Of Eternal Life by Micah Persell

he’d do it again in a heartbeat, embarrassment or not.
    Abilene’s sobs pulled him back to reality. His gut clenched at the sight of her anguished face. He felt her pain. His stomach hurt for her, and he was compelled to slay her dragons.
    Unfortunately, the smart man’s gamble said that Abilene’s dragons right now were none other than Eli himself. And so, not only did he feel like he wanted to cry with and for her, but he was appalled with his actions. Ashamed of himself.
    He lifted a hand to brush her shoulder or touch her hair — he wasn’t sure which — but he caught himself and let his arm fall back to his side. He cursed.
    “Ah, Abilene — ” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry.” He fought himself with all of his strength to keep from touching her again. She looked so forlorn and small. “Please — don’t cry. Yell at me; hit me, if you want to. God knows I deserve it.”
    She raised flooded eyes to his face, multiple emotions roiling warring with each other. “I-it was just so wonderful … and you’re s-so,” she hiccupped as she searched for a word, “ horrible .”
    She was right. He’d just gotten done promising her he would never hurt her this way, and then he’d done it.
    “Why? Why would you do that? You don’t even like me.” she whispered.
    His shoulders slumped. He shook his head, disgusted with himself for so many reasons, the main one being he shouldn’t like her. He wasn’t sure that was the case.
    “Okay, we need to hash a few things out,” he finally muttered as he gestured for her to take a seat on the floor. No more dancing around . His fishing last night had gotten him nowhere. It was time to come out with it.
    Abilene slid down the wall and clutched her knees to her chest. Eli took several steps back to give her space, then slowly sank to the floor himself, trying to look as unintimidating as possible.
    “Last night you asked me what I was doing in your hospital,” he began.
    • • •
    Abilene tilted her head. She wasn’t sure she was ready for serious conversation, but this sounded promising. Maybe she would finally find out why he had taken her. “That’s right — my hospital. I work there.”
    He seemed to consider this a moment, and then, “Well, you must have worked there a long time, then.”
    She sighed. “Three weeks,” she mumbled. She clutched her knees closer to her body, hoping to still the tremors that were still racing through her limbs.
    He sucked in a breath. His expression was … relieved ? She frowned.
    “That long, huh?” he asked quietly.
    She felt compelled to explain. For some reason, she couldn’t stand the idea that he would think her incompetent or unprofessional, and the rest was sure to come out at some point, anyway. “I’m a real doctor. I just …uh … haven’t been one for very long.”
    “How long?” His question was urgent.
    She brought her eyes to his and hesitated at their intensity. “Three weeks,” she whispered.
    Something in his eyes flickered. “You’re not lying to me?”
    Abilene’s frustration crowded back in, obscuring her embarrassment. “Yes, Eli, I’m lying to you. When asked about my professional experience, I lied by picking the most unimpressive span of time imaginable.”
    All of his air left him in a whoosh. “That’s…not what I expected.” He closed his eyes and seemed to draw into himself.
    Abilene waited several minutes for him to continue before she couldn’t wait anymore. “Now that we’ve established what I was doing there. What were you doing there?” She straightened as she remembered another detail. “And why in hell had you been poisoned?”
    His eyelids rose as though made of lead, and he stared at her for several heartbeats. Just when she was sure he would never answer her, he said, “What I was doing in the facility? Abilene, I was a prisoner in that building. I’ve been a prisoner for eight years. And I was sure ,” he spat the word, “that you were