Chains That Hold Me

Time

"Okay then. First things first... this one has been bugging the shit outta me and I just gotta know. What's your name Sweetheart?" He asked with a charming and genuine kind of smile.

She stared at him for a moment, narrowing her eyes a little as she studied him. She couldn't quite work out what to make of this guy. His people seemed to have a great deal of respect for him, and some even seemed to fear him. He carried himself with confidence and looked like a take no shit kind of guy. At the same time when he was talking to her, he seemed different somehow. Softer, gentler and caring. He was rather tall and lean, and much older than her by the looks. Perhaps old enough to be her father. Despite his age he was certainly a good looking man. She wanted to trust him, and if she wanted to live then who better to help her through the shit storm this world had become than Negan? She needed to take a chance.

"Avery" she replied softly.

"Avery? Well fuck me... that is a beautiful damn name" he smiled. "Suits you".

"Thanks" she said with the tiniest hint of a smile.

"See this is good. We are making progress here" Negan said.

"How old are you?" He asked, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"You don't know?" He asked looking a little puzzled. "Lost track of time right?"

"Yeah" she whispered.

"Were you always in that place? You know since the world went to shit"

"No..."

"When did that happen?"

She thought hard for a moment. "Maybe... six months after".

"Six months after the world went to hell?" He asked looking a mixture of stunned and sick.

"Yeah".

Negan dropped his head in his hands and rubbed his face. "Fuck" he whispered to himself.

"Negan?" She questioned a little worriedly.

"Yeah Sweetheart?"

"How long ago was that?"

He looked at her sadly and rubbed his beard with his fingers. "A year ago" he choked out. "It's been a year and a half since the turn" he told her.

All colour drained from her face and she looked as white as a sheet. She lept from the bed and ran to the bathroom, emptying the entire contents of her stomach into the toilet as she vomited violently. She couldn't stop the tears that streamed down her face. She sobbed loudly in between heaving as she clutched at the toilet bowl.

"Hey... it's okay" Negan whispered as he sat down on the floor a few feet away. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with hurt.

"A year?" She sobbed.

"I'm so sorry Avery" he whispered. "Here" he said as he handed her a damp washcloth to wipe her face with. "It'll be okay I promise" he tried to reassure her. But really, he had no clue. He didn't know anything about what she had been through. He had no idea what she had suffered. All he knew was that she had suffered for a whole fucking year! Negan only hoped that one day she might be able to trust him enough to tell him what had happened to her.

Avery continued to vomit until there was nothing left but bile. The thought of having spent a year in that place was just too much. She curled up in the corner, pulling her knees in close to her chest.

"You okay?" Negan asked.

"No" she sobbed.

"Can I do anything?" He asked and she just shook her head in response. "Okay. Well... if or when you wanna talk, I want you to know I'm here for you okay" Negan told her and she nodded in response.