CHAPTER 2: Butterfly effect
A few more hours passed and traded insults slowly began to turn into rather…soft but humorous and yet sarcastic comments between the two. Unfortunately, the brief moment of repose could only last but so long given their situation. By now it was nearly 3AM when Sasha's phone officially died along with the rest of her patience.
"This is insane" said Sasha. "It's so damn small and airless in here." As she began to fan herself, Enzo couldn't help but smirk. "And it's also so hot in here too" he said suggestively. "Apparently the lack of oxygen is cutting off what little air ever managed to reach your pea-sized brain" Sasha sniped. She let out a deep sigh. "So damn small and hot! Where's all the air?"
Enzo chuckled. "What are ya, claustrophobic or somethin'?" "Y-yes" Sasha said as she began rasping for air. "Now that's quite hilarious" Enzo laughed. "You? Claustrophobic?" "It isn't funny you asshole!" Sasha yelled. "I'm…I'm really…" she paused as she struggled for breath.
"It is to me" said Enzo. "Quit faking it." "I'm not…you ignorant fuck!" Sasha choked. She placed her hands over her chest as she began to dry heave. Suddenly Enzo's attitude of amusement quickly changed to a one of concern. "Hey…" he asked. "Are you okay?" Unfortunately Sasha could no longer answer as she was now in the middle of a full-blown panic attack. Her complexion suddenly reddened as she collapsed to the ground.
"Yo Mercedes you alright?" Enzo asked. "I'm serious girl!" "I…I can't…" Sasha said as she struggled for air. "It's going to be alright" said Enzo. "You gotta calm down. Calm down and take deep breaths. You know? In and out." Enzo was left to feel helpless as he did his best to attempt to get her through an anxiety attack. "Mercedes!" he called out to her. "You gotta calm down or else ya gonna make it worse for yourself." He stood up and walk over to her.
"Mercedes! Mercedes!" he said as he placed his arm on hers. "Take it easy. Take deep breaths" he encouraged. "It'll be alright..."
About another hour had passed and by now, Sasha was able to calm down from her panic attack. By now Enzo had made his way back over to his side and after that event, he promised himself that he would keep an eye on her for the duration of their predicament.
"You kinda worried me a bit back then" he said, finally breaking their silence. "What the hell happened to ya? What was that all about?" "It's none of your business" Sasha griped.
"Yeah well as long as you're in here with me, it is my business" Enzo said sternly. "Whatever" Sasha said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm serious" said Enzo. "Yeah well I'm serious too" Sasha said. "I thought you said you were gonna make peace with me?" said Enzo. "Like I'd ever agree to that" Sasha said. Enzo let out a sigh. "Whatever you say girl".
"This is the worst night of my life" Sasha complained. "Remind me again exactly how long does it take for someone to rescue trapped people in an elevator?" Enzo shook his head in annoyance. He couldn't believe how he had literally just helped her get through a massive panic attack and she didn't even want to acknowledge it. For the sake of attempting to maintain an open line with her, some sort of makeshift peace with her, he decided to again make light of their situation.
"Well according to google the longest was…" "Wait" Sasha said as she interrupted him. "How in the hell is your phone still…alive?" "Because I have a built in charger into the phone case" said Enzo. "You really oughta invest in one of these things. It's 2016 after all."
"Eric, shut up" Sasha said as her stomach began to rumble. "Great now I'm starving." "There's a protein bar in my bag. You can have it if you like" said Enzo. "Oh gee, aren't you always the prepared one?" Sasha said as she got up and reached for his duffle bag. "No Mercedes, it's just that I like to carry around snacks and gum just like anyone else would" said Enzo. "Uh huh. Sure" Sasha said as she began eating.
"You're welcome?" Enzo said. Sasha waved as she made her way back over to a corner, this time facing Enzo diagonally. "I wonder why this isn't trending yet" he said. "Eric, how much more self-absorbed can you possibly get?" Sasha asked. "We've been trapped in this damn elevator for 5 hours and all you're worried about is if we're trending on Twitter?"
"No I'm worried about if I'm trending online. Not you" said Enzo. "Besides in addition to checking myself out in the mirror 7 times a day, I like to google myself. I find it to be very therapeutic."
"You're such an asshole" said Sasha. "And an ignorant fuck at that." "Hey, hey hey" said Enzo. "Now I thought you were playing nice with me?" Sasha scoffed. "Play nice with you? Nice try." "You should at least try to ease up on me" said Enzo. "I don't have to do anything you tell me to" said Sasha. "And if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this mess with you. I think we've been sharing the same air in here for a little too long."
"And I'm the selfish one here?" Enzo said. "What you've seen to forget here Sash is that we are in this thang, to-get-her." "Well maybe if you weren't fighting with me over by pressing the damn button we wouldn't be-" "Get over yourself Mercedes" said Enzo. "Get over myself? Me get over myself? You of all people shouldn't even be telling me this" said Sasha. "Yeah actually I should" said Enzo. "And here's why-"
"I don't really care anymore Eric" said Sasha. "So please spare me another one of your machismo speeches. We're aren't on air anymore."
