Casually Cruel - TWD

28. Old times sake.

Eliza couldn't stop sobbing. Her brain couldn't process it properly in this moment. Abraham was dead. He was really gone. She was crying the loudest out of everyone, but she didn't care. She wanted him back. She wanted him to wrap her up in his arms again and call her angel. Eliza wanted nothing more than to undo this mess.

Her eyes flickered between the badge on the ground, Negan's stupid grin on his face, Abraham's dead body, the blood gathered around where his head once was, and Rosita.

She thought about all the times that she said she hated him. Remembered the time she said she wished he was dead. Did that one 'I love you' make up for all of those times?

Did Abraham die thinking he had let her down? He hadn't. He really hadn't, but now Eliza would never know that, and she could never tell him that.

"Did you hear that?" Negan moved the bat from where it hovered over the dead man's head. "He said, "suck my nuts."."

Negan laughed. Abraham meant nothing to him, his life, everything he'd done for Eliza. All of it reduced to the end of Negan's bat. Then, he started swinging again.

Again and again and again and again. Eliza couldn't help it. Her one arm couldn't hold her up anymore and she doubled over with a cry. "Stop!" She begged. To her, it felt like he was still hurting Abraham.

But he kept going. And Eliza kept pleading.

"Please!" She screamed, trying to push herself back up. She could hear Sasha's sobs from down the line.

Finally, after a few more, Negan stopped. He stepped back, leaning slightly. "Oh, my goodness! Look at this!" He swung his bat around in a circle, some of the blood flying off and landing on Eliza's jeans.

Negan laughed at admired his bat again. "You guys, look at my dirty girl!"

Nobody said anything. Nobody moved a muscle.

Then, Negan walked over to Eliza, grabbing onto her shoulder, the bad one, and pushing her up. "Goddamn. You never grew out of that crying phase, did you?"

If Eliza still had a weapon on her, she was convinced that she'd kill Negan right here and right now. Her brain was battling to feel rage or grief and it just couldn't settle on one.

Negan picked up the badge from the ground, allowing it to glisten in the moonlight for a moment. He was still smiling. Then, he grabbed Abraham's jacket and pierced it, fastening the pin into the back of the badge.

"For old times sake, right?" Negan tilted his head.

He was just tormenting her. As bad as it sounded, Eliza wished that Negan was dead in this moment. Everything that came before didn't matter, because now Abraham was gone and all Eliza could do was scream and sob and beg. Was there anything she could do to soothe this pain? It didn't feel like it. Would it ever get better?

Then, a seething voice pierced through the night air. "Leave her alone."

Eliza looked to her left again and cursed herself mentally, looking past Abraham's body and landing on Rosita. Now, all she felt was fear. Negan said nobody could do anything like this, but Rosita wouldn't stand for it, seeing how distraught Eliza was.

"Sweetheart..." Negan stood up to his full height again, walking over to where Rosita kneeled and putting his bloody bat in her face. "Lay your eyes on this," he tormented.

Eliza felt like she should've spoke up for Rosita considering she just did it for her. But she was sobbing so much that her lungs hurt, all she could do was let the tears fall. It felt like everything was gone.