Chapter Three
all the good girls go to hell
The next few days crawled by. Negan holed up in the office, handling everything that needed to be handled. I worked in the lab, letting the familiarity soothe me.
Everything had seemed to return to a nice, small moment of normal. I had lunch with Eleanor and Simon everyday, checked in with Emily who was about to pop any second now, trained with the Saviors in the mornings, and spent my nights with Negan.
The fourth day after the lineup, on my way back from lunch, I ran into Dwight, literally, while rounding a corner.
"Jesus Christ," Dwight grunted, a hand grabbing my bicep to steady me.
My own hand reached out to rub my forehead, which had bumped against Dwight's chin pretty hard.
"Well, that fucking hurt," I mumbled, my eyes glancing up to his light blue ones, noticing on the way up that he had a plate with some bread on it.
"You're telling me. Barreling through the halls like a runaway bull, huh?"
I smiled at him.
"Sorry, I was lost in my head for a second. What're you up to?" I asked, his hand dripping from my arm.
"On my way to go check on the prisoner. Gotta bring him some lunch," Dwight shrugged, gesturing towards the paper plate.
"Oh, sounds like a blast. Have fun with all of that," I teased, smiling at him.
"For sure," he rolled his eyes.
"Want me to walk with you? Kind of a slow day. I could keep ya company?"
"Yeah, actually," he started walking, me trailing behind him, "Negan tell you that Daryl tried to break out yesterday? When I went out to find that fuck that stole all that shit? Made it outside before they caught him. Sounded fucking rough," Dwight sighed.
"No, but I haven't talked to him much either. How'd he get out?" I asked.
"That part is a little unclear. Negan was probably testing him, seeing if he was ready to agree to work with us."
I nodded my head.
"Makes sense. And I take it from his attempt at a great escape that he's probably not there yet?"
"Yeah, not even a little bit."
We reached the basement, where the cells were and Dwight stopped in front of a door before turning to look at me.
"Let me handle it, yeah? Just… observe, or whatever."
I nodded my head and Dwight unlocked the cell, swinging the door open. He stepped inside and I peered around him.
Daryl, the man who had hit Negan and been at the end of my machete, was huddled in the corner in a dingy looking sweatsuit. His hair was plastered to his head and looked greasy. He looked up at Dwight for a second as Dwight held out the plate to him, but at that moment Daryl's eyes bounced to mine. They were some of the bluest eyes I'd ever seen.
Recognition flashed behind his eyes briefly, before he turned and reached for the plate.
"You ready to play nice?" Dwight asked him, staring down at the man with his hands on his hips.
Daryl just stared at him with a blank expression on his face. It was clear in that moment to me that Daryl wasn't going to just break. He was hard, had probably been that way his whole life. It would take an act of God to penetrate whatever walls he had built around himself.
His eyes looked back to me as Dwight sighed and started walking back toward the door.
I stepped forward, keeping my eyes on the man. He genuinely looked like a caged animal and it was a little hard to look at. He kept eye contact as Dwight shut the cell door and locked it.
I stood there and blinked, trying to shake off the unease that had settled in the pit of my stomach.
"Hard to look at, isn't it?" Dwight murmured, placing his hand on my bicep and tugging me back down the hallway.
I stopped once we were a considerable distance from Daryl's cell and turned to Dwight.
"Do you feel like… something is different about this group? I have this gut feeling of wrongness, and I can't decide if it's because Colt is with them or if something is seriously off," I whispered to him.
Dwight looked around before settling his eyes back on me.
"I feel it, too. They're not going to take the shit we're giving them and just be okay with it," Dwight whispered.
I nodded my head.
"Guess that just means we're going to have to stay on our toes, huh?"
"Something like that," he gave me a lopsided smile and continued walking.
"I think I'm going to go take a shower. I feel dirty being down here. See you later?" I asked, backing towards the stairs.
He put his fingers to his forehead and gave me a grin and a mock salute before taking off down a different hallway.
I headed towards our room, letting what just happened roll around in my head. If Daryl was any indication of the kind of people we would be dealing with from Alexandria, I knew we were in for a difficult time. It made me feel a little better than Dwight felt it, too. I thought maybe I was just becoming soft towards the group because of Colt.
