AUTHOR'S NOTE – I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my fanfiction. I feel so pumped about it that I can't stop writing! Yay!
Chapter 2
Negan and Sherry walked next to each other through a hallway that seemed endless. Sherry assumed that the building they were inside used to be a court house. They passed forgotten signs that suggested business of jury duty, marriage licenses, and the DMV. Sherry missed the petty and trivial things of the life before. She would have gladly spent hours in jury duty than be where she was at that moment.
Sherry would look at Negan every so often and see a wide smile on his face like he woke up on Christmas Day. Every so often, he would look down at her and wink. Visibly disgusted, Sherry would look the other direction repulsed that she was conned into such an agreement as to be his wife. The thought mortified her. Already being so close to him made her feel suffocated and she felt as if she sold her soul for the sake of her group members. She didn't want to be anywhere near him.
Oh God, she thought to herself. Keep me strong. Coming from a strong Irish-Italian family, she prayed often in the beginning of the apocalypse. She couldn't necessarily know if prayers helped her outcome or not but she continued to do so in case it did improve her odds and she just didn't know it yet. She could openly say that it was blind faith but she still prayed and would continue to until proven that it was a waste of time.
After the maze of hallways, they made their way to a door that Negan opened for her. She looked down to see that it led to a cellar-like basement that was darkly lit and appeared somewhat creepy. Any horror movie that Sherry watched before gave her all the reason in the world to avoid going down the steps. But she faintly heard a cough from below and could tell it was Dean. Knowing her group was down there, she stepped down the stairs with her heart racing. She hoped that they were all in good condition.
When she reached the bottom floor, she saw her group in the center of the room as they all huddled together while guarded by five men. They were all cuffed with their hands behind their back. The group appeared terrified after the incident with Hannah but as Sherry got a closer look, she saw blood on the floor. Dwight sat in the front of the group besides Jason who looked like he had gotten in a fight. Sherry then looked to Jason's children and wife as they had fresh tears in their eyes. Horrified that Jason had been beaten up in front of his family, she immediately glared at Negan who stood behind her.
"You let this happen to him?" Sherry asked appalled as she looked back to Jason.
"Sherry…" Negan started.
"No! We had a deal! I agreed to your plan as long as no harm would come to my group! How do I know that your word means anything of value?" Sherry spat as she went toe to toe with him and arched her neck to meet his dark eyes.
Negan scoffed at her boldness but smiled regardless. "We only made the agreement five minutes ago. Now that it's set in stone, no harm will come to them," he said calmly.
She breathed in and out slowly while trying to keep her temper under control. Sherry looked to her group and saw Dean gaze at her with worry. She could tell he was silently telling her to step down and let Negan with the fight. She took several more exhales before she finally relaxed herself. "Fine," she muttered and stepped away from Negan.
With the grin still on his face, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "But if you ever raise your voice to me like that again, you are going to be the one to pay. I fucking promise you that," Negan stated in a tone that made Sherry's blood run cold.
The group watched their interaction together as Sherry couldn't stare at them back. She heard Negan go over the simple guidelines of their community as she tried to focus on what he was saying but couldn't hear over the thoughts that went on in her head. She wished that she asked him about what being his wife entailed and that there was some fine print that she could look at. However, she didn't have a say in the matter and instead could feel her ears get hotter and hotter the angrier that she got.
Negan discussed that they would have their own homes in Sanctuary but if they chose to bunk with each other accordingly that they could. Jason and Terri's family wanted to live in one home but live next door to everyone else. Haruki and Takuya were to stay in one house and the rest decided to share. Negan may have thought their choice to live together was being hospitable to the Saviors but Sherry knew that they were only bunking together for their own safety. They didn't trust his people enough to be scattered about.
"What about Sherry? Will she live with us?" Dean inquired. Sherry had felt sorry for Dean as he was the closest to Hannah. The group was even rooting for them to enter a deeper relationship. There was so much sadness in the world that it was nice to see them find happiness with each other.
