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Negan's grip on the barbaric weapon was something she'd never seen before. His knuckles were an ill white and the tips of his fingers a crimson red. Every small step he took forward, closer to Vincent and closer to her made her stomach churn. The stained wood disfigured with the loose piece of dead flesh dangling off the edge didn't settle her nerves, either.
"Negan." Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat, attempting to steady her breath.
He didn't spare her a glance. He parted his lips and narrowed his eyes, letting out a breathy, croaking laughter. It was the same she'd heard at the lineup, the same she'd heard whenever he was around Daryl, or when he was pressing the iron to another man's face.
Vincent didn't say a word. He kept his lips sealed shut in a thin line and his eyes didn't show a hint of being the least bit frightened. His hair was pushed back and his jaw was tightened, giving it a chiseled look. She'd never seen him so collected around the man, but she figured he'd hit his breaking point.
"Oh, Vincent." Negan dangled the bat by his heels, twirling it through his fingers like he'd had all the practice in the world. "What a colossal fuck up. You know, I've never liked you, but now I really don't like you."
The air in the room was so tense and stagnant, she had trouble getting the air into her lungs. She flickered her gaze to the floor and collected her thoughts for a minute. She wasn't sure what to believe, what Negan would do.
Negan paused for a moment with his tongue over his lip and his brow furrowed. "Now usually I would let you plead your case but I don't think I want to hear your fucking voice."
Coughing under her breath, Vada spoke up hesitantly. "Negan, can I talk to you?"
He finally averted his gaze to her, but only for a fleeting moment. "Go ahead."
Vada glanced at Vincent and jerked her head toward the door. "Go, Vincent."
The boy moved a step forward before Negan straightened his expression and swung his bat up to rest on his shoulder. "Fuck no. He's staying."
Vincent, after a long second, shuffled back into place.
She narrowed her eyes at Negan. "Go."
The man kept his gaze locked on her with hard, unyielding eyes. He shifted his jaw and poked his tongue between his lips, inhaling sharply. "Stand outside the fucking door."
Without a twitch of his absent expression, Vincent strode toward the door and spun the corner. He slammed the door like an angry teenager and left the two in silence, gazing at each other with sheer animosity.
"If you do anything to hurt him, Negan." she sighed and twisted her head so that she was facing the window.
"You bet your fucking ass I'm gonna hurt him. People don't do shit like that and get the fuck away with it, Vada." His jaw was clenched and his fingers were dancing along the handle of the bat as if he were itching to swing it around.
