Chapter Four
"Let me the fuck out of here!"
I slammed my fists on the cell bars, already bruised from hitting against the walls earlier and screamed at the top of my lungs. I yelled to be let out again but nobody came running to my rescue. Nobody had come running for two weeks now, it was probably longer than that. I was just counting the days by the food.
I slammed my fists against them one last time before turning around and collapsing down on the chair. I put my head in my hands and started counting again, the tremors in my hands stopped and I looked up at the sound of a door opening and closing somewhere else in the factory
I stared at my bare feet as I heard footsteps come towards my area. I didn't bother looking up as Negan came sauntering in, food in one hand and a water bottle in the other.
"Evenin'."
"I'm going to kill you."
"Watch your mouth, Laney." He slid the food through the bars but dangled the water bottle in front of me for a second before tossing it over. He seemed tired as he rested his body against the bar and studied me, "You sleep okay?"
"Dreamt about how I'd kill you." I responded, sitting down on the ground in front of my food and eating it, Negan crouched down to eye level and reached out, I dodged his hand, "Thought about suffocating you with your own scarf."
"Don't be like this, baby girl. I had to do what I had to do to protect you."
"It doesn't matter how you say it. But if it makes you feel better, go right the fuck ahead." I got up and sat on the bed again, food tray pulled close as Negan hung his head, "What are you doing here? You never bring me my shit."
"I missed you."
"That why you rounded up the Wives again?" I laughed and Negan frowned, straightening up, "Calm down, I ain't jealous. Never was that special to me."
"I told you to watch your fucking mouth-"
"Or what? You gonna kill me? Lay a finger on me 'cause you're in love? You couldn't love anyone if your life depended on it, dick head." I interrupted him, tossing the food to his feet where it splattered over his boots, "C'mon Negan, where's that bad boy attitude? Use it all up killing other people's parents?"
"Melaney, you're crossing on thin fucking ice here." He growled, I smiled and walked up to the bars, leaning against them and Negan mirrored back. I touched his gloved hand and looked at him.
"So do something about it."
I lunged forward through the bars as much as I could, grabbing the collar of his leather jacket and jerked him forward with all of my strength. Off balance and caught by surprise, Negan tumbled forward and slammed his head against the bar.
"Fucking bitch!" He yelled out, holding his nose as I released him and retreated back to my bed, "Melaney...fucking..."
"Why don't you get one of your Wives to come and shove it up her ass for you? Since that's where your heads at half the time these days, I heard." I put my head on my hands on the bar as Negan wiped the blood away and stared at me in utter amazement, "What? Don't like this side of me? What did you call it half a year ago, you missed the sweetheart me? Heads up, Negan. Life ain't sweet asses and cupcakes."
"Steven!" Negan boomed down the corridor and a returning yell was replied, "Come in here and beat the shit out of her."
"You sure you wanna do that? He might break a nail." I called after Negan as he exited, Steven appeared in my vision with a baton, "Come on, pretty boy, I've been yelling for hours for a good fight."
He opened the door and came in.
Most nights when Negan called all the Saviors for a meeting, it was over within an hour or so. Some nights, like tonight though, Negan made a point to set aside two hours worth of everyone's time to go over new and old rules and regulations and news.
Negan had let me out after four weeks in the cell, had one of the Wives come and grab me before taking me up to his loft and allowing me to shower and make myself a human again. I hadn't seen him for a few days, I had returned to my old room before he had a chance to come and talk to me about what was supposed to happen next. The scary thing about what may happen next to me was nothing, Negan could have forgiven me completely which was incredibly unlike him but he hadn't made any move to make me think otherwise.
Negan tapped Lucille on the metal tabletop he seated himself on, immediately everyone in the factory stopped what they were talking about, pingpong paddles were set down quietly and those who weren't sitting sat themselves on the floor obediently. I was standing with Amber near the factory windows, she folded her arms as Negan cleared his throat. She was getting fed up with how he had been treating the other Wives lately, he brought them back in and he barely cared about them at all anymore.
"Everyone listening? Good. We got a few issues to cover since Hilltop isn't giving us the shit we need in the time we need it." Negan twirled Lucille, "Now before we cover that, anyone got anything to say aboutt he shit that hit the fan earlier today?"
