Chapter 11

KPOV

After Jackson promised to give the girls an autograph after the show, they said goodbye and stepped off the elevator. They seemed like nice girls and they sounded genuinely interested in the guy's music. I was happy for the guys. I'm sure it must be difficult not knowing who's really a fan of your music and who's only there for Jackson. I must admit though, it was Jackson's mesmerizing eyes and dazzling smile that first drew my attention to the 100 Monkeys; it was their music, however, that kept me around.

Speaking of Jackson's dazzling smile, I hadn't seen it since he arrived at the hotel suite this afternoon. And judging by Amy's bitchiness something had gone down between them. I prayed that whatever it was, they would work it out. God, if Amy screwed up this perfect thing that she had going with Jackson I swear, I would kick her ass myself. You just don't find guys like Jackson these days.

After the elevator jerked to a sudden stop I saw Amy approach the operating panel. It didn't take long for her to start panicking and banging on the buttons.

"Kellie." She called out in a quavering voice.

"Shit." I said. I quickly walked over to her and turned her around to face me. "Amy," I said as calmly as I could. Her pupils were already dilated and her hands were balled into fists. "Shit!" I said more firmly.

"What's wrong with her?" Ben Johnson asked. I waved him off.

"Amy," I called to her again as I went into doctor mode. "Amy look at me. Amy everything is going to be just fine. Amy." Her eyes focused on me a little more. "Amy, I need you to listen to me. Do exactly what I tell you to do. Can you do that?" She nodded, it was weak but it was a nod. "Close your eyes for me Amy." She squeezed her eyes closed. "Can you see the meadow Amy? It's a big, open meadow. Can you see it? Can you feel the soft grass beneath your feet?"

"Are there hills?" she asked very softly through clenched teeth.

"Yes, there are hills, gentle rolling hills as far as the eye can see. Can you see them Amy?" She nodded slightly again and her breathing began to even out a little. "Good Amy, very good. Now on top of one of these hills is a tree, a willow tree in her prime. It's a beautiful tree providing lots of shade. I want you sit under that tree." As I was speaking I carefully walked her back to the wall. "You're sitting under that tree now Amy." I slowly and gently pushed her shoulders down as her legs lowered her to the floor. "Good, now Amy I want you to just sit under this tree. Sit under this tree in this wide open meadow and read your chemistry journals and your science books. Can you do that for me?" She nodded again and her pulse steadied. "Good Amy. Good." I whispered as I slowly backed away from her.

"What's going on Kellie?" Ben asked more firmly.

I turned around to face the guys. "She's claustrophobic." I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Claustrophobic?"

"She has a fear of small places." I said a little frustrated. "God I'm such a bitch! I shouldn't have made her get on the elevator. I should have taken the stairs with her. I should have fought for her." I was so angry with myself.

"It's ok Kellie, you didn't know." Jackson tried to calm me down.

"But that's just it I did know. I've known longer than she has." Just then there was a crack as the speaker turned on and a voice came through.

"Hello, is there anybody there?" the voice called out. I ran to the speaker to answer.

"Yea, there are six of us here."

"The system has registered some abnormality, what seems to be the problem?"

"I don't know. The elevator just stopped and it won't respond to any of the buttons." There was a slight pause and for a moment I thought we'd lost them.

"Alright, we've called it in. The rescue squad will be here momentarily. Just hang in there."

"Please, hurry," I pleaded. "My friend, she's claustrophobic. I don't know how long I can keep her calm." My voice shook as the tears pricked at my eyes. There was another crack as the speaker turned off.

"What do you mean you've known longer than she has?" Johnson asked. I turned back around to face them.

"I've always been interested in phobias. I studied them in high school and all their symptoms. I started noticing the little things she did right away. For instance, she always had to have an aisle seat in lectures. She never sits in the middle of anything. In the car she always has to have a window cracked, even when it's raining. When we moved in together she insisted on having the bigger room and she always sleeps with either the door or the window open. And elevators, this is probably only the fourth time I've ever seen her on an elevator. And it's all my fault."

"You couldn't have known that the elevator would break down Kellie." Jackson said.

"She never told me." Ben sounded hurt.

"She didn't know until last year." I explained. "She had just started working at Leo's and one of their 'traditions' is to lock the newbie in the storage closet. They had no idea. She had forgotten her apron that day so I took it up to her. When I found her she was already severely hyperventilating. They had to sedate her just to get her in the ambulance."

"I still wished she'd told me."

"Right, cause that conversation would have gone over splendidly. 'Hi, I'm Amy Cox. I'm Ben Johnson's baby cousin whom he hasn't spoken to in a year because he's too big of a prick to call after his father died. What should you know about me? Um, I drink, I have sex, oh and I'm claustrophobic.'"

