Too Good to be Bad | Negan |

13 - I will be fine

'I'm tired, Alex', I tell him, trying to get out of this conversation. But he's not so easily fooled.

'I know you, Lara', he says. 'You're not telling us the whole truth and if you want me to stay here, you will tell me.'

I turn to look at him. I'd been worried I wouldn't be getting away with not telling the full truth. Not with Alex.

'So what do you think I'm not telling you? I told you the truth. We got caught, he started to torture us, threatened to kill us, so I told him the truth and he offered to help us. And now we're here. Of course I was worried he was lying to me, but I didn't know what else to do. If I didn't cooperate, he would have killed Kieran.'

'I'm not saying you lied to us, I'm saying you're not telling everything. And if you want to know the truth, I think you made some sort of deal with him.'

I turn away from him and stare at the ceiling. I can't lie to my best friend, he sees right through me. But what will he think of me?

'Promise not to tell anyone?'

'I can't promise that, not knowing what it is.'

'It's nothing they need to know. Please, I'm ashamed. And the truth will come out in the end anyway. I'll tell them myself, eventually.'

He moves to his side, facing me.

'Okay. I won't tell anyone. Just tell me.'

I sigh and close my eyes. Maybe that will make things better.

'From the start he targeted Kieran more than me. He separated us and kept demanding that I tell him about where we're from, who we're with. I didn't want to say but... he threatened to kill Kieran. So I told him everything about us. About the pregnancy, about what happened at the camp. Everything except for our location. Then the next day, he offered me a deal.'

I open my eyes for a second to look at Alex. His eyes look worried, his brows pulled together.

'Basically, he offered me everything we needed to survive if I became his wife.'

'His wife?' Alex looks stunned. I must have looked much the same when Negan asked me. I nod.

'Not in the traditional sense exactly. He's already got a bunch of wives. It's like a damn harem or something. His wives sit around in short dresses, waiting to see who he wants to fuck that night.'

'That's sick.' Ales looks repulsed.

'Yeah.'

'Tell me you didn't agree to that.'

'You're all here aren't you? Safe and sound.'

'Lara, you can't do that. We have to leave. We'll find a way to survive.'

I let out a frustrated groan.

'I can't leave, remember? I have to sit out my sentence here one way or another. If I have to do that, at least this way we'll all be safe. And together. You know as well as I do that our chances of getting through winter were slim to say the least and Priya's even more so.'

'You don't know that for sure. I'm not letting you go through with this, it's crazy. Let's just gather everyone up and leave right now. You know where he's keeping Kieran don't you? We'll bust him out and go.'

'That would be a great idea if it wasn't for the giant fucking fence outside and the men with machine guns around every corner. Have you been walking around with your eyes closed?'

Frustrated, Alex lets himself drop onto the bed and stares at the ceiling with a frown on his face. I can see the wires working in his brain.

'If we all want to live and be together, this is the only way, Alex. I can deal with it. Please just promise me you won't do anything stupid.'