Nobody said a word about one of the Saviors going insane and trying to kill himself, nobody even batted an eye and Negan nodded.
"I understand, it's a tough subject. But you men and women, are part of our family. We take care of each other right? Kill the people who harm our people?" He looked over everyone who gave small nods, "So that means if you've got a fucking problem you talk to someone about it. Don't fucking ram a knife in your shoulder and run around screaming."
"He should have aimed it at you." Amber muttered, I smiled and looked out the window before Negan could catch us giggling.
"-so find that person later after the meeting and fucking tell them. Alright, back to the Hilltop shit. Byron, how much meat were we supposed to get from them this week?"
Negan called on a redheaded man who immdiately stood up with a sheet in hand. I shook my head and watched the guards outside move back and forth on their positions. I shifted and Amber knocked against the cuffs on my wrist, oh right, I was free from the cell but I was still pretty much detained to not being able to stretch at all.
"You sure you don't want me or Kara to grab the keys off Negan when he's asleep? Could get you some relief." Amber whispered as I messed with the cuffs and rubbed the red marks on my wrist, "I could get the gate keys while I'm at it."
"If only you could get the gate keys, I would leave here in an instant." I felt a lump settle in my throat as I watched the gate through the window, "I'm not supposed to be here anymore, Amber. Negan...after what he did to my parents..."
"I know Melaney, I know." She smiled, "Just be thankful you're not locked up in his room all the time in this crap."
She gestured down to the lingerie that was barely hidden by the long jacket she was wearing. I watched her smile before looking up and becoming still for a moment before hurriedly looking back to NEgan. I followed her line of sight and saw her boyfriend sitting not too far away near the ping pong tables. He was watching her, eyes soft and sad as he had to view his girlfriend across the floor, knowing if he laid a finger on her Negan would kill him.
"You ever talk to him?" I asked as we watched Negan begin to lay out a plan to figure out a way for Hilltop to produce more, Amber shook her head.
"I'm too afraid of what Negan would do to him. I don't even like looking at him in case Negan sees."
"I'm sorry, Amber."
"You got something to say, Melaney?" Negan spoke up and all eyes shifted to me. I froze where I was perched as Negan looked at me expectantly, he hated being interrupted for anything, "Well? Either shut up or-"
"Maybe if you stopped beating the hell out of their members everyday they'd produce more crops and learn to actually irrigate their water right. Putting the fear of God into them doesn't help them." I spit out, Negan raised an eyebrow.
"I ain't putting the fear of God into them, I'm putting the fear of me, into them." He smiled and some of the men cheered at that, I rolled my eyes.
"Well maybe if you stopped fucking them, they'd have time to learn what to do and do it right so the next time your bitches roll up they'll have everything ready." I stood up and Negan put a foot down on the ground like he was going to meet me halfway, but stopped, "Unless, your plan is to kill them all one by one until we have nobody to trade with and we all die...then I guess, what was the point of the whole 'we are a family' speech about?"
"Put her in the fucking back." Negan ordered Steven but Amber stepped forward.
"I can do it, she's just tired Negan, take it easy on her alright?" She grabbed my arm and began leading me away, Negan just rolled his eyes and turned back to addressing everyone. Steven watched me go like a hawk, a sneer curling on his lips. I flipped him off and Amber shoved me.
Amber led me to the cell and I went in, again, she left the door open like she usually did when she was the one putting me in here. She sat with me on the bed and took off her heels, stretching her feet and laying back. I picked up her heels and bent some of the material to give more. The fact Negan had all of the girls wearing these all day every day was ridiculous. If something were to happen to the base and the Wives had to run they'd instantly break an ankle trying to get away.
"Wanna take a nap with me?" Amber asked, already half asleep. I put her things down and scooted back, letting her head rest in my lap and I closed my eyes as she started humming to herself.
Two Hours Later
"Get her the fuck up!"
"Negan!"
I woke up with a violent start as Amber screamed. I was thrown against the dar cell wall and Amber was pushed out the cell. Negan handed her the heels and ordered her to leave. I slid down the wall, Steven standing over me with a smile as Negan came in and closed the bars behind him.
"Negan you can't do this to her!" Amber chucked her heels away and banged on the bars, "NEGAN FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"
"This doesn't fucking concern you, Amber! Steven!" Negan shoved his right hand man towards the brunette and he went out, grabbing Amber and hauling her away. They left us with a bang of the door. Amber's heels were still sitting outside my cell.
