UNSTEADY .. n

20

Another week had gone by, and Amelia was still sitting idly in her depression. The wives ignored her for the most part, except for Lauren. She would usually take any chance she got to make sure Amelia knew she wasn't special, and in fact, the weakest of  the women. The girl normally let the taunts float over her head, and instead responded by drinking out of the whiskey bottles sitting on a pristine metal tray. Sara told her if she kept at it, she'd drown in her own pity. But something about that sounded enticing to Amelia.

Sean visited once or twice. Amelia found him annoying at first, but grew to tolerate his presence. A part of him was familiar to her, and although his comments were usually snide, Amelia liked listening to him talk. Their conversations were normally short and in the commons at night, so everything was in whispers. Sometimes he'd say things that made her snort, the closest she'd gotten to a laugh in a while. He was the only kind savior she had met, other than Sherry.

Something Sean did that Amelia found interesting was refrain from asking about her and her life. It was like he had no interest as to who she was before the fallout. Instead, he usually talked about himself and the things he did. He told her he worked at an auto shop with his brother and had a wife who liked to read books in their garden when it was nice out. Sometimes Amelia would make fun of his intelligence because of his previous career, but he would always shoot back with the fact he had gone to Stanford to major in literature. Although it was surprising to her at first, the girl understood. His smile was intelligent on its own.

He was also kind. Although he teased Amelia, she knew he wasn't like Negan. Negan's teasing included bringing up the fact that he knew exactly how to tear her apart, or threatening her life. Sean's teasing was making fun of Amelia's book choice and challenging her wit. He didn't seem to care about the fact Amelia was nearly a hostage, for all he knew, she was just some girl trying to make a living here.

--

One afternoon, Amelia had spent at least an hour in the shower just thinking her sorry excuse of a life over, when a knock came at her bedroom door. Her hand was frozen in place on the steamed mirror in front of her as she waited for the knock to come again to confirm she wasn't crazy. After a minute or two, she decided it was just in her head before wrapping a towel around her body. But then the knock came again.

"Are 'ya gonna open th'door or not?" A muffled voice asked. Amelia felt her chest clench as she recognized the voice. Negan.

Her limbs seemed to ache as her mind told her to open the door. Amelia knew she would have to eventually, but that didn't stop her body from attempting to refuse.

After a little while, she eventually moved out of the bathroom and towards her doorway. Amelia's feet stopped before she could reach it, and her throat seemed to clench up. She was getting angry again, but she had to swallow her emotions in order to keep it together in front of Negan.

"Listen, if you don't--" but he was interrupted. Amelia had grabbed the handle and swung the door open to reveal the man in his usual leather jacket and jeans. She held her head high, but Negan still smirked at her current position. Although he had seen her naked, it didn't stop the girl from feeling vulnerable.

"What?" She snapped. It took a few seconds for Negan to remember the current state of their relationship and that Amelia was still in a shaken state.

"We have a guest." He told her after a little while. "I need you to get ready, come to the dining hall when you're done." He said simply. His eyes scanned her body for a few seconds, taking in the fact the only thing separating him from her bare body was a flimsy towel. Negan wanted to rip it off and kiss every inch of her, and any horny thought a person could have began to make its way through his mind. He was a man of needs, and he needed her. Negan chewed the inside of his cheek and let his eyes fall down her legs, until he let out a stifled laugh when he noticed her feet were still dripping. Negan shook his head with a sigh, silence overtaking the two. "Things happen to us, Amelia. They're real shitty things, but the happen none the less." Amelia looked up at him, her eyes showing the obvious emotions and thoughts that had consumed her for the past few weeks.

"Is this your attempt at an apology?" She asked. Negan was somewhat taken back at her question as he tried to find something to say.

"Well I--"

"Because you really don't gotta." She cut him off. Negan looked up and furrowed his eyebrows. No one cuts Negan off. And yet, Amelia did without any hesitation or visible regret. "Just...don't. You did the shit you did because you're in charge, I get it. We all have to do things we don't want to sometimes. So don't apologize." Amelia told him through clenched teeth. Negan looked at her for a few moments.

"Okay." He said, giving her a slow nod. "I'll see you for supper then, I guess." Amelia bit her lip and looked down.

"Okay." She told him. Negan gave her a final once over before turning around and heading back down the hall. Amelia watched as he walked away and sighed, closing the door as well as her eyes, and thinking about everything unfolding.