The wind and the sleet had arrived soon after Negan had left the garden that afternoon.
It couldn't even be called a storm, but even so, each and every one of the Sanctuary windows seemed to rattle and shake, causing each resident to give an involuntary shiver every time they heard the wind battering against the window panes.
The last run was due to arrive back later that night, but in the meantime, Negan had put a stop to anyone else leaving with the weather as it was.
As much as people presumed he was a hard-ass, he wasn't about to risk any of his best men out there in conditions like that.
It was late evening now, and Negan was still in a foul mood since his run in with Blake and Nick earlier today.
He had relegated himself to the rec room for the afternoon, lazing across the large sofas and smoking away half a pack of cigarettes he had stashed away for an occassion such as this, daydreaming about what it would be like to ring that fucking asshole's Nick's neck.
But as pissed as Negan was, he knew he would have to see Peaches at some point and probably grovel.
Yeah he was fully aware of how much of a prick he'd been. But shit, he wouldnt have had to say any of that shit if Nick hadnt been standing there, a fucking smirk plastered all over his goddamn face.
Oh how Negan wished he could have wiped that smug smile from that mother-fucker's lips, right there, right then.
Negan could hear Blake's soft voice on the other side of the cherry wood by the time he finally reached the door to his and Blake's room up on the third floor.
Knowing he couldn't do anything about the obvious smell of cigarette smoke that clung to him, Negan turned the handle and went inside.
Blake was there of course, perched on the edge of their large bed, as was Mia, the blonde tucking her up beneath the covers snuggly.
Negan knew how much the kid hated any kind of storm, and so Blake had blatantly made the sensible choice of letting her sleep in with them tonight, rather than get woken up by Mia's crying in the early hours from next-door.
Both girls looked up as he entered and closed the door behind himself with small snap.
Blake still looked completely unimpressed, glowering at him over her slender shoulder.
"You decided to quit being an asshole yet?" she asked coolly, turning back to Mia and smoothing the bedcovers down over her middle.
Negan pursed his lips together and moved over to the couch.
"Ass-howl'," Mia repeated with a giggle.
But Blake quickly gave a tut, turning her attention to the little girl.
"No, we don't say that, baby. That's a bad word," she muttered, before glancing back to Negan.
"Bat Mommy gowt to say it," grumbled Mia, folding her chubby arms huffily over her teeny chest.
"Ain't bein' an asshole, Peaches," uttered Negan irritably, removing his jacket in much the same manner and tossing it haphazardly down onto the leather couch.
Was he really being an asshole just for not wanting to watch some other guy lusting over his damn girl?
"An' Daddy say it!" Mia huffed again, sounding annoyed at the injustice of it all.
"Could've fooled me," Blake snapped, shaking her head and scowling at him. "So, what? You got a problem with me being down in the garden's now is that it? Don't think I'm doing a good enough job down there or something?"
The blonde woman sounded hurt, her green eyes searching his face for any hint to what he had meant by his earlier outburst down in the lots outside.
A wave of guilt, at this, hit Negan hard.
Shit, he had never fucking wanted to make Blake feel this way. But this was all because of that asshole Nick.
Negan was sick to the goddamn back teeth of him sniffing around Blake any chance he got.
"Well it ain't like you haven't got enough help down there, is it, Peaches?" Negan bit, turning away from her and pulling off his boots one by one, dumping them on the floor next to the sofa before making for the bathroom.
But behind him he heard Blake get to her feet and follow him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked sounding angry now.
But fuck, so was Negan. Pissed that that fucking prick had caused a goddamn rift between them. (Although he tried to dismiss the nagging feeling that it was actually Negan himself causing this fucking rift.)
"You know what it means, Darlin'," said Negan in a meaningful voice as he entered through the bathroom, flicking on the light, as he heard Blake close behind him.
