My Safe Space

eleven

annabelle sat on the stairwell stared down at her mothers necklace. they'd gotten back to the sanctuary that morning. she sighed as she thought back to the last time she saw her mom. she prayed she was still alive somewhere but she was well aware of the odds. but that didn't stop her wishful thinking.

"what are you doing down here?" a voice startled her. she turned to see dwight walk down the second set of stairs before sitting aside her. he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up.

"just thinking." she shrugged and looked back to the necklace.

"it's beautiful," dwight said as he looked to the necklace that held her attentions. "my mom was a big jewelry person. i mean she'd max out all of her boyfriends credit cards buying all sorts of necklaces, rings, anything that sparkled."

annabelle laughed. "how many boyfriends are we talking about?"

"pftss i couldn't even count them all. my dad left when i was about a year old, after that my mom jumped man up until the world crashed and burned. she was a good mom though, did her best. she never loved any of them, ya know? it was just loneliness, with the added bonus of jewelry money." dwight recounted with a chuckle.

"my mom loved this necklace, never saw her without it. when she gave it to me i spent the next few minutes trying to figure out if it was real or i was just dreaming." annabelle chuckled and looked back to the beautiful red diamond necklace in her hand.

"can i see it?" dwight asked.

she glanced over to him before handing it over to him. he admired it for a moment before he grabbed both ends, "move your hair."

annabelle moved her hair to the side as he put the necklace around her neck and clipped it. when she felt the weight drop she released her hair and softly grabbed the pendent from her chest. she smiled to herself as she looked down at it. "i never put it on before, it just felt wrong, ya know?"

"i think it looks way better on you than in your hand, you look beautiful." dwight offered a soft smile.

annabelle smiled and looked back over at him from the necklace. "sorry for ratting you out yesterday, negan would kill me if something happened to you."

"no it's fine, i get it. but dwight?" anna paused for him to look back at her. "what did you mean by be careful? when you were walking me to negans room last week."

dwight hesitated before looking down at his hands as she watched and waited for a response. "he's not who he seems. he took me by surprise when he got rid of his wives, but he's negan. a man doesn't change, not one like him."

"what's that supposed to mean?" she was confused.

"i can't." he shook his head and stood to his feet and took a step down. "just.. just don't get too close. be careful annabelle, really."

dwight began walking down the stairs leaving her with so many questions. don't get close? what did he mean by men like negan don't change? she sighed and stood to her feet, knowing she needed to get back to her room before it got too late. she walked back up to her room and changed into pajamas before laying into bed. though she couldn't fall asleep. all she could think about was what dwight said earlier.

negan was fast asleep when he heard a soft knock on his door. he groaned and rolled over looking at the time to read 4 am. "come in,"

the door opened and closed behind whoever it was causing him to sit forward and reach for the gun on his nightstand. only to see anna slowly walk toward his bed. he sighed of relief and chuckled. "what are you doing up?"

"i was hoping we could talk," she whispered.

"at 4 am?" he laughed.

"i-.. i can't sleep." she sighed. negan examined her in her pajamas, he soft and exhausted look on her face. he chuckled to himself and lifted up his blanket and motioned her to join him, which she did very quickly. "what's the problem princess?"

"are you serious about not being with your wives? i mean.. you're not going to sleep with them anymore? no more special treatment, nothing?" she asked.

"of course not, i mean i have needs and you don't make it easy." he softly laughed. "but i respect your wishes, i want nothing to do with them anymore. not when i have you."

"you promise?" she spoke softly.

"pinky promise," he chucked. "now where is this coming from? why now?"

annabelle wasn't going to rat dwight out about having a conversation about his concerns. "no where, just been on my mind lately and just needed to know for sure."

negan pushed a strand of her long hair behind her ear. "i wouldn't do anything to hurt you, not in any way. i care about you in more ways than you can imagine anna. there's nothing to worry about."

anna smiled before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "can i sleep in here with you?"

"of course," he smiled before laying back. she instinctively moved into his side, resting her head on his chest. he played with her hair as she listened to his breathing. "i'm not going to be here tomorrow so i want you to stay inside, okay?"

"where are you going?" she asked.

"on a run with a few guys, have some things i need to get. i just really need you to listen and stay inside, and stay where dwight can see you. okay?" negan insisted as his fingers twirled her hair,

"can i go with?" she asked almost immediately.

"absolutely not." negan answered in a split second without a thought. "why not?" she huffed.

"because it's not safe, no reason for you to be out there." negan replied without even considering the idea of her going out there again.

she lifted her head to turn and look at him. "i'll be with you, and i'm always safe with you, right?"

"you are but-" anna cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

"but nothing, i'm safe with you out there so i'm going. i'm not a prisoner here negan, i wanna go so i am. please?" she insisted. negan chuckled and pressed a kiss to her head. "fine."

she laid her head back on his chest with a smile on her face. she wasn't scared to go out there anymore, not when she has negan. the indulged in the way he made her feel so safe, being around him made her feel like she had a fire burning inside her belly. she couldn't be happier.

A/N

just letting y'all know i also have a daryl dixon fanfic because face it, that man if fine as FUCK 😩❤️