❝ AIN'T THIS A SIGHT
FOR SORE EYES ❞
–
She was finally home. Finally happy. Her father sat beside her, her brother in front her and Judith in her lap. It was all she had wanted for the past month and a half. Now that it was happening, it was better than she'd ever imagined.
Nobody had spoken for the past five minutes. The silence was comfortable. Judith played contently with Vada's short fingers, twisting and turning them as Carl gazed out the foggy window. Rick had his hands clasped in his lap, his finger tapping against his knee, his jaw tightened. He was the first to break the silence.
"Did he hurt you?" He asked, twisting his jaw to the side. She looked to the ground, counting the specks of dust spread across the wooden surface.
"No. He was nice to me. Gave me a room," she fiddled with the hand that wasn't occupied by Judith, "I got- have, a concussion, but I did that to myself." The small girl hiccuped and snuggled closer into her chest. Vada held back the tears of relief that she finally had the toddler in her arms. However, the tight knot in her stomach still hadn't untwisted. She knew what was to come.
"What did he do?" He urged, turning to face her. There were bags under his eyes. The whites were no longer white, but a pale pink that sent shivers down her spine. Seeing her own father so exhausted saddened her.
"Nothing. I went on a few runs, that's all. Mostly I read books," she hummed, "it wasn't too eventful." She decided to leave out the man's fascination with her, for the sake of her father's sanity.
He clenched his jaw, glaring at the table in front of him. He wiped his strained eyes. "You're here for good now. We're not letting you go back."
She let silence overcome them for a few moments, not wanting to ruin his hope. But she had to. "When I left, he told me to stay in the car," her hands began to shake, "he was already really angry with me. I was scared, and a herd came, and I took my chance and ran. I broke two of his rules, dad. Two. Not to mention countless others I did before that. I crossed way over the line. I need to go back. I was an idiot for running." Her eyes brimmed with tears and her hands shook fiercely.
"No." He clenched his jaw, shifting in his spot. His bloodshot eyes darted around the room, but he couldn't meet her gaze. So they landed on Judith, and the toddler playing so innocently with his other daughter's fingers. "You're not going back to him. You saw what he did. What he can do."
"And if I don't go back? He'll hurt somebody else. You think he's not gonna come looking for me here? He's probably on his way right now."
Rick shook his head vigorously, resting his palms on his forehead and his elbows on his knees. He ran his hands through his curly hair and took in a sharp breath, his eyes becoming even redder as tears brimmed in them.
"Negan likes me, dad," she sighed, looking towards the ground, "I mean, I'm not sure how much he will after this. I don't know what he'll do to me. But I'm pretty confident, whatever it is, it won't end in death. My death, at least, if I go back to the Sanctuary before he can get here."
"You can go to Hilltop," he said desperately, "Maggie is there. Sasha-"
She shook her head, shutting her eyes. "No. He'll go looking there too. Then he'll be madder when he finds out Maggie isn't really dead."
Silence settled in the tiny room, the only noise being Judith's hiccups and the constant buzzing due to her exhaustion. They sat like that for the next ten minutes before Rick rose from his seat. He finally looked his daughter in the eyes. "You're not leaving until you get some sleep. Your room is how you left it."
Her stomach fluttered. She wondered how Rick had convinced the saviors to leave her room alone, but then figured it was probably Negan's doing. She nodded hesitantly and rose, holding Judith close to her body. Carl looked at her for the first time that evening, after Rick exited them room. "I'm gonna kill him."
Vada pursed her lips and snuggled closer to her sister. "You do anything stupid, I'll kill you myself."
Carl cracked a smile. Normally it took a lot more to get one from him. Maybe, he just needed a reason to let it out.
She walked out of the room taking her time and then ambled up the stairs. They creaked with each step she took. Finally, she was sat in her room, in her old bed. She put Judith down in her own crib before sneaking under her covers and closing her eyes. She hoped she would wake later that evening, so she could be at the sanctuary by sunset. Unfortunately, she hadn't had such luck.
The next morning she awoke to the sound of birds chirping. It wasn't something she had the luxury of hearing at The Sanctuary, with their large brick walls and windowless rooms. She got up and stretched her arms, peeking out the window. People were roaming freely, unbothered. She took it as a sign that Negan hadn't come looking for her. She let it spark the sliver of hope that Negan just didn't care.
She rushed down the stairs and out the door, keeping her hands shoved in her pockets as she breathed in the cool Alexandria air. Its scent differed from the old factory. Less smoke, perhaps. She closed her eyes and leaned against a tree, watching as unfamiliar faces passed by.
"Vada?" A frail voice whimpered from behind her. She spun around, coming face to face with Olivia. As the girl saw the chestnut brown hair and large doe eyes, she engulfed her in the largest hug she could manage. It lingered before she pulled away, adjusting her square framed glasses.
"You're finally home," she sighed, resting a hand on Vada's arm. The girl smiled weakly, meeting the eyes of her friend. "I didn't think you were gonna come back. I thought-"
Vada's eyes flickered towards the ground, her stomach knotting. "Olivia."
The girl paused, her lips parting. Vada continued, "I'm - I'm still leaving. I'm going back."