Stepping into our rooms, I looked up to see Negan at his desk.
"Just the woman I wanted to see. Get dressed. We're going to visit our new friends in Alexandria. Figured you might want to come, check on Colt," Negan said, not looking up from whatever papers he was reading.
"How long until we leave?" I asked.
"An hour. You good?" He looked up at me then, his eyes scanning over my face.
"Peachy. I'm going to take a shower."
I showered quickly, wanting to have plenty of time to get ready. Hopping out, I wrapped a towel around me and stepped into our room.
Negan was sitting on the bed, beside some folded up clothes. He motioned for me to come closer to him and I stepped between his legs.
He didn't say anything, just unwrapped the towel and started to dress me. Helping me into a pair of panties and my ripped black jeans, He placed a soft kiss to my abdomen before securing my bra and pulling my shirt over my head. He went as far as holding my socks open for me to step into and tying my boots.
"Do you want to talk about something?" He asked quietly.
His amber eyes looked up to me, hooking on mine, and I placed my palm against his cheek.
"No, just want to get this over with. Everything's fine," I murmured, leaning down to place a kiss on his lips.
I pulled back and grabbed my holsters from the dining table, starting to strap them to my thighs before sliding the weapons into them.
"Meet me outside in fifteen?" Negan asked, walking towards the door.
"Will do, boss."
I threw on my jacket and put a small cross body bag over my head. Snatching some of the pictures from moms box, I shoved them into the bag.
When I was ready, I grabbed my machete and headed to meet Negan. I spotted him immediately. He was standing next to a truck with Dwight and Daryl.
"This the one we're riding in?" I questioned Negan, pointing to the truck he was standing next to.
"Sure is, doll," Negan drawled, grinning to me.
I realized then that the show had already started due to Daryl being present.
I nodded my head and left the group, climbing into the truck and slamming the door shut behind me. After a few minutes, Negan climbed into the driver seat.
"You're driving?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at him.
"Am I not allowed?"
"You seem to prefer to be chauffeured most of the time."
Negan barked out a laugh as he started up the large truck and put it in drive. He spent the trip talking about nothing important, asking me questions about my day and what I wanted for dinner. Deciding I wanted to be closer to him, perhaps to ease the thoughts of the people we were en route to see, I laid across the truck seat and placed my head on his thigh.
One of his hands immediately dropped to my head and started playing with my hair. The action quieted my brain and almost put me to sleep.
"Do you need me to be present for everything? Or am I good to talk to Colt for a bit?" I asked when we were almost there.
"Talk to your brother. I got this," he responded, smiling down at me.
I returned his smile, and closed my eyes again as he started humming. I swear, this man could comfort anything out of me. Just hearing his low hum and his fingers in my hair made me feel like I was on cloud nine.
"We could always run away, you know?" I murmured.
"And where would we go, baby?" He asked.
My eyes were still closed, but I could hear a smile in his voice.
"Mmm, I'm thinking somewhere with all the seasons. Somewhere with lots of grass and trees. We could have a farm house in the middle of nowhere. With dogs and chickens and cows and goats. You could start a little garden and wear flannels," I let out a small giggle at the thought of Negan in something other than his white t-shirt and leather jacket, "We'd have a little library with all kinds of books. And rocking chairs on the front porch where we'd drink lemonade and watch the sun set. And there'd be a lake nearby so we could go fishing and swimming in the summer. No one would be around to bother us. The only decisions we'd have to make is what we wanted for dinner. It'd just be me and you and our animals."
"That sounds like one mighty fine dream, wildflower," Negan said softly, his fingers scratching lightly at my scalp.
"Maybe one day, right?"
"Maybe one day," he whispered.
When I heard the engine slow and then shut off, I sat up and looked around.
We were in front of solid looking walls that had a "Welcome to Alexandria" sign beside the gate.
"You ready for this?" Negan asked, looking over at me.
I nodded my head, "Yeah, let's do it."
"Wait here. I'm going to get them to open the gates," he said, jumping from the truck.
I slid over into the driver's seat as he sauntered towards the gate, propping Lucille up on his shoulder. I watched most of the other Saviors and Daryl file towards the gate and stand to the right of it.
