15.
If the room had been slightly darker, Ana might have thought she had gone blind. The dark confines of the cell kept her from seeing her hands a foot away from her face, and thus kept her from seeing any way out. It was nighttime, and the thin sliver of light at the bottom of the door had long gone.
She was wracked with guilt, with pain. Her back ached from constantly leaning on the uneven wall, her groin ached from prior events. It was a burning reminder of what she had been reduced to –a mere prisoner.
The temperature of the room wasn't helping either. It was humid, and Ana could tangibly feel the heaviness of the air surrounding her. It was another factor that furthered the girl's reasons to cry whenever she could muster the energy to. When she had no energy, she fell into a shallow sleep surrounded by her fears.
Time passed like this for only about a day, but to Ana it felt more like a year. With nothing to do but recall the events of the last twenty-four hours, her torturous time in jail was infinite. It wasn't until she heard the squeal of the door opening that she was able to bring herself back to reality, and truly discern how long she had been there for.
Big hazel eyes glared in her direction from the doorway. They were surrounded by dark curls.
"Are you Ana?" came a small, mouse-like voice.
Ana's throat hurt too much to talk, and she decided talking wouldn't do much for her anyway. She stayed silent, and instead nodded.
"I'm Logan-or well Loretta- but Logan for short. Negan told me he couldn't find you and people saw you in the tavern and then I talked to the guard out front and he said you drunkenly stumbled into the cell and didn't come out." The button-nosed girl took a deep breath after finishing her long sentence. Ana drew her brow together.
"Oh, of course. You want Negan. He'd been looking for you for most of today. Then he had to attend to some business, so he'll be back later," Logan explained.
Ana sighed in discontent, unsure of Logan's future intentions and slightly upset that Negan was not here to find her. She felt so alone, so cold and empty.
"Come on," Logan continued, "let's get you back to your bedroom."
Ana shook her head, shying away from Logan's open hand. She looked hurt by Ana's rejection, but quickly smoothed her features and pressed on.
"You're dirty. Let me help clean you up and after we can chill outside of this cell."
Ana truly considered the offer, knowing that a nice shower would make her feel much better. But she would have to leave her clothes, which were the only thing protecting her from absolute embarrassment and destruction. In a second, she decided she didn't want a shower, but would walk with Logan.
It took a few minutes for Ana to fully stand up. Her legs were sore and her knees cracked as she straightened them out. Her entire body felt fifty pounds heavier, and her head seemed to hang below her shoulders.
"What were you doing in there anyway?" Logan asked as they began to walk through the labyrinth. She had to constantly adjust her stride and speed as Ana figured out what was comfortable for her aching legs. When faced with the question, Ana merely peeked up at Logan before looking back down.
"Okay, I get it. You don't want to talk. That's okay, you don't have to right now. But Negan will ask questions, considering you were the farthest place from the bedroom in an unlocked cell alone."
Ana could play it off like she was drunk while she figured out how to prove Simon raped her. Or perhaps she could just come out with the truth as soon as possible. Either way, she couldn't see herself confiding in Logan.
Logan paused at the end of a hallway that forked off into two directions. She curiously looked down both, and shrugged before choosing one. "Let's see where this goes," she mumbled under her breath as she acquiesced across the dirty floor. "It must have taken me about two months to learn the entire landscape of this place. And that was before I had access to certain parts of the building. There's an entire wing dedicated to Negan's wives, y'know."
So this was the wife that was missing earlier. Ana breathed painfully, exhaling ragged breaths that Logan might have picked up on were she paying more attention.
"Anyway, I want to welcome you to our small clan. I know it's tough at first, but you don't have to be throwing yourself in jail. Negan's really understanding and will do his best to make you feel comfortable. Of course, if you misbehave, he won't be so understanding."
They passed a guard with a raised gun, pointed behind the two girls. Logan furrowed her brow at the sight, looking over her shoulder as the passed him before shrugging it off and leading them back to the pub-like area Ana had encountered. She sighed in relief when she noticed the place was practically empty, and void of Simon.
