10. Juniper

Juniper

There were very few things I hated in this world. Artichokes, loud chewing, and tight spaces. It wasn't awful. I could manage short rides in elevators and things of that nature, but being trapped in a small space was my nightmare.

Being trapped with my fake boyfriend somehow made it worse.

My hands began to shake and my breaths turned shallow. I knew, logically, that we were fine. Call buttons usually worked even when the elevator was off, and someone outside would likely call it and it wouldn't come, which would tip off someone. It wouldn't take us long to get found.

However, logic didn't matter to my brain that believed we were going to run out of oxygen or the cable snapping and dropping us into a pancake.

"June, are you okay?" Ellery asked.

I nodded, then responded when I realized he couldn't see me. "I-I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm just not a fan of small spaces."

He was silent, which was fine. Who wanted to be trapped in an elevator with someone who was freaking out? I wouldn't want to be. I wished I wasn't here with myself either.

"We're going to be okay," he said, trying to sound reassuring. "There's only the one elevator on this side, so I'm sure someone's tried it by now and realized it's stuck."

"You're right," I said. And he was. I knew that. That didn't stop the cold dread from crawling up my spine, threatening to take over all my rational thoughts.

I tried to do the recommended breathing exercises. Breathe in through the nose, hold for four, out, then hold for four again. It was meant to reset the system, but in this moment, all I could think about was the oxygen I was currently using up to do this.

It felt like the walls were closing in and would soon crush us under their weight. I needed something grounding, a way to steady myself.

As I tried to figure out what that could be, a hand touched mine, making me jump.

Ellery squeezed my hand slightly. Though it didn't make my anxiety go away, it was comforting. We'd been in the dark long enough my eyes had adjusted. I couldn't fully make him out, but I could see the gloss of his eyes and the set of his jaw.

"I'm here," he said easily. "We're going to be okay."

I squeezed his hand slightly, releasing some of the tension in my body. "You're right. We're going to be okay."

We stood there like that for a few moments. The only sound was our breathing.

I wished I could just magic us out of here. If it was possible, I would do it in a moment, unconcerned about what Ellery would think. However, that wasn’t how it worked. All magic users had what my grandmother always described as a magic well. If the well was allowed to overflow, the magic would be wild and uncontrollable. On the other side, if the well was empty, the user completely drained, they would have to wait for it to recharge. And with my biological father not having a drop of magic, my well was much smaller than even my mothers. It’s why I almost exclusively used it for practical things. I was sure there was some kind of teleportation magic out there, but something like that would require more than just me alone, and I was sure Ellery couldn’t do magic.

"If we did die in this elevator, it really would sell our ruse.”

I snorted. "Not funny."

"You laughed, though.”

The silence was suddenly deafening. I couldn't continue like this. "Talk to me," I said.

"What? Talk about what?"

"I don't care," I said. "I just can't do the silence right now."

He was quiet again for a moment and I thought he may not do it. "Do you have any siblings?" he asked.

"No," I said. "I don't need to talk, I need you to talk."

"Why?"

"I can't explain," I said. "It just helps."

He blew out a breath. "Okay… well, you know I have two siblings. I'm the youngest. Obviously the most interesting and attractive."

I snorted. If I was talking, I would deny it, even if I thought he was right, secretly.

“Once my brother's and I went to LA when I was a teenager. I was there for a contract thing, and dad was there on business, so the whole family went. I was out with some people. Samuel came because, by then, I had way cooler friends than him.”

I let out a small huff of a laugh.

He continued, “I thought I was so cool back then, so we decided to go to a skate park.”

“You used to skateboard?” I asked.

He nodded. “The girls loved it.”

“Of course that was why.”

“I thought you wanted to hear the story,” he chided.

I rolled my eyes but gestured for him to continue.

“My agent insisted I stopped skating when she found out. She didn’t need one of her best clients ending up with a broken nose. I didn’t listen, but that’s exactly what happened.”

“You broke your nose?”

“Yeah, I had to have reconstruction surgery. But I still blame Samuel. He called me a pussy for not wanting to do the large ramp, so I did it anyway. What was I supposed to do, prove him right?”

“And you fell?” I asked.

“Like a pound of bricks. My parents were pissed, but it turned out, I’d been so distracted I was late to the shoot anyway, so that didn’t matter.”

“That is a good story,” I said. “You know, if you had PlanD, you might have remembered your meeting.”

“Maybe.”

As he began telling me another story, the elevator rumbled. The rumble soon turned into a full on shake.

"W-what's happening?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said calmly. "But I'm sure it's fine."

This was it. We were going to die. The elevator was going to fall and the walls were gonna close in, and the oxygen was going to run out.

It shook again and Ellery pulled me to his chest. I clung to him, hoping for everything to just stop. For me to wake up at home, in bed, and out of this hellscape.

My face was pressed to his chest. His signature scent filled my nose, and the cologne was so quintessentially him, it was somehow comforting. His hands rubbed up and down my back. I could feel the tears streaking down my face, wetting the front of his sweater.

I wasn't sure what happened, but there was a ding and suddenly light. When I peered to the side I saw the doors were open. A man in a firefighting uniform stood there, along with one of the employees.

"You folks all right?" The man asked.

"We're fine, thank you," Ellery said.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Scott," the lodge employee said. "There seemed to be a sudden power surge that messed with the elevator."

"Then you should have some protectors on the outlets so this kind of thing doesn't happen," Ellery snapped.

I was shocked at his tone. He sounded angry. Seriously angry.

"We will be looking into it," he said. "Please, let us make it up to you. We can offer you the one-on-one instruction tomorrow for free.”

"That's the least you could do," he said sharply. "Be lucky if my family decides to come back next year. Let's go."

Ellery turned me so I was still held against him, but we were now moving to the stairs and going up. I tried to keep my head down, sure I had makeup streaked down my face at this point.

We got to the room and I was relieved to be out of that situation.

"Are you okay now?" Ellery asked. He had a much calmer tone asking me than he did downstairs. His hands gripped my shoulders, running up and down each side, making me feel grounded.

"I'm fine," I said. "Just a bit startled."

"I'm sorry that happened. We will definitely be speaking to management.”

"It's fine. It's no one's fault."

"It scared you, though, and it shouldn't have happened."

It was at that moment I realized how close we were, how much we were really touching. And how good it all felt.

I pulled back, suddenly feeling empty without his touch. "I think I should go wash my face."

He nodded. "Let me know if you need anything. We don't have anything going on until dinner."

I slipped into the bathroom and gazed at myself in the mirror. My nose and eyes were red and I had black streaks working their way down my face.

I hated crying in front of people. I was not one of those cute criers, my face would get all splotchy and my eyes too puffy.

I cleaned myself up and managed to feel a bit better before going back out to the main room to find I was alone.

That was probably for the best. The energy between us felt a bit weird after what happened. Though, I could admit it was nice having him there. If that happened while I was alone, I would have truly lost it. And he did feel warm and cozy when we were pressed together. I also got to learn a bit about him. I didn’t know he broke his nose, I couldn’t even tell. Every bit of information I got about him felt like another piece of a puzzle I was never meant to solve.

I knew I shouldn't go down this road. That these thoughts would only lead to complications, and complications could only lead to heartbreak. I didn't need complications or heartbreak. I just needed to get through this and get back to my life.