Struggling to Connect: The 6th Book

Chapter 27: The Day Changes it all

Days turn into weeks behind the walls and everyone goes about their life. But one afternoon, sometime in the morning someone spray painted, "silence the whispers" on our door, the door to the house Lydia stays in. Thing get tense as people start to whisper about it among the community. The next day, Aaron and I are training a combat class when Gage and his friend spot Lydia walking behind us, "hey, Lydia!" She stops and looks at him. He puts a sack over his head and asks her with gross sarcasm, "you think Mommy will take me in?" He chuckes, pulls it off and spits, "oh, right. No. She.. She kicked your ass out. Now you're just a freak. Get the hell out of here." He waves at her and his two friends laugh to egg him on.

I call out to them, "hey, you three. Up here. Let's run it again." To keep my eyes on them.

When combat training is done I head off to find Negan in the garden. I told him about what happened, and he thinks out loud, "so, what? You watching out for her now?"

My eyes squint and I shake my head, "no, but that shit wasn't funny. People died, their friend died and none of us need a reminder of that."

"Alright, alright. Don't shoot me for asking" he puts his hands up in surrender and his guard stands taller in defense, "wow, slow down cowboy. I'm not doing anything." I smile at him and he smooth talks me, "you really do shine wherever you go, Sadie-baby. It feels real nice to talk to you somewhere else besides that prison cell." He leans in closer to me to whisper and his guard eyes me to make sure I'm alright. I give him a head nod and negan whispers, "maybe we can sneak off and have ourselves a quicky behind one of these houses. Really seal up this relationship right."

"You wish" I laugh with him and the guard snarls at us.

I grab his arm suddenly to give it a quick squeeze and say, "I'll see ya later, I gotta check in with Siddiq."

When it's time for dinner in the mess hall, everyone witnesses Lydia bring a dead raccoon to Gage's table and sit to cut it open right next to the three of them. They are furious but Lydia stays where she's at and they just storm off. I finish my food quickly and head off to find Daryl, "hey Sadie-Mae. What's up?"

"Lydia is gonna get herself in trouble unless you stop her." I tell him.

She bites his inner lip, "what yew mean?"

"She just cut open a damn rodent right in front of Margo and the boys. She's flaunting herself in front of them, it's not going to end well." I explain.

"Why don't yew talk to her about it?" He suggests.

My eyes widen and I suggest, "nah, she respects you, you gotta do it. I just wanted to tell you before she gets herself in trouble."

He nods and grunts, "iight, ya. I'll talk to her."

I nod and leave him be, going off to find Negan to talk to for a bit before he's brought back down to his cell. His guard, Felix, is standing a few feet away from us and I tell him I'll take over and lock him up when it's over. He agrees and heads off to eat his dinner, "it's really nice dating someone with such authority, I gotta say."

"Dating?" I scoff, "what's with you and all this dating talk?" I roll my eyes.

He laughs hardily, "a man can only have so many sexual fantasies, sometimes, he's gotta fantasize about something a bit more real."

I bite my lower lip as I look over to him from where we sit side by side on the bench, "how do you do it?" I question and he acts like he doesn't know what I'm talking about. I elaborate, "how do you still make a girl get butterflies even when you're being so perverse."

He laughs some more and moves his knee against mine, "that's a special trick saved just for you, darling."

I lower my head onto his shoulder and he whispers down, "you sure you wanna be doing this here?"

"Yea, I'm sure." I say back. I can feel Negan smile and he moves his right arm to wrap it around my shoulders. We sit quietly with each other as the sunsets and just enjoy the change in scenery as it does.

Suddenly though, Negan jolts up, "you hear that?" His arm moves away from me.

"What?" I ask and listen closely. But I don't hear anything and Negan is jumping up and running off, "Negan!" I call after him but he's running quickly. I stand up to follow him and we are soon huddled behind the drying laundry. I see Lydia crying on the ground, Gage backing up as Negan points at him to get away.

I get down to Lydia's level and try to console her, "hey, hey, hey. It's okay." Negan bends down next to me to help as well as she cries in a ball.

Gage mutters in fear, "we were just trying to scare her."

One of the rotating paroles must've seen negan run over so he comes over and hollers, "yo, Negan! What the hell's going on back here?"

"Holy shit. Margo." Gage says and we all look behind us to see what he's getting on about. That's when we all see Margo dead against the wall.

Negan stands up next to Lydia and I and mutters, "shit."

Daryl comes running in to see what's going on as someone hollers, "should have never let 'em out."

Another agrees, "this is your fault!"

Gage comments to everyone, "It was Negan! Negan killed her!

Lydia screeches from the ground, "no!! No! he didn't do anything wrong." Siddiq makes it here by now and checks to confirm Margo is actually dead while I stay next to Lydia trying to help her. Everyone around starts to talk and she keeps rambling through her tears, "no, it wasn't... He didn't do anything."

Daryl directs Brandon, another day time guard, "now get him out of here. Please."

"Sadie?" He looks to me for something.

I nod to him and say lowly, "I know. Just go. I'll catch up."

He leaves with Brandon and Daryl helps me get Lydia up all the while she keeps crying out, "no, he didn't do anything wrong!"

"I know. I know. I know. I know. I know." I try to assure her I understand after each cry out.

"He didn't do anything wrong." She balls, "no, please! Oh, please, no. Please."