There were three knocks on the cell door. "Rosie," Negan said with that same irritating, sarcastic tone to his voice that he always seemed to have. "I gotta talk to you, kid," he said. Rosie huffed. She had a feeling she knew what he wanted to talk to her about. Negan unlocked and opened the door using that damn key Rosie needed so badly. He leaned on the doorframe, just like he always did, and Rosie glared at him, just like she always did. He crouched down in front of her, and she wanted to kick him. "So," Negan began, raising his eyebrows a little. "Do you have any idea what I'm in here to ask you about?" he asked, sounding very much like a teacher again.
Yes. "No."
"So you have no idea where Daryl is right now?" Negan asked. Rosie shrugged.
Technically, she didn't know where Daryl was. All she knew was that he wasn't here. But she pretended she didn't actually know that either. "Prob'ly with that asshole, Dwight," Rosie said. Negan almost laughed at that, but he kept his composure.
"Well, he's not with that asshole, Dwight, because that asshole, Dwight, is right out in the hall, and he says that Daryl's gone. You're telling me you don't know anything about that?" Negan asked, a condescending quality to his voice that made Rosie want to tell the truth even less.
"Wait, so Daryl ain't here?" Rosie asked, trying to pretend like she didn't already know that.
"Damn," Negan murmured, examining Rosie's face to try and figure out whether or not she was lying. Rosie wasn't always the best at lying, but she was really trying her hardest this time, and it actually seemed to be working. Negan seemed convinced. "That asshole really just left without you," Negan said. Rosie narrowed her eyes at him. She wished she could tell him that Daryl wasn't an asshole and he only left without her because he had to. But that would give up her act of ignorance, so she couldn't do that.
"Let me talk to her," Dwight said, appearing in the doorway. His face was all bruised and he looked exhausted. Rosie hated him so, so much. He was the one who was hurting Daryl. He stole Daryl's crossbow, and he stole Daryl's angel wing vest, and he was practically trying to be Daryl. But he couldn't be Daryl because you can't be Daryl and be a spineless asshole at the same time.
Negan twisted to look back at Dwight. "Why? Kid says she doesn't know," he said. Rosie wanted to laugh at him for believing her so easily, but she wasn't sure if he was putting on an act, too. Maybe he was acting like he believed her because he thought it would make her like him more. He was good at tricking her like that, and now she was on edge.
"Dixon's a piece of shit, but he wouldn't just leave his kid like that. Not without at least talking to her first," Dwight reasoned, gesturing towards Rosie.
"She's not his kid," Negan said, his voice sounding somewhat bored, but somewhat angry.
"Still. They're attached. I can get the truth out of her," Dwight said, seeming so sure of it.
Negan worked his jaw a little bit, staring back at Dwight. He didn't seem very pissed off before, but he seemed pissed off now. "No. You were responsible for him. You can go find him yourself. You don't need a little kid to do your job for you," he ranted, his voice and face tense.
Dwight seemed frustrated at that, but he tried not to let it show. "Yes, sir," he said before disappearing back into the hallway.
Watching the doorway until Dwight left, Negan sighed. He felt conflicted. Angry because Dwight said he could get the truth out of her- angry that Dwight thought he'd let him question a kid using force, not just because it was Rosie, but because she was a kid. He was powerful, and he wanted everyone to know that he had no mercy, but he did. He had mercy. He didn't want any kid to get hurt, but especially Rosie. And, honestly, he felt bad for Rosie, being left here by Daryl. But at the same time, he was glad Daryl left her, because now his threat was out of the way.
Cognitive dissonance. That must've been what he was experiencing. He had morals, and he hated himself for going against them, but he went against them, anyway. He needed to make a choice. He needed to choose who he was going to be, but he wouldn't. Because he wanted to have his power, but he also wanted to have Rosie. He couldn't have both, but he wouldn't choose between them.
"Did... did you go to Alexandria with Carl?" Rosie spoke up, snapping Negan out of his thoughts. She had been worrying about Carl. Negan obviously wasn't there when Daryl escaped, and Carl must've gone with him. "Is he ok?"
"Carl's fine. I took him back, made him spaghetti. Met the baby," Negan said. He positioned himself to lean against the wall, and Rosie scooted away from him, even though she wasn't particularly close to him in the first place.
"She ok, too?" Rosie asked, her eyes wide.
"What, you think I'd hurt a baby?" Negan asked with disbelief. Rosie almost told him that she didn't know what he'd do, but instead, she just kept her mouth shut. "You think I'm a monster. I know. I've killed people, you've killed people. But neither of us are monsters."
Rosie didn't have the guts to argue with him. "Was Ian there?" she asked, switching the subject back to Negan and Carl's trip to Alexandria. Negan's eyebrows pinched together, showing that he didn't know what she was talking about. "He's a little bit taller than me and he's got curly hair. Brown curly hair," Rosie elaborated quickly.
"Sorry, kid. I have no idea who the hell you're talking about. He wasn't there," Negan said, shaking his head a little.
