging each other at the other side of the room.

"She's looking good. Healthy. How've you been getting her serum?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Brenda. I didn't think she'd still be alive. When was her last treatment?" Teresa asks as Thomas arrives at them with a raised eyebrow.

"At the Right Arm. Right before you betrayed us."

"But that was months ago." Teresa mumbles and pulls the tracker out of her. "That's not possible. She should have turned by now. There's no way she could possibly still..."

Katherine pushes her chair aside, standing up and grabbing the bloody tissue from Thomas and wipes her own as well. "Oh, shut up, Teresa. You can try to manipulate my mind. It's not working."

Knowing it's useless to try to prove her point to Katherine, Teresa turns to Thomas. "Thomas."

"I don't have time for this." Thomas mutters, shaking his head.

"You don't even believe me?" Teresa asks the boy as Katherine dramatically slams the tissue on the table, cursing under her breath.

"Do you really expect me to?" Thomas asks the girl with tar-black. "You made your choice."

Katherine makes her way to Newt, not in a mood to talk or face Teresa anymore and helps him to put on the WICKED uniform. "How come you look handsome in this uniform too."

"You tell me." Newt flashes a cheeky smile, leaning in for a kiss.

"Charming bastard." Katherine mumbles before his lips touch hers. The words around them disappear into a blur, leaving only the two of them in complete bliss. Even though it is small yet warm, the sparks flood in her body in a perfect pattern.

Her hands find their way to his blond hair and tugs on it earning a grunt from him before he pulls her closer to him, not letting any space remain in between them. Neither of them speaks as their lips pour their emotions out into a single word. Love.

Newt's hand pushes her head to deepen the kiss, not wanting to let go. If this is going to be his last moment with her, he's not wasting a second of it. They pull apart and stare at each other, deep into each other's eyes.

"You can't blame me." Newt states, placing his hand on her cheek with adoration. "I'm just trying to enjoy my last few moments of us."

Katherine places her hand over his hand with wonder. "I can assure you. This is not the last moments of us. There's going to be more and more."

"Do you have any slightest idea why I fell in love with you?" Newt asks, making her raise an eyebrow with curiosity.

"You're independent, You're strong. You're free. You're feral. You're reckless. Mostly, you're a fighter. I might be the glue to fix everyone. But you're the only one who can fix me. You're my glue. You're my cure. And our relationship, it is the best thing I had in my life." He says, his eyes watching her reactions. "And if I won't make it, you have to move on."

"You're going to make it." She says, interlocking their hands together and squeezing them in an attempt to assure him. "If you feel like you're losing it, just talk to me. You have to keep it together until we get the cure, okay? You can fight it. At least fight it for me."

"I'll try." He smiles.

Katherine frowns at his response. "I know that the maze broke your spirit. The fall broke your leg. But don't let the flare break your mind. If you do, it'll break my heart. I don't want to see a world without you. Don't forget that. You can't try. You have to. Promise me."

He hesitates first but finally lets out a sigh and nods. "I promise."