KM CHARLES

Rebecca Sterling got into the elevator, laughing to herself.  

How she started talking to this man to begin with, she’ll never know. It was a fluke.  

Well, she knew that wasn’t entirely true. She had made it happen, with a different outcome in mind. She didn’t mind the change in plans; she relished them, actually.  

Her phone vibrated with their first picture together popping up on her screen. The picture was taken from their first date; their faces were flushed from the dancing they had done that night. It was crazy to Rebecca that it happened six months ago and yet here they were. 

“Hey, you,” she answered.  

“I’ve been thinking about you.” 

“Oh yeah? What about me?” 

Rebecca quickly hit the button for the ground floor and moved to the back of the elevator just as quickly. She couldn’t wait to get to her favorite spot in the hotel: the bar.  

She had just left the most awkward family dinner of her life and just needed some time away from them. She loved them, but it had been horribly complicated.  

“Missing you, mostly,” Bobby Woods replied. 

Rebecca laughed. “I just left yesterday.” 

“I know… how’s the trip so far?” 

“Well, I just got back from an awful dinner with my family and their friends. I didn’t think it was ever going to end.” 

Guilt twinged in her stomach at saying that. The Strickland family were like second family to her. She even lived with them for a while. However, things didn’t exactly go as planned.  

She never should have dated Hayden Strickland.  

“Ah. Was he there?” 

Before Rebecca could reply, the “he” in question strode onto the elevator. 

Rebecca laughed to herself. Of course.  

“Yep,” Rebecca said to Bobby.  

Hayden Strickland made it a point to not respond to her. She knew that he knew she was there, though. She could tell in the rigid way he stood right in front of the doors, as if he couldn’t get off this elevator fast enough.  

The feeling was mutual. 

Rebecca tried to talk to Bobby like everything was normal. It was so awkward though, trying to talk to him about Hayden while Hayden was standing less than two feet away from her.  

“Everyone’s good though,” Rebecca was saying. “My dad was enjoying being the life of the party tonight and Mom watched him with stars in her eyes. Everyone was happy to be there.” 

Hayden made a gagging sound. Rebecca ignored him.  

“Well, almost everyone,” she mended. “Except for one person, but I think they were just sick. Or maybe they’re just boring.”  

Hayden let out a sarcastic laugh.  

Rebecca moved further away from Hayden. To her dismay, the elevator stopped again. Someone else stepped on and Hayden grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her close. 

Rebecca recognized the woman instantly. 

It was none other than Stella Ryder. She was also a famous race car driver. When Hayden and Rebecca broke up, Hayden had told her about Stella. The two of them were under the same management and they had wanted them to fake dating each other for publicity.  

Hayden had sworn it was acting, but Rebecca wasn’t sure if what she was seeing was that. It seemed very real. Too real.  

Stella’s tongue was currently sliding up Hayden’s throat. How Stella never noticed Rebecca standing there, she didn’t know. The backpack that was on Hayden’s back fell off and Rebecca moved further into the corner to get away from it.  

Hayden smiled and brought her lips up to meet his, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. The two of them kissed like no one was standing five feet away from them. Like no one else existed.  

Rebecca cleared her throat loudly and Stella let out an ear-piercing shriek. Rebecca almost regretted making her presence known.  

“Shit,” Stella muttered, her hand on her heart, as if it would slow her heartrate back down. “Hey…” 

Hayden turned around and had the audacity to act like he just saw her for the first time. 

“Beck?” Bobby was asking on the phone.  

“Sorry, Bobby,” Rebecca said, trying to gain her composure after seeing that performance.  

“Are you okay?” 

Hayden rolled his eyes at the mention of his manager’s name.  

“I’m fine,” Rebecca said. “Just witnessed something…weird.” 

“Please, that was the best thing you’ve ever seen,” Hayden said. 

Stella slapped him on the arm. “You knew she was there and didn’t tell me? That’s so gross of you.” 

Hayden’s hand flew to his arm. “Ow!” he protested.  

Hayden’s voice had come out gruff; he sounded annoyed that he had to see Rebecca again. Annoyed that Stella was defending her.  

The feeling was mutual.  

However, the two of them were kind of stuck with dealing with each other for the rest of their lives. Their fathers had grown up together and because of that, their families were intertwined. Everyone else in the family were amazing. What happened to Hayden to make him how he was today, Rebecca still didn’t know.  

Before anyone could think of what to say next, the elevator jolted. Stella grabbed Hayden’s arm tightly in her hand, which caused Hayden to wince.  

Rebecca Sterling was stuck alone in an elevator with the two people she despised most on this planet. 

*** 

Rebecca sat on the floor, with her arms around her knees. She watched Hayden while he pressed all of the buttons in the elevator, as if he would magically fix it. Nothing was happening. 

“Yep, we’re stuck,” Hayden announced.  

“Are you okay?” Bobby asked. His voice was doing the weird glitch thing that often happened when in a shitty service spot. 

“Yeah,” Rebecca answered. “Just watching ole maintenance man wannabe try to fix the elevator. He just confirmed that we are indeed stuck.” 

Hayden rolled his eyes again. He did that a lot in her presence. “You eventually would’ve figured that out on your own. No need to give me all of that credit.” 