"Sherry is not your concern anymore," Negan replied as he gently reached for her waist. Sherry was surprised by the gesture but didn't fight it. It seemed harmless enough even though his character still scared her to death. "Sherry is going to live with me."
Sherry waited as the bombshell finally clicked with some members of her group. They stared at both of them in disbelief and wondered what had possessed Sherry to agree to that arrangement. The only person that didn't stare at them was Dwight as he kept his head down in frustration.
"All of you will be given jobs. The kids will go to school with the other kids that we have in our community. You will all be valuable members of the Saviors. In exchange for your safety from the world outside of our gates," Negan announced as if they had won the lottery ticket. If the leader wasn't a crazed psychopath, Sherry would have thought that they hit the jackpot.
"Are we prisoners?" Jason asked. He was lucky in Sherry's eyes. His wife, Terri, and their sons, Teegan and Troy, were among their little group. Sherry had ached for what they had. Even though they had lost half of their child, their family was still more complete than Sherry's was.
Negan grinned maniacally as he stared at Jason. "What gave you that impression?" He asked as he looked back up to Jason.
"Sir, you don't leave much of any other option," Jason told. "What if I said that my family and I wish to take our chances out there? I feel like we would be stopped within miles of this place and brought back here or worse."
"Then I guess you shouldn't take that chance then," Negan said with a straight face. There was a mixture of humor in his eyes but also a sliver of something else that made Sherry's stomach twist into knots. She also saw some hostility.
Jason glanced at his wife with an apologetic yet hopeful smile. She returned it but knew their situation seemed pretty dismal. Negan gave them the rest of the protocol then signaled for the guards to remove the handcuffs. Sherry watched as they were all ushered up the stairs as Negan and Sherry followed behind them in silence.
They all made it out to the courtyard as Sherry finally breathed in some fresh air for the first time since she had been in what they called "Sanctuary." Sherry looked around her and saw that everything was fairly clean in their modest hold up. It almost looked like how it did before the apocalypse with the exception of various gardens in the area. She peered to the left and saw a suburban-like area with older Victorian homes and more vegetation areas. To her right was more what looked like small businesses and an old downtown.
"You weren't kidding," Sherry stated almost in surprise.
"About what?" Negan inquired.
"About the houses. Are they safe enough? A herd hasn't come to this place yet? Do you have gates?" Sherry asked as a wave of questions formed around her. She needed to know that her group would be one hundred percent safe.
He chuckled and grabbed for her hand as they headed in the opposite direction from her group. She turned to look at them and then made eye contact with Dwight. He didn't break their gaze as she could tell from the distance that the worry in his eyes was ever present. She wished that she was heading in the same direction as her group. Dwight broke his gaze when a man pushed him along to keep his pace with the rest of Sherry's people. He grudgingly did so as Sherry went her own way with Negan.
"Your group is fine. We call this place Sanctuary and we call our group the Saviors. This is the safest place in this whole fucking hell hole. Plenty of herds have come our direction but it's nothing that we can't handle. We also have the best fucking gate around. I'll show you in the morning if you want," Negan informed with pride.
They didn't have to walk too far as Negan's home was only across the street from the court house. It was an older Victorian house with a small sign on the front that was nearly unreadable but Sherry could faintly see, of Historic Downtown. It appeared that the town remodeled the old home to be a museum. Sherry felt somewhat melancholy that the town's history was disregard as Negan set up his home there.
Negan then tugged on her arm to get her moving as alarms went off in her head. When he opened the white picket fence that led to his porch, she then looked to the house with apprehension then glared at him. "Negan what's going to happen when we get into that house?" She asked.
He smiled innocently. "I know what you are thinking. And honestly, it's been a long fucking day. I'm tired. No screwing around tonight," Negan said almost flattered that she brought that up.
She wore a disgusted look on her face as she gave him dagger eyes. "I wouldn't have wanted to even if you weren't tried," Sherry protested.
His smile instantly vanished. "What are you insinuating? Did you think I wouldn't let you have a choice in the matter?" He inquired.
Sherry didn't let her eyes wane from his as she tried to make her words sound very cutting. "You know that I should have every right to think that. So far, you haven't given me options. Why would I think that this situation was any different?" Sherry asked.
