Never Alone (All of Us Sequel)

Chapter 7

Jack forced me to sit in a chair and wait while he went to talk to Raegan, most likely telling him that I don't cooperate or follow the rules. I knew I should be worried that I would get punished, but I was so shaken after seeing Daryl like that that I didn't even care. After a few minutes, the door to the room opened and Jack walked in, followed by Raegan.

Jack stood by the door and Raegan sat down in a seat right beside me. I sat up straighter and cleared my throat, uncomfortable with how close he was to me. Raegan crossed one leg over the other and stared at me, his face the picture of calm. He studied me for a moment, and I awkwardly sat there in silence. After a minute, he finally spoke.

"How close are you and Daryl?"

I was caught off guard by the question. My eyes flickered to Jack who was watching me intently and then I looked back at Reagan. Jack must have told him about our encounter in the hallway. I tried to remain calm even though my heart was pounding in overdrive. If Raegan realized how close we were, he could use us against each other for information, or just to hurt us. I couldn't let that happen.

My approach so far had been to resist. It was what I had been doing ever since the world ended. Resist the walkers and resist the bad people that fed off of the anarchy and used the lack of rules to their advantage. I had been resisting this place and these people ever since I got here. Trish, Jack... I could never give in to them, I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. I was still studying this place, looking for a way out. Daryl and I would make it back to Alexandria, we had to. But Raegan... he was different. The way he looked at me gave me chills. I wondered if another approach would be better with him. I would try anything to get back to Daryl and get us to safety. 

I decided I had to swallow my pride in this situation. I had to lie, and it had to be convincing.

I shrugged. "I had been on my own for so long when I found Daryl and Rosita," I looked down at my hands in my lap, pretending to be sad. "I was so excited to find them, to find anyone really in this world. It's so hard out there being alone." I looked back up at Raegan. "I was so relieved to find people that could help protect me from the dead. They took me in, and we had been together probably just a month or two before you found us, more out of convenience."

He nodded his head. Damn, I was a good liar. He must have believed me because he moved on.

"You know, it isn't such a bad place here. You might like it."

I nodded my head. Yah right. He was the leader of this place, but how could he say it was a good place when everyone was practically slaves. Even though Raegan seemed much calmer and nicer sometimes than Jack and Trish, there was something about him. I had a feeling he was the most dangerous of them all.

"It might just take me a while to get used to it here," I gave him a small smile. "I've been out there for so long. And the way it all happened with Rosita being shot..." I trailed off, trying to sound innocent.

He tilted his head to the side. "Of course, I can imagine that would have been hard to see. It's completely understandable that it would take some time to get used to it here. That was an unfortunate series of events, and to lose someone close to you in such a barbaric way in front of your eyes..."

Jack stepped forward. "Are you kidding me? That bitch shot Tom firs-"

Raegan raised his hand in the air, cutting Jack off mid sentence. It took everything in me not to smirk at Jack.

Jack took a step back while staring me down. If looks could kill, then I would definitely be dead right now.

My gaze shifted from Jack to the hand Raegan had just placed on my thigh. "I hope you can learn to be happy here Sloane. I'm glad you're here."