Negan banged on the metal bars with Lucille. I heard him say something, but couldn't make out exactly what it was. I sat there, my mind wandering as a man opened a screen and then Rick appeared, looking considerably better than the last time I had seen him. The gate opened and Negan amped his performance up to a ten. A lot of words, killing a walker, sauntering around.
It dawned on me that this new world we were living in was made for Negan and men like him. He thrived in it. If I didn't know the man underneath the leather, I'd probably hate him too, but I knew how sweet he was. How much he cared about his people, even if he would never really admit it.
I got why he acted the way he did. He was untouchable like this. No one would fuck with him or the Sanctuary if they were terrified of the man, and most people who encountered him were. Fuck, even Brendan had been nervous around him. Cautious enough to plant Levi in the Sanctuary.
Negan started his cocky walk through the gates, followed by the other men and I started up the truck, slowly pulling in behind all of them. Once I was parked, I grabbed my machete and hopped out, making my way to Negan.
"Hot diggity dog! This place is magnificent!" Negan exclaimed, taking in the community.
Stopping near Dwight and Daryl, I looked around. He was right. It was beautiful, untouched by the bullshit of the outside world.
Rick turned around and looked at Daryl.
"Daryl, hey - " Rick started.
I jumped in to stop the interaction before Negan could. Though I knew I would sound like a jackass, it was easier if I handled it before Negan said something.
"No," I said harshly, grinning at the man while twirling my machete in my hand, "Nope! He's the help. You don't look at him, you don't talk to him, and Negan won't make you chop anything off of him."
Rick looked at me for a moment before looking away as Negan fixed me with a proud smile. My eyes drifted to my right, seeing a small, pretty woman who was glaring at me.
"Same goes for everyone, right?" I said in a singsong voice to the woman.
If looks could kill, I would have been dead at that moment, but the woman turned and walked away. Negan chuckled and looked around again.
"Alright, let's get this show on the road! See what kind of goodies you got in the cupboard!" Negan said, taking a few swaggering steps forward.
I checked out of what was happening around me as I scanned the people watching, looking for Colt. I didn't see him close by, so I started walking down the street directly in front of me, my machete still spinning in my hand.
I heard Arat behind me, yell for Saviors to move out, but I paid them no attention.
This place was a full blown Stepford situation. Everything was so green and really clean. It was wild. If you tried to imagine it hard enough, it was almost like I was in a neighborhood three years ago, before the dead started walking.
"He's in the second house at the end," I heard a voice call.
My head snapped and I saw the kid with his eye wrapped. Rick's son. He was standing on a porch, arms dangling next to him as he stared at me.
"What?"
"Colt. Second house at the end of the street on the right. He's in there if you want to see him," the kid said, squinting his eyes at me briefly.
Jesus. He had the same crazy face as his father.
"Thank you," I said, nodding to him.
He ducked his chin once and walked away.
I continued my stroll, still soaking in the beauty of Alexandria. Everyone I passed looked like they wouldn't spit on me if I was on fire, which I expected. For some reason, it made me want to laugh a little. They obviously thought everyone at the Sanctuary was a psychopath, including myself. I could see why, though.
Coming up to a two story blue house, second from the end on the right, I marched up the steps and knocked on the door three times. I heard voices and footsteps.
A man I didn't recognize opened the door and his eyes narrowed as he looked at me.
"Hi, is Colt here?" I asked, keeping my tone even.
The door slammed in my face. I stood there blinking before I heard footsteps again and the door swung back open, revealing Colt.
He looked good, clean. His longer dark hair was pushed back from his face and he had on jeans and a gray t-shirt. I often forgot how tall he was now, towering over me, with his slender frame.
His mouth parted slightly and his eyes grew wide as he lunged and wrapped me in his arms.
"Bunny," he breathed into my hair, "I keep thinking seeing you was a fever dream or something."
I returned the hug, pulling him in tight.
Regardless of how hurt I was by his choice, he was still Colt. Still the built-in sidekick I'd had since the day he was born. Still my best friend.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, pulling back and looking at me.
"Negan's here. Collecting. I wanted to see you. Thought maybe we could talk?" I asked, looking into his eyes.
