( TW — sexual assault !! )

ACT TWO
(unwarranted embarrassment)

  VERONÍCA REPETITIVELY hit her head on the table, at first it was to drown out the sound of Glenn being beat. Now, it sent a piercing pain through her brain.

While she hated the pain, she would rather think about it than think about Glenn being in pain. So she continued.

Her banging only came to a stop when someone tapped her head.

She flinched at the touch, sitting up straight in her chair as she looked at the stranger across from her.

The man was tall. She estimated he was at least a foot taller than her, if she was standing up. He had brown hair and a trimmed face.

He didn't talk, he just stared at Veroníca. Pulling his knife out as he got closer to her.

When he walked behind her she kept her eyes trained on him, turning her head as far as she could to watch him.

He smirked at her wariness, slicing through the duct tape around her hands. "Hello."

Veroníca didn't reply, crossing her arms over her chest as he walked to the seat in front of her. He pulled it out, talking to the woman once more. "May I?"

"I'd rather you not."

The governor laughed at this, sitting down before he adjusted himself in his seat. "Feisty one, aren't you?"

Veroníca immediately changed the topic, not bothering with small talk. "Is Glenn okay?"

"He's fine.. We'll take you both back to your people, explain this was all just a misunderstanding. You tell us where they are and we'll drive you there."

"Bullshit. Let me talk to him."

"I can't allow that. You people are dangerous... Handcuffed my man to a roof, forced him to amputate his own hand."

"I don't know anything about that." Veroníca shrugged, a smirk appearing on her lips. "What I do know, is by the looks of him.. the hijo de perra deserved it."

"We've all made mistakes. Tell you what, you tell us where they are and we'll bring them here. You'll be safe, I promise."

"No."

"No?" The Governor repeated, a hint of anger in his laugh as he continued. "Fine, let's try something else. Stand up."

"No."

"Stand up." The governor repeated, leaning closer towards Veroníca making her reluctantly listen.

As soon as the woman stood up, the man smiled checking her out once before continuing. "Take off your shirt."

"Fuck you." Veroníca replied, subtly glancing around her for an exit point.

Unfortunately just as she realized there was none in sight, the man spoke again. "Take off your shirt, or i'll bring Glenn's hand in here."

Veroníca scoffed at this, shaking her head. "You're bluffing. You're weak."

At her words, the man stood up. He immediately began walking towards the door making Veroníca nervously shake her hands beside her.

Just as he got the door open, Veroníca called after him "No. No. Just—"

The governor smiled at this, retaking his spot in front of her as she took a deep breath out of nervousness. "Any day now, Veronica."

The woman took another deep breath, reluctantly removing her shirt as the man watched with a glint in his eyes.

Once her shirt was fully removed, she threw it harshly at the man who caught it with a smile. "A souvenir..." He joked, dropping her shirt onto the ground beside him as he looked back up at her. "Go on."

Veroníca took another deep breath, feeling a sudden wave of nausea as she tried to calm herself down.

It didn't work, in fact it only made it worse as her breathing got quicker. "Go on." He repeated.

Veroníca then reluctantly removed her bra, using her hands to cover herself as she began to feel lightheaded.

The man checked her out. Continuing to stare at her as he stood up, taking his belt off. Veroníca took another deep breath. Wrapping her arms tighter around herself as he rounded the table.

When he reached her, he pulled the chair away from her and quickly examined her once more.

The dizziness had gotten worse and worse, and the woman was sure she was about to faint.

When the man lightly touched her C-section scar, trailing his cold finger over it. She had wished that the fainting would happen now.

Unfortunately, it didn't as he trailed his finger up her bare side. "You gonna talk?"

"Fuck you." Veroníca forced out, her voice coming out in cracks due to her breathing. She hadn't noticed that she had began hyperventilating, but the man certainly had.

The governor then grabbed the back of Veroníca's head as he slammed her onto the table in front of her. "Are you gonna talk?"

"I—I'm going to kill you—Bastard."

The governor cracked another smile at this, silently playing with the woman's hair while still standing behind her.

He then abruptly stepped away from her, leaving the room while slamming the door behind him.

