Addie.
I will not lose my shit in front of Addie.
Better.
Icannotlose my shit in front of Addie.
That would be mortifying.
But also, I still give it a fifty-fifty chance.
A light flips on.
Her phone. Duh. Of course. Get light from the phone.
Her fingers touch my wrist as I lean against the wall and let my eyes close again. My pulse is hammering. I’m starting to sweat. And I’m pissed and embarrassed too.
“Wanna sit down? Get comfortable?” she says. “Could be a few minutes.”
“I’m good.” I’m not good.
The worst part, though, is how quickly I’m panicking.
That’s what it is.
Panic.
We’re alone, but I feel hot bodies crowded tight around us. I hear a baby crying. My mom grips my shoulder harder and harder while my dad tells her not to worry. The scent of onions lingers in the air while the minutes drag on and on and on. Someone had onions on their lunch and got in an elevator and now we’re all stuck here.
“I want to sit.” Addie’s voice is a lifeline pulling me out of the memory, bringing me back to where it’s just the two of us. “Will you sit with me?”
Shit. My thighs are shaking and I still smell onions. “Yeah.”
I don’t move.
Not even when her fingers move on my wrist, reminding me she’s here and that she’s moving.
“Duncan?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m texting building support to let them know we’re in here.”
A shiver wrenches through my body with the same force of the thunder making its presence known outside. “No signal—in—metal boxes.”
“I have a strong signal. Sit with me. Since the power hasn’t come right back on, it might be a few more minutes.”
Right. I’m still standing. I press my back against the wall and let myself slide down it.
Addie slides down next to me, then squeezes my thigh. “Better, yeah?”
“I got stuck in an elevator at the CN Tower in Toronto on a family vacation in high school. Full elevator. Crush of people. Near the top. It dropped a little when the power went out. I’m fine. Long time ago.”
“Is that the last time you were stuck in an elevator?”
I’m definitely sweating.
It’s fucking cold, my clothes are soaked with rain, my hair is dripping, it’s the temperature of a refrigerator in here, and I’m sweating.
