Poker Face

Chapter 11 - The Wives

"I wouldn't go over there if I were you, Sherry," Tanya warned, stretching out on a black and gold chaise lounge. "He told me to fuck off every night this week and hasn't come out of his room all day, so he's in one of his moods. It's usually best to just wait it out unless he asks for you."

"I can't just sit here and mope," Sherry worried aloud. "I need to gain his trust back if I'm ever going to get out of here." Tanya bit her tongue, knowing it was pointless to try to convince Sherry not to dig her own grave. She'd done it once and was hell-bent on doing it again.

"You're gonna get your dumb ass ironed," Amber slurred as she appeared at the doorway. "He's not an idiot, he'll know you're faking." Amber meant well but sometimes she just couldn't quite stop herself from sounding like a purposeful bitch. She pushed off the doorway, running a lazy hand through her messy, blonde hair as she dragged herself over to the bar to lean her full weight up against it while she considered her drink options, quickly reaching for a half-empty bottle of Ciroc.

"Don't listen to her, she's wasted again," Frankie said following Amber through the door with an eye roll.

"I'm not wasted," Amber retorted, sloppily spilling some vodka on the black marble counter as she filled a glass to the brim. "But jus' 'cuz I'm drunk dunn't mean I'm wrong." Amber lifted the glass to her mouth and threw her head back like she was taking a single shot, causing a flood of vodka to pour down her throat and settle on her tongue. She stuck her tongue out and made an aggressive gagging noise, squeezing her eyes shut as they teared from the burn.

"That's what you get for taking vodka like water," Frankie chided. The three wives almost hadn't noticed Sherry slip out of the room and down the hallway. She now lingered outside Negan's room, gritting her teeth, her fists balling at her sides as she thought of Dwight as he used to be, and then as what Negan turned him into. Negan had taken them in with a promise of a new life, but he didn't tell them it was one they'd never want to live. It was up to her now to save what was left of her family, or at least of her sanity. Negan wasn't the only one practiced in using his charm.

After long hesitation, Sherry knocked softly three times on Negan's door and he appeared after a moment, opening it just far enough that he could stand in the doorway, leaning up against the frame with a long arm stretched out above him.

"Well, holy fuckin' smokes, look who's out and about!" Negan exclaimed, his grin stretching ear to ear. He'd only seen Sherry a few times since Dwight's punishment and wondered how long it would take for her to get her shit together and accept her fate. "Glad you finally decided to pay me a fuckin' visit, kitten. I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me!"

"I don't think that's possible, Negan," Sherry said with a flirtatious smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Can I come in?" She stepped towards him as if to follow him into the room, instead bumping into him when he didn't move aside. Her gaze trailed up from his chest to his face and she had to crane her neck to make eye contact. Negan lightly grabbed her wrists before slowly dragging his fingers up her arms, sending shivers down her spine. His hands reached her shoulders and he squeezed them affectionately as he leaned down towards her ever so slightly. Just as their lips almost brushed, he quickly straightened up, spun her around, and smacked her ass to push her forwards down the hall.

"Wait for me in the lounge," he said with a smirk before the door slammed with him on the other side, leaving Sherry twitching with anger as she walked away. She hated how transparent her physical reactions towards him were. She wanted to hate him with every fiber of her being, but there were some stray fibers that just wouldn't settle into place.

Negan turned to Aven who was watching him intently from a chair by the window and he wondered how much she'd actually gathered just from observing the back of his head. His smug grin was unwavering but, like Sherry, it didn't reach his eyes. "I have some shit to take care of, doll," he informed Aven as he snatched Lucille up from her upright position on the couch.