Tremors Of Terror

As I was taking a sip of my, oh, so amazing, Smart Water, the ground shook slightly, causing me to abruptly sit up straight and spill a few drops of liquid on my sweater.

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath while pulling out my AirPods.

Was that shaking caused by the thunder, or should I start running and screaming like those people I had seen earlier?

No, I was just overreacting, right? For all I knew, it was just some large guy a few feet away who fallen over while trying to do a handstand. Yeah, that was definitely it. Shrugging off the thought, I started to put my headphones back in when I heard the sound of someone shouting. In the distance, I saw someone wearing a black hoodie with their back facing me. The person was flailing their arms while yelling at two large men.

“I can go to the fucking bathroom by myself!” A feminine voice boomed rather loudly.

“You go, girl, don”t let the man keep you down,” I whispered as I chuckled slightly while putting my headphones back inside their case.

No point in listening to music when the world clearly had other plans.

Glancing back over toward the woman, the two men now appeared to be shushing her. Considering what she did next, that did not seem like a good idea on their part. I watched as she pushed them to the side and forced her way into the bathroom.

“Don’t come in here!”

As if I were hit by a wave of pure deja vu, I remembered I needed to pee…a lot. No thanks to the Smart Water, there was no time to wait, as I quickly grabbed my bag and made a mad dash toward the bathroom. I reached my arm out to open the door, but the two men who were arguing with that woman earlier held steadfast, still blocking the door.

I laughed dryly. “Oh, don”t tell me you”re going to try and keep me from going to the bathroom like you did to that other girl?”

What”s with men thinking they can control women?

“Sorry, ma”am, we can”t let you in,” the taller man stated.

“Okay, fine, you wanna play? I can call security, and have you removed, or if that”s not scary enough for two big white men, I can pop a squat and take a shit right here!” I screamed as a roar of thunder could be heard in the background.

Great timing, if I do say so myself.

And no, I did not actually need to poop, but they didn”t need to know that.

I saw a group of several girls walk around the corner as I opened my mouth to speak again. Before I could, the two men hurriedly began shushing me. They looked at each other with a worried expression on their faces before stepping aside to let me in the bathroom.

“That’s what I thought,” I said as I pushed past them.

I all but burst the door down, trying to get into the stall as I ran inside. That other girl must”ve thought I drank five gallons of water with the amount of pee I had inside of me. I didn”t think it was possible for my bladder to hold that much liquid. I flushed the toilet, which, for some reason, scared me because how loud it was. Why were public bathrooms always so daunting? Especially the ones with the automatic toilets. I slowly opened the stall and walked up to the sink. From the corner of my eye, I could see the other girl standing there, washing her hands. I wanted to ask if she was okay after what happened with those men earlier, but my social anxiety got the better of me. That was the one thing I never quite understood about myself—I was outspoken when it came to advocating for my rights, but when it came to simple conversations, I sucked.

I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror”s reflection. The bags under my eyes were heavily present at this point as I took note of my tired appearance. The naturally brown tint to my skin had somewhat faded as the color now resembled somewhat of a pale, lifeless version of what it once was. Even my hair, which was usually full of voluminous curls, now fell loosely in string-like tendrils and looked way too greasy for me to believe I had just washed it yesterday. I glanced over my choice of clothing as I shifted uncomfortably while fidgeting with the hems of my sleeves. I wore a baggy black knit sweater that was slightly oversized, along with high-waisted acid-wash blue jeans and my favorite pair of black Converse. Maybe not the best choice for a flight.

Too late now.

I clutched the sides of the sink and shut my eyes tightly as I took a deep breath. I could feel the girl next to me staring as I turned on the faucet and began washing my hands to resemble some sense of normalcy, even though I was aware that I reeked of “midlife crisis in your twenties” energy.

Looking in her direction to grab a paper towel, I noticed her head immediately spin the opposite way as she walked toward the door.

That’s weird. Am I so repulsive that she had to run away?

She seemed very shy and skittish. According to every true crime documentary I had seen, that was not a good sign. Was she being abused? I racked my brain trying to put the pieces together.

She was accompanied by two large, strange men. She had to ask for permission to use the bathroom. She was afraid to reveal her face.

The detective in me couldn’t help but investigate. The human in me couldn”t help but worry for her safety.

“Hey, wait—” I called out before the words became stuck in my throat.

