Immediately Rick, Michonne got up from their seats. "What do we do?" Michonne asked Rick.
Rick glanced over at Eugene, "is he alone?"
"He's with a group go his men, but not as many as there were last time," Eugene replied.
Rick nodded, assuring himself that everything would be fine. "We all act like we don't know anything about Cathy escaping. Y'all hear me?" Everyone except Cathy nodded.
"Rick-" I tried to talk to him, but he was already out the door looking calm as ever.
Michonne turned towards me, "Carl bring her upstairs into your room. If anything happens, find your gun and hide her," she ordered.
Carl helped me up the stairs towards his room. He helped me down onto the bed where I sat up straight ready for anything, as Rick and the others dealt with Negan.
"What do you think will happen if he finds you here?" Carl asked me.
I breathed out, it came in short rattles. I couldn't help being afraid. "He'll take me back to his compound."
"And kill one of us." Carl muttered under his breath.
"No, Carl. I won't let that happen. If he does, I'll...I'll..." I couldn't find any words. what would I do to him if he did murder anyone. What if Michonne was next?. Or Rick? That would make Carl and Judith an orphan. I couldn't let that happen.
"What will you do?" Carl asked, a little harshly.
I cocked my head up so my eyes were directly looking at him. "I'll kill him myself."
*
Negan stood and did nothing as Cathy walked out. He heard multiple doors slam shut and open.
He knew this was hard for her. After everything she's been through, she has been so strong.
Negan eventually pulled up his pants and sat down on the couch. She was a survivor. She has always been an survivor.
Negan recalled the day he lost her, before all this happened. When life wasn't filled with death. All the things Cathy had said were true. At first he did use her, for his own selfish needs, but then he actually did fall in love with her. It wasn't planned or scripted.
Negan closed his eyes and remembered:
"Fuck, Negan, answer me!" Cathy yelled at him again, "who the fuck is Joey?"
Negan sighed and sat down on the couch, his hand went through his hair; a habit of his he did whenever he was stressed. "Cathy, what happened?"
Cathy immediately burst out in anger, like a matchstick igniting. "Well I kept getting phone calls from random people. One being Joey and the other being my fucking father. Now, how does the father who kicked me out my own home know exactly how to ring us when he doesn't even know where I am anymore...oh and also, he knows you. How the fuck does he know who you are, Negan?! And then suddenly I heard a gunshot on the other line of the phone and then I heard Joey speak. How the fuck, Negan does that happen? Huh?!"
Negan sighed deeply. "Please sit down, Cathy. Please," he beckoned her over to the other couch near the single one he was sitting on. Reluctantly she sat down. "Before I tell you...everything. I need you to realise that I love you. So, so much. More than I ever thought I could love someone ever." Negan watched as Cathy's eyes squinted a little.
Negan cleared his throat and began, "I sell and fix cars. But, in secret I run...a drug company. I was low on money and I began feeling low, and it's made us live in luxury, Cathy," Negan tried to ignore the fact Cathy bowed her head down the moment he told her. But that wasn't even the worst part. "A group of us run it-"
Cathy butted in, "so you're in a gang?"
Negan sucked in a breath, "yeah," he gulped a little, "anyways, I met your father when he bought massive amounts of drugs for god knows what. Although then he couldn't afford it, for most of it actually, but he promised me he would pay us back. A couple of months went by and we heard nothing of him. I began to get a little tired of this and so I demanded the money to which he told us he was broke." Negan looked up at Cathy, knowing this next part would hurt her even more. "He then told me he could give me you," Cathy recoiled back in horror, her mouth open agape. "Not in a marriage way or anything like that. He told me that you were hard working and could help around the car garage, maybe even help us run the drug business too. I knew he was broke and struggling, so I agreed to it."
Cathy choked back a sob, "so I was like bought meat to you, how charming."
"No. I was going to look after you, give you a better life. Your father was a disgusting man for giving you away-" Negan said.
"But you had no problem with it," Cathy hissed.
Negan sighed. "We planned everything, he would kick you out the house and I would find you. You weren't supposed to meet me at my doorstep, like you did, but that must happened. And I took you in...and the rest is history."
Cathy couldn't look at him. "And what about Joey?"
"Joey is one of my men," Negan answered.
"Did he kill my parents?" Cathy asked.
Negan frowned, "no, no, god no. I heard your father was trying to contact you, to try and tell you the truth. I couldn't let that happen so I ordered Joey to go to his house and stop him altogether."
"By shooting someone?" Cathy shrieked, leaping up from the couch, glaring wildly at Negan.
