In the Dark

Chapter III: Trust

Negan woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of whimpering. Confused, he blinked his heavy eyelids awake, trying to wait for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He heard it again, the low cry that was barely audible. Negan sat up in his bed and looked around the room. There was no movement and aside from the occasional quiet whimpering it was dead silent.

He groaned standing up, his side still giving him some trouble but it was a lot better compared to a week ago. He made his way over to the other side of the tree house, being careful not to step on Ghost was sound asleep next to her bed.

His vision had adjusted to the blackness. The night was pitch black with no moonlight as a source of illumination. But he could see her now, the lump of her petite silhouette curled up in the bed anyways. She twitched and stirred in her slumber, fighting off or running from whatever monster she was facing.

"Lily..." He whispered, gently reaching out to touch her. "Lily?" He called out a bit louder this time, gently shaking her awake. "Wake up doll, you're dreaming."

Lilith violently stirred awake, quickly sitting up and unsheathing her hunting knife in a vast pace. Panting, she held the sharp blade to Negan's throat, eyes wide in alert as she felt the felt the droplets of sweat run down her face from her hairline.

"Easy doll... easy." Negan gulped. "It's just me."

At the sound of disturbance, Ghost quickly stood up, looking around the room for any sign of danger. He looked at Lilly, quietly winning at her and nudging her arm with his nose. Lilith gasped a breath of relief, lowering her weapon down.

"I'm sorry." She gulped.

"It's ok." He assured her. "You were having a nightmare."

She sighed, brushing her hair back. "It's ok boy. I'm ok." She petted Ghost. The wolf gave her a few licks before laying down again.

"I uh..." She cleared her throat.

"It's ok. You don't have to tell me." Negan told her, sitting at the edge of her bed. "If and when you wanna talk about it, I'm all ears."

She nodded, sniffling. She couldn't help it, the nightmare, the shame of being caught in such a vulnerable state and Negan's reassuring voice was her breaking point. She cried into her hands, probably for the first time in... well she doesn't remember the last time she even shed a tear. She got close before telling him about Mike and the others but not like this. This time she couldn't hold it back.

Negan sighed, his heartstrings being pulled at the sight of such a strong woman broken before him. He hesitantly reached out for her, giving her plenty of time to resist his embrace. When she didn't, Negan pulled her into his arms, tightly holding her and gently rocking their bodies together in a soothing motion.

"It's ok doll. I'm here. I'm here with you now. Nothing is gonna happen." He rubbed soothing circles on her back. "I won't let anything happen to you I promise." And he intended to keep that promise.

Lily cried harder in his chest, slowly wrapping her arms around him tighter. For the first time in her life, she truly felt safe. She wanted to shake her head and mentally kick herself for her silliness. She had just met him a little over a week ago. This was the goddamn apocalypse for fuck sakes! The only person a person could trust in this world is themselves.

She knew that was bullshit the minute the thought crossed her mind however. Negan was a good guy, he was trustworthy. It only angered her that she allowed herself to be this vulnerable around him. She couldn't deny how comforting being in his arms was. She felt like the whole world could melt away and nothing else mattered.