Ian wasn't there? Where else could he be? He lost Maggie and Glenn. Who else would he stick with? Carol? He stayed with her after the prison fell. No, but Carol was missing. Maybe he went out to find her. No, he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't do that. You don't know what he'll do now. After everyone he lost, Rosie reminded herself, her heartbeat picking up at the thought of Ian out there on his own. He was her best friend, she'd say. He couldn't be another name on the list.
"What about everyone else?" Rosie asked, her voice quiet.
"Well, Olivia definitely had a bad day. A bad last day," Negan said. Rosie's face scrunched up, and she bit down hard on her lip. Abraham, Glenn, Maggie, Olivia. Olivia who let Rosie count the cans as many times as she wanted. Olivia who was nice to Rosie even after she threw a rock at her window. "But, that was Rosita's doing. Rosita tried to shoot me, shot Lucille instead, so Arat shot Olivia. It didn't need to happen. But it's not my fault that it did."
"Yes, it is. You- you started all of this. You-" Rosie cut herself off, growling at herself in frustration as she felt a new lump form in her throat. She turned away from Negan, looking at the wall instead.
"You know what, Banks? You just reminded me of something," Negan said cheerfully. He stood back up, a smile on his face. Rosie stayed on the ground, not looking at him. "Sorry. Not Banks. I've got something to show you," Negan said. He held his hand down in front of Rosie's face, offering to help her up. Rosie ignored his offer and stood up without his help. He grabbed Lucille again and walked out of the cell. Rosie stayed where she was, confused, until Negan put his hand on her shoulder and made her follow him out into the hall.
"Where're ya takin' me?" Rosie asked warily, her stomach starting to hurt.
"To see someone."
"Who?"
"Eugene," Negan answered. Rosie's eyebrows furrowed. Eugene? What the hell was Eugene doing in this place? She didn't want to be rude, but Eugene? He didn't exactly have the brawn that Negan seemed to be looking for. He did, however, have the brains. Maybe that was why he was there. "You know why I like Eugene?" Negan asked. Rosie didn't say anything. "I like how easily he's adapted. You know what he told me earlier today?" Still, Rosie didn't say anything. "He told me that he's Negan. After one day! See, Eugene gets it. He understands that I am here to help him."
Knowing that Eugene knelt down to Negan, said he was Negan, made Rosie's face burn. Eugene didn't have much of a backbone, but he watched Negan kill Abraham and Glenn, right in front of him, and now he was joining the Saviors.
"The thing with you, Rosie, is that you don't even have say you're Negan, and you don't have to kneel. You don't have to work for points and you don't have to do practically anything. All I want from you is acceptance, Rosie. You're here. You're with me. You're safe here. You need to accept that," Negan explained. Rosie ignored him. She wasn't going to accept that. She wasn't just going to accept that she was walking next to the man who killed her family. "Once I can trust that you won't try to run off and get yourself killed, I can give you a room like Eugene's. I can give you some independence. But I can't do that knowing you're just waiting for an opportunity to leave."
Negan stopped at a door and banged his bat on it. "Eugene!" he said enthusiastically, "I brought you a visitor." Being the nervous wreck he was, Eugene opened the door as fast as he could. Rosie was standing a bit behind Negan, and Eugene was too focused on him to notice her. "How are my wives treating you?" Negan asked, a funny smile on his face. Wives, plural?
"G-good," Eugene stuttered out, a bag of popcorn in his hands. Negan stepped to the side a little, revealing Rosie behind him. Rosie gave Eugene a small wave, trying not to show that she was sad or scared. "Rosie," Eugene said, sounding surprised.
"Rosie!" Negan said, exaggerating the excitement of it and raising his eyebrows. He put his hand on Rosie's shoulder, and she shrugged it off, only for Negan to place it there again. "You gonna let us in, Doctor Smartypants?" Negan asked.
"Yes. Yes, sir," Eugene said, his voice all shaky as he opened the door wider and stepped to the side. Negan waltzed in like he own the place- because he did own the place- and Rosie walked in beside him quietly. There were three women in the room, wearing black dresses, gathered around the TV, which had a video game up on it.
"My wives," Negan greeted, gesturing towards the three women. They all looked somewhat nervous or uncomfortable in his presence, but especially the blonde one. "Are you treating my wives well tonight, Eugene?"
"He's treating us great," one of the women said. She had dark hair and bangs.
Rosie looked up at Negan, confused. He wasn't looking at her, so she tapped his arm. He looked down at her questioningly, even though he still had that annoying smile. "Wives?" Rosie asked. Lucille was his wife. Where was she?
"Yes. Wives. Amber, Tanya, and Frankie," Negan introduced, first pointing to the blonde, then to the dark-haired woman, then to the red-haired woman. "This is Rosie."
Looking down at her shoes, Rosie ignored the hellos that the wives gave her. She felt very anxious. Negan- used to be Coach Smith- had wives. Plural. Why? What happened to Lucille. Did she die? Did she get bit, or was it the cancer? Was that what was making him so angry? That Lucille was dead?
"See this, kid?" Negan asked, tapping Rosie's chin to make her look up again. He held his arms out to his sides, gesturing to the whole room. "This is all Eugene's. You could have a room just like this one if you would just accept it."
