Too Good to be Bad | Negan |

15 - Ready for a tour?

The rest of the day passes without much incident. Pamela grumbles when I reach the laundry room, still a bit late since we were at the completely other side of the building. But she knows I was with Negan, so she doesn't get too angry. She does want to know exactly why he was so interested to see me and what we talked about and what we did that took so long. I tell her a little, but keep the details to myself, of course.

Negan surprises me by having someone bring me some lunch, even though I didn't kiss him. Pamela raises her eyebrows at that, but doesn't comment too much on it. I didn't expect him to do that and I appreciate the gesture. Then Pamela and I spend most of the afternoon delivering laundry to different rooms throughout the building until finally the alarm sounds and it's time to get some dinner. I decide to go straight to the cafeteria where Alex greets me with a worried expression.

'Where the hell were you at lunch?'

'I was with Negan', I say in a hushed voice.

'With Negan?' he asks way too loud.

'Yes, will you keep your voice down? Not everyone needs to hear about it.'

We're in the middle of the cafeteria and as newcomers we already attract looks wherever we go. I don't need everyone to know Negan pays me extra attention. If they don't know it yet from seeing us walk around the building together.

'Sorry', Alex mumbles.

We get in line to receive our food and I wave at Priya, who's already sitting at a table with Katarina and the kids.

'I'll tell everyone once we're seated, okay? Saves me the trouble of telling everything three times over. How was your first day in maintenance?'

'Great', he says sarcastically, pulling a face. 'They asked me to fix this toilet that didn't flush, but by the time I was done with it, it didn't just not flush, it was spewing up water everywhere.'

'I'm sure it'll get better', I laugh. 'Laundry wasn't too great for me either.'

'Did you turn a load of whites pink or something?'

'Ha! No, I did manage to get through the day without destroying anything.'

We get to the front of the line and receive our pasta from Nik, who actually seems to be enjoying his new job. He motions for me to come closer as he hands me the plate.

'I put in little extra for you, don't tell anyone', he tells me, winking.

'Are you sure you should be doing that, Nik?' I ask him in a low voice 'You could get in trouble'.

'Pssht', he responds dismissively. 'I eat trouble for breakfast.'

I roll my eyes but still smile at him. This man is just impossible. Alex and I make our way to the others where we're greeted heartily. Of course they also want to know where I was at lunch so I decide to break the news to them right away.

'Negan came to take me to see Kieran. Like he promised yesterday, remember? He's doing okay and sends all of you his love. His wounds are healing and they've given him food and an actual mattress. His conditions are much better now, thank God.'

'What were his conditions like before?' Katarina asks suspiciously. That's right, they didn't know about the chains and all that.

'Oh they were just...', I pause, because I don't want to upset the kids. 'They weren't so great. He didn't have anything to sleep on and he was dirty. Now he's got clean clothes and everything.'

'How generous', Alex comments sarcastically.

'Look I'm not happy about it either', I tell him, 'but we have to remember, we did try to steal from him. He could have just killed us all and be done with it. We can hardly expect a 5-star service can we?'