Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
–
With her slender legs crossed and toes tapping, Vada sat at the back porch of her house for a long while before entering. The air was crisp and the wilted foliage had a beautiful mellow color to it. She watched as it swirled to the grounds and lifted in the air, creating tunnels and tumbling back to the grounds. The sky, a warm contrast of blue and orange, was just beginning to curve and adorn the pine trees ahead. She could inhale, relish in the wonderful feeling of the fresh evening air, but she couldn't stop nervously tapping her feet and jerking her finger against the lawn chair.
Two people had called her out on her behavior, one being her very own brother. And she defended the enemy. Only Negan didn't seem like much of an enemy anymore, but somebody she consorted with and even saw as a friend. And all of that didn't seem so wrong to her, if only they could see from her point of view.
That is what she had done, anyway. She quite often remembered what her father had told her as a child, which continued into her teenage years: look at it from their point of view. It was simple, but at the same time very meaningful, and although her younger self wasn't sure of it yet, it helped quite a lot. Whether it be a simple quarrel with a friend from school, something with her teachers, or a boy problem (which was a rarity), he would repeat those words. And now, his own teaching was coming back to bite him in the ass.
And really, when she put herself in his shoes, she could begin to realize his motives. Behind his megalomaniac exterior, he was really just a man protecting his people. A large quantity of people, children, husbands and wives all looked to him for answers and he simply provided; although in a very savage way. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Negan was a man who lived by those words.
But she understood why her brother held a rancor, he had murdered two very close friends. Close enough to be considered family, especially Glenn who had taught her a little bit about humanity back in their farm days. Personally she should have been angry, she should have never forgiven him but deep down inside she knew that it wasn't him. It was the eradicated world left as they knew it, leaving him a stoic man perfect to take up the leadership role that everybody longed to have. Security. People would kill for it. But they didn't have to, because Negan did it for them.
Shuffling in her seat and tugging at her lips with her teeth, Vada closed her eyes and emitted a deep sigh. If she'd had her eyes open, she would have seen her breath rise in the air. By the looks of the sunset reaching its peak, she figured the trucks would come rumbling soon. All except one, her father, who she hoped and prayed would make it safe and sound through the dangerous night.
Before she could get up and take shelter from the frigid air, the screen door slammed and her eyes shot open. Negan strolled out with Lucille hanging loosely from his fingers, stride long and arms swinging. He didn't hold the usual cocky grin, but nothing dismal either, simply a tight lipped look and a furrowed brow. He crossed his arms and squinted down at her. "The hell are you doing out here?"