His face scrunched slightly, but he nodded his head.
"Is Rick with him?"
"Yeah, I left them near the gate. I have some stuff for you," I said, tapping the bag hanging at my side.
"Oh, I actually have something for you, too," he smiled at me.
That action alone made a sadness tear through my chest. He looked so much like dad when he smiled.
I swallowed and nodded, smiling back at him.
"Wait here for just a minute. I'll grab some stuff and we can go somewhere a little quieter, yeah?"
He disappeared back inside as I waited. I turned to look down the road. I spotted Negan, who looked like he was having the time of his life, and Rick, who looked… like he wasn't. Arat was standing to the side of Negan and she noticed me. She shot me a quick grin and then her face went blank again.
The door opened and I turned toward Colt, who had a plastic bag in his hand.
"Come on," he said, taking off down the steps with me on his heels.
He paused for a moment, looking at the large group down the street and shaking his head.
"We have to walk past them. Just a heads up," he murmured.
As we neared the group, I felt eyes on us and looked ahead.
Negan and Rick were staring directly at Colt and I.
"Hey there, wildflower. You're gonna have a lot more guns to look after. We're taking theirs with us," Negan grinned, winking at me.
"Why the fuck would you do that?" Colt barked, standing shoulder to shoulder with me.
Negan's head tilted in Colt's direction.
"Because they're fucking mine, of course."
I tapped my boot against Colt's tennis shoe, signaling him to shut the fuck up.
"Actually, I think that means they're mine, right?" I questioned, sending Negan a bright smile.
"Right," he chuckled, turning towards Rick, "Colt here tell you my girl is a fucking wizard with weapons? She can do some real wild shit. She literally blew up an entire community. Similar in size to this one, actually."
Negan looked around, faking a thoughtful look for a second.
"Yeah, definitely about this size. Actually, now that I think about it, they had damn near the same walls this fine place has up. And she crumbled them like a piece of paper. Right, doll?" His eyebrow raised as he looked at me.
He was trying to scare them again, not like it was needed at this point.
"That's right," I responded, "Colt and I were going to go somewhere private to talk. Find me when it's time to go?"
"Sure will," Negan stepped closer, placing a hand on my hip and a kiss on my cheek, "Please be careful. There's two guns missing from their inventory and I don't trust these motherfuckers."
He whispered the last part in my ear for only me to hear before pulling back. I nodded my head and motioned for Colt to lead the way. Colt's eyes locked with Ricks briefly before he started walking.
He led me to a small pond with a bench positioned next to it, which he flopped back onto. I followed suit, setting my machete on the ground and pulling my legs up in front of me, wrapping my arms around them.
I looked at the water, a small smile pulling at my lips. It was beautiful here. This is the kind of shit I wanted for the Sanctuary. It was so dark there. I made a mental note to talk to Negan about actually following through on some of my ideas.
"This shit is wild, huh?" Colt whispered.
"Which part? Because the whole world seems a little surreal at this point."
He chuckled and I looked over at him.
"How are you alive? I… I saw you get shot. I saw you fall next to mom and dad."
"Damn, okay. Just jumping into it, are we?" He said, his smile going dim, "Uh, I did get shot. That's what these are from."
He pointed to the two scars I had noticed when I saw him the other day.
"I'm not sure how I lived, but it's because of Brendan. He'd had one of the doctors work on me. Luckily, the bullet had an exit point and didn't hit anything real important. Although, I do get headaches sometimes now. Bad ones, actually," he sighed, "Anyway, I woke up and Brendan told me everyone was dead. He was going to keep me there, make me start working for him, but I got out. I ran one night, timed it with a guard change. Actually, I got out the same way Negan used to sneak in to see you."
"You knew about that?" I gasped, my cheeks turning red.
"Mom and dad knew too," he laughed, "There was one night we were downstairs. Mom was making cookies and dad and I were sitting in the living room, talking about something. The conversation paused for literally a second and we heard Negan laugh from upstairs. Mom poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled at dad, who just laughed and shook his head."
I dropped my head to my knees, trying to hide the embarrassment on my face.
"Continue with what you were talking about before I drown myself in that pond."
