Under the Floorboards

Chapter 11: Small Spaces

Then I notice. The room seems to slowly be shrinking. Alaska breathes deeply, shutting her eyes and shaking her head. "Aw, shit. It's small spaces," she whines.

"You are claustrophobic?" I ask, biting my lip.

"Yep. Sadly," she groans.

"So, what? Is it just gonna squish us to death?" Nina raises an eyebrow.

"Yep. Better suck in ya' guts everyone," Zane tries to joke.

"We will surely all make it through this," Damon waves his hands in the air with sarcasm.

"Hey, don't be so negative," I scowl at him.

"What, I'm just being honest..." Damon rolls his eyes.

"Y'all, we can make it through this. It's fine," Lazaro pep talks us.

"No, no I won't," Alaska's voice shakes as she begins to drip sweat.

I shuffle closer to Mark, lacing my hand into his. "Kendall, if I don't live this... Set this picture on my casket," Cole smirks, lifting his shirt and clicking a picture of his abs.

"Did you really just..." I half smile, reminding myself of what life was like outside of the house.

"I did," he grins.

"You would," I laugh before returning to my scowl. It's hard to remain happy for more than a few seconds, after all we have been through. Mark hasn't said anything for awhile, I gaze up at him with curiosity. I search his eyes for a sign of what he's feeling but all I can see is the blank, dark chocolate-brown eyes I have grown to love. They are emotionless. I have never seen his eyes look so dull. I lift my hands to his face, tracing his cheek bones. His face now cupped with my fingers, I turn his head to face me. "What are you thinking?" I ask him quietly enough so that only he can hear.

The room is closing in on us slowly, but time stands still. Suddenly, it makes sense. Everything Nina had said about the pull she felt to Chase, I finally understand. I feel it too, exactly in that moment as I look into his blank eyes. I realize that I have felt it all along, as if an elastic band had formed around the both of us the second I had met him, holding us together no matter what the distance. I feel his energy, rushing through his cheeks and surging through my fingers. I almost forget we are stuck in a room that's about to shrink to a size we can't imagine living through. I almost forget all of the pain and all of the suffering just by touching him. Almost. But not even love can save you from that kind of hurt. Not even love will fix all of the damage.

"What are you thinking?" I repeat, pressing on.

"It's my fault," His lip quivers.

"What? No!" I yell a little too loud. Everyone else in the room turn to face me, startled expressions staring in my direction. "Sorry," I swallow, "I didn't mean to shout," I bite my lip. They nod and continue their private conversations. I return my gaze to Mark, his eyes are moist. "You just wanted an adventure. We all did, it's not your fault," I choose my words carefully as I speak. He nods, clenching his jaw. Suddenly, something nudges me from behind.

I turn to see, realizing how much the room has shrunk. The wall is already directly behind me, pushing me forward. Alaska slides to the floor in the center of the room, breathing quickly as tears run down her face. She is sweating uncontrollably, her knees are now pulled to her chest as she buries her head.

A few moments pass and suddenly, we are all standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the middle of a three-foot by seven-foot room, roughly. It eventually stops once we are all huddled together, brushing each other slightly. Alaska has no choice but to stand up. Everyone is silent, all I can hear is the steady breaths from each direction.

"Can't," Alaska begins, "do," she breathes heavily, "this," she punches the wall.

"Woah! It's okay. Close your eyes," Cole speaks quickly.

"I can't," Alaska whispers between breaths.

"You can," I try convincing her. And then she screams.

It's high pitched and crackly. I hear the exhausted desperation in her voice. She places her hands on the wall, kicking off her shoes and socks. "That's it!" She bellows at the walls. "I..." she begins, clenching her teeth together. We watch in awe as she grows angrier by the second. "Want!" she continues, "out!" she screams one last time before kicking herself into the air, keeping her hands on the wall and slamming her legs into the other wall with force.

A large cracking noise sounds out as she drops to the floor. She winces as she falls with a thud, the walls tremble around us. I tap my finger on it and just like that, it falls to ashes. Alaska runs her hand through her hair, laughing through her grateful tears. I shake my head in disbelief by how smooth that fear went by. She conquered it in a matter of minutes.

Once the walls crumble, the usual sized room appears on the other side. The ashes disappear after a few moments.  If only all the fears were that simple.

"Is that a doll house?" Nina asks, staring at the corner of the room. I turn to where she's facing and sure enough, a doll house. It's pink walls are coated in dust, creating an eerie feeling.

"Damn it," Lazaro whines, stomping his foot.