My morning started with a shower. I barely managed to get under the water when Troy came up to me. Actually, I've been waiting for this. He started kissing my wet shoulders and hugging my waist.
"I've missed you so much, Dell," he whispered.
I missed him a lot too. I really wanted to feel his warmth again. It was like I was addicted to this person. He hurt me, but at the same time he gave me even more pleasure. It definitely wasn't healthy love. I was inadequate around him. He was going crazy around me. I would say that we are more likely to be potential patients of psychiatric clinics than adequate people. Every time he touched me, butterflies started fluttering in my stomach.
Our room was booked until the 12th day, so we had a good night's sleep. At one o'clock in the afternoon we should have already been outside the gates of El Bazaar according to our "entrance tickets".
I followed Troy out of our room. A couple of minutes later we were in the center of the market.
"I think we need to eat," Troy said.
I nodded in agreement. The choice here was not particularly diverse: baked vegetables, quesadillas, tacos and a couple of other Mexican dishes. I decided I didn't want to take any chances, so I chose the former. Troy ventured to try the local meat. And we both had coffee, and then went to the food court.
Our order arrived in 10 minutes.
"Is this a quesadilla?!" Troy asked the waitress, looking in surprise at the pita bread rolled into a roll, spreading on his plate. The girl just shrugged her shoulders and quickly left.
"Disgusting! And it costs 7 bullets?! I want to go to the ranch! I want to get back to normal life and food!"
"Stop it, Troy. It doesn't look so bad," I lied.
"Don't lie to me, honey!"
"Come on, don't throw a tantrum, it's just food," I said, shoving potatoes into my mouth.
"Probably," he spread his hands and decided to start breakfast.
"Of course, it's not as good as a ranch, but it's still better than nothing."
"You're right, Dell."
We continued to eat. My dish turned out to be quite tasty, and I handed Troy some vegetables on a fork. He tasted it and nodded in satisfaction.
Suddenly I saw a man sitting at a table about ten meters away from us. My eyes widened. Troy caught my eye.
"What's there?" Troy asked me in surprise, turning around.
I didn't answer because I didn't know what to say. Aron was there. He was alive and sitting right next to us. I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Della?"
I silently got up and went to the table of my, as it seemed to me, already deceased, husband. Troy, apparently, was taken aback, as he ran after me only a couple of minutes later.
Aron and I met each other's eyes, and I saw his eyes widen. It was like everything was in slow motion.
He got up and ran up to me without saying anything, he just hugged me to his chest. My breath caught in my throat.
Suddenly, someone's hands pushed us away from each other... Troy.
"What do you think, why the fuck are you touching my wife?!"
"Your... who?!" Aron asked angrily.
"Della, who is?! Why are you hugging him? What's going on anyway?"
"Troy, wait... Calm down, please... This is Aron."
"What?! You said he was dead!"
"I thought so. I still can't believe my eyes. How did you survive at all, Aron? And where have you been all this time? I was looking for you after what happened!"
"Baby, it's a very long story..."
Suddenly, Troy pushed Aron, accompanying it with the words:
"Don't call her that!"
"Troy, that's enough!"
"Well, I see you have news too," Aron gave Troy an appraising look, "won't you sit down?"
We sat down and Aron told us what had happened:
"After I distracted the crowd walking in that building, I ran to the stairs, but it turned out that one of them was destroyed. I fell and lost consciousness. I do not know how much time I spent there, but the guys pulled me out. Their names were Chris and Andy. They took me to Los Angeles and I was in their company for a while. Then I left. We broke up because they were robbing people. You know, I'm against that. I wandered around a bit and ended up here. Such a story."
Troy frowned at the mention of Chris and Andy, but I kicked him under the table, after which his face returned to normal. I told Aron what we were doing here, about the family, about the ranch... and about Troy.
"I'm sorry I failed you down, baby l. I didn't want."
"I failed you, Aron. I should have looked for you better and faster. Turns out you could have died because of me. It's good that these people found you... I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault baby..."
"Fuck, stop calling her baby!" Troy couldn't stand it.
"Listen, Adaline, can we talk to Troy without you? I understand that you don't want him and me to be left unattended, but we need to discuss something in a men's circle."
I was embarrassed. Aron, noticing this, added:
"Don't worry, we won't kill each other!"
His smile encouraged me, and I walked away a couple of meters, doubting that I was doing the right thing. However, I heard them and could intervene if necessary.
"Are you serious about your feelings for her?" Aron looked at Otto.
"Yes," Troy answered without hesitation.
"Do you really love her?"
"Troy nodded."
"I understand everything... I'm angry at her, but I understand. And I'm glad Della met you, you helped her survive. But I survived too. And fate brought us together again. We've been together for a very long time, you know? We have a lot in common, she loves me... And how long have you known her? A couple of months at most?"
"And what do you want?"
"I want her back to me."
"There's no way in the world I'm letting her go."
"You're a stranger to her. And I'm her husband, with whom she lived for several years! You mustn't interfere with us!"
"Even if you're right and I'm a stranger to her, she's not a thing. She's human. And she can decide for herself which one of us she needs."
I saw Troy getting angrier and angrier.
"You don't love her, since you're ready to force her to make such a choice! But she will choose me, just as she chose me many years ago. You're just a temporary infatuation!"
"Listen, what's your name? Aron? So, Aron, fuck you! She's mine. And I won't let her go."
"I saw the way she looked at me. She still loves me!"
Suddenly, Troy punched Aron in the face. Aron hit him back. Several men ran up to separate them. Both did not want to stop and shouted at each other.
In a couple of moments we were all outside the walls of El Bazaar.
"Della," Troy called to me, "you and I are leaving! Right now!"
"No, we're all leaving! Don't think I'll let her go again after I found her!"
"Shut up, both of you! I need to find a family. I'm not up to figuring it all out now!"
Suddenly I heard Danny's voice behind me:
— Della?!
I turned around and saw my brother, and then Madison and Nick. They were getting out of the car my parents were sitting in.
It's impossible that everything happened like this. I couldn't believe that we all met again, that it was all real, that Aron was alive...