CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

˚ CYNICAL VIEWS ˚

"I cannot cry because I know that's a weakness in your eyes."

ALL SHE DID WAS RUN. She ran until her thighs ached, until her throat burned and until her eyes felt dry. The reason she never cared about the shit people said about her, or the shit people gave was because she knew that once she let one thought affect her, they all would. She had learned to never open her gates, to always keep them shut; closed off for the right moment, for the right person. It just so happened that Rosita had the luck of cracking a hole in her gates, allowing the poisonous water in which was her words come crashing through. Once it started to leak through, it turned into a massive pour, like a giant flood crashing down her doors until she couldn't take it anymore.

Reign had thought she had gotten over the guilt, over the hate she had on herself right after Atlanta, right after Beth. Rosita had just ripped off a fresh band-aid, pulled out the stitches and opened up the wound all over again. However, this time it was much worse; this time it was dangerous, and uncontrollable. Reign couldn't find the balance within herself to assure the words were wrong, that she was right. In truth, she believed the words were right and she was wrong. It made for a deadly concoction.

She didn't stop running, not even when she felt as if she were going to faint. She didn't want people to find her, for people to chase after her. She knew better than to think people like her father or brother, even Michonne, Bonnie or Caroline would leave her by herself. She knew they were most likely looking for her at the moment. She just wanted to get away, to be alone.

She ran until she found herself at the front gates, fumbling with the lock. Her eyes were too blurry with tears, and the poorly lit streets in the dark night made it impossible to see.

"Hey!" A man called from the post overlooking the front gates. "What are you doing?" he yelled as he climbed down the ladder.

"Getting the fuck out of here," Reign snapped, turning her focus back to the lock on the gate.

The man continued to approach her, slowing down once he realized who she was. He didn't recognize her, meaning she was part of the new group that showed up today. "You're part of that group, aren't you?" he asked, slinging his gun across his shoulder, clearly not seeing Reign as a threat. She took that rather offensively.

"What? You don't like it here? Did my mom scare you?" The man chuckled kindly when Reign didn't answer.

Reign stopped fumbling with the lock for a second, looking at the man. "Your mom is Deanna? Who the hell are you then?" she questioned aggressively.

The man wasn't taken back by her anger however, as he stepped even closer to Reign. Now they were only a foot apart. "Relax," he whispered gently, placing his hand on the lock, opening the gate with ease. He pulled it open wide enough for Reign to slip out, not even asking questions. "I'm Aidan." He introduced himself, stepping to the side to let her through.

"Thanks," Reign muttered quietly, so her shaky voice wasn't audible. Thankfully the night covered the tear stains down her cheeks.

She only sent Aidan a nod before slipping out the crack, continuing to run. "You never told me your name!" Aidan yelled after her from inside the gates.

"You'll find out sooner or later!" Reign yelled, not bothering to look over her shoulder.

She had calmed down slightly by talking to the stranger, Aidan, but soon enough the tears returned along with the overwhelming feeling of guilt that seemed to take nasty bites from her with every second she lived.

She became so unfocused, so consumed in her dangerous thoughts that she didn't notice the road sign right in front of her. She ran into it full speed, her head taking the majority of the hit as she fell unconscious to the ground after her head smacked off the metal sign.

She laid there, unconscious and vulnerable to the outside world, all while walkers roamed about and the night carried on. Perhaps maybe that was her plan all along. Perhaps she just wanted it to be over.

◎ ◉ ◎

She woke with a gasp, the bright morning sun shining through the giant windows at the front of the bedroom she was in. She kept her eyes placed on the ceiling, trying to make sense of what had happened last night.

She knew Rosita had been a bitch, causing her to freak. She also knew she had run out of the community in the middle of the night after her outburst, and she also remembered meeting one of Deanna's sons, Aidan. That was right before she ran straight into a sign, knocking herself unconscious. The only thing she couldn't remember, was how she managed to get from outside, back in here, to this very room.

She sat up, her whole body aching but especially her head. She tip-toed over to the bathroom across the hall, examining the cut on her forehead. It was raw and red, but had five perfectly sewn stitches fixed across it. It must have been treated when she was unconscious.