He wasnt in the mood for any of this shit, wanting nothing but a shower and to sleep, maybe forgetting, for just a night anway, that this Nick guy, that Peaches seemed to be spending every fucking second of every fucking day with, ever even existed.
Pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it into the wash basket behind them door, he made to grab his towel from the rail, when suddenly Blake circled around, coming to a stop in front of him.
Pressing a hand to his bare chest she stopped him in his tracks.
"No, I don't, Negan," she said firmly, that frown still sat between her brows, but her eyes were now wide and worried looking, searching his face desperately. "Look I don't know what's up with you lately, why you've been checking in on me down in the gardens every five minutes, or why you've been acting like such a child -"
"Well maybe your new fuckin' boyfriend down there will be more fuckin' mature, Darlin'," Negan growled at her, cutting her off mid-sentence. The words spilling from his lips poisonously before he could help himself.
And for a moment Blake stopped, blinking, She closed her mouth slowly and took a step back, her hand dropping suddenly from Negan's chest.
Shit.
Shit shit shit.
Negan's mind was whirring was possibilities now, scenarios that he had no proof of, working their way around his head.
Did she look mad?
Guilty?
Had she been thinking about Nick? Fantasising about him? Wanting him more than she had ever wanted a rough old dog like Negan?
It was a long second now before Blake took a second step backwards, the frown on her forehead deepening.
"You mean......wait..." she uttered with a frown, looking a little disbelieving now. "...are you talking about Nick?!"
Negan took a moment to reply, merely giving a seemingly un-caring sniff.
"Well the prick's been tailin' you around for the last two fuckin' weeks like some kinda love-sick puppy, Peaches. What the fuck else am I suposed to think?" Negan said, feeling his hackles raise at just the mention of the guy.
But Blake seemed to waver for a second, before a bemused sort of expression slowly began to dance its way across her features.
"Negan, YOU tail me around like a lovesick puppy," she said sounding slightly exasperated, but far more calm than she had a few brief moments ago.
But Negan wasn't taking that. This wasn't the same. This guy was new to the scene.
And besides Negan had seen it first hand. The flirting, the laughing...
"Sweetheart, it's obvious the goddamn guy has got a thing for you!" Negan uttered bitterly.
But at his words, this time, Blake was still for a long second or two, before, to Negan's surprise, her lips twitched once, then twice, and a sudden laugh escaped her lips before she could stop it.
She bit down on her lip to stop herself from giggling further.
But this only seemed to anger Negan more. Shit, did she really think all this was fucking funny?
But he barely had a second to dwell on this, as Blake lowered her eyes taking a step into the dark-haired man, her hand making for his shoulder.
"Errr, baby..." Blake murmured in a sympathetic sounding voice, giving his shoulder a gentle pat. "...I have a feeling YOU might be more Nick's type."
Negan blinked.
What?
"He's gay, Negan," Blake said with a slow nod, her eyes meeting with his, as though she wanted to make sure explicitly he understod what she was saying.
"He's-"
"Gay, yeah," Blake repeated, giving his shoulder a squeeze before dropping her hand and sauntering over to the bathroom mirror above the sink to peer at her reflection. "Definitely not interested in me."
Negan was silent for a long moment before he lifted a hand, running it through his hair as his dark eyes widened.
"Well...shit..." he managed to murmur out, feeling all of a sudden very, very fucking stupid.
"Yeah, shit," Blake said pursing her lips and staring back at him over her shoulder. "So next time you go getting jealous, you may want to get your facts straight first."
Negan could have kicked himself.
Fuck, he'd been such fucking idiot.
"Peaches, I'm fuckin' sorry, I-" he began, knowing it was better to start grovelling sooner rather than later.
But Blake merely turned back to him, smirking now.
"Nu-uh," she said in a vixen-like voice, strutting past him and bumping her hip payfully against his bony one as she went. "You can make it up to me later, asshole."
She shot him a suggestive look glancing up and down his body over her shoulder, before biting her lip and giving a small laughing shake of her head and disappearing back into the bedroom.
