Page 86 of Aviatrix

Still, he never leaves my side. Even when Willa’s gaggle of girlfriends tries to lure him to their pew, he stays.

“I think they all have a little crush on you,” I murmur as he rests a hand on the small of my back and guides me to the bench with Aunt Lise and Uncle Rod.

A few people sit between us, but Aunt Lise leans over them with a smile. “Kinley, these are our friends, Cybill and Clark.”

We exchange pleasantries, and then the music begins. We rise.

And guilt gnaws at me. While my mother’s being forced to evacuate, and cities are being cloaked in shadows from alien ships, I’m standing next to Eli in a sundress. I don’t know if that makes me selfish or human.

Eli nudges me with his shoulder. “You look good in a dress, Quay.”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t get used to it.”

He grins. “I think I could.”

The hymn swells. Halfway through, Eli finds my hand. His thumb brushes gently across the back. It’s the smallest thing. But it says everything.

I’ve spent years trying not to think about him. Years trying to move on from what we were. Trying to convince myself it was just young love. Fleeting. Foolish.

But if this really is my last day—if tomorrow everything changes—I don’t want to keep hiding behind these walls I built. I want to tear them down. I want to feel everything before there’s nothing left to feel.

We sit again. My hand stays tucked in his.

I try to focus on the sermon. Something about Noah’s Ark, about God promising never to flood the earth again with water. But water is the least of our problems.

Aliens don’t care about animals or rainbows or giant ships built to carry two of every kind. They care about the Legion. And they care about me finding it—them. Whatever.

The service ends, and we file out slowly. Willa’s friends swarm Eli again near the front steps while I linger back, watching as they ooh and ahh over him.

“He’s so popular,” Aunt Lise teases as she comes up beside me.

“Some things never change,” I say with a laugh.

“Was he like this back at the Academy?”

“Always surrounded by girls?” I grin. “Yeah.”

Eli glances up. He scans the crowd. My breath catches. He’s looking for me. I know it.

When his eyes find mine, he smiles, and it’s like the floor drops out from under me. That smile used to melt me. I think it still does.

“You ready?” Uncle Rod calls as he wipes his forehead with a handkerchief. “I’m roasting out here.”

Aunt Lise and I laugh, then follow him out to the minivan. Eli meets us at the curb with a message from his cousin. “Willa told me to let you know she’s going to Corrine’s for lunch and then to the outlet mall.”

“A whole afternoon without her?” Uncle Rod playfully gasps. “Silence, Lise. Silence.”

We all laugh as Aunt Lise puts the minivan into gear and heads home.

Back at the house, Aunt Lise lays out meats, cheese, and fruit for lunch. Once we've eaten, Eli excuses himself, heading to the barn to check the tractor while I linger, helping Aunt Lise clean up.

After everything’s put away and Uncle Rod is deep into a documentary, Aunt Lise stretches and says she's going to head to her room for a nap.

Before she goes, she hands me two cold beers.

“Go on,” she says, gently ushering me toward the back door. “See if Eli needs help.”

I doubt I’ll be much help with a tractor. But I go anyway.