Elevator Confession

“Hold the door, please!” a voice called out to the elevator’s passenger. Hayley Ross ran into the elevator, flashing a thankful smile to the girl keeping the doors open. Once the doors closed, the girl chose her floor and Hayley leaned back. After a beat of silence, Hayley began. “Hey, Emma. How’s it going?“

Emma jumped. “Oh, everything’s alright I guess.” She was tense and wouldn’t meet Hayley’s gaze. This irritated Hayley a bit, but she knew to be patient.

“Are you planning on talking about what happened, or do you expect me to forget?” Hayley’s voice had an edge she couldn’t control. She pulled out her phone, hoping it would keep her focused on the plan.

“Hayley, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking,” Emma said, finally meeting their eyes. The nervous smile on her face mirrored the one she wore a few nights ago.

The phone in her hands pinged, lighting up with a message from Liam. Is it time?

Hayley looked up from her phone and met Emma’s eyes. “So is that it then? You say it was a mistake and we pretend we didn’t kiss?” Emma flinched at the word kiss, and that fueled the fire in Hayley. Without another word to Emma, she responded to Liam’s text. Yes.

The old elevator slowly crept to its destination, the passengers silent. Before it could reach the desired floor, though, it sputtered and stopped. The lights inside shut off, plunging them into fearful darkness. Hayley didn’t move, waiting for Emma’s reaction. Now she couldn’t avoid her anymore. Hayley’s satisfaction decreased quickly when she noticed Emma was breathing louder than before. There was a soft thud on the elevator floor and the breathing changed. It sounded a lot like crying.

“Em, you okay?” Hayley asked, squatting and feeling around for her friend. She bumped her softly, adjusting so they sat as close as possible. Emma didn’t respond to the contact, and a sinking feeling grew in Hayley’s stomach. “Emma, please answer me. What’s wrong?” She cautiously put a hand on Emma’s knee, hoping this was working.

Emma choked back a sob. “I’m just... I’m scared.” She broke down more but fought to continue. “I can’t breathe, Hayley.” She could feel Emma shaking under her hand. Hayley had read about this, the crying, shaking, and difficulty breathing. A panic attack. She wanted to punch herself. How could she be so careless? Now wasn’t the time, though. Emma needed her.

“Focus on my voice. It’s going to be okay.” Hayley turned on the flashlight on her phone, giving enough light to see Emma properly. She was covering her face, shoulders shaking just as much as the rest of her. Hayley gently pulled Emma’s hands away from her face, holding them in her own.

Emma looked away from Hayley. “I don’t want you to see me like this,” she whispered meekly. Hayley gave her hands a light squeeze.

“It’s okay, Em. I’m here for you, I don’t care what you look like. I just want you to try relaxing right now.” Emma took a shaky breath, looking up at Hayley. They maintained eye contact as she breathed deeply. Each breath made her relax more until the tears had stopped completely. Hayley pulled her hands away and sat beside Emma. “Do you feel better?”

Emma nodded. “A bit. I’m sorry I freaked out.” She looked down at her hands. Guilt gnawed at Hayley. Each minute made her regret the plan.

“It’s not your fault.” Hayley picked at her nails when Emma looked at her curiously. “I told Liam to cut the power. It was stupid.” She met Emma’s eyes hesitantly. The anger in them told her the damage she did before Emma had even told her off.

Emma stood up after Hayley’s confession, starting to pace as if she hadn’t been on the floor seconds ago. “It really was stupid! I can’t believe you’d do something so reckless.” Her pacing stopped, and she rounded on Hayley. “We could’ve been hurt! Do you even think before you act?” Her face was red in anger while Hayley’s flushed in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry. I just needed to talk to you and I thought if I didn’t do it now you’d just ignore me forever.” Hayley had stood while Emma was ranting and was now standing across from her. The tension was thick and Emma looked at Hayley like she was the dumbest person she’d met.

“You know we’re neighbors, right? I wouldn’t have been able to avoid you forever.” Emma ran a hand over her face and sighed. “We’ve been friends for a few years, I wouldn’t throw that away over a kiss.” Hayley wished the elevator didn’t have an automatic braking system. Death could’ve saved her from the wreck inside the elevator.

“I should’ve thought it through. I knew you had anxiety, and I still went through with it. I thought it would be okay. We would just talk.” Hayley reached for her, hoping to make this better, but she pulled away. It hurt even though she expected it.

“Well, we’ve talked. Now I need some space, so text Liam to start the power again.” Emma leaned against the railing, looking away from Hayley. She looked down at her phone, still on the floor illuminating the elevator. Picking it up, she noticed the battery was low. The notification below said that she had left service range.

“Em, what floor did we last get to?” She asked. Emma looked annoyed and for a moment Hayley thought she wouldn’t answer.

“I think we were at the second level of the garage. I was trying to get to my car on the third level.” There was a bite to her tone when she said ‘trying’. Hayley mumbled some choice words, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I don’t have service down here,” she admitted. Emma gave a joyless laugh.

“Didn’t plan well, huh?” She shook her head. “This is great,” she sighed. The silence stretched between them and it was unbearable. This had backfired badly for Hayley and she wasn’t sure how to fix it. There was only one thing left that she wanted to talk about, something that might make matters worse.

“Can we finish talking about the kiss? I promise I won’t sabotage anything else,” Hayley joked.

Emma rolled her eyes. “I sure hope so,” she responded dryly. “I guess since we’re stuck here, we can finish it here.” She gestured for Hayley to start.

“Alright. I don’t know where our friendship will stand after today, so I may as well go all in.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I love you. I’ve thought about it for a while and the kiss confirmed it. You don’t have to say anything back, but I thought you should know.” Emma’s eyes widened at the confession.

“I don’t know what to say. Today’s been so much, and I’m not sure how I feel.” She bit her lip and looked away. “I’ll admit that I might have feelings for you, but I don’t know. This happened so fast.” Hayley nodded in agreement. This had escalated faster than either expected. She hoped that Emma’s nervous body language was a good sign, that a lot was happening underneath. There was definitely a lot happening in Hayley’s head.

The lights flickered for a few seconds before they stayed. Both girls froze, now seeing each other in a new light. The elevator shook and then continued down its path. They didn’t know what to say, so they stayed quiet, each lost in their own heads. Once at the third level of the underground garage, the landlord greeted them. “I’m so glad you two are okay, some vandal cut the power.” He looked them over and sighed in relief. “I’m glad you two are alright. The criminal caused a power outage for the entire building.”

“We’re fine, William. Thank you for checking on us.” Emma interrupted the upcoming tirade. After promising it would never happen again and that the person responsible would face justice, he went back to whatever business he had to attend to. Emma and Hayley stood beside each other, unsure of where they stood. Hayley wanted to break the silence, but this time she had nothing to say. All she could do was wait for Emma to figure out what she wanted. Shaking herself off internally, she began the walk to her car. After a few seconds, she heard footsteps behind her.

Emma grabbed her arm and pulled Hayley into her arms. “Kissing you wasn’t a mistake,” Emma murmured. Hayley pulled back and looked into her eyes. Once she was satisfied with the sincerity she saw, she pressed her lips against Emma’s. They held each other close, the world slowing down until it was just them and their lips moving against each other. When the girls pulled back for air, they both had love-struck smiles on their faces. Emma laughed suddenly.

“I still can’t believe you caused a power outage for me.”