𝑨 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑴𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒅𝒚. (𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏)

{49} Party Victim

"I just find it so... funny, watching Ricky squirm"

•••

"Shit," she breathed, "is he ok now? What did you tell him?"

Hunter took a large gulp of his beer, placing the bottle on the patch of overgrown grass beside him. He could see Brooklyn gazing at him from out of his peripheral vision, she looked worried and anxious and most of all- furious.

"I don't know if he's ok," the boy answered as truthfully as possible, "he just wasn't himself y'know? I told him to be ready for tomorrow night and he seemed confused but pretty much accepted it."

Her friend's words were somewhat alarming. Obviously Brooklyn knew that Negan wouldn't have taken her so called 'death' lightly, but from what Hunter had told her? She never expected him to handle it like this, especially to the point that he wasn't eating.

All she could do was thank the boy, as the three of them lounged out across the grass garden in the middle of Alexandria, revelling the most they could out of their last day before the madness started. But what Hunter had just told her? About Negan? That made her angry.

Brooklyn had told herself that even after everything, she wasn't going to hurt or endanger any of the Alexandrians unless she had too. However, the urge to slice open the leader's skull with a knife was now extremely tempting. These people were treating Negan like an animal and she just had to sit there and soak it all up like she didn't care! It made the blood beneath her skin bubble and boil, her fists bawl and clench, and her shallow breathing quicken at the single thought of her man in pain- emotional, psychical and mental.

"These people are making it so damn hard!" She growled, mainly to herself.

Neither one of the brothers understood her words, and instead stared gormlessly at her as if she was crazy. Hunter extended his arm and placed a hand comfortingly on his friend's shoulder, "we're going to get him out," he forced a smile, "don't worry."

Brooklyn bobbed her head down, flicking her pink tongue against the top row of her pearly whites. She parted her lips to say something else when she noticed Rick strolling past with his little girl clambered in his arms, causing her attention to divert. "Hey there, Grimes!" She playfully taunted, beckoning him over with a classy wave of the hand.

The two boys looked at each other and shook their heads, surely she wouldn't do anything to stupidly sabotage their plan?

Surprised by the overly-friendly attitude, Rick scuttled over and warmly smiled at the three people that he used to see as enemies, "hey yourself guys." Judith jiggled in his clutch, wriggling her fingers in an attempt to wave innocently at Brooklyn.

"Hiya sweetie," she sweetly greeted, reaching up to brush a single golden lock of the toddler's hair from her mesmerising chocolate eyes. Then peering up at the man, Brooklyn squinted, "She's too cute. You gotta watch out for her, Rick."

The way his name fell from her lips was simply fascinating. Brooklyn rarely ever addressed the leader like that, not unless she was evidently teasing him by adding something along the lines of, "no dick prick," after his name. But this time, it was seemingly normal, no mockery involved on the surface whatsoever. But below the surface? Now that was different. It was so deriding, but still so strangely nice. And the thing was? Rick, now coming to his senses, found it suspicious. In fact, the former saviour had been acting so kindly these past few days that it was almost ridiculous.

So, shifting his weight from one boot to the other, Rick uneasily chuckled, "she sure will be-" and awkwardly cleared his throat. "So are y'all about to head over to the get-together at the Baldens'?"