Locked Away // Negan

Chapter 3

It took until lunch time before I finally got back to Alexandria. When getting back I told Michonne everything except with what happened with that girl in the street. That is something I'm not ready to tell her yet. She agreed about giving Hilltop some food then left for The Kingdom. She went to see how Carol is doing and if she found Daryl.

While she did that I went to the prison to check on Negan. I'm hoping he got his medicine today. But Aaron would never lie to me and has never broken his promises to me. When entering the room I found Negan sitting on his bed reading a book from his bookshelf. His face lit up when he saw me and he stood to approach me at the metal bars that kept him locked away.

"Welcome back," he grinned.

"How are you feeling today? Did you eat? Did you get your medicine?" I asked him all these questions and he groaned in response. I smiled.

"Yes mom thank you very much." He rolled his eyes making me chuckle. His smile fell when he looked down at my wrist and saw the now fully formed bruise. He didn't look so happy anymore. "Who did this to you?" He asked. It came out more angry than I think he meant it to.

"Oh that's nothing. Are you feeling any better?" I asked him. He ignored me and kept pressing about the bruise.

"Nova who did that to you?" He asked once again.

"I don't know who she was! Just some girl in the street today. She was acting weird but don't worry about it because she's dead now." I told him. He looked at me in surprise and I knew exactly what he's thinking. "No I didn't kill her. The walkers did."

It fell silent around us while I ran my fingers through my hair and he looked at me. He watched me very intently. "I've gotta go and check on Judith and Rj. Do you need anything?" I asked. He shook his head no and I left without another word. After checking on the kids I made sure everything is running okay in the community.

Today seems oddly good and that scares me. Everyday in this place holds a new mystery but not today. It's starting to worry me and I'm not quite sure what the problem could be. I decided to no longer question it and went to my house where I poured me a drink and sat down on the couch.

About an hour passed when there was a loud banging on my door. Before I could even open it Aaron walked in looking extremely worried. "Did you know that Judith is at the prison?" He asked wide eyed and worried. This time my eyes widened and I stood from the couch.

"What is she doing there? Did someone give her a key?" I asked. Aaron didn't get a chance to answer because I had already sprinted out the door. I found Judith sitting outside the window of Negan's cell. She held a notebook in her hand and a pencil in the other while they talked.

"Judith go home now." I ordered her.

"But aunt Nova-" she started to protest but I stopped her right there.

"Do you know what your mother would do if she found out about this? Go home." I demanded. She sighed and left but not without saying goodbye to him. I watched her walk away before going inside the prison where he stood next to the window. "Why were you talking to Judith? What did you tell her?" I asked.

"Nothing. She asked for help with her math homework. Why are you making this a big deal?" He asked while coming over to where I stood. I know he can't touch me but I backed away from him. "Your scared of me. You think I'm gonna hurt her don't you? What happened to me being human and all that bullshit?" He asked.

"Don't mistake my kindness for friendship. And don't talk to her ever again. I don't care what your intentions are but I don't want you near my family, Negan." I glared before exiting the place and going to see Judith. She sat on her bed looking out the window and I sighed.

"Listen you understand why we don't want you talking to him right?" I asked her while I sat next to her. She looked over at me and shook her head yes.

"But he's not bad anymore aunt Nova. If you just sat down and got to know him you'd finally understand." She told me and I sighed while wrapping my arm around her and pulling her close to me.

"I believe people can change but when it comes to him it's much harder than that. I want to keep you safe but I can't do that when your talking to someone who is locked up for a reason. Promise me you won't talk to him ever again?" I asked her. She was hesitant at first but eventually agreed with me.

"Your mom is gonna kill you, you know that right?" I smirked and she nodded with a smile on her face. We chuckled and I placed a kiss on her head. "Stay here and do your homework. And if you need help you know where to find me." I assured her. She nodded and I left but not after checking on Rj who was taking his nap.

"How did it go?" Aaron asked while we walked to my house together.

"Good, thank you. I set Negan in his place and made sure Judith knew it's bad to go there." I told him. He grabbed my arm stopping me. I turned to face him and he gave me a look of worry.

"Are you going to tell Michonne?" He asked. I wondered about it for a moment then looked at him.

"I have too." I said then left for my house. This all makes me feel like I'm being a hypocrite. Maybe Judith is right, maybe I should give him a chance. That thought stayed with me all day until Michonne got back.