The Nightmare That Was - Part 2

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, my younger brother had some issues at home that needed to be taken care of.”

I pushed my hair behind my ear, a nervous tick that I had trouble kicking.

“Don’t apologize, I was just being nosy. Truth is I didn’t sleep well and my anxiety is worse when I don’t sleep.”

He frowned and took his phone back out then glanced at me. “It’s only been 10 minutes. It usually takes about 15-20 minutes for a small repair. You’ll be okay.”

I laughed to myself, “So this isn’t your first time stuck like this?”

He sighed as he turned to face me while still leaning on the wall.

“Unfortunately no it isn’t my first time. A couple of years ago I was stuck in an elevator with some colleagues of mine.”

I nodded. “So it only took 15 to 20 minutes to get out.”

He chuckled, “Actually— we were stuck for two hours. I only remember the firefighter speaking to us and mentioning that usually little breakdowns like this take much less time.”