Daryl's Angel: Saviour (Book Two)

Chapter 54: Got No Guts

We finish eating and immediately move into cleaning up after ourselves. Negan steps outside to speak to the Saviours guarding the house and doesn't return. Carl helps me wash up while Olivia takes Judith upstairs.

"What was it like?" I ask. "Their hideout."

Carl sighs. "It's a factory, and a big one. There are workers there, people who work for points to get by. It's..." He shakes his head. "I don't even know how to describe it."

I set a plate in the dish rack and plunge my hands into the soapy water to grab another. "Did...you see his wives?"

I feel his stare. "Yeah. There are a lot of them."

"Did they...seem happy?"

I hate that I'm even asking, but today has opened my eyes to a lot of things. I need Daryl to come home. I need him to be free, even if it won't be with me.

"Don't even think about it," Carl says.

"Carl—"

"It isn't worth it," he insists. He looks so young and so old all at once, his scarred eye socket boring into my soul just as much as his remaining blue eye does. "One of them, Amber, she...she slipped up. She met up with her boyfriend, the one she had before she married Negan, and Negan..." His voice catches. "He hurt him. Ironed his face."

My skin crawls just imagining it. Poor Amber. Poor Mark. I picture Daryl and me in that situation, where just a moment of weakness could cause so much pain. I could barely resist Daryl before—what would I do then?

"We're going to get Daryl back," he says firmly. "You're needed here."

"We need Daryl more. If we have him, we can fight."

His jaw clenches as he angrily dries a plate and sets it aside. "My dad won't fight Negan."

"He will. Once it gets bad enough."

He fixes me with a look that burns with so much of his father's fire that I feel sentimental. "We'll get Daryl back," he repeats. "In the meantime, don't agree to anything and don't let him get under your skin." He shakes his head. "He's not worth your time."

I let out a long breath as emotion pricks at my eyes. "I just miss Daryl so much."

I miss Carol and Maggie. I miss Glenn. I miss my family being together and happy, like it used to be.

He bumps his shoulder against mine. "We all do."

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When the dishes are done, Carl, Olivia, and I head outside to see what Negan's gotten up to. We find a small gathering of Alexandrians and Saviours watching Negan and Spencer play billiards in the middle of the street.

"I get what you're trying to do here, what you're trying to build," Spencer says as Negan lines up his shot. "I'm not saying I agree with your methods, but I get it. You're building a network."

Negan sinks one of the striped balls into the corner pocket.

"You're making people contribute for the greater good. It makes sense," Spencer continues. "But you should know that Rick Grimes has a history of not working well with others."

Negan makes another shot. He watches the balls bounce around the table. "Is that so?" he asks.

Spencer gets ready for his turn. "Rick wasn't the original leader here. My mom was. She was doing a really good job of it. Then she died, not long after Rick showed up—same with my brother, same with my dad."

I purse my lips. Blaming Rick for any of their deaths is a stretch, but I suppose when you're hurting, you'll look for anyone to blame.

"So, everything was peachy here for, what, years? And then Rick shows up and suddenly, you're an orphan?" Negan says. "That is the saddest story I've ever heard. Good thing for you, he's not in charge anymore."