How could he face everyone knowing he failed as a leader? How could he face the people who trusted him knowing he failed to protect them? How could he face you when you were nearly taken from him by just a glimpse of Negan's words?

Rick was a broken man, he always knew it and he had no doubt that despite the strength he tried to showcase, inside he was no more than a scared survivor who had tried everything in his power to keep his people safe and failed. He blamed himself for it all, no matter how much everyone around him told him that it wasn't his fault.

It was his fault.

And the only thing he could do was look away when you came to sit by his side on the porch, your presence a small comfort in the midst of chaos and corruption, of the fear that every day the Saviors would break down the gates of Alexandria and come to kill all of them. Kill you.

Rick doesn't say anything for a while, gaze set on the concrete paths, the grass, flowers, and then the houses before any sort of words finally leave him.

"Are you ok?"