Noting the time, Reign rushed back to the room and changed her clothes, not liking how she had slept until noon. However, the only clothes she could find were a light pair of blue jeans, and a light pink t-shirt. The whole outfit made her want to vomit, as light and girly colours were not her style. Reign Boyd preferred dark colours and shades to keep her hidden within a crowd. Somehow she knew her brother had something to do with her colourful outfit, as he loved to play pranks.

After putting her long black hair into a high ponytail, she made her way downstairs only to find the house empty. It was surprising, seeing as the group had only arrived to Alexandria yesterday. It seemed as if everyone was already accepting their roles and jobs, fitting in; everyone except Reign and Daryl.

"Morning," Dylan suddenly said, walking in the garage door. He was wearing a much more relaxed outfit, with jeans and a simple t-shirt replacing his usual cargo pants and army jacket he always wore.

"Don't you look like a little tomboy," Reign teased. "All set for school? Did you want me to make you a lunch?" She laughed, amused. She leaned against the kitchen counter as Dylan tossed her an apple with a hard glare.

"Shut up," he muttered, taking a bite of his apple. "You look like a little American Girl doll." Dylan laughed, amused with himself.

"You picked this out for me, didn't you?" Reign growled, narrowing her eyes at her brother.

"Maybe." He shrugged, nonchalantly. "But, I want you to make a good impression on people, put yourself out there," he said. Reign didn't say anything after that, as she knew her brother had good intentions. He only wanted her to fit in and be liked, to make their living circumstances within the community easier. She respected him for that.

He took a seat across the counter on a stool so the two siblings were sitting across from one another. He narrowed his eyes at his sister, observing her as she glared back at him. "So..." Reign began awkwardly. "What job did Deanna give you?"

"We're just going to ignore the fact you had a big explosion last night and walked out- right out of the community might I add," Dylan scolded her, his protective side showing through.

"Rosita, she pissed me off," Reign sighed, staring at the shiny apple in her hand.

"So that's why you said explicitively, in exact words 'fuck all of you' to the rest of us? I mean if Rosita angered you it was understandable that you told her off, but the rest of us?" Dylan raised his brow. "Look, I know you get annoyed easily, and that you don't always get along with everyone, but Rey, you scared people last night. They think you need help," Dylan said gently.

"I don't need help. I'm perfectly fine," Reign told him.

"I know what Rosita told you," Dylan added.

"Oh yeah? How?" Reign tested him, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Caroline told me. She has vampire hearing you know." Dylan smiled faintly, crossing his arms across his chest just as stubbornly.

Reign let out a low growl, annoyed Dylan now knew the things Rosita said. She didn't want her brother to worry, didn't want to get all mushy with emotions again like she had last night. Reign didn't deal with emotions well which was why she exploded.

"Rosita just told the truth," Reign said quietly, not meeting her brother's eyes.

"No, she didn't," Dylan corrected her. "Nothing that she said was true, Rey. You didn't work with the Termites and give Bob up, nor did you force Beth to do what she did; that was her choice. All those things, you had no control of. Rosita is just looking for someone to blame." Dylan sighed angrily. "Rosita annoys the hell outta me," he muttered.

Reign let out a small laugh, letting her brother's words sink in. He made her believe that maybe their deaths weren't all on her, but deep down she still believed she was a part of it. "You're right," she sighed, agreeing with him to only make him feel better.

"Of course I am," Dylan smirked. "But hey, if you ever run out in the middle of the night again, I will personally handcuff you to my wrist," Dylan said seriously, causing Reign to laugh.

"Good luck buddy," she said, patting him on the back.

"I'm serious!" Dylan exclaimed. "You had me worried sick Rey! You're lucky Damon found you and brought you back when he did. Who knows, maybe a walker would've got y-"

"Wait what?" Reign cut him off, her attention sparked by one name in particular. "Damon brought me back?"