"I'll lead you back to our living space okay? You can stay there until Negan returns," Logan said, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. She straightened her shoulders, putting on her own version of a veneer for the Saviors.
Ana picked up on it, and though she tried to model her own stature after Logan's, felt ridiculous. Her body and face were both covered in dirt, her hair matted with grease, and her fingernails covered in dried blood. There was no way to look respectable, and so she crossed her arms, curling into herself in an attempt to seem smaller. Her efforts were in vain. The first people they passed by –two males wearing casual clothing- glared at Ana with concerned or amused eyes.
"People end up looking like you all sorts of ways. I'm sure they don't think too much of it," Logan said once the men were out of earshot.
Ana scoffed in her mind, knowing that they were obviously thinking of the ways she ended up looking like a corpse risen from the rotten grave. She kept her arms at her chest as they continued throughout the compound and kept her eyes hard, looking at anything but herself and other people. It took maybe five more minutes and Logan's constant rambling before they made it to a quiet hallway with multiple doors. Logan smiled, and seemingly picked one at random, and Ana followed her in. It led to a simple room. A black linen bed with a headboard was the centerpiece. In front of it sat an overpopulated bookshelf and a desk with papers thrown lazily on top of it. A few black clothes littered the floor.
"This is my bedroom," Logan said, introducing the cluttered area. "There is a shower just through that hallway," she pointed to the right of the bed, where a small walkway branched off into two separate sections. Ana questioned her next move. She wasn't sure a shower was what she wanted, but did not want to come off as rude. It took a moment for her to gather her response.
Ana nodded and offered a small smile, gently padding across the hard floor to the bathroom. The bathroom itself held nothing but a sink, toilet, and stand up shower. She gingerly opened the glass door that separated her from the inside of the shower, and turned the metal handle up. Slowly, water began spiraling from the showerhead towards the floor.
Ana then looked at her clothes. Although dirty, they made her feel safe, and sheltered from the world. And so, once the water turned lukewarm, Ana stepped into the shower clothes and all. She left the shower door open in case she needed to make a quick escape.
As soon as the water hit her skin, it turned a milky brown, and continued to the drain in the middle of the shower. It calmed her, and felt nice despite the weight her clothes gained. She paid this no mind, and reached for a small tube on the floor of the shower with the word SHAMPOO written in sharpie. Solemnly lathering her head, she felt the dirt run from her roots to tip and eventually off of her body. She pivoted her head upwards and opened her mouth, allowing clean water to fall into her mouth. When her mouth filled, she swallowed and sighed happily at the relief the water brought.
It had been a while since Ana had taken a shower, and finally the events of yesterday seemed further away.
When she turned off the shower and opened the door further, she noticed the bathroom door was slightly ajar. Did she leave it like that?
The answer was no –Logan had cracked the door and used a gray sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants as a doorstopper. Seeing the clothes, Ana looked down at her own and debated what to do. While she didn't want to change, she also didn't want to messy up the clean bathroom by dripping water all over the floor. And so, after slight hesitation, she began peeling the clothes from her wet skin bit by bit. A towel resided on the seat of the toilet, and so Ana used that to dry off her naked body. Glancing in the slightly fogged mirror, in front of her, she noticed how hollow she looked.
Her cheeks had caved in, her eyes sunken. The worst part of the picture was the way her ribs and hips jutted out in awkward angles, pushing against her taught skin. Ana forced down a wad of saliva and averted her eyes, focusing on the fresh pile of clothes. Sliding them on, she realized just how big they were. They threatened to fall off with any step of her feet, so the girl tucked the sweatshirt into the hem of the pants to keep them on her waist.
"Are you done?" came a voice from the room over. Ana draped the towel on the doorknob, and left the room, gathering her hair to the left of her neck.
Logan was on the bed, a book in her hands and glasses shoved against her face. Her once lose hair was now pulled into a tight braid which hung over her shoulders carelessly. Ana observed Logan's body for the first time. Her hourglass figure defied the post-apocalyptic world they lived in. Ana quietly pursed her lips, reminiscing on Simon's comment.