Ignoring me, she continued to walk away. Just before she reached the handle, the floor shook violently, and lights began to hiss as they flickered. The walls trembled, and one of the mirrors bolted to the wall shattered into large fragments, falling to the floor. I yelped as I tried to brace myself against the sink, only to be thrown in the opposite direction. Now clutching the stalls, I crouched down for more stability as the ground continued shaking. The girl across from me screamed and was hurled onto the floor. With her hands sprawled out in front of her, she frantically tried to push herself backward to keep from sliding near the broken pieces of glass that now littered the floor. The sound of light fixtures rattling, and ceramic tiles clanking were the only things I could manage hear. Then there was an audible pop on my right side as the all the sounds became muffled. My vision blurred as I tried to process what was happening. I didn”t want to go to my dad”s funeral, but this really wasn”t what I pictured happening to stop me. If this was how it ended, I didn”t want my last memory to be of a stressful trip across the country to see my dead dad. I clenched my fingers against the stall and tried to think of something—anything but this. But what if I never saw my mom again? What if I never fell in love? What if I never bought a house or owned a car? What if I never turned thirty? What if I never said goodbye to my dad? I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to remain level-headed. I was ripped from my thoughts by current reality as everything came back into focus. From outside the door, I could hear the panicked shouting of people in the airport.

The girl in the restroom yelled, “Earthquake!”

Not even a second later, a deafening bang rang out in the distance, followed by a metal clank and screeching against the door. The piercing noise tore right through me as I cupped my hands over my ears. Immediately following that, the sound of crumbling bricks knocked violently on the outside wall, causing the door hinges to rattle. The flickering lights, gave up there fight as darkness surrounded us.

Then, as if it were all just a bad dream, the shaking stopped. The room became still again.

A loud whirring noise kicked on, and the lights came back to life, but in a duller state than they were before. Backup generator, maybe?

“Holy fuck,” I muttered. I was hugging the stall as I slowly stood up, offering my hand to the stranger who had fallen in front of me.

“Thanks,” she said shakily while still keeping her head down. “But I got it.” She pushed herself up from the ground and dusted off her clothes.

I couldn’t help but wonder why her voice sounded so familiar.Before I could figure it out, a deep voice shouted from outside.

“Lexi? Are you okay? There’s something blocking the entrance to the door. I think it’s some kind of pillar. We can’t get it out of the way.” Frantically, he kept yelling, “Lexi, can you hear me?”

“Yes, I can hear you! I”m fine.” She held my gaze for the first time since being in here as she yanked off her hood, revealing her tousled hair. “We both are.”

That’s when I saw her face. It was Lexi Harlow.

OH MY GOD.

OH MY GOD.

OH. MY. GOD.

I’m going to faint. I’m actually going to faint in front of Lexi Harlow. Be cool, Autumn…

I tried to keep my composure as my eyes widened slightly and then returned back to normal. Without saying a word, I continued to stare at her in shock. It all made sense now. Those two men must’ve been her bodyguards. That also explained why she didn’t want me to see her face before. She wasn’t being kidnapped or abused; she was just a celebrity who didn’t want to attract any attention while going to the bathroom. Her bodyguards were just trying to protect her.

A different voice yelled from outside the bathroom this time. “I’m going to get someone to clear the debris, and we”ll get you out of there. Brian will stay here in case you need anything. Are you sure you”re okay?”

She laughed a bit, then turned back toward the door and responded, “Guys, really, I’m fine. Just get us the hell out of here.”

“We are on it!”

“Wow, an earthquake in New York,” I stated while flicking my eyes toward the ceiling. “That’s…rare.”

“Tell me about it,” Lexi mumbled as she walked toward the area opposite the stalls. Leaning her back against the wall, she slowly slid down tiles and came to a sitting position.

Out of all the days to experience an earthquake for the first time, why today? I rubbed my temples and sighed. We were trapped.

***

Lexi whipped out her phone and started tapping away at the screen. As I watched her type, I figured I should probably text my mom and let her know that I was okay. I began to pull out my phone, but before I did, I glanced up to see Lexi reach her arms above her head and rip off her black hoodie, then toss it to the side.

My mind began spinning. I was trapped in an airport bathroom with Lexi freaking Harlow!

Is it getting hot in here? Oh no, I think I forgot how to breathe! How do I breathe? Breathe Autumn!

After a few seconds of mentally freaking out, I slowly exhaled while bringing my phone onto my lap. I noticed that my hands were shaking slightly as I willed them to cooperate so that I could text my mom. I clicked the green bubble at the bottom of my screen and pressed “Mom” as I began typing out a message.

Autumn: Hey, mom. I just wanted to let you know Im ok.

Mom: Why would you not be okay? Do you meanokay with coming to California for your dad’s funeral?