Negan bit his bottom lip and scanned Sanctuary in thought. "Contrary to your belief about our group, we have a code that we live by to keep some order," Negan assured.
Sherry took a step closer to him. "Yeah? Who wrote this code? You?" She challenged bravely.
Negan stared her down. "I would think twice before you take that tone with me," he cautioned darkly. He had already reprimanded her about pushing his buttons earlier that evening but she wanted to know more of what she was getting into. Even if her group didn't really have an actual choice. She needed to know about the situation that they found themselves in. Sherry was exhausted both mentally and physically. But in a previous life, she had a dad that would have wanted her to fight with every bone in her body before she waved the white flag. She would play his game if it meant her group would be alive. Yet she didn't want to become broken in the process.
"If my people are going to be a part of Sanctuary, then we need to know how exactly we are to live by your rules," Sherry stated steadfastly.
"I said most of the rules in the basement," Negan answered with a shrug.
"Yeah, the basic rules," Sherry chided. "I'm talking about the rules that you have to tell the not so good people."
Negan started to grin at her with amusement. "You don't look old enough to have been a cop. Were you?" He asked.
Sherry bit the inside of her lip and took a deep breath. "No," she said curtly then turned towards the fence in annoyance. She had been married to the hot headed leader for no less than an hour and was already sick of him.
He turned towards the fence and put his forearms against it while leaning against them. "Over time, you will get to know all of our rules. I suspect that you'll be with us for a while," Negan clarified for her.
"You know that answer more than I do," she responded sarcastically.
Negan whistled with a wide grin. "Shit, you are one smart ass. You don't always have to fight me on everything. You know that, right?" He commented as he shook his head with incredulity.
"I just like being in control," Sherry disclosed.
Negan's smile faltered as he looked down to his hands. "Sherry? I would like the thing that we have between us to be a slice of heaven compared to this world. I'm willing to offer you peace of mind," Negan explained gently. Sherry mentally closed herself from his sincerity as it made it more difficult to hate him.
"Whatever," Sherry replied knowing it sounded distant and even cold but she didn't even care.
Just then, a group of Negan's followers walked on the sidewalk next to his house. All of them started chanting Negan's name when they walked past. Once they were a good distance away, they went back about their business like nothing had happened.
"What the hell was that?" Sherry asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"I'm the man in charge," Negan informed her. "They know it; that's all it was."
"So you weren't elected," Sherry said without it being a question. "You just took that title." Sherry was purposefully pushing his buttons to understand where her boundaries were with him. Ideally, she hoped that she had enough room to run her mouth whenever she could. Yet, she worried if she did that her group would pay.
"I earned it like every other dictator before me has," Negan remarked simply.
"Well, at least you know to put yourself in that category," Sherry said sardonically.
He chuckled a bit at her comment. "I wasn't lying when I saw that I would treat you like a queen. In Sanctuary, you will be," Negan said.
Sherry grinded her teeth at the thought but hated the situation that she was in. No amount of extra luxury would change her mind. She looked up to Negan and turned her eyes into slits. "The second that we have the chance to get out of here, we are going to take it. And you won't be able to do anything about it because we'll already be long gone," she sneered.
Negan looked at her while Sherry detected a small twitch in his eye. Quickly, he grabbed her arm and guided her into the house. "For the first couple of weeks – or months depending on how you behave – you are going to be in another room and handcuffed. By morning, you'll be on your own and free to do whatever the fuck you want. I have a couple people lined up to be your escorts while I take care of some business. Don't think about escaping because it's not going to fucking happen. Got it?" The last words he said in a mocking tone as he led her up the stairs and into a room on the right of the staircase.
Inside the room was a bed with a metal headboard that was over-decorated with quilts. He patted the mattress to coax her to sit on it. "Until you trust me, I can't trust you. Sorry, Sherry. I know we got off on the wrong foot and I'll try to make that better. But I don't trust you right now to sleep in my bed," Negan urged while waiting for her expectantly.
