Broken Road »» Rick Grimes (TWD)

Chapter 119

TW: sexual assault toward the end of chapter

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I sat up in my bed, finding Rick putting Magnolia in her crib before he sat down on the edge of my bed in silence.

"You gonna tell me what's wrong?" I asked while placing a hand on his thigh.

"I'm going to step out of the picture." He answered while looking to my eyes.

"What? What do you mean?" I questioned while furrowing my eyebrows.

"You love him." He stated while studying my eyes.

What?

"I seen it today. It seemed like your world was ending when you realized Negan was shot. Your eyes... the look on your face... your panic. You love him." He muttered while looking away from me.

"I love him as a friend." I replied while trying to decide if that was even the truth. It did scare me when Negan was shot. I felt all the emotions at once and my heart stopped.

"Who are you trying to fool?" He asked while looking back to me.

"No one." I answered while furrowing my eyebrows.

"I've assumed it for awhile. Today confirmed it. I'm not going to be in the way. You want him? Go for it. I know the only reason you're with me is because of the kids. I'm not going to be with you knowing you have even the smallest feelings for someone else— especially him." He replied while standing from the bed.

"Rick—"

"And I'd be lying if I told you I feel the same way about you as I did at Alexandria. We've ran our course, Jess. We've reached the end of our road. It's a dead end. Always has been, always will be." He continued while looking down at me.

"I hope he makes you happy. You deserve that—even if it's with him." He muttered before turning and leaving the room. I wiped the fallen tears from my eyes before pondering on his words.

Why was that so easy for him? Is there someone else?

I threw myself back on the bed and rolled over onto my side while staring at the wall through my tears.

-

"Evening." Carol greeted as I entered the kitchen to find Magnolia in Maggie's arms.

"Evening." I replied while glancing to Glenn who was sitting at the dining table. "Didn't mean to sleep all day." I mumbled.

"That's alright. You needed rest." Carol replied while giving me a smile.

"Rick went on to White Oak. He said he'd come for Carl and Judith by the end of the week." Maggie informed me while giving me an odd look.

"Okay." I muttered while sitting down across from Glenn.

"So you aren't going?" Maggie inquired.

"We broke up." I answered while glancing to her.

"What?" Carol asked after gasping.

"I guess you can say it was a mutual feeling. I don't know." I mumbled while Carol handed me a cup of tea.

"I'm sorry." Maggie muttered while Carol sat down beside me.

"It was easy—easy for him to initiate the breakup, easy for me to accept it." I stated while looking at the liquid in my mug.

"Why?" Maggie inquired.

"He says he was stepping out of the picture because he knows I'm in love with Negan, but I think there's a bigger reason. I'm not stupid. But, I also don't care." I answered before drinking a sip of the warm tea.