Sanctuary

Chapter 31

"Negan, do you really think it's a good idea to go out there right now?" Simon asks gingerly.

Negan gives him a cold stare. "No, it's probably fucking not. But she's still fucking out there."

"We've got plenty of men that could go look for her," Simon tries to reason.

Negan rubs his temples. "I'm not gonna fucking sit here on my ass, while she's out there. She could be hurt."

"I'm sure she's fine," Simon says.

"Really? Then how come we haven't heard from her? We have outposts all over the fucking place, and she knows where they all are. If she was alright, then we would've heard from her by now. So, she's either hurt, or she doesn't want to be found."

Simon glances at his feet. "Where are you even going to start?"

Negan frowns. "I'm gonna start, by taking a goddamn truck! And hitting the fucking road!" Negan yells. He pinches his nose. "Make sure this place doesn't fucking turn to shit while i'm gone, okay?"

Simon nods. "Sure."

~

Negan drives down the road with no idea where he's going. Think asshole! Where the fuck would she go? Negan switches on the stereo, and Arctic Monkeys blares out of the speakers. He turns the volume down, but leaves it playing. He taps his fingers against the steering wheel, then his eyes widen. He stops the truck and turns around, taking the next exit to his left.

Negan pulls up in front of the four storey apartment building. He leaves Lucille in the truck, and climbs the fire escape to the top floor. He breathes a sigh of relief, as he sees Rachel's bow on the coffee table. He climbs through the broken window, glancing around the apartment.

Rachel comes out of the bedroom, jumping a mile as she sees him. She places a hand against her chest. "Jesus! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Negan makes his way over to her and hugs her tight. It's not what he had intended to do. He'd had every intention of being cold with her, but he couldn't do it. Negan holds her at arms length. "What are you doing here?"

Rachel stares up at him. "I froze," she shakes her head. "I haven't done that in a long time. They say, in situations like that, it's fight, flight, or freeze. And i fucking froze, Negan!"

Negan holds her hands in his. "Look, maybe it's my fault. I shouldn't have asked you to go. I pushed you too fucking far. It's what i do, right? I fucking push people, try and get the best out of them, make them strong."

Rachel looks down at her feet. "I'm not strong."

Negan places his fingers under her chin. "Hey. You, are the strongest fucking person i know. It's just a damn shame that you're so fucking empathetic," he smiles.

"What happened? At Alexandria?" Rachel asks softly.

"Rick's still breathing, if that's what you mean? That fucking King asshole from the Kingdom showed up with a damn tiger, can you believe that?" Negan frowns.

"Is Daryl okay?" She asks.

Negan grips the top of her arm, his eyes going dark. "Please don't tell me you still love that redneck piece of shit? Well!" Negan bares his teeth, his grip around her tightening.

"Negan, you're hurting me," she whimpers lightly, trying to shake his hand from her.

Negan's eyes widen, then his face drops. He drops his hand. "I'm sorry, baby. I just.. do you? Do you still love him?"

"Not like you think, not any more," she says.

"Do you..," Negan drops his head.

"What?" She asks, her hand going to his cheek.