Sherry could see that he was trying his best to be patient with her. Sherry didn't know what possessed her to make his life more difficult especially after he had knifed Hannah in the throat. He was a murderer. She knew he was. But she almost wanted to prove to him that she wasn't scared of him; even though she was.
Sherry hesitantly sat down on the bed as he pulled the handcuffs from his back pocket. He put one cuff on the metal bed frame as she laid down and then put the other cuff around her wrist. Satisfied with his work, Negan stood up straight and started to leave without another word. But as he reached the door he stopped and looked at her. "Sherry, I hope that I am able to look forward to something at the end of the day. Something that will keep me sane throughout all of this shit that's been happening. I'm sorry about everything that I have put you through already. I hope you believe me," he conveyed to her.
Sherry sighed as she let some of her guard down. The death of Hannah was still however on the forefront of her mind as she had to continue to remind herself about it. He killed her friend and she refused to let him get off with a few sentimental words. "I would like to believe you, Negan. Let's hope with time that I will," she replied back callously as she looked up to the ceiling and didn't return his gaze.
His smile looked distant as he looked in the hallway. "Goodnight, Sherry," he said and then closed the door.
In the pitch black she laid there uncomfortably and somewhat bewildered at her situation. "Goodnight," she returned but more to herself.
…
Sherry continued to drive until she hit the outskirts of Atlanta. It was there that she was stuck in traffic with Haruki and Takuya. "Shit," Sherry muttered under her breath. She looked around as other cars had their cars turned off as the drivers were casually walking around on the highway. They had reached a standstill.
"What do we do now?" Haruki asked in broken English.
Sherry tapped the steering wheel with her thumb as she contemplated their next step. "The airport is out of the question. I'm not sending you guys to a dead end. You guys know that the airport just isn't an option anymore, right?" She asked as she turned to look at the stunned men.
"Yes," Takuya said solemnly. For the while that it took to drive, every emotional road block was touched in during that small duration of time. At one point, Haruki was sobbing and cursing at Sherry to turn the car around when they passed the exit for the airport. Takuya calmed him down as he too was sobbing in hysterics. Sherry could only imagine being so far away from home during what seemed like the end of the world. At least she lived in the same country that she was born in. Takuya and Haruki still felt like strangers.
Hours passed as they all thought about what to do next. "My dad suggested that I lay low somewhere in the outskirts of Atlanta," Sherry addressed the guys. "And by outskirts, I mean some place where no one lives. Maybe an unpopulated place in the forest. I don't know. Something that won't attract whatever is going on with everyone."
Several minutes went by as the men thought amongst themselves. "We choose to stay with you," Takuya finally said. Haruki nodded in agreement.
Sherry was surprised at their willingness of her plan. "Okay. But guys, I really don't think that this plague is going to let up anytime soon. We could be in the woods for a very long time. We need to learn to be independent while we're out there. We'll buy stuff at this Target up ahead for the first few weeks but then we have to live off the land. I'll teach you some stuff that my dad taught me. Like hunting and building fires. But if you guys want to back out anytime, I understand. We can part ways whenever you want. Okay?" Sherry said and looked to them for a response.
Haruki glanced at Takuya then spoke up. "I have never hunted before. I'm a vegetarian," he uttered quietly.
"I'm sure we can find some nice plants for a salad then," Sherry said sarcastically. "Do you guys know how to use a gun?"
"I don't believe in guns," Haruki complained again.
Takuya looked less confident but nodded his agreement at his only friend. "I don't either," he confessed.
Sherry fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Well, I assure you, guns are out there whether you believe in them or not." She thought it best not to mention that she had a handgun in her glove compartment due to her dad's insistence that she take one while she was in college. "It doesn't matter. I'm not going to be your body guards for God knows how long. If you need to defend yourselves, you either learn how to shoot a fucking gun or you'll be dead meat by the week's end," Sherry warned and faced the windshield again.
She could feel their gaze behind her head as she slowly turned her head almost conscience-stricken. "I'm sorry," she said to them. "I'm just stressed out."
