The Expansion of the Universe

Nine | "Cats are assholes."

Liza was already settled by the door, tucked safely inside her large hoodie and a fluffy blanket, when Elijah returned and knocked exactly three times on the hard oak.

"Hey, doll," was his greeting, and she couldn't help but notice that he sounded tired. It was almost alarming, to hear him greet her without that familiar happy tone. "How are you?"

"What's wrong?" She asked, biting at a piece of loose skin near her thumbnail as she waited anxiously waited for his response.

Would he even reply? Had she overstepped her boundaries? God, she couldn't even remember what was and wasn't socially acceptable now that she'd been tucked safely away from society for so long.

Elijah released a breathy laugh that had Liza's hair standing on end because it wasn't right.

His laughed was supposed to make her heart jump in her chest, not sink to the base of her stomach with dread.

"Nosy Nancy indeed," he mused, though it didn't sound like he was talking to her, not really. "You're damn perceptive, doll, you know that? I'm impressed. As for what's wrong: I'm tired, Liza."

He sounded so sad.

"Why?"

"You really want to know? It'll probably bore you to tears."

Liza was confident that nothing Elijah told her would be boring; she liked listening to him, regardless of what he was saying.

"I want to know."

"Alright, babe, I'll tell you," he already sounded a bit lighter, and Liza wondered if he was smiling.

What did his smile look like?

She'd be willing to bet that it was attractive, just like the rest of him. Not that she'd seen much of him, but thinking back on it without all the panic . . . well, Elijah Harris was not ugly.

But that was an observation she didn't want to dwell on.

"It's not a huge deal," if it made him so exhausted, Liza thought otherwise, but she stayed quiet, "but there's this pilot I sometimes work with when I can't pilot with Austin. His name's Andrew, which doesn't matter, since I'll never let you meet him," he nearly spat the word, and Liza jolted at the unusual venom in his voice.

She'd never heard Elijah sound so disgusted when talking about another person, and she decided immediately that she didn't like this Andrew character. If even Elijah wasn't fond of him, then he was probably like the pilots who had caused the crash that had caused so much horror and pain and that damned screaming that still haunted her.

A shudder crawled up her spine, and she had to focus on Elijah's voice to keep herself from slipping into the scary memories she had of that day.

"It's not that he's rude to me, or even stupid; he's a good pilot, but he's an asshole, Liza. I swear, the man will not shut the hell up, you know? And I talk a lot, so I get wanting to fill the silence," she smiled, knowing that he was certainly good at doing exactly that. "But he talks shit about everyone, including his mom of all people! And he's got a wife, but he doesn't mind telling me that he's cheating on her with her cousin and describing their encounters in detail, even though I distinctly told him that I didn't want to hear about that crap."

Liza frowned. That was exactly the type of person she'd learned to associate with the title of "pilot," until she'd met Elijah. "I don't like him," she told him, instead of explaining that the very thought of someone behaving that way made her want to vomit.

At least she was still being honest, though; she didn't like the sound of him at all.

Elijah blew out a heavy sigh mixed with another chuckle. "Me either, doll. I'm just glad Austin gets back tomorrow. He's the best out of the bunch, that's for sure. Though, I'll admit I might be a bit biased, since we've known each other for so long. It's easier to fly with someone who you're already comfortable with, rather than trying to get to know some random stranger."