Irresistible Danger

Taking Care of Business

You were in shock and at a loss for words, while Amber's impatient expression as she stared you down meant that she obviously expected you to say something. When it became apparent that you weren't going to kickstart this lovely conversation, she gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes before breaking the silence with a haughty voice that instantly grated on your nerves.

"Well, are you going to let me in, or what?"

Your subconscious gave a resounding scream of 'fuck off!' and hissed at Amber, while your brain warned to proceed with caution. The last thing you wanted right now was a fight, but it wasn't clear which path led to a worse confrontation: letting her in or telling her to leave. Deciding to attempt civility, you clamped down the words 'I'd really rather not' that were on the tip of your tongue, and instead gave a small nod and stood back from the doorway to let her in. The sickly sweet smell of flowers hit when she passed by, and you had the incredibly random thought of where the fuck does she get perfume in an apocalypse?

Ignoring the unimportant question, you watched as she glanced around your room, eyes flickering over the small bed, the wooden chair piled with clothes, and then the stack of old rickety crates holding your belongings. Her face scrunched up in utter disdain of the meager surroundings, solidifying what Ben had once said about her coming from a privileged background before the apocalypse. Her room upstairs probably had all kinds of fancy furniture and clothes. You wanted to feel annoyed, even a bit ashamed, but then remembered whose bed you were now spending the night in and immediately lost all sense of self-consciousness. At the end of the day, it didn't matter what material possessions she might own, because you had Negan and she didn't. No matter how this conversation went, that fact wasn't going to change, and nothing she said was going to ruin your newfound happiness. You were still nervous and feeling a bit cagey being in the same room as the woman who was far from your biggest fan, but the security of knowing where you and Negan stood with one another helped you to keep calm and project an air of indifference.

However, you still didn't want to play this too arrogantly, and decided not to close the door the entire way, pushing it so that there was still a centimeter of space keeping it unlatched. The crack was small enough for her to not have noticed, and gave you that extra padding of reassurance. You didn't trust her one bit, and wanted an easier exit, if necessary, or a way to hopefully be heard if you yelled for help. Not that you were too worried about a physical confrontation; you looked up and down her petite, small frame and thought, you can take her if you have to. The subconscious gave an aggressive yell of agreement and stared Amber down with laser-like focus.

Not wanting to make any assumptions, you decided to stand there silently and wait her out. It didn't take long, as she abruptly turned to you with a sneer and said, "I bet you're feeling mighty proud of yourself right about now."

Well then, guess we're going with no pretense or attempt at subtlety. Raising your brows in surprise, you honestly replied, "I'm not sure I know what you mean." You were certain this had to do with Negan, but weren't sure if it was in regards to the last few weeks, if she had heard about the scene in the cafeteria, or, perhaps, it was something else entirely.

She narrowed her eyes at you and practically hissed, "Don't play stupid with me. I know that you're the one who convinced him to throw us all out."

You couldn't hide the look of utter surprise at her words. Had Negan said something to the wives today? But when?! You had seen him off on the run to the outpost this morning, and there had only been perhaps a 20 minute space of time from when his men had sat down for dinner and he himself had entered the cafeteria. Had he spent that small chunk of time talking to his wives?

Apparently so, as Amber confirmed a few seconds later.

"I can't believe he would just march in there and tell us, tell me, that we're not needed anymore." She scoffed, as if the idea was laughable. "And I bet it was your idea that we lose our rooms too, right? You couldn't even let us stay where we were, let us be on the same floor as him. No, you somehow convinced him to kick us out, and tell us we're to 'reintegrate into the community'. What the fuck!"