After several minutes of silence, they were still in the same spot in traffic. Long ago, Sherry had turned off the car to preserve her gas tank. Others had already done the same and started mingling with others in the cars around them. From her car, she could see the skyline of Atlanta. On the radio, she could hear a message playing over and over again about a safe zone in the city. She wanted it to be true. But she knew to stay clear of people until further notice of a cure or whatever came first. Her dad wanted her away from the city and she vowed to listen to him.
"Maybe we should go to the safe zone," Haruki suggested.
"You guys can go. My car and I are not going anywhere near that place," Sherry said stubbornly.
They were silent again and then started discussing what to do in Japanese. She could tell Haruki was unhappy with her by the way that he was talking but she didn't care. Suddenly, someone knocked gently on her window. She looked to see who it was and saw it was an older man with a leather jacket. He bent down to see her as she rolled the window down.
"I'm sorry to bother you, miss. But do you happen to have water with you? There is a guy over there that's heating up really fast. He doesn't look too good," the man said with a kind smile.
Sherry looked around the car and saw an empty water bottle that she had finished off soon after they stopped in the traffic. She turned her gaze back to him with regret. "I'm sorry, I don't. But I can help you find some though," she offered knowing the car wasn't moving for a while.
"Much obliged. My name is Dean, by the way," he said in introduction.
"I'm Sherry." They shook hands and then went car to car trying to find water. When they eventually did, Dean guided her to the man with the fever.
"Do you think that he is infected?" Sherry asked.
"Oh yeah. He's trying to hide something on his shoulder. I think he got bit by one of those things," Dean explained with pity towards the man.
Sherry looked at him incredulously and shook her head. "What the hell is going on?" She asked.
"I have no idea. I have never seen anything like this," He said hardly believing his own words. "The most unusual thing about this all is that people are coming back to life."
Sherry stopped in her tracks as she processed what he had said. "Coming back to life?" She asked.
"Yeah, but they aren't what they used to be. It's like something out of the Exorcist. Almost like they are possessed. Gnawing and growling at people. I tried to help someone earlier today and I asked her where she lived thinking maybe I could take her safely home. She didn't even answer and chased me down the street. Definitely some odd things are happening," He said as he started walking again. Sherry followed.
"You said he was hiding something on his shoulder? Are you saying that you get infected by being bit by those things?" She asked while scanning everyone around them. She immediately felt vulnerable by being around so many people that could already be infected.
"That's only my theory. I'm no scientist or doctor though," Dean admitted.
Sherry shook her head. "Again, what the hell is going on?" She questioned.
Dean peered around him at all the people almost contemplating that they would all be dead soon. It made Sherry feel sick. "Should we bring this water to him?" He asked trying to sound optimistic by staying busy.
"I don't want to go anywhere near the guy but it's the right thing to do. At least we'll have made him comfortable while he's still around," Sherry enthused.
They reached the man and gave him water at a safe distance by handing the water bottle to a family member of his. When they walked away, Dean looked towards Sherry's car and then to her. "Where are you guys headed?" He inquired.
She shrugged and let out an uneven sigh. "We have no idea. I was going to take these guys to the airport before my dad told me that all airports were grounded indefinitely. My original plan was to camp with my friends and wade this all out until things calmed down. I have this sinking feeling that isn't going to happen soon," Sherry relayed.
"You should stick with the camp idea. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to come with you guys. We could get several others that are interested in the idea. Get some sort of community going while we wait for the storm to pass. What do you think?" He asked her.
Sherry looked to one family camping outside of their car while she thought of Dean's plan. There were two young children as their individual mothers talked to each other. There was one mom that had a buzz cut as she appeared disoriented but almost calm in comparison to the others around her. She looked like she had worn that face even before the catastrophe happened. It didn't take long to realize what caused her demeanor after her husband barked at her for one reason or another. Sherry had half a mind to go over and yell at him on the woman's behalf. But the look in the little girl's eyes stopped her. Sherry and the little girl then made eye contact. Sherry could see from the girl's reaction that the interaction between her parents was the norm while the other family looked on in equal shock.
