Freedom -Negan-

Chapter 29

"We'll keep away from sensitive topics. Don't want you to get all ... emotional again, do we?" I stared at the glass in my hands as Negan spoke. I tried to remain calm by focusing on my breathing. "So, let's talk about today's little shit-fest. I send you out with the A-Team and one of them comes back close to death. Care to explain?"

"Thought Matt was chatty when he woke up." I said, still keeping my eyes on my glass.

"He was. I need to hear it from you, Pistol." I could practically hear the smirk in his voice. I clenched my teeth together, not giving him the satisfaction of another outburst.

"We went to the high school. Matt and I split from Shepherd and Ryan to cover more ground. We were supposed to wait for them before going in the basement, but - " I shook my head involuntarily. "We didn't. We went down and had no idea it was crawling with walkers. Matt hit his head on the stairs as we were fighting them off." I finally looked up at Negan across from me. "It was all just shitty planning."

"That brother of his has lots to say, you know that? Big fucking mouth." My instincts were right before. A smirk was plastered on Negan's face as he leaned back into the couch and his right arm hung over to sit near his bat.

"Bigger than mine?" I raised my glass and drank. Negan smiled and leaned forward, grabbing his own drink and taking a sip. He lowered the glass and laughed.

"You may take the title for that shit, Pistol, but he's got everyone riled up thinking you tried to kill -"

I slammed my glass on the table. "You know, for the leader of this place, you can't seem to control the flow of information correctly, can you?"

"Watch it, Pistol." His eyes narrowed at me and he had that edge back to his voice, warning me to back down. I wanted to, but that other side of me couldn't. She just couldn't.

"No. I'm not going to 'watch it'. You're blaming me for some shit Shepherd said that isn't even true. You haven't laid a finger on me which tells me that Matt already told you what happened and you know for a god damn fact that his brother is lying. So, stop with the bullshit, Negan." I gripped the arms of the chair I was in. I thought I could pull it together, but we all know how Jesse's pride works.

"What did I say about emotional outbursts?" His voice was so annoyingly calm, it made me angrier.

"On second thought, I would rather spend the night in a cell than spend one more second in here with you." I wanted to take the words back as they left my mouth, but I didn't care about the hole I was digging for myself.

Negan looked down at the table between us and nodded his head slowly. He grabbed the radio from his belt and lifted it to his mouth. "Someone get Fat Joey back up here, fucking pronto." He got an immediate response agreeing to his request.

I continued to grip the sides of the chair, staring at my glass on the table. Negan got up and grabbed the glass. He handed it out to me. "Drink up, Pistol. You're gonna need it for your night in the cell." I grabbed it without looking up and drained the rest of the whiskey down my throat, letting the burning sensation distract me.

It wasn't long at all before there was a knock on the door. A few minutes at most. I flinched at the sound. Negan walked over and the door opened. "Fat Joey! I think that is the fastest I've seen you respond in your god damn life! I need you to take our friend over there to one of the cells. She needs a time out for the night." I heard Joey agree and I was summoned to come to the door, but I couldn't make myself get up from the chair.

There was suddenly a hand grabbing my upper left arm and I jumped, not expecting it. Negan was looking down at me, anger all over his face. "When I tell you to do something, you do it, Jesse." He pulled me from the chair and dragged me to Joey. I thought about fighting, but I had nothing to defend myself. I was helpless. Again. Joey caught me and gripped my upper arms, turning me to face away from him.

"Get her straight into one of the cells. Don't let her get that damn elbow in your face. She likes to do that." Negan winked at me and I just glared at him.

Joey dragged me down the hall after Negan slammed the door behind him. I bit my tongue and reluctantly let him lead me. We went down multiple flights of stairs before coming to a dimly lit hall. I saw no one. Doors lined the walls and I felt my heart start to speed up. We went all the way to the end before Joey opened a door to a room the size of a small closet and threw me in. I reached my arms out to brace myself and instantly felt a stinging sensation run up my right hand and into my arm. I turned as Joey closed the door in my face, leaving me in complete darkness.

I felt for the door handle and tried to twist it, but he had obviously locked it. I started hitting the door, more out of frustration and anger towards myself than anything. How could I be so unhinged that I couldn't play his game. How stupid could I be? I rested my head on the door and focused on my breathing. My room was dark, but this room was completely sealed to the point I couldn't see anything.

I stepped away from the door and felt a wall at my fingertips. I used that to anchor myself. I was blinking, but there was no difference if my eyes were open or closed. I slid down the wall until I was fully sitting. My breathing started to get faster and faster as my mind went back to the barn. That room from the first night. It was like I could feel the bag over my head.

I was suffocating.