𝑨 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑴𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒅𝒚. (𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏)

{52} So, what now?

"They all blame me for the fucked up decisions they made"

•••

Plans were overrated. They were boring. And as Brooklyn absolutely loved to quote her favourite villain, "do I really look like a guy with a plan?"

No, her and Negan had absolutely zero clue on where they were headed. But they decided to keep it that way. Who didn't love a road trip? Well, that was until they ran out of gas- but for now, neither one of them was worried about that.

At this moment, they were sat side by side in their stolen car, speeding carelessly through a road that had seemed to be endless. After receiving the information that he did last night about the baby, Negan was in a rather cheerful mood with one hand resting on his girlfriend's thigh and the other draped around the steering wheel.

For a man who had just escaped a prison cell, life was good.

"Christ," Brooklyn groaned, "this sun is trying to kill us," she pulled down the visor in the passenger side of the car before then resuming her spot of cuddling in to the warm fabric of Negan's shoulder.

They'd been driving all night, and now that it was early dawn, the man was desperately trying to keep his eyes open, every so often his features tiring and his head drooping. "It definitely beats being stuck in that fucking cell," he said with a hoarse chuckle.

Brooklyn playfully slapped his arm and sat up, taking in his scruffy appearance. It was then that she noticed the bruises and cuts littering his beaten knuckles, reminding her what he had gone through whilst in there, and the fact that he laughed was most definitely his way of covering up his real feelings. "I know what happened," she looked up at him, hurt and worry evident in her expression, "Hunter told me about how you, y'know, dealt with your anger- and I just want to make sure you're ok. So," Brooklyn reached out to gently brush her fingers over his hand, "please be honest, are you ok?"

It took a moment for him to reply, knowing exactly what she was referring to. The yelling, the shouting, the punching the walls... "Can we not talk about it darlin'?" He gazed down on her, his smile soft and still somehow troubled, "I'm ok, I promise."

The girl frowned, "don't lie, just tell me the truth," she felt him tense, "it's only me. You don't have to pursue that big bad persona when it's just us. You know that right?"

He nodded. She was right.

Negan drew his lips to speak when something caught his eye. "Hey," he jerked his head towards the view, "we should stop here for a while." Somehow, they'd managed to find themselves inside an abandoned town acquainted with a series of small houses and even a little corner store.

"Great way to change the subject," she sarcastically retorted, "but I guess you're right."

"I'm always right, sweetheart."

Of course he had to say that. Brooklyn rolled her eyes and glanced out of the murky window. Being the driver, Negan decided to park the car outside one of the houses, wincing as the engine sputtered when it came to a complete stop.

It was quite a serene little place, isolated would be another way to describe it. Whether that was a good thing or not, the couple didn't know, however they did know that they could potentially stay here for a few days. As long as they cleared the area from any threats, it was seemingly safe- and resourceful to.

Negan was the first to hop out of the vehicle, he wanted to scan their surroundings, make sure that they weren't walking in to some sort of trap. "Hey, you're staying in the car. You can keep an eye on all that shit in the back," he ordered Brooklyn, who simply scoffed at his demand.