Negan gave a sigh. Shit, he really was fuckin' lucky to have a gal like her.
Still ruffling his dark hair, he wandered back into the bedroom, to see the blonde tucking a a whining Mia back into bed.
"Noh, I wan' milk," whined the toddler wriggling and twisting beneath the bed-clothes. "I thursty!"
Blake gave a sigh and got to her feet.
"Alright I'll get you some milk, baby," she said softly, turning to slip on her sneakers.
"I'll go, Darlin'," Negan offered.
But Blake merely smiled up at him. "It's fine, I'll be back in five," she said making for the door. "You can take care of that."
And with that, Blake cocked a thumb over her shoulder to where Mia was currently clambering out of bed, whinging as she did so. Obviously in a mood for terrorising her two parents tonight.
Negan gave a loud, tired groan, as a smirking Blake headed off out of the room, closing the door behind her with a gentle snap.
The Sanctuary felt like an ice box as Blake walked down the drafty corridor heading toward the kitchens.
She rubbed at her arms as she went, cursing herself for not putting on an extra layer on top of her black sweater.
The walk didn't take long, down to the first floor, where she noticed it was far more drafty due to the large doors at the far end of the docking yard being left wide open.
That would only mean one thing of course, that the Simon, Gavin and a few of the others were now back from their run, safe from the storm.
And as Blake turned the corner she saw now that they were not alone, with Simon standing there addressing a small group of seven or eight people she had never seen before.
"...now you follow the rules and you'll find that we can all be very accommodating here..." she heard Simon utter, causing Blake to bristle slightly at the sound of his voice. Even know although she had forgiven as much as she could, it is hard to forget what the mustachioed man had tried to do all those weeks ago.
But shaking these thoughts from her head, she walked up to where to small group stood, nodding to Gavin, who was stood at the back of the pack, as she passed by.
Part of her felt proud, as this was obviously another group that the Saviours had picked up on the road and had taken in, under the promise that they follow the rules and do things Negan's way.
The Sanctuary was certainly big enough for more people and Blake now hoped that by next year, if her plans to expand the gardens went well, then there would be more than enough food to go around threefold.
But as always, the people in the small group, as she passed them, all looked frightened and mistable, huddled together, seeming nervous of coming here to the intimidating factory building for the first time.
But as Blake walked by, she didn't even notice one of the men from the small crowd step forward, his eyes widening suddenly as he looked at her.
"Blake?"
Blake stopped suddenly in her tracks...her blood running cold.
That voice.
No.
But it couldn't be. It just couldn't...
Blake's heart began to thud in her chest, her stomach twisting into knots and her breathing becoming shallow, as Simon faltered in his speech, the entire room falling eerily silent.
It couldn't be him.
He was a ghost.
A memory.
This wasn't possible.
Swallowing hard, it felt like an eternity before, on shaking legs, Blake managed to turn herself around, her wide eyes full of horror as her gaze settled upon a person she had never thought she'd see again. Not the ghost, but another now...oh so familiar.
Tall...
...blonde...
...with piercing blue eyes that reminded so much of someone else's...
Eyes she had stared at while cold fingers had been clenched around her throat, choking the life from her.
Blake stopped, her chest rising and falling hard now, as the man stepped forwards out of the untidy group, taking one step, then another...
And before Blake could even move, he had launched himself at her, tugging her to him in a tight hug.
"Blakey, I-I never thought I'd see you again," he breathed into her ear, that voice- so familiar, sending a cold shiver through her entire body.
The man pulled back from her and stared into her eyes, shaking his head in a look of pure, happy disbelief that she was here.
"W-Where's David? He here with you?" said the man Blake had known for a very long time.
A man she had spent night's out with. A man who she had had over to her apartment on game days. A man who she had spent time with at family occasions.
A man who looked eerily familiar to the man that had abused her, for so very long.
Brandon.
David's brother.