The Ruins Part 2 (Sequel to The Ruins)

Chapter 44

The first thing they did was find strong and lengths of rope and construct a network of lines around the gas station. Mal gathered cans from the rubbish heap out back and buckets full of small stones. Negan used a hammer and awl from Brother David's tool to punch holes through the cans. Then Mal strung the cans on the taut lines and filled each one with a few stones. She strung the lines at various heights so that any Infected or Runner would walk right into them, and the sound of the stones rattling in the cans would be clear and loud. The strings of cans would hopefully trip up a human sneaking up in the dark. There was some starlight but no moon, and the tripwires were virtually invisible once the sun was down.

Once it was done, it's only Mal and Negan and Tom inside the station. "Mal?" Negan prompted. "Can we talk?"

"About what?"

"About what happened the night? The night we kissed."

"I...what do you want me to say?" She asked. She knew she'd said the wrong thing when she heard the loud sigh.

"Mal this damn well isn't about what I want to hear. It's about you tellin' me why you've been avoiding me right now."

She rubbed at her face, she really was too tired for this conversation. She couldn't think. "This isn't the place to talk about it." Mal offered, hoping the reminder of where they were would give her a chance to escape.

"It seems to be the only place we can talk about it."

"We can talk another time." Mal turned, determinedly heading towards another tree to hang more up. She was stopped by a soft grip on her arm that made her baulk. "Please..." Head focused on the wood, eyes pointedly not looking over at Negan.

"Mal?" Negan was almost desperate with his protest.

It chipped at the veil between them. She reluctantly turned her head to face him, Mal melting at the pleading look in his eyes as they finally locked together. "Negan...I...." She was at a loss for words, unable to come up with a decent explanation for what had happened.

"Mal, c'mon it's me. We can talk about it. Please, please don't shut me out again. What happened?"

His words broke Mal, she pathetically replied. "Because you confused me."

"What?" Bafflement etched over Negan's face. "I confused you? How?" Negan finished.

"You didn't...I don't... it's hard to explain."

"Try."

"Negan." Now she was the one pleading. "Let's get inside before it's dark." The sunset is not dwindling, having loads of time.

"No, I want answers Mal. I deserve them."

"No, you don't." Mal snapped back at him, it was like an echo of their previous conversation. That familiar rage building at another demand of him.

"Yes, I do." Negan pushed back, stepping closer to her, staring her down.

Mal hated how those damn dark eyes searched her, it felt like they were piercing down into her soul. "It's none of your business."

"None of my business?" An incredulous laugh filled the forest, Negan's voice hushed when he spoke again. "If you kissing me makes you run away then it damn well is my business."

"It wasn't that. "

"Then what was it?"

She huffed at him, sick of this damn conversation, sick of herself for making it necessary to have it. "It confused me because of you. Because I know you and what I feel isn't gonna be true."