"Yeah, he was the first to speed out of here. He found you first outside the gates. I think he smelled the blood, since you were bleeding. While the rest of us were wandering the streets inside the gates, he carried you back in from outside. Michonne stitched up your cut, and I carried you upstairs," Dylan explained like it was nothing, like it didn't bother him. But to Reign, this only angered her further, caused her blood to boil for reasons she didn't quite understand.

"Sly bastard," Reign muttered under her breath, before grabbing her sword and it's strap, slinging it over her shoulder and heading to the door.

"Where are you going!" Dylan called after her, but she was too infuriated and focused on finding Damon Salvatore that she didn't bother to answer.

She didn't know her way around the community well yet, but she did know the one location Damon Salvatore would most likely be.

It didn't take long to sprint down to the armoury, which was located in a regular suburban house downtown Alexandria. She marched up onto the patio porch before opening the door, walking right in. To her satisfaction, Damon was standing by the shelving of guns, presumably organizing them for Olivia. He held a notebook in hand along with a pencil, counting all the guns.

He didn't even turn around at the sound of her commotion, his eyes trained to his notebook in hand. This of course only angered Reign further, as she clenched her jaw before approaching Damon.

"I know what you did last night," she snarled, standing by his side. However, Damon didn't say a word, didn't even move really. "That's it? You're just going to ignore me?" She scoffed. "Pathetic. What the hell did I do to you?" she snapped, desperate for answers.

"Listen, I'm not going to beg for you to talk to me, or plead for your forgiveness for whatever the hell I did- I'm not that kind of person. I can't force you to talk to me, that's up to you. Maybe I don't know you as well as I like to think I do, but let's face it Damon, you don't know a damn thing about me," Reign ranted, finally confronting Damon.

She was surprised with herself, as she was usually not the one to break silence during a two way silent treatment- she was too stubborn for that. But for some reason she found herself wanting to fix things between her and Damon. She wanted to try.

"I thought we were friends," Reign muttered, smiling to herself in disappointment. She knew Damon had heard her though, with his vampire hearing and all.

When Damon still didn't say anything, and continued to ignore her, Reign decided to leave, but was caught by surprise as a familiar face walked around the corner.

"Hey!" Aidan greeted, surprised to see the mystery girl from last night.

"Hey," Reign smiled faintly, going to move around him when he started a conversation.

"You're the girl from last night, right?" Aidan smiled, leaning against the door frame.

"Yup," Reign sighed, pursing her lips.

"You never told me your name," he said, a cheeky smile plastered on his face.

"You haven't heard it already?" Reign teased, going to move towards the door.

"No, I haven't actually," Aidan laughed. It was a real laugh, a deep laugh. It was a nice and pure laugh, the kind that made Reign feel comfortable. "Did that happen last night?" Aidan asked, pointing to the stitched up cut on Reign's forehead.

She instinctively brought her hand to her cut, wincing as she realized it was still raw. She had completely forgotten about it. "Yeah." She smiled shyly, looking down at her feet.

"Stop by the infirmary later, and I can take a look at it. Clean it up a bit," Aidan offered. "I was in the military, so I know some medical stuff." He shrugged, still smiling at Reign. He hadn't stopped smiling since talking to her.

"Maybe," Reign smiled, narrowing her eyes playfully before walking out the door, leaving Aidan hanging.

Aidan stood there with a goofy grin on his face, totally forgetting Damon was even in there. "You know her? She's from your group right?" Aidan asked, standing beside Damon.

Damon's jaw clenched, his hand gripping the pen so tight his knuckles turned white.

"Yeah, I know her," Damon said quietly, shoving the inventory notebook into Aidan's chest rather harshly. He didn't exactly know what had come over him, but he didn't like this Aidan guy one bit.

"Oh awesome!" Aidan grinned. "What's her name?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to dot, dot, dot," Damon smirked to himself, patting Aidan on the shoulder before walking out the door himself.

_____________________

Please check out my new Walking Dead fic called "In my Veins". It is about Negans daughter (if he had one)

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Is it just me, or do you smell two ships starting to form? Hmmm ;)

-tay

xoxoxo

[EDITED: 08/02/18]