Sherry liked the idea of grouping with others but she could almost hear her dad say in her ear to not trust anyone. She wanted to trust Dean, Haruki, and Takuya. However, she didn't want to be back into a corner either.
Dean was still waiting for a response as she sighed in defeat. Regardless of what her dad would have warned, she was on her own. She didn't have the support system of her large family in Chicago. She was all by herself and wanted to group with people rather than wade out the end of the world on her own. "It's an idea," she said optimistically to Dean. "I'll take anything over no-," Sherry was stopped by some screaming up ahead followed by more shrieks and cries. Someone was running their direction and nearly pummeled into Dean head on.
"What in the hell?" Dean muttered while trying to look over the masses of people ahead of them.
More people started running towards Dean and Sherry. Sherry took the liberty of climbing onto a nearby car to see the commotion. People ran as others that were much slower crept up towards them and surrounded the people still inside their vehicles. They were clawing and gnarling at the terrified people. Some groups that were bitten at viciously as swarms of infected tore them a part. Sherry couldn't believe her eyes.
Sherry jumped off the car and looked to Dean. "We need to get out of here now!" She yelled as they ran towards her car. When they got there, she banged on the windows desperately. "GET OUT!" She screamed at the two men in the backseat of her car.
The startled men immediately got out of the car with their things in tow as Sherry grabbed for her backpack in the front seat. She then reached for her handgun in her glove compartment as she felt someone snarl behind her. She turned around quickly to see Dean shoot at the creature, that couldn't even be considered a human anymore, as it fell to the ground and blood spattered all over Sherry's car.
Dean looked to Sherry and to the gun. "Never leave home without it," Dean said then acknowledge Haruki and Takuya while Sherry crawled out of her vehicle as quickly as she could. "Let's go." He said to all of them. Sherry and Dean started running as Haruki and Takuya followed close behind. They hadn't a destination in mind except for staying away from the beings that had reanimated and away from the city.
"Where are we going?" Haruki asked as Sherry started walking off the highway and into the woods next to it.
"Away!" She answered back as she hoped it was the right place to go. Their experience on the highway made her terrified of too many people in one place. It offered too much confusion. She only wanted to focus on surviving with the limited amount of people that she happened to befriend only hours before. Sherry did think of the plus side and how she didn't feel so alone in the new world anymore.
…
Sherry woke up from the sunlight that peeked through the closed blinds. She was sweating as she tried to kick the blankets off of her while half-asleep. Immediately she was on alert as she vaguely remembered where she was. She jolted up out of bed while still in a daze but was yanked back towards the bed as she fell beside it. Sherry looked to her hand that was cuffed to the metal bed frame as recognition settled in. She placed her forehead on the mattress beside her and groaned. Sanctuary wasn't a very bad dream, she thought. It was all real.
"Good morning," someone said in the room. Sherry knew the voice but it still startled her as she looked around for the source. She then saw Yolanda that sat in the rocking chair in the corner of the room as she stood up with a key in hand.
Sherry could have cried upon seeing one of her group members and smiled at her. "Thank God," Sherry beamed while Yolanda started fiddling with the keys to set Sherry free. The handcuffs soon got off from her wrist and the first thing she did was give Yolanda a hug. Yolanda returned the gesture with somewhat surprise as Sherry wasn't the most affectionate group member. But Yolanda squeezed tightly and smiled at Sherry and was happy to see her. "I'm so glad you are okay, Yolie!" Sherry exclaimed as she broke the hug. "Is everyone else alright?"
"Everyone is fine," Yolanda smiled in comfort but quickly looked to her with concern. "We were wondering if you were being treated well."
Sherry nodded. "I'm okay. Why are you here?" She inquired and almost hoped that perhaps Dwight had already come up with an escape plan.
"Negan sent for me. I'm supposed to look after you during the day," Yolanda said with less enthusiasm. "I have been assigned to be your escort."
Sherry could tell Yolanda wasn't excited about the job and she also considered it unnecessary as she could take care of herself. "Luckily, we have each other throughout all of this," Sherry stated as Yolanda sat beside her on the floor next to the bed.