"No, just to scare them. I promise you, he didn't murder anyone." Negan told her.
Cathy blinked, "how can I fucking believe you when allow this," beckoning around her, "is a lie."
Negan stood up this time, "no," he reached out and grabbed her by her arms to pull her in and hold her, to try and calm her down. Cathy cried out and pushed him away. "Cathy, I'm telling truth, I love you."
"You're sick. Fucking sick. I don't want to see you...I don't want to see you ever again," Cathy walked over towards the door, she lifted her hand up to open the door but Negan reached the door first and shut it immediately.
"Catherine. Please. I love you. You know it," Negan pleaded her.
Cathy shook her head multiple times, "I don't know what I believe anymore," he huffed, "Negan if you don't let me out, I'll ring the police. And tell them everything."
Negan gulped. "Please, Cathy. Let me take you home then, we'll pack our bags and go home and then...I'll take you to meet your parents."
Cathy sighed loudly, casting her eyes to the ground in frustration. "We go home right now. Don't expect any funny business and I know the route home by car so if you dare go one wrong way, I will get out and find the authorities."
Negan nodded and the moment he did, Cathy turned around and stormed over to her room and began packing her bags. Negan eventually followed her, walking round the corner and seeing her place her summer dresses in her suitcase.
He took a couple of steps towards her, watching her carefully. He was close to her that he reached out to touch her shoulder, she flinched away immediately. Negan closed his eyes and sighed, "Cathy, let me help you," he said.
Cathy brushed him off and shook her head wildly, "nope. I'm doing fine by myself," she replied.
"But I can help you," Negan pleaded on.
"I can do it by myself. After all, I'm going to have to look after myself from now on anyways so I got to start now, right?" She looked up at him and squinted her eyes. "Hm?"
Negan's face dropped instantly. He straightened his back looking down on her with concern. "What do you mean by that?"
"When we get to your house and I go and see my parents, I'm packing my bags and leaving," Cathy replied, bluntly.
Negan's brow burrowed deep, "Cathy, I don't want you to leave."
She kept packing, not bothering to answer him. When she had finished packing, even finishing his suitcase too, she pulled them both along the carpet out of the house into the trunk of the car. Cathy was the first one to get into the car, sitting at the front near the drivers seat, waiting for Negan to lock up the summer house. Once he did, he arrived near the car and gave one quick glance at the house.
It took nine and a half hours for them to get home. And although they were both tired, Cathy didn't let that stop her from getting out the car the moment Negan parked in the driveway. She stormed towards the back of the car and got out her suitcase and Negan's. "I can carry mine, Cathy," Negan sighed, pushing the car door shut behind him. He walked over to her and reached over to carry his suitcase but she took one step back away from him.
"Just open the door so I can get inside," she demanded. Negan observed her; she wore one of her summer dresses and white heels. Her hair was frizzy from quick movement and the heat.
Negan obeyed and unlocked the front door and let Cathy enter first. He waited till her and the suitcases were both inside before shutting the door behind him. "Don't," Cathy snapped at him.
Negan frowned, "what?"
"Don't bother shutting the door, I'm leaving to go to my parents house now," she told him as she walked to their bedroom and placed the suitcases on the bed. Negan silently made his way to their bedroom, wanting to see her.
"You can't go now," Negan said.
She snapped her head up and raised an eyebrow at him, "why not?"
"It's late, you're tired, I'm tired," Negan answered.
She shrugged, "I'm a grown up girl who can go outside when it's dark, and I didn't ask for you to come along too," Cathy replied, "you can wait here." She then walked straight past him and towards the door. "I'll come back, but only to pack my bags and leave."
Negan closed his eyes, never before had he ever cried in front of Cathy before. Hell, anyone. He felt the salty tears threaten to fall and show his weakness to Cathy.
He heard the door slam shut behind him, and as it echoed around the walls of their house - his house now - he began to lean back on the wall and slide down onto the ground and cry his heart out for the woman he lost.
When Cathy returned, it was very late at night, nearing midnight. Her parents were happy to see her again, hoping they would live with her again but she refused the offer and told them she wanted to live by herself for now. She told them about Negan, but not all of it, just telling them he looked after her but now she knows the truth.
As she closed the door gently behind her, she saw all the lights in the house were off. All was quiet. She could sleep her and then leave in the morning. She was way to tired to carry on moving.
