The Package

The Smile

His golden brown eyes still stare into mine. He looks at me as if he knew what I was going through. I guess he did, in a way. Suddenly, his eyes shifted, and he turned away from me.
"What?" I ask.
Eli turns and looks at me again. I almost think that his mouth forms a slight curve, as if he is about to smile. It fades fast.
"What's wrong?" I begin to believe something really awful has happened.
"Your eyes sparkle like the city once did, and I can't help but think I've seen them before." His eyes dart to the ground, and he turns away again, as if he is ashamed to have complimented me.
"To be fair," I start, "Your eyes are quite beautiful too, they remind me of caramel, and I happen to adore caramel."
All of the sudden a wave of disgust washes over me.
"Wow, oh my goodness, I am so sorry, that was just-"
"Thank you," he interrupts. 
And this time, he smiles. 
And his smile, wow.
"Well, I better go see if I can find Amanda, I have a lot of ground to cover. It was really nice to meet you, Eli. Maybe I'll see you around."
I turn to walk away, and I almost leave the garage, but then his voice breaks the silence that has now swept through the near empty place.
"I can help you, Willow."
"How?" I inquire, and he looks at me like I'm insane.
Eli's muscly hand points towards the motorbike that he was working on when I first arrived.
"I've got that and, lucky for you, I just got it running again. Might be a bit faster than those feet of yours."
"No, no, you don't have to, I'm a runner." I smile and turn once more to leave, and Eli chuckles under his breath.
Crossing his arms, he looks at me, with that same face as before, the one that made it seem like I was insane.

"What?!" I question, and he chuckles again. Out of nowhere, he frowns and lowers his head.
"Eli, is everything okay?"
"I know you."

"What?" I say again, in disbelief. Then again, his family photo does look familiar.
"I was Marley's brother."
I fall to my knees, and I burst into tears. Eli runs to my side and hugs me, trying to comfort me. 

Suddenly, the pieces all fit together. Eli and Marley. Amanda and dad. Everything. Marley was Amanda's best friend, another sister to me. She was one of the first to be infected, in turn, she ended up dying earlier on than any other person I know of. Amanda cried for days. I cried for days.

My mind reminds me that I should get up, Eli is looking at me funny. It's awkward between us, we've known about each other forever yet we barely know each other; he's unsure of whether to hug me or if he should give me some space. I realize how ridiculous I look and stand up and wipe away my tears. 

"I'm sorry," I hear myself say. He looks at me again, then quickly averts his eyes.
"How about we find your sister then?" His smile creeps across his face again, and I can't help but to wonder about his life before now.

He makes large strides towards the motorbike and sits down. Boy does he look good on that thing. Once again Eli looks at me like I'm insane. I can't help but to smile.
"What?!" I ask again, though I already know what he's thinking.

He chuckles again and I stride over to him, sitting down behind him. Eli hands me the only helmet.
"Just in case," he says, "And remember to hold on."

I gently place my hands across his stomach and lean into him slightly. His eyes land on me again.
"I never thought I'd get along this well with a stranger," he mumbles with a smile in his voice.
"Neither did I"