Forever & Always || Redlyn

Stuck

Big Red and Ashlyn had been dating for years. He was 22, and she was 21. They knew most things about each other, but of course there were some specifics they didn't know. One of these was Ashlyn's claustrophobia. She absolutely hated any small space, especially a dark one. At this point, however, it wasn't long before Big Red would be aware of this.

The two of them had decided to take a trip, with New Years just around the corner. They were having the time of their lives together, but there is always a low to every experience. Of course, hotels are nice every once and awhile, but the elevator always gave Ashlyn the smallest bit of anxiety. It probably didn't help that this particular hotel had been having technical difficulties. Ashlyn knew that the problems were extremely unlikely to be related to the elevators, but the anxiety each time she stepped in the elevator was a bit more than usual. She didn't tell Big Red, as she knew nothing was bound to happen. Or, rather, she thought.

"What do you want to do later?" Big Red asked Ashlyn as the pressed the elevator button.

"I don't know. Or care." Ashlyn replied, her eyes watching the elevator as she waited for the door to open, which it quickly did. She grabbed Big Red's hand, walking in. Big Red had never noticed that every time they went in the elevator Ashlyn held his hand. It's not like it was rare for her to hold it, so why should he notice? She didn't exactly make it obvious, as she didn't want to.

"Okay, how about—" Big Red was interrupted by the lights in the elevator flickering. Ashlyn quickly tightened her grip on his hand. The lights returned back to normal immediately after. "Weird."

"Yeah. A little freaky."

"As I was saying—" The lights flickered again, this time going fully out, and the elevator came to a stop. Ashlyn, still trying not to act scared, scooted closer to Big Red. He sensed her nerves, but assumed it was just the dark, that being the reason he pulled his phone out and turned on the flashlight. "It'll be okay."

Ashlyn took a deep breath as she nodded. "Y- Yeah."

"You alright?" Big Red put his arm around Ashlyn, making her jump before leaning into him.

"Just a little freaked out."

"Help's gotta be on its way."

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Ashlyn trailed off. "I'm just— I have really bad cl- claustrophobia." She stuttered.

"Oh."

"Yeah." Ashlyn glanced around at each wall of the elevator. She leaned on Big Red even more, making him stumble. "Sorry!" She held him still, hiding her want to be as close to him as physically possible by acting as if she was trying to help him stand up straight.

"It's fine Ash." Big Red assured her. "Both the stumble and the elevator thing."

"Yep, yeah, yes." Ashlyn mumbled quickly, nodding furiously. Big Red hugged her tightly, whispering words of reassurance in her ear. Ashlyn felt calmer, but her heart was still beating irregularly fast, and she had the strong urge to either pace or curl in a ball. Big Red received a call, which he would have ignored for her, except it was his mom. He let go of Ashlyn. This resulted in her doing the latter of her choices, being to curl in a ball.

Big Red was facing a wall as opposed to Ashlyn, so he had no idea how much she was now panicking. Ashlyn could hear Big Red talking to his mom quietly, as he tried to keep his voice low. A part of her wished it was louder. The way he whispered it felt far away and mildly ominous to her. Not to mention how comforting his voice had always been to her, since the day they had met.

Big Red said goodbye to his mom, then turned around. His eyes still at their natural height, he didn't see Ashlyn. "Ash?" He looked around a moment longer, spotting Ashlyn curled up in the corner. He sat next to her, now hearing her near silent, nearly nonexistent, cries. She was shaking. It was not much, but it was uncontrollable.

Big Red had no idea what was considered a panic attack, but if he had to qualify this as something, it would definitely be a that. He pulled Ashlyn onto his lap, hugging her as tight as he could without making her more claustrophobic.

"Calm down... it's okay..." Big Red said to her. He didn't know how to handle the situation. Ashlyn looked a mess, but he didn't know how much more of a mess she would look without him there, so he assumed he wasn't doing a good job.

Ashlyn focused on every word Big Red said as he continued talking. She closed her eyes, trying to only focus on Big Red's voice (and if she was being honest, smell). Not the cold floor underneath them, not the metal wall behind them, or any of the other walls around them. Just him.

Ashlyn had managed to calm down, somewhat, before hearing a thump from somewhere nearby. Her head popped up, off of Big Red's chest, and she looked around. She nearly began panicking more, until the door opened. She realized the thump was someone walking just outside of the elevator.

Ashlyn nearly ran out of the elevator, trying to get out of it as quickly as she could. She also attempted to get as far away from it as she could, speed walking for a few seconds before stopping to wait for Big Red.

He caught up to her, intertwining his fingers with hers. He pecked her cheek. "Better?" He asked, to which he received large nods from Ashlyn, making him smile. "Good." Big Red grabbed her hand a bit firmer, and they walked to their hotel room.