I looked up at Negan, hands still cuffed together as he stood over me, just staring with no expression at all on his face. I moved to get up but he stepped forward closer and I slid down on my ass again huddled in the corner.
"I'm real sorry about this, baby girl." Negan whispered, shedding his leather jacket on my bed and looking down at his hands, "It ain't right, never was in the old world and it ain't in the new world."
"Negan-"
"I gave you alot of chances to shape the fuck up after the shit you pulled with your folks." Negan crouched down to me, hand balled into fists, "But you keep fucking shit up."
"I-"
He grabbed me, twisting my shirt in his hand and throwing me down to the ground again. My head smacked into the concrete and I groaned, rolling onto my stomach as everything began to get dizzy. Negan laughed above me, not happily, but enough to send shivers down my spine. I tried crawling towards my bed but Negan just grabbed my legs and pulled me backwards, flipping me over to grip my jaw.
"You were a pain in my fucking ass tonight with what you said." He hissed, "Had people fucking questioning me."
He cracked his fist across my face, splitting my cheek and I cried out, I felt my face begin to bleed and swell up as Negan cracked me across the face two more times before dropping me to the ground. I couldn't even raise my hands to cradle my own face as Negan attached a long chain from the cuffs to the bed post. I jerked them back but Negan's hand found its way into my stomach to stop me from doing that.
"And we just can't have that." Negan continued, circling me as I rolled on my back in pain crying, "Have to make a lesson out of you just like I do with those hilltop pricks."
"Negan, please."
"Don't cry, Laney, don't. This is hard enough for me to fucking do. Don't fucking cry and make me regret this." Negan ordered, sounding like he wanted to cry himself, "Just...just close your eyes baby girl."
Negan's foot crushed down on my leg and I screamed as I felt the bone bend dangerously. He grabbed me and hauled me up again, forcing me to stand on the leg before throwing against the wall and slapping me across the bruising he had caused earlier. The chain on the bed clanged at the tension around my wrists. I fell to my knees as Negan reached for something in the corner of the cell. With his back to me, he sighed and inspected his gloved hands.
"Never wanted to lay a hand on you. Never wanted to lay anything but my lips on you."
He turned around with Lucille in hand, hands gripping the bat like it was his lifeline. I sniffled, snot and blood coming out of my nose as I laid there on the ground, completely weak and helpless. Negan slowly walked to where I was lying, planting his feet on both sides of my head. He sighed and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck go straight up as he lifted Lucille on his shoulder.
I was crying, too weak to even try and act tough with the pain rolling through my body. Some people could get beat for hours on TV and act like it was nothing; the reality of it was just a couple punches by the right person could send you to your knees in just two minutes.
"Baby girl, you know I love you."
Negan whispered and I closed my eyes before the world suddenly exploded into white and then I couldn't think anymore.
Amber slid out of the bed she was sharing with Negan and Victoria. She held her breath as Negan turned over and cradled Victoria against his chest before falling back asleep again. She tip-toed out of the loft and picked up the key she had stolen off of Negan hours earlier when she spiked his drink. She turned to find a young man with dirty blonde hair come through the loft door with a duffel bag.
"You have everything?" She whispered, grabbing a cover up and meeting Dwight on the steps outside the loft, closing the door quietly. He nodded and handed her the key to the back gate.
"We don't have alot of time, Amber." He followed her down the steps and down to the cell basement, she shushed him as someone walked past, "Amber!"
"Just keep quiet, Dwight. This is our only chance."
Amber ran down the hall with Dwight on her heels and came to a stop in front of the cell with the only resident. Dwight cringed as he shone a flashlight over the girl's body.
Negan had beaten her to death it looked. Right eye swollen, nose bloodied and possibly broken. God, there was just so much blood on her pillow but she was alive, breathing very shallowly.
"She's...she's gonna make it out, right?" Dwight asked as Amber unlocked the gate and went in. He set the bag of weapons, food and medical supplies down, going through it to make sure she would have enough to escape.
"Melaney? Melaney wake up." Amber shook the young woman awake, who groaned in pain and managed to open up her good eye.
"Am..ber?"
"Get up, Melaney. You're leaving the Saviors right now."