Enzo shook his head as he let out a frustrated sighed. "You know what" he said. "All you've ever done since we've been in here is bash the fuck outta me and here I am just trying to keep you calm through a fucking panic attack and I fucking fed you!" "You act like I'm your girl or something" said Sasha. "Like I owe you something and I don't." "Yeah you do" said Enzo. "A thank you would be nice. It means something. It goes a long way."
"Nothing ever goes a long way with you" said Sasha. "You act like I ain't human or something" said Enzo. "And it that bothers me, considering like I said earlier-we used to be friends." "Well that was then and this is now" Sasha said coldly. "Why are being so cold to me?" Enzo asked. "Because" said Sasha. "You deserve it." "No I don't" said Enzo. "Yeah actually you really do" said Sasha. "You're always so full of yourself, so damn cocky and for what? It's not like anyone here really cares about you."
"That really hurts" said Enzo. "And like I keep telling you-I. Don't. CARE!" Sasha said. "No Mercedes, I'm serious" said Enzo. Sasha let out another frustrated sigh. "Man am I so glad that I'm not Mandy" she said. "And noooo wonder Alexa badmouths you constantly."
"Look Mercedes" said Enzo. "If Alexis can't get over last year and if she hasn't by now then it's obviously not my problem. It's hers. Now as for you I'd appreciate it if you'd stop treating me like shit especially when I'm doing my best to get through this problem too and it would really help me-help us if you'd stop and change your attitude."
"I don't have to change anything" Sasha angrily said. "You know it could be worse" said Enzo. "Far worse. At least you're not stuck in this shit alone." "I rather be alone than to be with you" said Sasha. "Just get over yourself" said Enzo. "Get off your high horse. This ain't the fucking spa we're at. We're in some pretty deep shit right now and if you weren't too caught up bitching at me every second, you'd notice that."
"You know what Eric I-" but before Sasha could finish, the elevator suddenly jolted again and this time, it was even more violent than before. Sasha let out a blood curdling and terrifying scream and it was in that moment, Enzo instinctively got up to wrap his arms around Sasha to comfort her while shielding her from a piece of ceiling and other debris that fell.
"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" Sasha screamed. "WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" "No we're not" Enzo said reassuringly. "NO ERIC IT ISN'T!" Sasha screamed. As she continued screaming, Enzo did his best to hold onto her as tightly as he could. "Please Mary let it be okay" he said as he whispered his prayer. "Please let it be okay. Let us be okay."
A few moments later, the elevator ceased moving and along with that, the lights went out, leaving the pair completely in the dark. As Sasha started to sob, Enzo continued to hold her. He had never heard her yell like that, let alone anyone else in his life and whether or not he'd ever chose to admit it, he was scared. Very scared.
"Mercedes it's alright now" he said softly. "See we didn't die yet. We're still alive." "B-barely" Sasha sniffled. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you" Enzo said. "I promise." As he continued to hold onto her, he suddenly noticed just how good she smelled and as he did, his heartbeat began to change.
"Oh no…" he said softly. "What!?" Sasha panicked. "Nothing" Enzo lied. "You know Eric, you can let go of me" said Sasha. "S-sorry" Enzo said as he released his hold. "Eric I'm really scared" Sasha said. "We've been down here a really long time and I don't know what's taking them so long and we almost just died."
"Well look on the bright side" said Enzo. "At least we can sue the state of Pennsylvania after this." "No, no Eric I'm serious" Sasha cried. "I'm really scared. She sat up against her corner and pressed her knees up against her face as she did her best to hide the fact that tears were welling up in her eyes, despite the fact that they were in total darkness. It was almost as though she were ashamed of letting him know just how vulnerable she really was.
"Hey Mercedes…" said Enzo. "Yes?" Sasha answered. "Will ya tell me why you hate me so much?" Enzo asked. Sasha remained quiet for a while after that question and it wasn't because she needed to come up with an answer-she already knew it. It was just that she didn't know how to say it, or rather much less anything anymore.
Enzo reached into his pocket and pulled out his iPhone and decided to turn on the flashlight as he needed some source of light. He surveyed the damage and he saw that it was really bad, so in order to make sure that Sasha remained calm, he decided to keep what he saw to himself.
"I don't hate you Eric it's just that you really hurt one of my good friends" Sasha said as she finally spoke. "I'm sorry I did" said Enzo. "I didn't mean to. I really didn't and I'm sorry she hasn't gotten over it yet but one day, she will. Trust me."
Sasha scoffed. "Trust you? Why should I trust you?" "Because Sasha, you already did" said Enzo. "Please now you're just telling lies" Sasha said. Enzo crawled over towards her. "I'm not lying Mercedes and you know I'm not."
