Running From You I Negan x Maggie (ENGLISH VERSION)

Chapter 29: What could have been

"I hope you know we had everything
When you broke me and left these pieces
I want you to hurt like you hurt me today and
I want you to lose like I lose when I play what could have been"

The cell was small and suffocating, and Maggie had paced back and forth so many times it felt like the concrete floor was starting to wear beneath her feet.

Hours had passed since Negan had been taken to God knows where, and the silence in the corridor made every second feel like torture.

She stopped abruptly, a burning sensation rising in her throat. Placing a hand on her stomach, she took a deep breath, trying to ease the heartburn that had been relentlessly bothering her.

— Seriously? — she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes before looking down at her belly. — You really chose the worst time to start complaining, huh?

With a tired sigh, she collapsed onto the hard bench, rubbing her stomach almost unconsciously, as if she could reason with the life growing inside her.

— You really are your father's kid, you know that? — she said, her voice filled with exasperation but with a touch of humor. — Seems like you already know how to get on my nerves at the worst possible times.

Maggie shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to focus on anything other than the discomfort. But her mind always drifted back to him.

— He does that too. — She continued, speaking to the little being who couldn't hear her yet but somehow felt present. — He's always provoking me, driving me crazy... and then acts like he's the only one who can fix everything.

She smiled, but it quickly faded, replaced by something more melancholic.

— But the bastard has a way... — her voice softened — a way of making the world feel a little less horrible.

Maggie leaned her head back against the wall, her hand still lightly caressing her abdomen.

— I hope you inherit that from him. The good side, you know? — Her voice dropped lower, as if confessing a secret. — The way he makes anything seem possible, even in the worst situations. But, please... — she chuckled softly — don't inherit his habit of speaking before thinking. One in a generation is already enough trouble.

Maggie let out a deep sigh as the burning sensation flared up again, making her wince.

— Alright, enough partying in there, okay? — she muttered, looking down as if expecting a response. — I got it—you're there. You can stop now.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to focus only on her breathing. The discomfort was still there but began to subside slowly. Maggie knew it was ridiculous to complain to a baby that was barely forming, but somehow, it made her feel less alone.

Maggie remained with her eyes closed for a few more seconds, feeling her heartbeat gradually slow down. The physical discomfort was one thing, but the silence of the cell was the real enemy.

She opened her eyes slowly, scanning the cramped space around her. The concrete walls seemed closer now, almost suffocating, as if the cell had shrunk while she was lost in thought.

Overthinking never helped.

Negan had been gone long enough for her intuition to start itching. That was never a good sign.

She knew that feeling too well. It was the same one she'd felt so many times before something collapsed around her. It always started like this—a tightness in her chest, an annoying pulse at the base of her neck.