Sherry just couldn't stop thinking about him.
Ever since Negan and the others brought Daryl Dixon to the compound as their prisoner Daryl had constantly been on her mind.
She didn't know why.
Maybe it all started a lot earlier in that burned-out forest where Daryl helped them.
We were strangers to him, and yet he helped us.
He is a good man.
Unlike the others here.
Including Dwight.
Sherry hardly recognized her former husband anymore. He had changed so much after their desperate escape.
After the loss of his sister.
After the hot iron left his skin hideously scarred.
And after Sherry gave herself willingly to Negan in order to save Dwight's life.
Sherry noticed that her hands were shaking when she lit a cigarette. She smoked too much these days. Way too much, as Negan kept saying to her.
Screw him.
There it was again. A dark, forbidden thought. A thought that could easily risk their lives.
Sherry knew very well that she had to play her part in this little play. In this masquerade Negan found so amusing. She had to be an obedient, randy young bride. She had no choice but to do it well. To be a happy wife whenever Negan looked at her.
Sometimes she could feel that he was still suspicious. She sensed it even when they were together in bed. At their most intimate moments, when she had satisfied him completely. Negan tested her again and again in every way possible.
So far she had managed to convince him well enough to stay alive.
Dwight on the other hand had to be … whatever happened to please Negan whenever.
And now - the latest addition to this sad company was Daryl Dixon, their mysterious helper from the woods.
The one we let down.
The memory of their betrayal made Sherry close her eyes out of shame. She truly was sorry now, just like Daryl said a long ago.
Maybe everything would be different now if they had made a different choice that day.
Maybe.
But what was Daryl's part in this sick, twisted play Negan enjoyed so much? The one he played with people?
A jester? A martyr? A deterrent example for those who were still trying to resist Negan's growing dominion?
Sherry didn't know. She just knew that for some reason Negan wanted to keep Daryl alive for now in that horrible cell.
Sherry had already taken huge risks for Daryl.
She couldn't help herself.
At first she saw him at doctor's office. She knew Daryl was in the building, Dwight had told that to her when they first arrived a few days back.
But knowing it was a very different from seeing it.
Daryl looked like shit. He was completely buttoned-up, very silent too. He didn't reply when she tried to talk to him.
And Daryl's eyes…
Jesus.
The loss of his friends must have been a horrid thing.
He was dirty and sweaty, lack of sleep made him look sick.
Sherry knew that Dwight was the one who was torturing him. It was part of Dwight's punishment, just like everything else.
Part of Sherry's own punishment was the fact that she had to watch when they burned Dwight's face. Almost every night she saw it all over again in her dreams. The screams… and the smell of burning flesh.
Negan's idea of fun.
After their passing confluence at doctor's office Sherry found out where they were keeping Daryl and started to keep an eye on the cell.
It was like some kind of obsession. She had to know what was going on there.
She got most of the information she needed from Dwight. He was still so much in love with her that he told her everything. Sherry knew it and used it for her benefit.
But God knows her intentions were noble somehow.
In her own way she asked for Daryl's forgiveness by speaking to him through the locked door.
Probably it was in vain, but she had to try.
She also tried to stop Daryl in the hallway when he was trying to escape.
It was an old trick by Negan, one of his favourites. First: give prisoner a hint of hope. Second: take it away from him as harshly as possible.
Most of the prisoners broke like eggshells after that treatment.
But Daryl Dixon wasn't like the others, not at all.
In the hallway, when he was trying to escape, Sherry saw his true nature briefly.
His flexible, quick movements. His hardiness. His bravery.
He probably knew it was a trap but he tried to get out nevertheless.
He will never yield.
Probably it was Daryl's obstinacy that fascinated Negan.
Never before had he met anyone like him, Sherry concluded.
How long would this go on?
Novelty will wear off eventually. And after that… goodbye Daryl, she thought darkly.
Sherry touched her own face amazed. Her cheeks were wet.
It seems that I'm crying for Daryl.
And I thought I had lost that ability for good. I thought I used all my tears a long ago.
I didn't cry when they burned Dwight's face with iron.
Or when I had to sleep with Negan for the first time.
And yet here I'm, crying for someone I hardly now.
What makes Daryl so special?
It was at that moment when the door opened.
Negan stepped into their apartment holding Lucille in his hands, as pompous and self-confident as ever.
"Sherry! My hot… darling wife… waiting for me I see. You don't believe what just happened, dear!"
Sherry gave her a nervous smile.
Usually her new husband's surprises weren't that nice.
"Please tell me." She managed to say casually.
Negan stopped in front of her and looked at her into eyes.
"Who are you?" He asked.
The same fucking question every day.
"I'm Negan." Sherry said simply.
The same fucking answer every day.
"That's the spirit! So easy thing to say. And yet… that stupid redneck Daryl… my prisoner… still refuses. He doesn't want to say my name. Can you imagine?"
Yes.
"No. That's odd." Sherry said when Negan stepped closer and put his hand on her hip with a proprietary air.
"The torture isn't a right way to go with this guy. And yet… I want to see him on his knees. I have an idea how to get there." Negan said with a horrific smile.
Sherry froze.
Negan saw it and leaned closer. His voice was soft when he whispered something into her ear.
"With your help my dear."