My Little Pup

Chapter 22

"Right this way, doll." Negan leads us down the road for a couple more yards before pointing to a walking trail that parts the trees like a narrow Red Sea.

A thin layer of speckled leaves crunch beneath our boots as we trod down the serene path. Slender pines and sprawling oaks intermingle as far as the eye can see, which is restricted in some spots thanks to thicker patches of brush. The pitter-patter of scurrying feet can be heard both on the ground just beyond the trail, as well as overhead on the natural bridges of the knotted branches.

I tilt my chin towards the sky, admiring the way the midday sun pierces through the canopies of the trees. The slivers of light and warmth being enough to balance out the chill that ever reminds us that winter will soon be coming.

"This is nice... thank you."

Negan simply smiles and offers a slight nod.

I inhale deeply, the aroma of the damp earth paired with the faint hint of pinecones bringing forth a warm, comforting sense of familiarity; it being almost enough to make me believe I were treading the woods of home.

Home.

There it is again – the pang of dread deep within my chest.  It felt like pins and needles were pricking directly at my heart. I quickly blink my eyes, forbidding the escape of the tears that tempt to fall. Goddammit, I don't need this right now.

"Is my company really that bad?" Negan interjects over my silence.

I shrug my shoulders, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Like I said earlier, just a bit tired is all."

Negan hums and slowly nods his head. "Right, right. I mean, who wouldn't be fucking tired when they're up in the middle of the damn night?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Why do you care?"

Negan dryly chuckles as his arm slips along my shoulders. "Believe it or not, I'm not a fucking fan of hearing a girl cry her eyes out every damn night." Negan pauses and takes a breath. "Is it the nightmares again? Or whatever the hell is going on between you and your old man?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I quickly advert my eyes and attempt to shrug Negan's arm off of me. Negan immediately tenses his grip, keeping his arm firmly locked around my shoulders forbidding my escape. "I said I'm not talking about this!" I huff, using all the force I can muster to shove myself away from Negan.

I stumble a half-step and immediately turn my back to him, walking a few yards away in desperate need of space. I clench my teeth, cursing inwardly as I wipe away tears.

Negan's heavy footsteps thud behind me as he approaches. "Well, that's too fucking bad! You've been moping around for too damn long and it's getting fucking tiring."

I know the last thing I should be doing is walking away from Negan, but I just can't do this right now-

"PUP!" Negan bellows sternly, his voice reverberating through the trees.

My entire body tenses and I stop at once, feeling what little resolve I have depleting. I swiftly turn on my heels and march back up to him. "You wanna know what happened? YOU! We were doing just fine before you showed your face! Were our lives perfect? Far from it, but dammit we were all each other had after mom died! My dad knew me better than I knew myself half the time, and now it's like he doesn't even recognize me!" I scream, pacing and angrily kicking at a few loose rocks on the trail. "I'm trying to survive the shit that HE put us in and now suddenly he thinks I'M the one in the wrong?"

Negan looks dumfounded. "Doll, I -" he reaches his hand out to me.

"No!" My voice cracks as I pull away, hot tears streaming down my face. "If he wants to think of me as a traitor.. then fuck him! A real father wouldn't have gotten his kid into this mess in the first place. He can believe what he wants to believe," I inhale shakily, damn near hyperventilating.The truth of my own words piercing my already fractured heart. "I-I don't need him. . . I don't need him! I don't need him!" My cries echo through the forest, spilling from my lips like a broken mantra.