"I ain't acceptin' shit," Rosie told him, standing strong despite her nerves.
"Popcorn, video games, a real bed, anything you want. Dinosaurs, records, art supplies and shit," Negan offered. Rosie looked at the ground again. No. There was nothing she wanted more than to be at home with her family. They loved her. That's what Daryl said. And now Rosie knew that she loved them, too. Negan stared down at Rosie, biting his tongue. He put his hand on her back, then began pushing her towards the door. This attempt obviously wasn't working. "Let's go on a little walk," he said.
A little walk is what Rosie's teachers would call it when she started acting out in class and they wanted her to calm down. One of the paras would take her out of class and they'd walk around the entire school as many times as it took for Rosie to stop being disruptive. Rosie liked being out of class, anyway, so it only made her want to act out more.
This little walk, though, was meant for Rosie to listen. To listen silently while Negan spoke.
"Rosie, I wanna know what happened," Negan said once they were out in the hallway, alone with Eugene's door closed. Rosie didn't know what he meant, so she kept her lips sealed. Negan waited for her to say something for just a moment, then sighed and started leading her to his own quarters.
The truth was, Rosie was different, and he wanted to know what happened to make that change. He wanted to know when her dad died, and when she met the new people she considered her family, and what had happened since then. What made Daryl so important? What made it so she couldn't give less of a shit about him?
He was Coach Smith. He cared about her. He took care of her. It was him who searched for her all this time. He wanted to bring her here to fix what her father did. And now she had the morals to decide that she didn't want to stay with a man who hurt people for nothing other than power. She didn't understand that before. She stayed with her dad, and he hurt her. Now all Negan wanted to do was protect her. If only he wouldn't have done it so forcefully. If only he wasn't leading the Saviors simultaneously.
Negan had Rosie sit down on the couch across from him, and he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. Rosie brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs.
"What happened to Lucille?" Rosie asked, even though she wasn't sure if it was ok to bring that up. It made her nervous, but she wanted answers.
Silence, for a moment, while Negan's heart shattered and built itself back up again. He sighed. "I'll give you answers when you give me answers. How 'bout that?" he said.
Rosie took a moment to think about it. The good thing was that she always had the option to lie. So, she chewed on her lip for a second before saying, "Fine."
"Where were you, back at the beginning?" was Negan's first question. He had gone to her house. She wasn't there. Neither was her father.
"Daddy wanted to get his dad in Georgia. That's where we went," Rosie answered truthfully. There wasn't a point in lying about this question. It didn't put anyone in danger. Her dad was dead now, anyway. "Where's Lucille?" she asked.
"She's gone, kid," Negan said solemnly, seemingly avoiding eye contact. He poured some probably alcoholic beverage into a small glass and downed it, but Rosie wasn't exactly sure what it was. It wasn't beer, because no one drank only a small cup of beer. And it wasn't wine because it wasn't in a big, fancy bottle.
"How?" Rosie asked, looking more sad now, even though she didn't mean to. Lucille was nice. She had a nice smile and she wore cool, colorful wigs. Lucille was a good person, and Rosie was sick of good people dying.
"My turn for a question," Negan reminded her, leaning back into his seat. Rosie sighed, but didn't argue. "How'd you end up with Dixon?" Negan asked.
How'd I end up with Daryl, Rosie repeated in her head, just to make sure that the answer she gave wouldn't tell him anything about where Daryl might be. She couldn't tell the truth until she was sure that the truth wouldn't put Daryl or anyone else at risk. "Atlanta. Me and Daddy got caught in traffic, and we met Daryl and his brother, and then we all went to a quarry and stayed there for awhile. Daddy didn't like none a' the other people at the camp, but he liked the Dixons," Rosie explained. She missed the Atlanta camp, sometimes. She wished that she could go back and be there without her dad. She wished that she could go back and have been with Daryl the whole time. "How?" Rosie repeated her question about Lucille's death.
Negan drank another glass of the unknown alcohol, and stared blankly at the coffee table in between him and Rosie. "She was getting sicker. I left to get more medicine. Came back and she..." Negan suddenly paused, thinking about Fraser. He looked up at Rosie for a moment, seeing her sad expression, then looked back down at the table. "She was gone by the time I got back."
Rosie almost said I'm sorry to him. But she caught herself before saying it. She wouldn't say that she was sorry. She was sorry that he lost her. She really was. But she couldn't say that to him after what he had done. "Oh," she settled on saying.
"What's the story with your dad?" Negan asked next, wanting to move on from the topic of his late wife. "You gave me a quick rundown, but I wanna know more. You said Daryl's brother killed him. Why?"
"I got in trouble. Daryl and Merle- his brother- found out. They were pissed about it, so Merle beat the shit outta him. Knocked him out, left him there. Walkers found him 'fore I did," Rosie explained.
Thinking about it now, having her father die was probably the best thing that ever happened to her. But back then? Back then she was devastated. Because she was fooled into believing that he was good and he cared about her.
And sitting there, across from him, telling him her story like he deserved to know it, Rosie realized that God, it really felt like Negan was fooling her, too.