She turned to face him. As she stared into those pale blue eyes, she somehow began to see something different in him. Much different but she just didn't know what it was yet. Enzo continued staring into her soft hazel eyes and it was at that moment did he realize that he was beginning to feel something warm about her. He never broke his gaze off of her all while his heartbeat rapidly increased.
"And I'm real sorry about making fun of you like that…" he said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I was wrong for that." As he continued to look into her eyes as she did into his, a sudden overwhelming urge came over him, one that he could no longer control.
"Eric I-" she was suddenly interrupted as the he leaned down to place his lips on hers and immediately began kissing her and somehow, she didn't find herself revolting in disgust. Somehow, it didn't feel so bad…in fact, it felt good. Really good. As their soft kisses deepened, she felt her own heart rate increasing. Enzo wrapped his arm around her and the two instantly found themselves on the floor with Sasha on top of him as their kissing intensified. Moans escaped their mouths as the two barely let the other have enough time to catch their breaths.
Both were caught off guard as two how quickly things started to escalate in that elevator but despite that, they continued. It simply felt way too good for either of them to stop. As Enzo felt himself becoming aroused, his hands traveled down to her waist as she cupped his face. "Sweet Mother of Jesus" he thought. "I'm not prepared for this."
After a few minutes, the two pulled themselves apart from each other just as the lights began to flicker back on. The two stared at each other in silence, unsure of what to say or think let alone feel. The silence wasn't pierced until the sound of someone began to pierce through the walls.
"What was that?" Sasha asked as she quickly got off of him. "I dunno it sounds like its coming from above us" said Enzo. Suddenly as they looked up, they could see that the latch to the ceiling was being removed. Enzo sat up as well and pulled Sasha closer to him so that she would be again out of any possible danger. "I'm scared Eric" she said. "Don't be" said Enzo. "I'm here."
"Well hello folks" said the fireman cheerfully. "We're terribly sorry to have keep you waiting but this elevator is so damn old, we couldn't find a contracting service to help us rewire it until about 45 minutes ago." "It's about fucking time" said Enzo. "Way to let people die in here." "Again we're terribly sorry" said the fireman. "We ran into one technical difficulty after another." "Excuses, excuses" said Enzo. "We almost died in here."
The two were both relieved to realize that they were finally saved. After a latter was lowered down for the two, Enzo followed Sasha out as the two were led back up into the floor in which the backstage was. There they were greeted by a team of paramedics, Triple H and other company officials.
"Mercedes, Eric are you guys alright?" Triple H asked. "Yeah just a bit shaken up but other than that…I'm alright" said Sasha. "Or at least I think I am." "I'm good" said Enzo. "I'm just glad as hell that I ain't stuck in that steel thing anymore."
"Well let's just get you checked out to be sure" said Triple H. "After all you did fall about 3 stories." "W-what you mean?" asked Sasha. "Well there's the first floor were you guys originally came up and eventually fell from" said Triple H. "Then there's the backstage floor and the underground parking and you can see we're on the B2 level, meaning we're on the second floor of the underground parking."
"You mean we fell that far down?" Enzo asked. "I'm afraid so" said Triple H. "I'm glad to hear that you two were safe and I just want to let you both know that we will be conducting a full scale investigation." As the two were led to separate ambulances, Sasha sat at the edge of her stretcher and watched as Enzo removed his hoodie so that he could be checked out.
A million thoughts raced through her mind as she began to recall what they had done in that elevator. She couldn't believe that what had happened. What troubled her the most was not only that they kissed each other, that she liked it and she knew where it could have ended up. She never once took her eyes off of him as he was examined. She watched as he presumably made jokes with the paramedics and laughed and it was then did she realized that she needed to say something-anything to him about it and it had to been that night.
After the two were clear, Sasha stepped out of her ambulance and approached Enzo who was redressing himself and gathering up his belongings.
"Listen Eric" she said. "I'm sorry about what happened in there, you know how I treated you and stuff." "Don't worry about it" said Enzo. "It's called life. Shit happens." "And about the kiss..." Sasha continued. "It was just a heat of the moment sort of thing so…I'm sorry about that as well." Enzo cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Seriously" said Sasha. Enzo couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment in her words. She placed her hand on his shoulder in reassurance before she turned to leave.
"Hey Mercedes" said Enzo. "It's like 6 in the morning but it's still dark out. I don't wanna let you walk out of here alone." "Thank you" said Sasha. "But trust me I'm alright. See you in a few days."
With that, she turned and continued to walk away, leaving Enzo with the full-blown realization that he has begun to have feelings for. The problem was, he was already 9 months into a very serious relationship with Mandy and he was now faced with a serious dilemma.
A/N: Thanks for your follows and reviews. Let me know if you want this to continue of course as always with feedback.
~Emerald loves Sapphire~