Of Silk and Death.

Chapter 11

It took them an hour to finally take us out of that death trap.

We were stuck between the tenth and ninth floors for a good portion of the afternoon, and they had to call the fire department to do several maneuvers to pull us out.

Father looked paler than ever, and even Mother was waiting, eyes glassy, when they finally took me out of the elevator. I had never seen them in that state. Mother wasn't hysterically crying, but I was shocked by how worried she looked. The fire department let them hug me before taking all of us to the in-house clinic to be checked for injuries.

The clinic was full of policemen, not only because one of their mates was in there, injured, but because they were still looking for the woman. While I sat in a bed being checked for my burns, I could hear them talk amongst each other. They were trying hard to be discreet, and I couldn't pinpoint why.

A few minutes later, Peter came walking with his jacket on his arm and his shirt slightly unmade. He sat next to me.

"Why do you look disheveled?" I asked.

"They were checking for injuries. I have several bruises on my chest."

"Are they my fault, perhaps? I'm sorry for that." I said, embarrassed, assuming his bruises were probably from me grabbing too hard onto him as the elevator fell.

"I don't think they are your fault. But it's okay. I thought it was quite nice you held on to me," Peter said, laughing softly. "Made me feel heroic in a way."

"You are a hero in my book, protecting me while we fell," I said, smiling and patting Peter on the back.

"Yes, while also screaming into your ear the whole way down," he chuckled. "Not very heroic."

I rubbed his arm with my hand, trying to comfort him.

"Look, it was scary, alright? We basically fell down an empty pit inside a metal box," I told him. "I didn't scream just because I was certain I would regurgitate my insides."

Peter laughed, a bit disgusted.

"That would have been a sight to behold," he said.

"Truly," I said.

As we sat on the bed, I felt the need to place my head against Peter's chest. It was urgent to be close to him, just like it had been as we fell into the void. I think it was because I knew how secure I felt when he was there, and I wanted to feel the same way again. Even as we were free from any physical harm, the dread forming from the mysterious behavior the police were exhibiting made me search for a place I could feel protected. I felt him gasp a bit as I did, probably in surprise, but then his chest began rising and falling comfortably.

We sat there for a good ten minutes before my parents arrived to pick me up, along with the concierge, who had come to attend to Peter's needs.

I saw in Mother a flicker of discomfort as they found me in that position, but she seemed to be more worried about my health than anything else.

"I'm fine. I can stay in the hotel until dinnertime," I said.

"You are not staying here any longer," Father told me. "Your mother asked for an early release today. You are going home to rest, alright?"

"Can you at least give me twenty minutes to do something quickly?" I asked, remembering the book I had left in the library.

My parents looked at each other and accepted begrudgingly, probably wondering what shenanigans I was planning now.

After telling me to hurry up, Peter and I performed the whole ritual necessary to retrieve the book I was hiding in the library, finally taking it out and placing it in a small paper bag.