This Is How I Disappear (Negan/OFC)

Chapter 29

——— Lucille's POV ———

— Eleven years ago —

I walk through the door, setting my keys on the end table and, boy, am I glad to be home. I had four homes to show today, plus I had to finish up paperwork on the house I sold that I didn't get to yesterday. So my day was hectic.

Negan strolls toward me from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel and flipping it over his shoulder to rest it there. I walk up to him and kiss his cheek.

"How was your first day back?" I ask.

"I already can't wait for the fuckin' next summer break."

I laugh at him. He jokes, but I know he loves his job. He always gets restless halfway through summer vacation and can't wait to get back to it.

"After only one day?" I snicker.

He walks back into the kitchen and I follow him. It looks like he was making a lasagna for dinner when I interrupted him. He goes back to making it as I lean on the counter beside him.

"The kids seem like little assholes this year," he says as he adds some of his sauce to the dish.

I bend down to take off my heels. "So no new favorites have jumped out at you yet?"

"Fuck no. But I did run into this freshman girl who is by far the shyest person I've ever fuckin' met. She's cute as fuck, but she looked fuckin' terrified walking around the halls. I tried to help her out, see if she was fuckin' lost or some shit and she got the worst fuckin' hiccups I've ever heard a person get. Then she got all flustered, turned beet red, and fuckin' ran away from me. Like actually ran away."

"Oh no! The poor thing!" That just breaks my heart.

"Yeah. I felt kinda bad about it, actually."

"Girls can be so vulnerable at that age. You need to be extra nice to her."

"See. That's why I fuckin' hate teenage girls. No matter what, I end up saying the wrong fuckin' thing. Girls are fuckin' complicated and shit. Teenage boys are fuckin' easy. I wish I had gotten that job at that boys school I applied for." He places the lasagna in the oven and cleans up the mess he made.

"A strong male figure like you can make a difference for a girl like her, though. You need to take her under your wing and make sure high school isn't a bad experience for her. Remember that one girl in our school that was so shy and bullied and she tried to kill herself. What was her name...?"

"Joan ...something," he answers.

"Joan Miller. That's it. You don't want that poor girl to end up like that."

"Jesus Christ, Lucille! Of course I don't want her to fuckin' slit her wrists!"

"Please don't let her get bullied."

"I'm not gonna let her get bullied. Shit. I don't let any of the kids get bullied. That shit does not fly with me. But I'm more worried about the boys with her because that girl is definitely an early bloomer. She's got bigass titties for a fuckin' fourteen year old."

"Negan!" I swat his arm.

"What? I'm not fuckin' looking at them, but I'm not blind. I'm pretty sure I watched some of those boys go through spontaneous puberty when they saw her."

I clutch my chest as I say, "Poor thing."

I feel for the girl. My own high school experience was really good. I was popular and had many friends, but I saw how some of my classmates struggled and it broke my heart. Kids can be so cruel sometimes. But I love that Negan cares about his kids. He makes sure that everyone flourishes and becomes the best adults they can. I know that if he sees a kid that needs help, he'll do everything he can to help them. He's really amazing to the kids he teaches.