"I can feel your ribs clearly, darling. Not the hottest thing in the world."
She closed her eyes tightly.
"Are you okay?" Logan questioned.
Ana pulled her lips into a thin line and opened her eyes again, nodding and then paying attention to Logan's new accessory.
"Reading glasses," Logan said, pulling the glasses from her eyes and closing them. She stood up and placed them on the desk across from the bed before staring at Ana. "Listen, why don't you take a nap? I'll be here the entire time."
Ana felt wary about this. She wasn't exactly comfortable with someone watching her while she slept, but she realized that sleeping without Logan would make her much more vulnerable.
She nodded again, making her way towards the black covers. Carefully, she pulled the first layer down enough to slip under. The mattress was soft. It molded to her body, hugging her bones and providing a soft cushion for them. She tried to stay quiet, and listened as Logan sat at her desk and began to flip through the pages of her book. Sleep encapsulated her a few minutes later.
"Wake up."
Ana opened her eyes, blinking lightly as she noticed the setting she was in had changed. She was in a naturally lit room, clenching thin cream sheets between her warm fingers. She felt the sheer nakedness of her body rubbing against those same sheets. Logan had left her. And now she was vulnerable in front of-
In front of who?
Ana's eyes travelled the room, noticing the billowing curtains that covered a wide window, and the few candles that were littered lazily around the room. And there-in the corner-
"Rick," Ana breathed, in relief. Rick was standing with his back turned towards her, and only shifted his position when she called his name. He smiled brightly back at her, and she noticed he had been in the process of buttoning his shirt. The sunlight danced against his bare skin, bathing it in positive light. For the first time in what seemed like weeks, Ana genuinely smiled. She reached out an arm, her hand twirling in attempts to grab onto Rick's wrist. He chuckled slightly and took a step towards her, gently letting his fingers slide across her skin.
Ana sighed, closing her eyes as shivers threatened her arms. "How did I get here?"
"I made a deal with Negan," Rick said while sitting on the bed next to her, "I missed you," he whispered, leaning close to her.
"I missed you too," Ana replied, "but what about Michonne?"
"She's not right for me. You are."
Ana grinned, allowing him to place a kiss on her cheek, and then her lips. He tasted like alcohol, which was the last thing Ana expected from him. Then again, maybe alcohol had been his escape. Apocalypses have the tendency to make people do the unpredictable.
The kiss lasted longer than Ana wanted to, and with each second, Rick pushed himself further onto Ana's body.
"I don't want to do this right now," Ana mumbled into his lips quietly, suddenly becoming aware of how close his bare skin was to her chest.
"You need this right now," Rick pressed on, reaching for the sheets.
"Rick stop," Ana pushed against his chest, but he wouldn't budge. His hands hungrily forced themselves onto her body. "Stop!" Ana cried, forcing her eyes closed, as tears fell against her cheeks. "Stop, please!"
When she opened her eyes again, new arms were around her. Her head was pressed against a different, welcoming chest as hands gently rubbed her shoulders.
"I have you," Negan whispered against Ana's hair. Her breath was heavy, real tears were falling from her eyes but she no longer felt threatened. The arms around her were safe. The arms around her would never hurt her.
A/N: I tried to make this chapter slightly longer than the last one, as a treat to all of you who have been so patient! Thank you so so so much for 200 followers and 24,000 views, I never thought this flimsy story would get that far.
Also- I have a question for you all: Rick or Negan? Why? Let me know in the reviews!
I hope you all enjoy the season finale tonight.
Replies:
I love all of your reviews. They make me smile, and further enjoy what I do!
I'm a Nerd and Proud: I hope you enjoy how I incorporated Logan into my story :). Also, I have a hard time watching the TV show without wanting to kill and destroy Simon every time he appears. I can't wait for Negan to find out
StTudnoBright: Don't worry, Ana will most likely spill everything! And Negan won't be too happy to figure out that his right hand man has been hurting his wife.