As soon as the door slammed, Veroníca finally realized she had been hyperventilating. It didn't take long to slow down her breathing, yet the woman couldn't manage to stop crying.

Veroníca began getting annoyed at her control of her emotions, or her lack-thereof. Which ultimately ended with her slamming her fist into her temple repetitively.

"Stupid. Stupid. Weak. Weak." She repeated to herself, more tears finding their way onto her cheeks as she continued. "Dumb."

Her punches came to a stop when the door slammed back open. She looked back up, tightening her arms around herself as the governor reentered.

He seemed angrier this time, immediately yanking the woman from her seat as soon as he saw her. "Enough is enough." He said to her as he pulled her harshly down the hall.

When they reached an open door, she was relieved, yet also embarrassed, to see Glenn. The man was holding a wooden stake to the side of him, his face covered in bruises and blood.

While he seemed defeated, as soon as he made eye-contact with Veroníca he re-lifted his wooden stake into the air. Pointing it directly at the man holding her arm.

"Hey, hey! Drop it!" The man beside Merle commanded, now pointing the gun at Veroníca.

Glenn reluctantly dropped the weapon, a frown covering his already-ruined face.

"We're through with games. One of you is gonna give up your camp." The governor said, showing the two his very own gun.

He pointed it at Veroníca first, only for a split second before turning it to Glenn. "The prison." Veroníca finally admitted, not being able to deal with the men any longer.

"That place is overrun."

"We took it."

"How many of you are there?"

"Too many for you to kill." Veroníca retorted, keeping eye contact with Glenn. At her answer, the governor turned the safety off of his gun.

As the click filled their ears, Veroníca answered honestly. "Twelve."

"Twelve people, cleared that whole prisoner of biters? Huh?" The governor asked, only receiving silence.

When it was clear they had told him all of the information, the man put his gun back into his pocket.

He then began walking out, stopping beside Veroníca with a smirk.

As he glanced between the woman and Glenn. He then placed a hand onto her cheek, forcing the woman to face him. "Hey, hey. It's all right. It's all right."

The Governor pulled Veroníca closer to him, wrapping his arms around her.

Out of embarrassment, the woman could no longer look at Glenn. Instead she opted to look at the man beside Merle.

The man was short, he had a scruffy beard and his eyes showed a hint of pity.

This made Veroníca look away from his eyes aswell, now looking at the floor as the governor kissed her forehead. "It's alright, Sh.. It's alright."

"Get the hell off of me." Veroníca commanded with a wary voice, which only made the governor hold onto her tighter.

It seemed to go on for another three minutes until the Governor finally stopped. He pushed the woman towards Glenn as a smirk reappeared on his face.

When he left the room, his guards following behind him, Glenn pulled off his shirt.

He immediately handed it to Veroníca turning away from her in complete silence to let her slip it on.

The woman stared at his bare back, looking back at the shirt he had handed her as her vision began to blur.

She slipped the shirt on, not bothering to tell Glenn she was finished.

Veroníca then abruptly sat on the ground, the sound making Glenn immediately turn around. "Vee?" The woman didn't reply, instead she shook her head, gesturing for the man to sit down beside her.

He complied, automatically wrapping his arms around her which she returned. "We're gonna be okay." He mumbled into her hair as she nodded.

"I'm going to kill him." Veroníca pulled away from the hug. At Veroníca's words, Glenn nodded, staring intently at the woman. "Me too."

There was a short silence, which only stopped when Glenn spoke up again. This time his voice cracking. "Veroníca. Did he—-"

Veroníca shook her head, her breathing speeding up again as she remembered the previous hour. "He didn't..."

Glenn examined his crush's face, trying to determine whether she was lying or not.

As soon as Veroníca guessed what he was doing, she changed the topic. "Did he do this to you?" She whispered, pointing at his puffy eye.

"No, Merle did... It doesn't matter."

"It does matter."

Glenn shook his head, a sad smile playing on his lips. "As long as you're okay, it doesn't."

Veroníca didn't bother replying, realizing nothing she could say would make the man feel better. Instead, she opted with hugging him again. Which he gladly accepted.

As the pair held one another tightly in the embrace, Veroníca ignored the odd tingling in her stomach.

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