on. When all that followed was silence, she pivoted to look at the floor indicator. Both nine and ten glowed, and the gold-toned metal doors remained sealed.
Tessa’s heart hammered, and she took a slow, deep breath. Stay calm. She pressed the button asking the elevator doors to open, but nothing happened. She then tried pressing the button once more for the lobby, but again nothing happened. Finally, she noticed the phone and picked that up.
“Security.”
“I’m in the elevator at the rear of the building. It seems to be stuck between the ninth and tenth floors.”
“Sorry, Miss,” the guard on the other end said. “There’s a problem with it.”
“I’m more than aware of that.” Tessa breathed in exasperation. “I’m stuck in here.”
“There’s no need to take that tone, Miss,” the guard responded. “We’ve called the repair company and they should be here within the hour. Is there anybody else in there with you?”
An hour. Her mind barely registered what he’d asked as she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down.
“Miss? Is there anyone else in there with you?”
“No,” Tessa answered him in a voice that had begun to shake.
“Are you okay?” The security guard’s tone still held that impersonal politeness saved for strangers. The roaring started in her ears and the guard’s voice sounded as if it came from a long way away. It was like when she was a child and she and her cousins would play telephone with empty towel paper rolls.
“I’m claustrophobic,” she whispered at long last. “Please, can’t you get me out of here?”
“I’m sorry, Miss, not until the repairmen get here.” The guard sounded more sympathetic, even apologetic, but not as though he was going to make any additional effort to free her from the shrinking box in which she was trapped. Didn’t the man understand what she was going through? Didn’t he realize how awful it was to be locked into such a small space with no way out?
Tessa hung up the phone and retreated to the corner of the elevator, where she could keep her eyes on the Chicago skyline. Her bag and the laptop case slipped from her hands. She worked very hard to control her breathing, but the fear closed in on her and she clutched at her chest. She kept remembering that day so many years ago. Everyone had thought it was a big joke. It hadn’t been then, and it was not now.
They had gone to Mont Clair. Tessa had been nine that summer, and her mother had left her for the day to play with her cousins. Tessa still remembered how she and the rest of the younger children had always giggled and laughed. The big old house and grounds had been one gigantic playground, filled with all sorts of fascinating things.
They had played hide and seek around the house and barn. Until then, it had been one of her favorite games. As small as Tessa had been at nine, she could squeeze into some pretty tight spots. This time she had managed to wiggle her way into an old trunk out in the barn. Someone had moved it from the tack room to the loft. She had closed the lid, meaning to leave it open a crack, but that wasn’t what happened. It had jammed, or felt like it had. Tessa had always suspected someone had a helping hand in that. While it had been open enough she could get air, she couldn’t escape. By the time anyone heard her and found her, Tessa had been only half-conscious.
She fought back the suffocating panic and forced herself back to the present. Call Seth. She could call Seth. She grabbed for her oversized purse and rummaged through it. Her hands were sweating so much it took her a while to find the phone. She found his name in her contacts and punched Send.
The phone rang.
“This is Seth Barrett…”
“Seth!” Tessa felt a wave of relief.
“…I’m not available at the moment.”
Tessa hit End and sank down the wall of the elevator until she sat on the floor. She tried texting him, but her hands shook too much. Disappointment swirled
Tessa’s heart hammered, and she took a slow, deep breath. Stay calm. She pressed the button asking the elevator doors to open, but nothing happened. She then tried pressing the button once more for the lobby, but again nothing happened. Finally, she noticed the phone and picked that up.
“Security.”
“I’m in the elevator at the rear of the building. It seems to be stuck between the ninth and tenth floors.”
“Sorry, Miss,” the guard on the other end said. “There’s a problem with it.”
“I’m more than aware of that.” Tessa breathed in exasperation. “I’m stuck in here.”
“There’s no need to take that tone, Miss,” the guard responded. “We’ve called the repair company and they should be here within the hour. Is there anybody else in there with you?”
An hour. Her mind barely registered what he’d asked as she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down.
“Miss? Is there anyone else in there with you?”
“No,” Tessa answered him in a voice that had begun to shake.
“Are you okay?” The security guard’s tone still held that impersonal politeness saved for strangers. The roaring started in her ears and the guard’s voice sounded as if it came from a long way away. It was like when she was a child and she and her cousins would play telephone with empty towel paper rolls.
“I’m claustrophobic,” she whispered at long last. “Please, can’t you get me out of here?”
“I’m sorry, Miss, not until the repairmen get here.” The guard sounded more sympathetic, even apologetic, but not as though he was going to make any additional effort to free her from the shrinking box in which she was trapped. Didn’t the man understand what she was going through? Didn’t he realize how awful it was to be locked into such a small space with no way out?
Tessa hung up the phone and retreated to the corner of the elevator, where she could keep her eyes on the Chicago skyline. Her bag and the laptop case slipped from her hands. She worked very hard to control her breathing, but the fear closed in on her and she clutched at her chest. She kept remembering that day so many years ago. Everyone had thought it was a big joke. It hadn’t been then, and it was not now.
They had gone to Mont Clair. Tessa had been nine that summer, and her mother had left her for the day to play with her cousins. Tessa still remembered how she and the rest of the younger children had always giggled and laughed. The big old house and grounds had been one gigantic playground, filled with all sorts of fascinating things.
They had played hide and seek around the house and barn. Until then, it had been one of her favorite games. As small as Tessa had been at nine, she could squeeze into some pretty tight spots. This time she had managed to wiggle her way into an old trunk out in the barn. Someone had moved it from the tack room to the loft. She had closed the lid, meaning to leave it open a crack, but that wasn’t what happened. It had jammed, or felt like it had. Tessa had always suspected someone had a helping hand in that. While it had been open enough she could get air, she couldn’t escape. By the time anyone heard her and found her, Tessa had been only half-conscious.
She fought back the suffocating panic and forced herself back to the present. Call Seth. She could call Seth. She grabbed for her oversized purse and rummaged through it. Her hands were sweating so much it took her a while to find the phone. She found his name in her contacts and punched Send.
The phone rang.
“This is Seth Barrett…”
“Seth!” Tessa felt a wave of relief.
“…I’m not available at the moment.”
Tessa hit End and sank down the wall of the elevator until she sat on the floor. She tried texting him, but her hands shook too much. Disappointment swirled
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