"I got out and ran. I was on my own for a few days and I was fucking miserable. I knew mom and dad were dead, Brendan told me that you had been shot in the crossfire by Negan's crew. I was laying in the middle of the road one day, ready to give up, honestly. I was… exhausted, bunny. Nothing seemed worth it anymore. But then Aaron found me and he had Rick's group with him. He'd just found them, too. They were skeptical at first and didn't know whether to bring me back or not. Thankfully they did and I've been with them ever since," he finished, a smile pulling at his lips as he stared at the pond before looking at me, "How are you alive? Did you get shot?"
My eyes hooked on his and I shook my head. I rested my chin on my knees and looked off into space.
"No. I watched everything happen from the roof. All of it. Mom, dad, you, Negan coming to get us. I… when I saw you get shot, something broke. Like, really fucking broke. I blamed myself for all of it. I jumped. I jumped off the roof, with every intention of killing myself," I spoke quietly, not wanting to look at Colt, "But Negan got to me. He took me to the Sanctuary, had his doctor look after me. I was out for a few months, but I woke up and I didn't remember anything when I did. Not my name, not you guys, not Negan or the whole world ending. Nothing. It was terrifying at the time, but when I look back at it now, it was kind of nice, you know? Anyway, Negan took care of me. He was kind. And then when I did remember, I was a fucking nightmare. I was angry and hellbent on revenge. And he was still kind. Didn't freak out when I lost my shit. I even slapped him at some point. It was rough."
I cringed inwardly at the memory of hitting him.
"He gave me a lab, got the shit I needed so I could start producing again. I planned the whole Purcellville thing. All of it and he just gave me what I needed to get the job done. Supplies, people, everything. And they followed me in, had my back the whole time."
I shook my head and looked at him with a sad smile. He was watching me, eyes wide.
"You… tried to kill yourself?" He asked, voice breaking.
I nodded my head.
"It was just in the heat of the moment, you know? It was hard, seeing that. I blamed myself for so long. I still do most days, but I think I'm learning to forgive myself a little. I don't know," I said, shrugging my shoulders and looking away from him.
Colt was quiet, neither of us saying anything for a few minutes.
"You told me you buried them?"
"I did. I saw them hanging there when we were taking down the walls and I snapped. I got their bodies away and took them back to the Sanctuary. Buried them that day, with the help of some friends. They have crosses with their names. We even had a little service. It was nice. They put one up for you, too, actually. They wanted me to have a place to talk to you. That's been removed though," I chuckled, pulling my arms tighter around my legs.
"You like it there? At the Sanctuary?" He asked quietly.
"I do. It feels like home. First time I've had that in a really long time. And they trust me, they respect me, they actually care about me," I turned my head to him, laying my cheek on my knee, "Do you like it here?"
He smiled, his white teeth shining.
"I do, bunny. These people have been good to me. We're a family. A really odd, dysfunctional fucked up family, but still. Rick took me in with his group as soon as they decided I could be trusted. They're good people."
I returned his smile.
"I'm happy for you, Colt. Happy you found people that care about you. That you haven't been alone."
"Hey, look. When I left, I packed some shit in a backpack. I couldn't find moms box, but I grabbed this and I think you should have it," he said, reaching into the bag next to him and pulling out a folded maroon shirt.
He shook it out, displaying the t-shirt in front of me. I let out a gasp, quickly followed by a laugh. The large, raggedy t-shirt had been my moms. It read, "Piper's Diner, Est. 1984". Piper's was where my parents had their first date. They loved the place and went back every single year. The owner had given mom the t-shirt the year after I'd been born.
I grabbed the shirt from him, holding it in front of me. My vision became blurry as I looked at it, tears having formed in my eyes.
"Thank you," I got out, sitting the shirt beside me as I reached into the bag, "I did find moms box. She hid in the top of the closet. I brought these for you."
I handed him the stack of pictures. He started shifting through them. His cheeks turned red as tears started to form in his own eyes.
"I was scared that I would forget what you guys looked like," he whispered as one of his fingers touched moms face in a picture.
I leaned my head on his shoulder as we looked at the pictures.
"Feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?" I asked, smiling at a picture of me and Colt in a pool when he was eight.
"It really does," he murmured.