"Did he try anything with you last night?" Yolanda asked hesitantly unsure if Sherry wanted to share.
"No," Sherry said. "We didn't even sleep in the same bed."
Yolanda was silent as Sherry could see her trying to form the words in her mind. "The group and I wanted to let you know that we don't want you to bend over backwards to try and keep us alive. We don't need his protection," Yolanda revealed.
"Glad that we're all on the same page," Sherry said as she stood up and walked towards the window behind the rocking chair. When she opened the blinds, she could see Sanctuary more clearly than she could have from her window in the court house. Even looking out, she could see that Negan's men, called the Saviors, were everywhere. They were on rooftops, walking in the street, or standing in doorways. "I don't plan on staying here for long."
"Do you have a plan?" Yolanda inquired while standing next to her.
"No," Sherry responded dismally. "What about the rest of the group? Did they think of anything?"
"Dwight said that he would try and think of something after his first day on the job. He'll scope out the area and check for any weak spots," Yolanda informed.
"Of course he will," Sherry said with confidence in Dwight. She didn't expect anything less from him.
"He told us that he had to give you the bad news about Negan," Yolanda said suddenly.
Sherry nodded with sadness. "He did," she said quietly.
"That must have been difficult for both of you," Yolanda commented as she put a comforting hand on Sherry's shoulder. Sherry looked to her in question as Yolanda rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Sherry. That boy is in love with you. He doesn't want you anywhere near that awful man."
Sherry could feel more bitterness take over. "A couple of nights ago, he asked me if we could be…an item… He said life was too short… Then Negan showed up," Sherry said as she shook her head in disbelief. "Talk about bad timing."
Yolanda nodded then looked down to the floor. "Ever since you were hit that night, Dwight has become a different man. He hasn't cracked a joke; not even a smile. He's been very distant… If it were anyone else in the group that was put in your position, he wouldn't be having this hard of a time," Yolanda confided.
Sherry wondered where Dwight was and looked out the window just in case. Yolanda then smiled and looked at the door. "He's downstairs guarding the door," Yolanda said as if reading her mind.
Sherry immediately bolted down the stairs to see Dwight standing on the front porch as he overlooked Sanctuary. He turned around to see Sherry and walked into the house. "Sherry?" He said with relief. Sherry was amazed at how happy she was to see him. It immediately made her side when they finally had a conversation that would have settled into deeper relationship territory. It's exactly what Dwight said. Life is short, she thought.
Once she reached the bottom stair, she crashed into him. He didn't immediately reciprocate the gesture like the night before but several seconds later, he wrapped his arms around her softly and laid his cheek on top of her head. "I can't be here long. Negan doesn't want me here when you're awake," Dwight divulged as they broke apart.
"What? Why?" Sherry asked in an upset tone.
"I'll tell you later. I can't be here right now. It's not safe for either of us but I just wanted to let you know that I am so sorry that we're in this mess," he whispered in hushed tones.
"Me too," Sherry said as she was felt Dwight's hand encircled hers. She then felt a folded piece of paper touch her fingers. He let go of her hand and gave her a knowing look then hastily stepped out of the house without another word.
Yolanda stood at the top of the stairs and looked to Sherry with questioning in her eyes. "What is it?" She asked. Sherry stared down at the piece of paper in her hand and could feel the warmth on it from Dwight's touch. She turned her heel towards the stairs and practically ran up to the bedroom as Yolanda quickly followed behind. When they made it to the room, Yolanda closed the door behind them as Sherry sat on the bed and unfolded the note.
Sher,
In the mornings, I'll give you an update like this letter. I hope you update me as well. This is how we know when to strike at Negan.
On my side, I will try and scope out all of Sanctuary and look for vantage points. I don't want to stay here long. For your sake.
Sherry, I know it's bold of me to say but I just wanted to let you know that I think of you almost every minute of the day. You are what drives me to do the things I do nowadays. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. And if he ever lays a hand on you in an unfavorable way, please let me know as soon as possible.
Sincerely yours, Dwight
AUTHOR'S NOTE – And I leave with that. Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought in the reviews!
