Heal: Horizons ~ A Sequel

Chapter 8: If Only

Negan's POV

    "Arabella! Where the fuck are you?" I ran as fast I could. If only she would've let me fuckin' explain what really happened.

    Amber threw herself on me, that bitch would not give in. But me being the gentleman that I am, gently told her no. But she wouldn't take it as an answer, so she fuckin' kissed me. To be fair, I didn't kiss her back. Besides, she's a shitty kisser.

    I swear seeing Arabella cry hurts me way more than any of this other shit going on in the world.

    Gunshots snapped me out of my thoughts though. "What the shit!"

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Arabella's POV

    A stabbing sensation spread from my shoulder and all the way down my arm. I could hardly even stay alert. That's when someone suddenly grabbed me from behind. Obviously it was a man and his grip was too strong for me to break from. He clamped his hand over my mouth, causing my screams to be muffled. "Make one more noise and it's over for you, sunshine." He spoke in a heavy country accent.

     I tried punching him but he secured my hands behind my back. His grip got tighter and continued to pull me through a small gap in the fence. As I was practically dragged further and further away from the compound, I could see some kind of ambush going down. There was so much commotion over there, but the night was too dark to see everything unfold.

    I kept trying to wriggle free but it proved to be impossible. The pain in my shoulder was unbearable. My face was scrunched up in pain, I could hardly even think. All I knew was, some mysterious man was kidnapping me and taking me to only God knows where. The pain was so immense that I wasn't even able to move my head to get a good look at my captor.

    Eventually, we reached a truck in the forest. There were two other people waiting in it. I squinted my eyes at them. It can't be.... I thought. Sitting in that truck was Rosita, Michonne, and my mom. "Mother!-" I was cut off when the man yanked me away. "Arabella! You're safe now, don't worry!" I heard her voice come from inside the truck.

   The man then threw me into the bed of the truck where no one other than Rick was. Of course I just had to be stuck with the person I hated most.

    Once I was sat down, I immediately recognized who my captor was: Daryl Dixon.

    When I had made that escape to Alexandria months ago, I only encountered Daryl once. It was the night of the bonfire when I got kicked out. He stared at me with such hatred, but it's okay because I looked at him the same way.

    "HELP!" I shouted once Daryl's grip was gone. Rick immediately clamped his hand over my mouth. I swear if someone puts their sweaty hand on my mouth one more time, I'll lose it.

    "Be quiet!" He growled. "We only want you for one thing: answers. So don't think for one second that I won't kill you." Rick held his intense eye contact with me as the truck began to pull off. Eventually, I got sick and tired of my mouth being covered, so I bit him as hard as I could.

    He let out a small scream and let go. "Fine. I'll let you bleed out." Rick said.

    That's when I noticed a small bag of first-aid supplies beside him. I didn't care. He didn't deserve my help with this whole Negan feud anyways.

    I sat there in the bed of the truck with an arrow in my bleeding shoulder, feeling the wind smother me as we sped down the road. As we drove, I thought about how I loved to go on late-night drives before the world ended. Now, there was nothing but an eerie atmosphere that made me want to stay inside.

    As the night went on, I grew weaker and weaker. Rick truly didn't care though. He sat silently, occasionally glancing at me to look at how much blood I'd lost. I wanted to keep my mouth shut. I kept telling myself that I'd never spill any information to help these assholes, even if it meant I had to die.

    But then I realized something. Why would I protect Negan after what he did to me? A. He lied when he told that he didn't have a thing for Amber. B. He even kissed her.

  If Negan can't be loyal to me, than why should I be loyal to him? I thought.

    "Rick." I muttered in a weak, hoarse voice. He looked at me in pure annoyance. "I'll tell you everything. Just get this damn arrow out of me."

    He eyed me for a few moments with a plain expression on his face. I could tell he was just stalling to be petty, but there's no way in hell I'd ever beg him. So, we stared at each other until he finally scooted up to me and started tending to my wound.

    This is going to be a long ride.

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    When we got to Alexandria, I was so weak that I could barely walk. Everyone unloaded out of the truck, including my mom. "Oh my gosh, Bells are you okay?" She asked.

    "Not really.... Did you guys have to shoot me with an arrow? Was it really necessary?" I asked.
    "Well, I knew it'd be the only way for us to grab you. If not, you would've fought us to death.... I'm just glad they got both of us out of there."

    I rolled my eyes and groaned in response. My brain wasn't even functioning at this point. Sure, Rick bandaged me and got me all patched up, but I needed rest. "Daryl, take her to one of these houses and keep an eye on her for the night. Make sure she doesn't escape." Rick ordered him.

    Rick hopped out of the truck and walked off with Michonne. Daryl opened the little door to the truck bed and grabbed me. At least he was more gentle this time. "I'll walk myself. I don't want your help." I hissed to him.

    That was poor judgement on my part. I was so disoriented that instead of jumping out of the truck and landing on my feet like a normal person, I fell flat on my face. "Dumbass." Daryl scoffed.

    "Bells, just let him help you." Mom spoke in an irritated tone.

    "Fine." I muttered with my face still planted into the grass. Daryl scooped me up and carried my limp self all the way to the same house I had used the last time I was here. He helped me up a flight of stairs to my room and plopped me on the bed.

    "Alright. Your services won't be needed from here on out, Dixon." I sassed as I kicked off my shoes and laid down.

    "Who the hell do you think you are, girl?"
    "I'm Arabella Mills, thanks for asking! You can go away now."
    "You're already givin' me a damn headache... I'm goin' downstairs and I'm stayin'!" He stormed off, slamming the door as he did so.

    I laid there, staring at the ceiling and thinking about all the chaos that had just gone down within a matter of hours. It all felt completely surreal. How did things come to this so fast? Just earlier I was as happy as I could ever be. Now, I was about to go to sleep in an Alexandria house... Without Negan next to me.

    I still couldn't believe he did that to me. After everything we've been through and all the amazing times we had, how could he just throw it all away like that? My heartache was so strong that I almost forgot I had a huge wound in my shoulder.

    Yes, I was deeply saddened. But I had anger in me too. The fact that he lied to me... It made me think of Negan differently.

    Another thing that was killing me was knowing that my mom was right about him.

    I clearly remembered what she told me that night in the cells. Her words replayed in my head: "Think about it... I mean we're talking about the same guy who just months ago had several wives. Do you really think he's completely given that mindset up with the snap of your finger? Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he's been seeing one behind your back."

    I curled up in my bed, gripping the blanket as I thought about it all. I clenched my eyes shut in attempt to hold back the tears. Eventually, my exhaustion got the best of me and I finally fell asleep.