Then she told her everything. From when she arrived, to her escape, even how Negan treated her, information she wasn't willing to share with her father. Olivia seemed deep into it the whole time, her eyebrows furrowing and her jaw clenching. She balled her fists. "You're not going back to that scum bag. I won't let you."
Vada sighed. "My dad tried that, Liv. If I don't go back it won't be just me who's getting hurt." Her eyes flickered up to hers.
Olivia shook her head furiously, scrunching her nose. "I hate him. I hate him so much."
"Everybody does," she half smiled, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She remembered earlier morning, the previous day, when Negan had tried to comfort her, best he could while he was still fuming. Something felt wrong about saying such a thing. She disregarded it and met the eyes of the frightened, angered girl.
"You'll be okay," Olivia murmured, reassuring herself more than Vada, "You'll be okay. Right?"
"Just fine." She confirmed, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Olivia nodded weakly and turned her head to the side, staring off at the large, rusted walls of Alexandria.
"You seen my dad around? Carl?" Vada asked, her eyes squinted. Olivia swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Your dad is out scavenging. Carl..." she bit her lip as though she was trying to think, "haven't seen him today. I'm sure he'll show up."
Vada took in a sharp breath. She didn't want to leave without saying goodbye, but the possibility of Negan showing up before them was very likely. She shut her eyes and nodded weakly, placing a gentle kiss on the side of Olivia's cheek. She then trailed back to her house and up the wooden stairs.
Judith's room was beside hers. Her crib and Vada's bed was separated by only a wall, and sometimes, throughout the night she could hear her soft snores. The walls weren't too thick. It was soothing, but quite irritable when she broke into tears on odd nights.
She ambled into Judith's room, opening and closing the door softly. She was awake, her eyes droopy, standing at the edge of her crib. She held her hands out for her older sister, Vada taking them into hers. She picked the small girl up and held her close to her chest, Judith's head resting in the pit of her collarbone. She carried the small girl to her own bedroom and sat at the edge of her bed, lying down with Judith on top of her. Closing her eyes, Judith snuggled closer and together they fell into a deep sleep.
-
"Well, ain't this a sight for sore fucking eyes." The voice sent a wave of shock through her body. She almost jolted upwards before feeling the heavy weight on her stomach, her baby sister, holding her down. She opened her eyes, coming face to face with the man she'd been dreading seeing. He flashed his top row of white teeth and jerked his head, a deep, raspy chuckle coming from the back of his throat. Beside him stood Carl, his arms crossed, glaring bitterly at the bat-wielding man beside him. "Oh man, I almost forgot how much shit you're in right now. This is just too fucking cute. Now, who is this angel?"
Judith had woken and was rubbing her eyes. Vada carefully sat up, still holding Judith close in her arms. She rose from the bed and edged away from Negan. "Not you, darling. Don't get jealous on me now."
She was surprised at how calm he was. Until she realized he was most likely putting on an act for the time being.
"Oh, can I hold her? Please?" She never thought she'd hear the words coming from his mouth, even with it being in a sarcastic manner. She held Judith tight, tilting away from the man. Negan raised his eyebrows, jerking Lucille. "Oh. Is Lucille scaring her? I'm sorry angel." He placed the bat down, Vada's eyes following his every move. He advanced towards the two, taking the child from her arms. Vada didn't resist. She knew, despite how uncomfortable it made her, that he wouldn't dare hurt her.
"Oh man. This is great," he scrunched his face and touched the child's nose with the tip of his finger. Negan popped his head up and grinned, ruffling the small girl's hair. "How about some fresh air?"
He crossed the threshold, Judith held tightly in his arms. Trudging down the stairs, soon all three of them were gathered on the porch. With Carl in one chair and Negan in another, she sat on the rail of the porch, her hands folded in her lap. Her eyes darted around the deck until landing upon Negan, Judith sat on his lap. She seemed to like him. She began to get comfortable, snuggling deep into his chest, Negan's large arms wrapped around her. Vada's stomach knotted up, and she suddenly had to look away.
"Oh man, this little girl is precious," he hummed, his eyes closed, a smile on his face. Vada tried to control her abnormal breathing. She wanted to take the girl back into her own comforting arms, yet a part of her loved seeing her curled up into his chest. As a man walked past, Negan called out to him. "Hey, neighbour. Why don't you come by later? Might grill out."
Negan's gravelly chuckle sounded. "Oh, I like it her," his eyes connected with Vada's. He sent her a wink, then looked back down towards the child in his arms. "Mhm. I just might have to stay here," he stroked her thin hair, "you know, I was thinking about what you said earlier, Carl. Maybe it is stupid keeping you and your dad alive..."
His eyes trailed up to Vada's, a grin forming on his face, almost as if he were taunting her for what she had done. Vada swallowed the lump in her throat and got onto her feet, leaning against the pole. He bounced the child on his lap. "I mean, why am I trying so hard? Maybe I should bury you both down in one of those flower beds," he smiled at Judith and met the eyes of Vada, sending her a taunting look. She tried not to let him get to her.He chuckled. "And I could just settle into the suburbs. What do you think about that?" He made a face at Judith and kissed her forehead, bouncing her body on his leg. Vada frowned, spinning and gazed off into the neighborhood, suddenly feeling sick.
Placing her head into her hands, she wondered what the hell she had gotten herself into.