The hurt in Ben Johnson's eyes nearly matched the hurt he showed when he first arrived in Berkeley back in April. God, I really was a bitch. I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry Ben, this is not your fault; I shouldn't take it out on you. You're not the one who made her get on the elevator; I am." I ran my fingers through my hair.

"It's not like I didn't deserve some of it." Ben Johnson said with a shrug of his shoulder. "I've missed a lot by not being there for her."

A few minutes of silence passed before Jerad asked, "What causes phobias in the first place?"

"They usually stem from some traumatic childhood experience. It's like the body just shuts down at any sign of recollection of the memory, inducing panic attacks."

"What do you think she's so afraid of?"

"I don't know. Amy hates talking about her childhood, but god, if I had the childhood she did I'd hate talking about it too."

"What happened?" Jackson asked, looking at Amy.

I looked pointedly at Ben Johnson. "It's not our place to tell."

"Is there anything we can do for her?" Graupner asked.

I shook my head. "We just have to make sure her breathing stays even and her pulse stays steady. Just hope that she stays in that meadow."

As if on cue, Amy's breathing became heavier and more rapid.

"Amy," I walked over to her. "Amy what happened to the meadow?" I hoped she didn't hear the panic in my voice.

"Fire…consuming…oxygen… can't breathe." She answered in broken sentences.

"Shit." I murmured and looked around. I looked up. "The hatch. I need one of you to open the hatch."

"We can't get out that way." Johnson said.

"No, but there is air in the shaft above it. It will open this space up a little." Ben Graupner moved to open the hatch in the ceiling. "And I need your jacket Jerad."

"Why?" Jerad asked as he slowly began to remove it.

"Unless one of you has a paper bag on you I need that damn jacket." I was starting to panic a little as well. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to Amy because I made her get on the elevator. She was my best friend; she had been there for me countless of times.

"Alright, alright. Here." He handed it over and I quickly formed it into a mask as best I could. I bent back down to Amy and placed the jacket over her mouth. I lifted her hands to hold the mask in place and noticed that her nails were digging into her palms so fiercely that they were drawing blood. I hoped that Jerad wasn't too attached to his jacket because blood stains were a bitch to get out of clothing.

"Breathe into this Amy." I instructed once the mask was in place. "It should help with the hyperventilating." I told the guys. Her breathing slowed slightly but it was still too much.

Jackson made his way over and knelt beside me. "Do you think I could try talking to her?" He asked. He was worried; it was evident in his voice and etched on his face.

I nodded. "Yea." I let my hands fall from her face and Jackson took over.

"Amy," He said. "Amy can you hear me?"

JPOV

"Amy," I said, brushing the hair out of her face. "Amy can you hear me?" Her eyes fluttered open and found mine.

"Jackson?" she asked faintly.

"I'm here darlin'." I brushed my hand across her cheek.

"Oh Jackson," she laid her head on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I…"

"Shh, it's ok. You don't have to explain anything." I wrapped my arms around her shaking body and pulled her onto my lap. I knew her cousin was watching me closely, but he didn't object which only helped to strengthen my suspicions that he already knew about us.

"Jackson I'm scared." Amy said into my neck. "Please, don't leave. Come to the meadow with me Jackson. Say you'll come with me. Don't leave. I'm sorry."

"I'm right here darlin'. I'm not leaving you. Take me to the meadow with you." I held her close as I cradled her in my arms.

Kellie bent down and placed two fingers on Amy's wrist. "Whatever you're doing Jackson, keep doing it because it's working."

I pulled Amy closer and hugged her tighter. She gave in and wrapped her arms around my neck as she continued to mumble incoherently. I rubbed my hand up and down her back soothingly while whispering 'I'm here.'

*~*

Sometime later the elevator began to jerk into motion again. Amy became restless and I tried harder to keep her calm. What a great time it would have been to have Jasper's powers. I would have done anything to take all her fears away.

The elevator began to descend steadily. Amy could feel the descent and her eyes popped open. She stared at the doors waiting for them to slide open. After the elevator stopped it took another few minutes for them to pry the doors open. I helped Amy to her feet, keeping a firm hold on her, but she bolted at the first opening that was big enough for her to squeeze through. I quickly moved after her.

Amy stumbled out of the elevator and pushed her way past the paramedics. She stumbled around the lobby before collapsing to her knees. I could hear her retching as her body convulsed, spilling a pool of vomit before her. Oh my poor sweet girl.

I walked out of the elevator and shook off the medic that tried to attend to me. I made my way over to where Amy was being loaded onto a stretcher. She had an oxygen mask covering her mouth and her eyes were glazed over. I placed my hand on her forearm, her muscles were still tight, and brushed my hand over the top of her head. Her beautiful eyes met with mine and a slight smile spread over her lips. I kissed her forehead.

"I'll see you at the hospital." I whispered before the medics rolled her away. Johnson came to stand beside me, and he patted my shoulder lightly. He definitely already knew.