Dead love in my hands (Troy Otto story/ Fear the walking dead/ ftwd)

Now you know

Undressing at the mirror, I looked at myself. A line of bloody spots stretched across the front of my body, starting at my belly button. I remembered what had happened between me and Troy in L.A., and goosebumps ran down my skin...

When I came back into the room, Troy was lying on the bed reading my book.

"What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you," he said without lifting his head.

I walked over to him, adjusting the towel my body was wrapped in, and leaned over the bed. A few drops fell from my wet hair onto the bedspread and the pages of the book. Troy looked up at me. Then he slammed the book shut, rolled over, and sat up.

"Come here, Dell."

"Troy, not now, I just got out of the shower..."

I couldn't convince him, so he took my hand and sat me on his lap.

"Wash yourself again, with me," he whispered, kissing my neck in passing.

"Come on, anyone can come in here now," I tried to push him away because I really didn't want anyone to see us, like my parents or his father.

"Then I have a great suggestion," he said the phrase with pauses during which he touched my shoulder with his lips, "my room can be locked with a key."

I gave him a questioning look and rolled my eyes.

I guess, under the influence of excitement, I decided that nothing terrible would happen if I moved in with him. So I agreed. As soon as we were at Troy's room, he closed the door and started taking off his clothes. This sight was accompanied by my playful smile. Once all of his clothes were on the floor, he walked over to me, threw off his towel, and picked me up in his arms and dragged me into the shower. I laughed, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and finding myself in anticipation. But that's when the door came in.

"Troy!" I heard Madison's loud voice.

"I'm not dressed, is there an emergency?" he yelled, still keeping me above the floor.

"Yeah, Jake's back!"

"From where?" played out the incomprehension in Troy's voice.

"From the Walker! They have Alisha!"

He rolled his eyes and sighed, looking at me with a look filled with a mixture of desire and disappointment. After standing like that for a couple minutes, he called out to Madison:

"I have things to do, I'll be there in half an hour!"

"I need you now!" you could hear by the tone of her voice that Madison was just furious.

"Troy," I said quietly, "we have to go, I want to know what's up with Alisha."

"I don't care about Alisha. What does it have to do with me anyway, Jake went there and took her with him! Let him handle it. I've got better things to do!" he said it indifferently, but quietly, as I did.

"No," I started to move and forced him to lower me to the floor, "we need to get over there. Give me your shirt."

"I told you I hate running! I should have brought your clothes right away!"

A couple minutes later, we were out the door. Madison stood outside the door and looked at us with a confused look.

"Not now," I said in response to a question no one had asked yet.

Madison waved her arms in agreement. I reached my room and changed into my clothes.

As I walked out into the hallway, I heard voices coming from Sr. Otto's office. Madison, Nick, and Jake were standing across from the desk where the rancher sat. Troy stood at the window, leaning against the wall, and listened blankly to what was going on. When he saw me through the glass door, he gestured for me to come in. I obeyed. The argument was in full swing.

"We have to go after Alisha!"

"No, you don't understand! We need peace!"

"You're an idiot, Jake! There will never be peace with the Indians," Jeremiah told him.

"But Father!"

Madison, realizing she wasn't getting anything from the older Otto, headed for the exit, glaring at us. We followed her, Nick too. Jake continued to argue with his dad.

"Troy, you have to go to Walker's camp and bring my daughter back to me!"

"No, I'm not going anywhere. They'll attack if we break the exchange."

"But they might kill her!"

"They won't kill her. You both know why," he looked at Nick with Madison. I didn't understand what was going on.

"Why don't you explain your calmness? They sent a whole family to the afterlife, what's to stop them from doing the same to Alisha?! Are you all out of your minds here at all?!"

"Della...," Nick began.

"Stop it, Clark, I'll tell her myself," Troy turned to me, "I killed them. Now you know."

I thought I heard you.

"I didn't want that, I just wanted to talk, to convince him to come back or at least hear from Mike whatever his father was able to tell my father. We'd been friends for so long, I'd counted on a respectful goodbye.... But..."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I couldn't believe I didn't see that killer instinct in him. A fit of nausea came to my throat. Troy's hand touched my cheek.

"Hey, Dell, I understand..."

I cut him short by pulling my hand away, and after swallowing the unpleasant feeling in my throat, I was able to speak calmly:

"It doesn't change anything. She can't be left there."

After that, I turned around and went to my room. Madison followed me.

I sat down in the chair and leaned back. Clark started to calm me down:

"You didn't know, don't blame yourself."

I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What do I have to blame myself for?"

"Well... The fact that you're with him... Even though he did that."

"I don't really care what he did. What I don't understand is why none of you told me that right away!"

"We couldn't."

"Well, you can now. I want to know everything that happened at the military base."

After a few seconds of silence, Madison stood up. I was afraid she was going to leave, but she began her story with her back to me. After detailing Troy's affairs, she turned around. She was embarrassed that she was covering for him.

"Yeah, that sounds disgusting," I looked at the blonde.

"It sure does. I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I'm disgusted. You should have known how horrified I was when I found out you left with him alone, leaving a note."

"Madison, I don't know what to do anymore. I know he's a killer. But he doesn't act like that around me."

"You're in love. But you shouldn't trust him."

"I'm not stupid, I'm old enough to know when to be wary of people. And I've seen a lot of crazy people in my line of work. Troy's not like them. Yeah, he's a sociopath, and his parents missed a lot of things about him. But I don't think he's a danger to everyone around him."

"You're wrong."

"Maybe..."