❝oh, and i don't have a soul to save, yes, and i sin every single day❝
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IT WAS HARD TO AVOID THE SILENCE AT LUNCH. everyone already had an excuse to stare because of the 'polaroid incident, but now, essie sumner was even more famous.
with her and negan's garden featurette, the spotlight had opened up for both of them. surprisingly.
it was like she was a celebrity, as she walked into the room all heads turned to her. and years ago, upon seeing a celebrity, crowds usually erupted into cheering and applause. cameras would be flashing, and magazines flying off the shelves. only now, they would hold the title: essie sumner, out and about WITHOUT her man, negan! did the damsel DROP the king?
she fought the urge to stop and stare at everyone, to study their expressions. essie thrived to know what was bouncing around in their heads. it was driving her crazy, what juicy gossip they were spilling.
but instead of causing another scene in front of everyone, the photographer briefly squeezed her eyes shut and walked to the lunch bar with her head down.
grabbing a plastic-wrapped peanut butter sandwich and carton of milk, essie slid her tray down the metal bars. as she was reaching for an apple, a hand stopped her. it was lisa. one of the early morning-afternoon staff members. the pair always shared a smile in passing.
"essie. i'm glad to have caught you." her small voice quivered slightly.
the younger girl had to hold herself back from rolling her eyes. she should've known lisa wanted to talk about negan. like reese. like everyone else. but before essie could step away, lisa explained herself.
"there looks to be quite a group over by your regular table. just a fair warning."
whipping her head to face the other side of the room, essie's throat closed at the sight. a group of women were sitting there, all chatting amongst themselves. but it wasn't just any ordinary batch of women.
they were his wives.
turning back to lisa, she nodded, unsure of what to do. the wives had probably never stepped foot in this room, they were always in a room down the hall from negan, all living together. with the benefits they got, besides the obvious one, they had no reason to go anywhere else.
before slowly making her way over to the table, essie took a second to think. if she was going to continue whatever she had with negan, she was bound to face them one way or another. and approaching them voluntarily looked better than the opposite in the long run.