We sat there for some time, laughing at the photos and taking turns recalling the story behind them. It was everything I had needed since I saw him. This was how it was supposed to be. Eventually I sat up and stretched, raising my arms over my head.
"Do you want to talk about the big things now?" I questioned, looking over at him.
"Yeah, that might be a good idea," he said, nodding his head.
"I'll start. Why did you guys attack the outpost?"
"Fuck. You never warm a person up. Straight for the kill, everytime," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck, "Listen, I can't tell you the reason behind it, exactly, because it would get other people in trouble that don't need that shit right now. The general idea is that Negan is a fucking tyrant. He has other communities under his thumb that provide shit to him for no fucking reason. We didn't want him to come after Alexandria. We thought we were going to his actual place to kill him and I was fully onboard, honestly. I thought he was the reason you were dead."
I gave myself a second to digest before automatically responding. I wanted this conversation to go better than the last and that wouldn't happen if I told him he was fucking stupid.
"There were innocent people there that died that night. Those men had families. Someone important to me was wounded and he didn't deserve it. He's a good kid who was just helping drop off some supplies. The red head shot him. He barely made it back to me, back to his sister. And he is the only person that little girl has left."
Colt's head dropped.
"I'm glad he made it," he said quietly.
"Yeah, me too. Look, I know about the other communities. I'm not saying that everything Negan does falls real high up on a moral scale, but he cares about his people. And he leaves those other places alone for the most part. They provide goods, he protects them from other groups and keeps the majority of the walkers in the area to a minimum. I wish you would have tried to talk to him before the decision was made to kill people. He would have talked to you. And I probably would have found out a lot sooner that you were alive."
He looked at me then, his face set in a hard look. Not angry, necessarily, but a conviction to what he believed.
"Those people can take care of themselves. Regardless, after what he did to Abraham and taking Daryl, there's no going back. There's no fixing this," he said, his tone steady.
"If Abraham hadn't shot Harvey, he'd probably still be alive. Fuck, if the massacre at the outpost hadn't happened, we probably wouldn't even know Alexandria exists. And if the redneck had kept his hands to himself, I wouldn't have had to make a decision. I didn't want anyone else to die that night, so Daryl came with us. I won't apologize for any of that, Colt."
"I don't expect you to. We can sit here all day talking about what could have been done differently on everyone's end, but that isn't going to bring back anyone that died," he stated.
"I don't know where everything goes from here, Colt," I whispered, sadness pressing down on me, "I don't know how we fucking got here."
He shook his head a few times, grabbing my hand in his.
"I don't either, bunny. But I know that these are my people and the Sanctuary houses yours. I'm just scared that at some point, we're going to be on opposing sides of an all out war," he muttered, looking at the ground, "These people are strong and they're smart. At some point, they're going to fight back and I don't want you to be caught in the middle of it."
I turned toward him.
"If Negan's in the middle of it, I will be beside him. But listen to me. No matter what happens, no matter where all of this ends up, I will do my best to protect you, Colt. I promise. I respect that this is where you want to be, but I will always come for you if shit gets bad. Please remember that," I said, squeezing his hand.
He swallowed hard and returned the squeeze.
"Same goes for me. You're the only family I have left now, Piper. I need you to be safe, okay?"
I wrapped him in a tight hug that he returned, until we settled back on the bench and kept talking. He told me about his life in Alexandria, and I told him about the Sanctuary and my friends there. We talked for a couple hours, not letting anything going on around us stop the conversation.
Eventually, we agreed that it was probably time to head back and see how everything was holding up. He kept the pictures in his hand and I stuffed moms shirt into my bag. I grabbed my machete and then looked at Colt. I made a split second decision that could cost me a whole world of fucking problems later.
I took my gun from the holster, looking around to make sure no one was watching, and handed it to him. He looked up at me surprised.
"What is this for?"
"I need you to keep it. Hide it. Don't tell anyone else you have it, do you hear me? But I need you to make sure that you are protected. Use it only if you absolutely have to. It's fully loaded and I can bring you some more bullets next time I come back. Promise me that you won't use it on Negan and you won't tell anyone here you have it. Promise me right now," I demanded, my eyes searching his.
