Locked Away // Negan

Chapter 21

When walking through the gates of Alexandria all you could see is dead walkers, dead people, fire, and smoke fill the air. My eyes darted around for anyone I may know and felt relieved to see Gabriel talking with some woman. He's the only person I saw that's still alive. I started approaching him with Negan following close behind me.

"Nova!" Gabriel smiled as he gave me a big hug. I hugged him back and let out a deep breath of relief. "Looks who's back," he said while pulling away from the hug. A frown formed on my face as I turned to see Maggie standing there looking at me with a smile. My eyes widened and my heart leapt out of my chest.

"Your back," I quietly said. She nodded and hugged me tightly before we pulled away to look at Negan. He stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do.

"You should be in your cell." Gabriel stated.

"We already know that. But we've got bigger things to worry about right now." I assured him. We made our way around the community looking for anyone who may have survived. Gladly we found our group and no one we knew had to get hurt in the process of this fight. The only people dead are the skin walkers.

After a minute or so of talking we agreed that Alexandria could be salvaged. All we need to do is clean up and rebuild this place. It won't be easy and will take a lot of time but we can do it. I believe in us. Everyone also agreed they wanted Negan back in his cell because they don't feel safe.

To which Negan replied with how he saved everyone. They didn't see it that way at all though. As much as I can agree with both the community and Negan...it's best to keep him locked away for right now. Once he was back in his cell everyone gathered around to help rebuild Alexandria. It's going to take us a long time but it'll all be worth it in the end.

Nighttime rolled around and I decided to bring Negan some food just so I can check on him. When walking through the door he looked up to meet my eyes. His were dull and sad as he stared back down at the ground. "Are you hungry?" I ask while sliding the tray under the door. He let out a breath and looked me in the eyes again.

"I lost you again didn't I?" He asked abruptly. The question caught me off guard and surprised me. It took me a moment to answer as I stared into his worry filled eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I don't know how you got me to fall in love with you but I did. Even after swearing to myself I'd never love anyone this way again...not after my wife. But the moment you became real to me I fucked it up." He admitted. Honestly I've never really seen him this down or vulnerable. He's always had this tough exterior but maybe that's starting to change. Negan has feelings, of course because he's human.

We all have our ups and downs but what's important for me is the people that get you through it. He has no one to be there for him during this time. That's when it hit me that I'm the only one he wants by his side. He could care less about the opinions of others if it means I trust him again. I sat down on the chair outside of his cell and sighed.

"I was mad at you for leaving because I thought you didn't love me anymore. It was easier to blame you for leaving than it was to admit you were gone. Negan just because I get angry at you some times doesn't mean I don't love you." I told him and he came closer to me, sitting down near me.

"I've never stopped loving you...I only did what Carol asked because I wanted to gain everyone's trust." He says as he fiddled with his fingers. I stood from my chair and grabbed my key to unlock the cell. It confused him as he stood to watch me. He watched my every move as I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. He didn't hesitate to return it as he his arms wrapped protectively around my body.

"I love you, Negan." I mumbled into his chest. His body relaxed hearing that and he felt relieved.

"I love you too, sweetheart." He replied. Once pulling away from the hug he cupped my cheek in his strong hand. My eyes stared into his as he leaned in close, placing his lips onto mine in a loving kiss. I kissed him back, loving every second of it. It lasted for what felt like forever until pulling away and smiling at each other.

"I should go see if Michonne and the kids are okay. We'll talk later, I promise." I told him. He nodded and said goodbye before I left. Gabriel let me radio in to Oceanside where they're all at. Michonne assured me they are okay and coming home first thing tomorrow morning. I'm so happy to hear that and excited to see Judith and Rj. They mean the whole world to me.

When laying in bed that night all I could think about was this past few days. Everything is crazy right now and I'm not sure where it all began. I'm just happy that it's over and done with. Time to move on to bigger and better things. Some of those things include Negan being set free to live a normal life. Of course right now it's best for him to be where he is but not forever.

People are going to have opinions about that but I'll save it for another day. For right now I just want to sleep and see my family bright and early tomorrow morning.