Tee pressed the button for the lift and the silver doors slowly parted.
The lift was small and had a control panel to the left of the door.
We pressed the button for the first floor where everybody would have been waiting for this point.
"So, you and Ryan eh?" Tee teased.
"Don't even start!" I sighed.
"What? You kissed him in front of all of us! Don't think none of us noticed!"
"Well...." I was interrupted by a clanking sound as the lift ground to a sudden halt. But the scary part was, the door didn't open.
"What's going on?" Tee asked.
"What floor are we on?" I said, ignoring the question. We both looked up the the dial that indicated what floor we were on, it was halfway between 3 and 4.
Tee began frantically pressing buttons on the control panel but nothing see,ed to be happening.
"Ok Marie, don't panic" Tee started "but I think the lift has broken down!"
"What!" I yelled, panicking. "I can't be stuck I can't!"
I began to frantically bang on the metal doors even though I knew they wouldn't open."Marie calm down..."
"Calm down! Tee we are trapped inside a bloody lift! For all we know the others might never get us out and we could starve to death is that what you want?"
Tears were rolling down my cheeks at this point. I don't like the feeling of small spaces, especially being trapped inside them.
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Ryan's POV
"Mike can we start yet?" Floss asked.
"Not until Tee and Marie are down Floss" Mike stated, fed up that we had all been waiting so long.
"They should be back by now! Where are they?" Not going to lie, I was getting worried. Not for Tee, I couldn't care less for Tee, but Marie. I hadn't seen or heard from her in a couple of hours.
"I'm gonna go to their room to get them!" I said. I approached the lift and pressed the button but it didn't light up.
I was too stressed to wait so I just took the stairs. I know, it was a long way. I don't care.
I finally got outside their bedroom door.
I knocked a few times, "Marie? Tee? Hurry up!" There was no reply so I opened the door but neither of them were there!
I ran back into the lounge area. Almost tripping down the stairs as I did so.
"Mike they aren't in the bedroom!"
"What?!"
"I've just been up there, neither of them are inside."
Everybody started talking about how worried they were.
"I'll call Tee" Carmem announced. We all stood silently for a few moments. "She's not answering."
"I'll call Marie then!" I confirmed.
Luckily, she picked up.
R: Marie where are you?
M: Ryan help!
She was breathing really heavily and I could hear Tee trying to comfort her.
R: What's happening where are you!?
T: The lift! It's broken and we're trapped!
R: Don't worry I'm coming. Look after her Tee!
With that I hung up. "Mike their trapped in the lift! What do we do?"
"Bailey go find a member of staff to call someone out to fix the lift, Ryan come with me, everybody else stay put!" Mike ordered.
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Marie's POV
I was crying but my breathing was back to normal. I couldn't stop the terrified thoughts from invading my mind.
What if we never get out? What if you never see your friends again? What if you die!
Tee held onto my shoulders and pulled me away from the doors.
"Just calm down, breathe in and out..."
I did as I was told. My breathing became normal and we decided to sit down and save our energy.
It was becoming pretty awkward, sitting there, silently.
My thoughts were interrupted by Tee.
"We're gonna be fine. The others are on their way, they are going to help!"
We were sat against the back wall of the lift and Tee was trying her hardest to look after me.
"I know, I'm just...well...scared." I admitted.
Then, the light went out! I quickly grab my phone and turn on the torch. Tee now looks just as scared as me, but at least she isn't crying her eyes out like I am.
"I'm calling Ryan!"
R: What's up? Are you ok? We're on our way I'm coming!
M: The lights have gone out!
R: Stay calm, someone's on their way to fix it, what floor are you on?
M: Halfway between 3 and 4. Please hurry...
The line went dead and my phone buffered for a few seconds before turning off.
I screamed. It was dark, my charge was gone and I'm locked in a dark lift.
I felt Tee wrap and arm round me and I quickly did the same. It was comforting knowing that someone else was there.
Tee seemed fine, she doesn't mind the dark, or small spaces for that matter. I'm glad I'm stuck in here with Tee and not Carmen.
"Say something..." I ordered.
"Like what?"
"Anything! Ask a question I'll tell you anything!"
"Why are you in care?" She blurted. "I'm sorry I shouldn't..."
"My parents died." I squeaked, my voice cracked, "in a fire when I was little. It was all my uncles fault, he was the man who attacked me the other day"
"I'm so sorry, i shouldn't have asked."
"How about you?"
"Well, me and my brother Jonny had this step dad, Keith, he was angry all the time. He didn't really like us much. Jonny used to try and protect me but he was abusive, in the end, he was arrested and we were taken into care."
"Jonny sounds like a great brother" I sniffed.
"He's gone to join the army now. I rarely see him. I was meant to see him a while ago but he couldn't make it." Tee was also starting to cry now.
"Do you have any other siblings?"
"I have a younger half sister, Hope. She is Keith's, he came out of jail just before Jonny left to join the army. I don't see any of them any more."
There was a moment of hesitation before Tee asked "Do you have any siblings?"
"No. My parents had enough on their plates with just one child."
"Have you been in any other care homes?" She asked, out of the blue.
"Yeah. I was in care for a few years after my parents died. Before I lived with my aunt. I remember my care worker dropping me off" I began crying even more at this point
"and I was taken inside. The other kids laughed at me and stole my stuff. The care worker didn't care though, he never did anything to stop them. They hurt me and left me with almost nothing by the end of the first day. All I remember is the cold feeling of utter loneliness that I felt that night when I got into my bed. The room was freezing and there was no hot water for a shower. Nobody there knew me, nobody there cared about me. Then my aunt adopted me, which worked for a while, until she got arrested."
"Sorry" I sniffed after my long emotional speech. "I really don't know where that came from"
Tee flung her arms round me and wrestled me into a tight hug. "It came from the heart" she whispered.
I hugged her back and we both just sat there in tears, thinking about life and the past.
After sitting in tears for what felt like forever, the light slowly flickered back on and the lift began to move again.
I saw my reflection in the mirror. I look a mess. My eyes are red and puffy and my whole face and hair and everything just looks terrible.
I was still on the floor in a mess when we got to the first floor. Mike and Ryan were there looking horrified, everybody else was behind, trying to push through and see what was going on.
Carmen ran to Tee and gave her a tight hug and Ryan came to me and pulled me off the floor,wrapping both his arms round me.
"You scared me stupid!" He exclaimed with a sigh. "Never leave me again!"
I just held onto him. I didn't want to let go, I don't think he did either. Eventually, he picked me up in a newlywed/damsel in distress type manner and carried me into the lounge where everyone was once again preparing to watch the film.
Ryan placed me on one of the sofas before sitting beside me, pulling a blanket over mine and his legs.
Everybody else was sat around on the other sofas whilst Mai Lee got the film going. I had no clue what we were watching, I was distracted by what had just happened.
It seemed everybody just tried to forget the whole situation ever happened. I wish I could too.
"Thanks Ryan" I said, cuddling him.
"Bet your glad you brought your phone now!"
"Is now really the time to be sassy?"
"Guess not. I'm glad you're ok though." He said, cuddling me back.
"Me too"
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A/N
Thank you all so much for the lovely comments and voting and even for simply reading! This writing is kind of therapeutic and really ups my self esteem. Thank you so much xxx
Love you all xxx