"I promise, but you don't have to do this, bunny. I don't want you getting in any kind of trouble for me."
I laughed.
"I make my own rules, Colt. Always have, always will. I'll deal with it if anyone finds out. Don't worry about me."
He nodded and tucked the handgun into the back of his jeans, covering it with his shirt.
"Thank you, Piper. Seriously. Thank you."
"Don't mention it, little brother. Come on."
We started heading back the way we came.
"Hey, how are your friends? The pregnant lady and the guy? Did she get the help she needed?" I asked, glancing over at him as we walked.
He was quiet for a moment, his eyes downcast. He looked like he was making a decision to tell me about them and it made me realize again that I was the enemy. Or, at the very least, fucking the enemy.
"Yeah, Maggie and Glenn are fine from my understanding. They're staying close to the doctor until the baby is born, but please don't share that information with anyone else," he finally said, looking over at me.
I nodded my head and kept walking, the weight of what was happening between our groups sinking in again.
When we got to the end of the street, I noticed Rick, his son, and what looked like a preacher standing on the pavement, staring at something. I followed their line of sight to see a young teenage girl with brown hair glaring at a man in front of her. I realized it was David, one of the Saviors. The man had always given me the fucking creeps. I'd caught him leering at people before, including myself.
I stepped closer, listening to the interaction.
"Balloons? You going to a party, little girl?" David asked, holding a bunch of green balloons in his hand.
"Can I keep them, please?" The girl asked, glaring up at the man before her facial expression turned uncomfortable, "It's just… let me keep them."
"Say please again, little girl," David demanded.
"Please," the girl murmured.
"One more time," David cooed, running his finger along the girl's cheek.
Ope, that was a fucking mistake.
I stormed forward, eyes locked on the pathetic excuse for a man. I twirled my machete a few times before using the flat side to come down hard on the man's hand, knocking it away from the girl's face.
David yelped and jumped back, dropping the balloons on the ground as he clutched his hand to his chest. I spun the machete towards his neck until it was a centimeter away from his jugular.
"You want to explain to me what you're doing to his kid, David?" I growled, as he started to back up.
I matched his steps, keeping the pointed edge of the blade in the same position. He collided with the side of one of our moving vans. I pushed the tip slightly into his skin.
"You had so much to say before, motherfucker, so don't get quiet on me now. What. Were. You. Doing."
"I-I-I was just checking to see what she had," he stammered, eyes wide.
"Did that require you to put your disgusting fucking hands on her?" I yelled, fully aware that we were gathering an audience at this point.
"N-No, I'm sorry, Piper. I'm sorry."
"That's not going to cut it, David, because I don't believe you're actually sorry, you know? Beg. Ask me nicely not to end your pathetic ass right now. Say please," I purred the last sentence to him, causing him to shake.
"Please, please don't. I'm really sorry. It won't happen again," he whispered.
I could see the muscles in his throat working, trying not to swallow or breathe too deep.
"Now apologize to… I'm sorry, what's your name, honey?" I asked, looking back at the girl and giving her an encouraging smile.
"It's Enid," she said quietly.
"Apologize to Enid. And make it fucking good, David," I growled.
"I'm sorry, Enid. I'm sorry I took your balloons," he gulped.
"That's not all. Apologize for being a fucking creep."
"I'm sorry for being a creep, Enid."
I turned my eyes back to the girl.
"You accept his apology?" I asked her.
Her eyes bounced between David and I, before settling back on me.
"No."
"Good, I wouldn't either. Pick the balloons up off the ground, you douche," I said to David, backing away slightly to give him space to get around me.
He scrambled to the pavement, picking up the balloons and standing back up, beady eyes on me.
"Enid is going to hold out her hand and you are going to drop them into her palm carefully, not making any fucking contact. Do you understand?"
"I-I understand," he said, looking at the ground.
"Enid, be a doll and hold your hand out for me, okay?"
The girl did as I requested, her eyes on David with a defiant look shining in them.
David carefully dropped the balloons in her outstretched hand, cautious not to touch her. He looked back at me.
"If I ever catch you doing some weird, inappropriate shit like that again, I will personally slice your neck open. Go sit in the fucking trucks until we leave," I gritted out, shooing him away from me with my machete.
