east of eden 𑁋 salvis.

XXXV

♥̩̥̩♥̩̩̥͙♥̩͙ˊˎ

Travis cleared his throat as anxiety filled his stomach. He felt like he was going to throw up. This had been his dream growing up, but now that it's finally happening, Travis felt sick. He jostled the box in his arms, suddenly acutely aware of how much that and the bag slung over his shoulder weighed. He took a deep breathe, trying to look everywhere but at Larry.

For a few awkward moments, neither of the two said anything or moved. Larry sat in the truck, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as nothing but the rumbling of the engine filled the air between them. Travis stood beside the truck, but did not move. He just stood, staring over the large box in his arms at the cracked pavement. It was then that he realized he wasn't exactly sure of today's date. Once he and Sal were gone, neither of them kept track of dates or times. They just existed.

Now, Travis had been suddenly thrown back into reality. What day was it? What time was it? He cleared his throat, opening his mouth and willing himself to ask these questions, but no sound came out. Goddamnit, Travis. You're such a disappointment. You can't even ask a simple fucking question?

After it was clear Larry was tired of sitting in stagnant silence, Travis listened to the engine turn off and the driver's door open. He didn't hear the unclicking of a seatbelt- Larry hadn't been buckled. Either he didn't care about his life or he trusted his driving on these icy roads a bit too much. Suddenly, Larry was beside him and reaching out for the box. He said nothing, which surprised Travis to no end. Travis had expected for their first meeting after everything to go violently, maybe with Travis getting his ass beat or accused of killing Sal or something. Nothing like this.

The two shared no words as Travis handed the box over to Larry. He watched as Larry carefully set it in the bed of his beaten up truck, even more surprised at the gentleness of Larry's motions. It was a deliberate caution, Larry was only doing it because he must have known the box meant a lot to Travis. Or maybe he was afraid of setting Travis off, of breaking him. As if Travis was fragile.

Travis bit his lip, scraping his sneaker against the concrete. He wasn't fragile. No, he was strong. Suddenly he was extremely aware of how cold it was outside, sending a shiver through his body. Larry came back over and took his bag, setting it in the bed of the truck with the same gentleness he used for the box. Travis watched these motions carefully, eyeing the caution in every little move Larry made. He bit his lip even harder, drawing a bit of blood. The taste filled his mouth and the pain made his eyes water.