Oh shit, of course, she didn’t know about the earthquake. She was on the other side of the country.

Autumn: Sorry I forgot ur on the West Coast. There was an earthquake here but DON’T WORRY. Im ok. I was in the bathroom when it happened and I guess something fell outside the door so looks like im stuck here forever…

Autumn: JUST KIDDING!

Mom: WHAT? ARE YOU OKAY? I”M CALLING YOU NOW!

I guess she completely disregarded the part where I said I was okay. A loud sigh pulled me away from my thoughts as I looked at Lexi, who was now running her fingers through her hair. Her phone began buzzing as she looked up at me awkwardly, then stood and walked to the far corner of the room and answered with a “Hello?”

Not twenty seconds later, my phone began ringing loudly as I haphazardly tapped the screen so that it would stop making noise.

Heh. At least I changed my ringtone from one of Lexi’s songs to the default tone a little over a month ago. That would’ve been awkward.

“Hey, mom. What”s new?” I chuckled, trying to make light of the situation as I turned my back to Lexi.

“What”s new?” She repeated my words with far more volume than what I had. “That’s what I should be asking you! Are you okay? What happened?” She asked, completely ignoring my humor.

“Relax, Mom, I’m okay. I’m not hurt. We are just waiting for the maintenance people to come to get us out of here.”

“We?”

I glanced back at Lexi. She was still on her phone, talking, when she must”ve felt me staring at her. Our eyes met briefly before she looked away once again. I heard her whisper something along the lines of, “Of course, I”m okay. I”ve survived much worse.”

“Uh, yeah, there was another girl in here when the earthquake hit, so it”s the two of us,” I said conveniently leaving out the part about who this other girl was.

“Oh, okay. That”s good, I suppose. At least you”re not alone,” she paused, then continued, “So, do you think you can make it here for your dad’s funeral?”

I frowned at that. Being in a room with Lexi Harlow almost made me forget that I was still on my way to catch a flight to my dad”s funeral.

What’s the point in even saying goodbye to him?

He had his chance to end things the right way, but instead, he just left. Life was way too fucking short to spend it focusing on the things that brought you pain. What logical reason could I have had for wanting to go see my dead dad? I mean, it”s not like he could explain himself or even apologize for that matter. As cruel as it may have sounded, he was dead, and there was no changing that or what happened in our past…so why bother trying?

“I hope not,” I mumbled without thinking twice.

“Autumn! Your dad may have made mistakes, but that doesn”t warrant you missing his funeral!”

Lexi chose that moment to walk back over and sit in her previous spot. She shoved her phone in her pocket as she tried to avoid looking in my direction to give the illusion of privacy.

I ducked my head and turned even more to the side.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked slowly, the words seething from behind my teeth. My mom was always the forgiving type. She was the one who tried to make their relationship work even when it was clearly hopeless. It almost seemed like she was trying to delay the inevitable. For months, she tried to put the broken pieces of their marriage back together and failed miserably. In the end, it was my father who left. She wanted him to stay, and he wanted to leave. For that, he deserved no sympathy. My thoughts began to jumble in my head as my anger increased at the thought of what my father deserved. “A mistake is when you forget to put your milk in the fridge! A mistake is when you leave the water on while brushing your teeth! A mistake is when you accidentally lock your keys in the car!” Lowering my voice, I added, “You know what”s not a mistake? Having multiple affairs with women half your age and making no apologies for the damage it caused. You don’t get up one day and accidentally forget to come home!” I could feel my anger boiling to the surface as I pushed the tears away, ignoring the pang in my heart as I spewed out more insults directed at my father. At that point, I was too far gone to register the magnitude of the words I was saying. “Just because you’re not happy in a relationship doesn”t warrant you to betray your wife and child! It doesn’t warrant you to fuck up your life and everyone else’s at the same time! Not only did he destroy my life, but he also destroyed my image of a perfect marriage, so excuse me if I’m in no rush to come to a funeral for the man I hate!” I yelled, unsympathetically, while clenching the phone in my hand.

“Watch your fucking mouth, Autumn, or have you forgotten that you’re speaking to your mother? You are not missing the funeral, and that’s that. End of discussion!” She screamed into the phone, causing the sound to distort.

“Watch me,” I deadpanned as I hung up the phone, slamming it on the floor next to me.

The bathroom echoed with the sound of glass clinking against the hard, ceramic tile.

Eighteen years old was when you legally became an adult, meaning you got to make your own decisions. At twenty-one, you were granted the same privileges and no less. No one could take that freedom away from you. Not even your own mother.