Alicia Smith

1) Once Upon A Time

"Once upon a time, long, long ago there was a princess who lived in a tall tower." Marie spoke softly, a story book resting in her lap.

Under the covers of the bed, a young Alicia, five years old lay barely awake. "What was her name, mommy?"

Alicia furrowed her brows, the memory foggy. Parts of the memory didn't fit. Something didn't seem right. Maybe it was because it was so long ago but she couldn't picture her mother sitting there, reading her the story of Rapunzle.

A knocking at the door drew her from her thoughts. She padded into the living room to answer it. Upon opening the door she was met with her father's smiling face.

"I brought you some dinner." He said, walking into her room.

"Thanks." She sighed, running a tired hand through her hair. "I could've come down and got it myself."

"I know that." He chuckled. "But I figured I do something nice for you. It is your birthday after all."

This surprises her. She honestly hadn't given her birthday a thought in the past two years. After the world went to shit she didn't really care how old she was.

"Happy 30th birthday." He smiles, taking the cover off of her 'dinner' to reveal a cake. A candle sits in the middle of it and she watches as he lights it. After a terrible rendition of Happy Birthday he instructs her to make a wish.

She closes her eyes tightly and thinks hard. I want to go home. With one hard blow the candle is put out. "Wonderful." He laughs.

Alicia shakes her head, a small smile forcing its way onto her lips. "Thanks dad. How have you managed to keep up with the days?"

"How could I forget my favorite daughter's birthday?" He scoffs. "30's a big milestone, I had to do something special."

She rolled her eyes, sitting on the couch as he hands her fork. They both dig into the cake, not bothering to cut it. "How've you been?" Negan asked, tentatively looking up at his daughter.

She huffs, staring intently at the cake. "It's only been a week. I still... I don't know what to feel."

He nodded in understanding. "When your mother died I did the same thing as you."

In the blink of an eye Alicia's defenses are back up. "You killed my mother." She snapped.

Negan sighed, looking away. "I told you everything the day you left. I did not kill your mother. I killed the people who murdered her."

Alicia scoffed, shaking her head. "Stop spouting that bullshit!" She yelled. "You never gave a shit about me or mom! You left us!"

They were both standing now, their shared tempers rising. "I left you? Alicia, darling, you've got a lot of fucking shit you need to figure out!" Negan fired back. "Your mother was a lying, cheating woman with gambling problems! How do you think she ended up dead?"

"Don't talk about her like that." She warned him lowly. "You beat the shit out of me when I was a kid and she was the one there to clean me up."

"Alicia, why can't you figure it out? I figured it out! Your mother came home every night drunk off her ass and she beat you! It was me who was there to clean you up! She told me all those bruises and cuts were from you playing and I was stupid enough to believe her!" He yelled. "Your goddamned mother was a manipulative bitch! She beat you so badly you couldn't remember what happened and then gaslit you into thinking I did it!"

Alicia took a step back, forcing herself to calm down. He couldn't be telling the truth. Why should she believe that when she literally watched him beat two people's heads in?

"You're lying." She whispered, really trying to convince herself. But something tugged in the back of her mind. Memories that she had kept locked away for years.

Negan laughed, shaking his head. "Do these words ring a bell, honey? Screaming only makes it worse. Who said that shit to you? It sure as hell wasn't me!"

The words played on repeat in her mind. Flashes of fists pummeling into her and images of her mother's angered faced.

"Screaming only makes it worse. You should have learned that by now." Her mother caressed her cheek, lulling her into a false sense of security.

"Why are you doing this?" A ten year old Alicia sniffed. Her eye black and bruised.

"Me?" Her mother feigned shock. "Baby I didn't do this. Your dad did. He's the one who hurt you, love. I would never hit you. I'm here to protect you."

The memory left her weak, sitting on the couch once more, breathless. Another memory flashes through her mind.

"Once upon a time, long, long ago there was a princess who lived in a tall tower." Negan spoke softly, a story book resting in his lap.

Under the covers of the bed, a young Alicia, five years old lay barely awake. "What was her name, daddy?"

He smiled, flipping to the next page in the book. "Her name was Rapunzle. She had long golden hair, and she let it down the tower so the witch who tricked her could climb up."

"Tricked her?" Little Alicia asked, tilting her head. "How did she trick her?"

"The witch tricked her into thinking she was Rapunzle real mother. Her mother was really the queen."

Suddenly the memory made more sense. It felt right, the image of her father reading her a bed time story. It was real.

Alicia gasped, tears that she hadn't even noticed now flowing down her face. She looked up at her father who was staring at her. His eyes pleaded with her, begging for her to believe him.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. "I'm so sorry."

He rushed to her side, pulling her into his chest and brushing through her hair. "It's ok." He mumbled. "It wasn't your fault."

Negan kissed the top of his daughter's head as she cried. He held her as she relived every memory of her mother abusing her. For so long she had blamed her dad.

For so long she had hated him for inflicting so much pain on her. She should have hated her mother.

Finally she looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. "I love you."

He let out a sigh of relief, holding her tighter. "I love you too."