The Fire in You - Troy Otto

Chapter 8 - Sandwiches

Harper awoke in the middle of the night. The uncomfortable sensation of leather sticking to skin was unbearable, and the blanket that was strewn over her was too warm. She was sweating like a motherfucker. She had no idea where she was, or how she'd gotten there. She slowly sat herself up, careful not to pass back out. Her head was throbbing, her stomach rumbled. 

"You're awake" Troy's voice sounded through the room. 

Usually this would have made Harper uncomfortable, but she'd grown to tolerate him over the course of the last few days. 

"You passed out in the office. Brought you up here to let you get some sleep" he said simply. 

"Thanks. I needed it" Harper chuckled, her voice raspy. "Got any water?" she asked. 

"I'll get you some" he said. He was strangely void of any type of emotion. 

Harper sunk back down in the couch as Troy left the room. He ran so incredibly hot and cold with her, it was insane. One minute he was carrying her up to his house, carrying her to his couch and placing a blanket over her and a pillow under her head, the next he was a complete asshole. 

She wanted to like Troy. She did. But he made it impossibly hard for her. 

The door opened with a small creak, making Troy cringe.

"Here" he said as he handed her a large glass of water and a sandwich. 

"Thanks" she said. 

She scoffed the sandwich. She forgot how good food was. She was slowly sipping on her water when Troy spoke up. 

"Do you wanna get cleaned up? You've got walker guts all over you" Troy chuckled. 

"Yeah I should probably get going. Thanks. For.. uh, all this" She said with a small smile. 

Troy looked nervous. 

"You can stay here, have a shower? I'll sleep on the couch". Harper could tell he was hiding something. 

"I've got no clean clothes Troy-"

"You can borrow some. I've got spare disposable razors even if you wanna take a long shower. Spare toothbrushes in the bathroom? I don't mind". 

Something was definitely wrong. 

"What's going on, Troy?" she asked. She needed him to be straightforward. He paused and looked at her for a second, deciphering if she was in the mood to hear what he was going to say next. 

"Luciana is sleeping in your bed. I didn't want you to get mad. Please just stay"

He was begging. He was trying to make it sound like he wasn't begging, but he was. Harper couldn't help but feel bad for him. 

"First my boyfriend, now my bed. What else is she gonna steal, my weed?" she chuckled. She always joked to hide the hurt. "Alright, deal." she said after a slight pause. "Got a pair of scissors too?" she asked. 

"Why's that?"

Harper giggled. 

"You'll see". 

Troy got her a towel, a pair of scissors, a razor, and a fresh change of clothes. She took half an hour in the shower, and twenty minutes to get changed. Do women usually take this long in the shower? Troy thought. He heard the sound of her brushing her teeth.

She opened the bathroom door to see Troy scribbling in his journal. She felt the cleanest she had felt in literal months. Troy looked at her quizzically. The sight of her stopped his heart for a second. Only a second.