I watched him scurry to a truck and get in without another backwards glance.
"That guy has always been a fucking cretin," I heard a voice say beside me.
I looked over to find Charles with a disgusted look on his face.
"Yeah, he's not allowed on anymore runs," I said, shaking my head and turning back to the girl, "Are you okay?"
She nodded her head slowly.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"You don't have to thank me. We're the reason that stupid fuck is here," I replied, turning around.
Rick, his son, and the preacher were still standing there, watching the interaction, Colt having joined them. Negan's head was poking out from the back of a moving truck, grinning at me.
I walked towards them, my eyes set on Rick.
"You watched that shit happen and decided against doing anything about it?" I asked the man, disgusted.
He didn't say anything for a moment, just stared at me with his piercing blue eyes.
"I wasn't trying to get anyone else killed," he finally said.
"Oh, okay. But it's fine to let them get fucked with be a whole ass weirdo, yeah? I know you're fucking scared or whatever, but if something like that happens again with anyone, especially with kids, you fucking tell one of us. That's unacceptable. Don't just stand there and watch that shit."
My voice was angry. I get being too terrified to speak up about some shit, but letting that happen to a fucking kid and not doing shit to stop it was repulsive.
"Thank you, for helping her," Rick's son said, looking at me solemnly.
"Yeah," I replied, removing myself from the group and going to sit on the steps near them.
The warm fuzzies from talking to Colt had disappeared. I was hot and hungry and beyond fucking annoyed. If Negan didn't get me home quickly, I was likely to start throat punching people, starting with our people. No one was safe from my hands at this point.
"She's fucking awesome, ain't she?" I heard Negan boom in my direction.
Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I looked down the street. Colt plopped down beside me while Rick and Negan started talking.
"Well, that was fucking unsettling," Colt muttered.
"I'll kill him if he so much as blinks in the direction of another female."
Colt chuckled.
"Sounds like he'd deserve it, honestly."
I noticed everyone starting to walk back towards the gate. Negan made a subtle gesture for me to follow with his hand.
I hopped up from the steps and turned towards Colt.
"See you next time, brother?" I asked, giving him a smile.
"I'll be here," he responded as he stood up, giving me a quick hug, "Love you, bunny."
"Love you most," I whispered.
I pulled back and gave him one last look before following the crowd of Saviors. When we reached the front gates, two cars pulled in and Negan continued his conversation with Rick. I didn't have it in me to listen or play along with the production. I wanted to leave.
I noticed Dwight get on a motorcycle and fire it up. From the look on Daryl and Rick's faces, I assumed the bike probably belonged to Daryl.
"Negan?" I said, interrupting his conversation.
He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "Yes, doll?"
I walked up to him and whispered in his ear.
"This going to take much longer?"
"Probably another ten minutes. Why?" He whispered back, just as quietly.
"I'm tired. Are you okay if I ride back with Dwight? I want to go home," I said, looking up into his eyes.
He looked at the motorcycle for a second before returning his brown eyes to me.
"Yeah, wildflower. Go ahead, but be safe, okay?"
"I will," I promised, reaching up to kiss him quickly.
I walked towards Dwight, just as Negan let out a dramatic groan.
"You okay if I ride back with you? I want to go home," I asked Dwight.
"Hop on," he agreed, nodding his head back once.
I climbed on the bike behind him and tucked my machete through my belt on the side, making sure it wouldn't stab either of us. Wrapping my arms around Dwight's waist, I held on to him tight.
"Wildflower?" Negan called.
My eyes met his and he grinned.
"I expect you to be in bed when I get home. No clothes required," he said, winking at me.
That, I could tell, was not just a bit. He meant that.
My wide grin matched his.
"You got it, boss."
Dwight revved the bike and we took off, my hair blowing back from my face.
We put some distance between us and Alexandria before Dwight turned his head slightly back towards me.
"Hey, Piper?" He yelled.
"Yeah?"
"Where's your gun?"
I could hear the smile in his voice as he reached back and tapped my empty holster.
"Damn. Must have lost it," I called to him.
I felt his body shake as he laughed.
"Your secret is safe with me, trouble."
I smiled wide and rested my head on his back as we rode towards home.