And then he stopped. Shane leaned his forehead against mine, breathing heavily, our eyes still closed, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Astra," he mumbled against my lips. "Please don't hurt yourself."
And all at once, his body fell l...
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C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N
A s t r a *.✧
I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face when I held it out. Darkness swallowed us both, and the only way I knew he was there was his heavy breathing and the faint outline of his figure next to me.
The only source of light came from outside, the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the elevator. We both sat huddled in the corner, shivering from the cold that the storm had brought with it. We'd tried looking for the emergency button, but there didn't seem to be one. Usually they were meant to be above the floor-number buttons but there was only blank wall.
We'd tried yelling for help but after about half an hour we gave up. The open and close door buttons had also jammed. We were officially stuck.
For some reason, the elevator had just shut down and stopped working. But… what if the universe had heard my thoughts and we were about to crash? Shane said things like this happen all the time, but what if he's wrong?
What if the elevator was about to plummet down towards the busy roads of Manhattan. And just like that, it would all be gone. I would be gone. Shane would be gone. The pedestrians on the street below would be gone.
Oh God. I didn't want to die like this. Especially if it meant other people would also die along with me. I shut my eyes, clasped my hands together and began to pray.
Dear universe,
I am really, really sorry. I take back what I thought. Falling to my death stuck in an elevator, especially with Shane Doughtry, would be a horrible way to die. Please don't let me die like this. I promise to do acts of good servitude, and to always apply myself in everything I do. I promise I'll listen to Ariana rambling on about her dad, I won't shoot Shane dirty looks for no reason, and-
He shifted from beside me, his hair brushing my mouth. I scowled, pressing my lips together and slowly outstretched my arms to move him away. A few seconds later he fell back onto me, his head crashing onto my lap and I groaned.
Shane had fallen asleep about ten or so minutes ago, exhausted from all the shouting and running around. I patted his head absent-mindedly. His hair was really fluffy and soft, and my hands kept finding their way back to it. It reminded me of the Easter egg hats we used to make in elementary. One time I'd stuck fluffy hairs all over mine.
I’d been reading a book while I waited for him to wake up, squinting in the dark, my arms aching from holding it in such an awkward position and not being able to stretch. I took a deep breath, containing my urge to slap him awake and tried to continue reading.
But now that his face was right next to mine, I couldn't not look. I narrowed my eyes, able to see it every few seconds when the lightning lit up the elevator. It was unusually pale and blood was smeared on his head. I waited for the lightning again and noticed the blood was from a scabbed cut that had ripped open.
