VILLAINESS [TWD]

➴119

"You stay here," the woman tells Negan. "They need someone they trust protecting them."

I roll my eyes and stand up from my chair.

"Teams of three," Anna repeats the earlier plan. "You sure you're good to go?"

"I'm all right," I assure, grabbing her hand. "Me, you, and Josh-"

"No," the woman speaks up. "You're with me."

I turn around to look at her in disbelief.

"Her, too," she nods to Mom.

"Annie," Negan starts. "You don't-"

"We'll be fine," she promises.

I scoff under my breath. "Annie, huh?"

"That's me," she answers. "Glad we could have a proper greeting."

"Name is familiar," I say and quirk an eyebrow. "Sure sounds like 'Ellie' and 'Anna'."

"Not everything is about you," Negan reminds.

"It is in my world. Let's go. Before more people die."

Anna gives me a quick kiss and I remind her to be safe. She was sweeping through the floors with Josh and Elijah.

Mom, Annie, and I make it out of the room and to the next floor. We find two people and send them to the hideout spot.

We go past soldiers on the third floor and hid in a cupboard to regain our bearings. I mentally curse the thoughts of Brandon, Leah, and I doing this very thing.

"You all right?" Mom whispers.

I lean against the wall beside the door and take a deep breath. "Having flashbacks."

I rest my head against the wall and close my eyes.

"You haven't talked about it," Mom notes.

"Can't. Not yet.. Especially not right now."

The Reapers were family, though a disoriented one. I betrayed the people that were willing to have my back when I needed them. And Pope.. I still wasn't sure who won the fight between us.

"Ginger?" Mom questions.

Tiredly, I look at Annie. She was putting the root back in her pocket.

"I'm twelve weeks. Give or take," Annie explains.

My eyebrows crease in confusion. Mom gasps under her breath and stares blankly at the floor.

"And yes, it's his. Not that he'd want me telling either of you," Annie adds.

The pieces fall together like a collapsed building that I end up stuck under.

Annie is pregnant. With Negan's child.

I stare at her stomach that was hidden by the gun she is toting. 

A rage burns inside of me. Mom couldn't look at me through her own shock. I grip the gun tighter to avoid lashing out.

As if he knew he was being spoken about, Negan comes over the radio. "Hey, Annie? Do you copy?"

"I'm here," she whispers into the radio.

"I found someone."

"Who?"

"Maggie's son."

My body goes frigid like I was dropped into an ice bath. My eyes widen and before I can move, Mom is taking the radio from Annie.

"What?" she asks.

"Turns out you had a stowaway that you didn't know about."

I curse under my breath. I pat my chest and point to the door. Mom nods.