The ground shakes beneath my feet and the wires on the outside of the elevator rattle.

“Oh no, no-no-no-no-no,” I mumble under my breath and move towards the buttons next to the door. I press open door and wait. When the door stays shut I press again and repeat hoping for something to happen but nothing does. I close my eyes and take a deep breath hoping to calm my panicking heart.

“Breath Anita, breath,” I say to myself taking another deep breathe, “Just press the emergency button and you will get help soon.” I start to lift my finger to the button panel again but notice how shaky my right hand is. It takes longer than it should to press the emergency call button but I manage to get it to ring.

“Hello, this is Scott from the front desk. I see that you must have an emergency in the hotel can you direct me on the location and what the situation is?”

“H-hi. I’m in the-the elevator and- well- it stopped working or something. Is there anything you can do to get it open quickly? I- I have this um- well it’s really tight in here so I- I just can’t be in here for very much longer,” I finally get out.

“No worries I will call the fire department now. Sit tight and you’ll be out in no time.” He gives that final message then ends the line. I swallow and lean against the right wall right in front of the panels waiting for someone to save me.

After what feels like 20 minutes I hear a voice on the other side of the door. It’s a strong, confident, and deep voice.

“I hear we have a friend in here wanting to get out?” The man asks in a playful way probably attempting to lighten the mood.

“Yes please!” I call out and stand in front of the door waiting for it to open.

“I’m Liam, I’m with the fire department, what’s your name miss?”

“Anita, but my friends call me Ani.”

“Well Anita, we are going to get you out of here but be prepared to hear some loud noises ok?”

“A-alright.”

I hear a clanging behind the door then it starts to creak. A small weight lifts off my chest and I wipe my sweaty hands on my pants waiting to finally be out of this box from Hell.

I usually take the stairs but my therapist suggested I face my fears in small ways. I thought that an elevator for only a few floors would be alright but I don’t think I’ll be getting over the claustrophobia for a long while after this.

The door begins to pull open the slightest bit but stops with only enough room for maybe my arm to get through.

“What happened?!” I cry out. I can’t help the way my heartbeat quickens or that my stomach turns to knots. I didn’t realize I was hyperventilating until my vision started to darken.

“…Anita. Anita. Ani!” He calls out finally getting my attention. He seems to have been calling my name for a while before I finally heard him.

“I can- I can’t- b-b-breath,” I struggle to get out as I choke on my own breathe.

“Anita, just take one big breathe okay?” I suck in a labored breath but fail and my fear picks up even stronger.

I fall to the ground sobbing and clutching my chest trying to breath normally and failing more. I close my eyes because the darkening and lightening of my vision is making me feel sick.

“Anita!” I open my eyes to see his hand through the small opening and part of his chiseled face peering through the door. It looks like I am between floors but once the doors are open, if they ever open, I’d have enough room to climb out, and with help reach the ground. “Take my hand.”

Still on my hands and knees I reach forward and grab his hand. I feel my strawberry red hair sticking to my sweaty brow and I’m sure the curls are nothing but unruly now, more than ever.

“Breath with me,” he states and he takes a deep breath and holds it. I follow suit. I release before he does and suck in a quick breath before he repeats the slow inhale and holds it. Attempting to match his pace again I inhale and pause. Then we exhale in unison. We get into a matching slow pattern of breathing and I’m realizing that my heart has slowed down as well as my lungs.

I smile at him through the crack in the doors and wipe away a stray tear.

“There you go Ani, very good.” I blush when he says my nickname and turn my face away embarrassed.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

He smiles before whispering back a quiet “Of course.”

“It’s going to get loud again but I promise we will get you out of here. Just make sure you keep your breathe slow.”

I give him a light nod and he lets go of my hand. I had forgotten he was holding it for a moment.

I can see through the opening that he had removed his fireman jacket and underneath was a strong, well built, body hidden underneath a tight black fireman’s t-shirt.

I blush again but keep my focus on how handsome he is rather than the small room I’m in.

As he said, there were loud sounds as they pried the door open but eventually it did open. Immediately I crawled towards my exit and sat on the edge to get down.

Liam reaches up towards me and I allow him to help me down. I enjoy the warmth of his hands on me as he brings me feet to the ground.

I can’t help myself and wrap my arms around him in an embrace smiling.

“Thank you.”