Cathy yawned inaudibly, gliding through the house in the darkness towards the bathroom where she brushed her teeth - realising Negan had put everything back. After, she walked to her bedroom and lay down, not bothering the change her clothes. She kept her distance away from Negan, who turned his back away from her too.
In the morning, Cathy woke up alone. Stretching and brushing her teeth, she looked around the house for Negan but he was nowhere to be seen. Must've left for work or didn't want to see her for himself leave him. Either way, she was ready to leave.
She packed her suitcase again, putting in the things she needed that would take her to a local motel and then elsewhere when she had it all planned out. She knew she couldn't bring everything, so she thought when she had settled down she would call Negan to arrange a van to transport her other belongings to her.
When she was finished, Cathy opened the door to the house she once thought she would raise children in with Negan and grown old in with him.
Shutting the door behind her, no note left for Negan when he returned, she walked through the neighbourhood and then another and another, until she didn't exactly know where she was but nor did she care.
Negan returned home after leaving early in the morning to apologise to Cathy's parents and explain to them how awful he felt, he returned feeling hopeful that maybe Cathy would think about staying here.
He opened the door and charged towards the bedroom, hoping Cathy was still asleep like he left her.
She was not.
Negan looked in every room and couldn't find her. Fuck...she had left already. Spinning around on his heel, he began to think where she would've gone but something else quickly caught his mind.
Standing at the door was someone...or something. It's eyes were glossy, mustard colour with specs of blood swarming around it's pupils. It's skin plain light greeny-white, simplifying the decay this person was experiencing. It's clothes were slightly ripped but looked normal. It stood unbalanced, leaning on one side more than the other. Mouth open wide, crimson red blood gushing out like water. It began to growl - loud.
Heart thumping in his chest, Negan backed away slowly towards a weapon...anything. He backed away towards his bedroom, where in the corner of his eye was a baseball bat his father gave to him when he was a child, leaning on Cathy's chest of drawers. He grabbed the bat and waited. If this...thing wasn't going to harm him, he wouldn't harm it.
Suddenly, almost automatically, the creature lurched forward for attack. Negan yelled out loud as he swung the bat and hit the creature on the head. The thing bounced backwards and fell to the ground, it began trying to get up but Negan was there first and began repeatedly hitting it over and over until it wouldn't move again.
Almost out of breath, Negan's gaze returned to the door and he ran towards it, looking out in case Cathy was anywhere to be seen.
Covering the streets were these things slowly walking around, people began to open their doors to see what was happening to only get attacked by these creatures. Negan immediately got into his car and drove, his bat on the seat next to him.
He witnessed people who he knew from work, from living near him get torn apart by his monsters that craved human flesh. But all Negan cared about was finding Cathy, and hoping she was safe and alive.
Negan's eyes flashed open the moment he heard someone screaming for help outside. He grabbed Lucille which was under his bed and ran towards whoever was screaming. Leaping out of his building and out towards the wall, Amber was screaming for help.
"What the fuck is wrong?!" Negan asked her, confused as to why she was crying and hysterical. He looked around for Cathy...fuck where is she?
"Cathy..." Amber breathed out, trying to regain herself and get her words across, Negan immediately froze, "she...oh my god," she burst out crying again, "she...we were on the wall, talking...and then suddenly she leaned forward...oh god..." Amber's breathing was ecstatic, "she...she fell and suddenly the walkers came and..." Negan didn't want to hear the rest, he immediately ran towards the wall.
Sprinting up the stairs, he looked over to see but she wasn't there. "Sir...I...I don't think she made it," one of the survivors said to Negan. Negan cocked his head back at him.
"Do you see a motherfucking body?" Negan yelled, the man gulped, "no! So then she's alive and out there somewhere," he turned to look out at his men who were all down below him on the ground. "I want the van out and ready and a group of my very best out with me, we're going to search for her immediately." Negan walked down the steps towards the van as the men ran all over to get their weapons and equipment.
Amber hurried over to Negan, "Negan...I'm sorry...she can't have survived...she must've been badly hurt from that fall...I'm...sorry," she tried to touch his arm but she lashed out and flinched away.
His eyes were wide and deadly, his fist clutching onto Lucille so hard his knuckles were white. "She's alive. I know it."
DUNNNN DUNNNN DUNNN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. okay so that was an awesome chapter to write because I finally could show you guys the backstory to Negan and Cathy and ohhhh Negan fam, he fucked up baad. but anyways, hoped you guys enjoyed but i won't be able to write as much for a few days because I'm going to London tomorrow so. BUT I HOPE YOU GUYS LOVED THIS CHAPTER. LOVE YOUU XXX