“Thank you for believing in me,” Rebecca snarked. 

“Always.” 

She looked down at her phone. Bobby was gone; the call must have been dropped. She tried to send him a text message and as predicted, it failed immediately. 

“Well, we have no service,” Rebecca announced. “My texts won’t go through.” 

“Oh no, what is Bobby ever going to do?” Hayden asked.  

Stella was also looking down at her phone. “I don’t have any service either.” 

Rebecca noticed that Stella refused to make eye contact with her. Every time she looked anywhere, she was looking at Hayden. 

“Can I have a drink?” Stella asked him.  

“Feeling anxious?” he guessed as he opened up the backpack. He handed her a silver flask.  

Rebecca felt a little pang of jealousy just then as Stella took a swig.  

She went to hand him the flask back but then acknowledged Rebecca for the first time. She pointed it to her with a questioning eyebrow. 

Rebecca smiled politely and took it. She figured she’d need it. None of them were getting out of here any time soon. 

Tentatively, she took a sip. She should’ve known better than to drink anything anyone offered her, but Stella had just had some. It burned her throat on the way down, and then she got the aftertaste of cinnamon.  

“Fireball?” Rebecca asked Hayden. 

He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “It’s not so bad.” 

“It’s his favorite,” Stella said, confused.  

“Oh,” Rebecca replied. It was better to leave it at that. There was no use in mentioning that Rebecca had loved Fireball, but Hayden had hated it.  

“People can change,” Hayden teased. However, there was an edge to his voice. A double meaning behind his words. 

Like there often was. That was something Rebecca had found intoxicating about him at first; now it was just annoying. Why couldn’t he just say what he meant?  

Rebecca waited for someone else to take over the conversation. She didn’t know if she trusted herself.  

But of course, no one spoke. Everyone seemed caught up in their own thoughts.  

Hayden pressed some more buttons. Finally, he managed to hit the “call” button.  

“Elevator dispatch, how can I help you?” someone’s voice rang through. 

Stella and Rebecca stayed silent.  

Stella took this time to take another swig from the flask. Rebecca held out her hand and Stella smirked as she handed it to her.  

“Yes, hi,” Hayden said, taking charge. “We’re stuck in an elevator at the Piedmont Hotel.” 

“How many passengers are there?” 

“Three.” 

“Do you guys know which floor you’re stuck on?” 

Hayden looked at the others and shrugged. 

“We were going down from the fourth floor,” Stella offered. “So, we’re probably at like the second or third floor now.” 

“Okay, I’m sending help. Is everyone okay?” 

They all looked at each other.  

Rebecca couldn’t help it. The alcohol and the absurdity of this situation made her laugh. She burst into a fit of giggles. 

Stella also couldn’t help herself. 

Rebecca took another swig of the flask and Stella took it from her. The giggling intensified as they spilt some of it on the floor. 

“No! That’s liquid gold,” Rebecca murmured. 

Stella laughed even harder at that.  

It occurred to Rebecca, that the two of them could’ve been great friends if it hadn’t been for this little situation. She was always intimidated by Stella, and now it was just too late for the two of them to be friends. Now she was his ex’s new girlfriend. Rebecca couldn’t help but think there might have been some overlap between those relationships.  

“Lord help me,” Hayden muttered under his breath. “Yeah, I guess we’re fine.”  

“Try to stay calm,” the dispatcher advised. “I’ll be checking in on you guys. But I’m going to give the maintenance man a call.” 

“Thank you,” Hayden said. 

“You’re welcome.” 

“I’m sorry,” Stella blurted to Rebecca. 

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. 

“For everything that happened,” she clarified.  

“I’m still not following.” 

“You know… how I ended up with Hayden.” 

Rebecca snorted. “I think the only one who needs to apologize here is Hayden himself.” 

The two women looked at him, with intense stares. The alcohol had clearly bonded the two of them.  

“What?” Hayden asked. 

“You know what,” Stella muttered. 

“I’m not going to apologize for falling in love. Or for falling out of it.” 

“It’s not that you did either of those things that upset me,” Rebecca said. “It’s the fact that you couldn’t own up to it. You obviously can’t help how you feel, but you can take responsibility for yourself.” 

“To be fair,” Hayden began. He was speaking slowly, as if trying to piece together what he wanted to say. “When I had told you that she and I were dating for publicity, it was the truth. Stella and I did not date until the two of us broke up.” 

Rebecca shrugged with a sad smile on her face. “I don’t know. There always seemed to be some kind of spark between you two—” 

Stella snorted. “If you’re referring to when you were dating, I hated him then. He was way too cocky and there were too many drivers already like that.” She took another swig from the flask. “Sorry guys, looks like we’re out.”  

Hayden frowned. “I wasn’t that bad. The other drivers were way worse than I was.” 

“You’re sounding like a ‘pick me,’” Rebecca pointed out.  

“Yeah, you’re one to talk.”  

She raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Hayden ran his hands through his hair, exasperated. “You keep acting like you’re the victim throughout all of this. But do I need to remind you that you literally started dating my manager just to get back at me?” 

Rebecca laughed. “Is that what you think?”  

“C’mon, Rebecca. Seriously.” 

Rebecca didn’t answer. 

“Even if it hadn’t been for Stella, the two of us never would’ve worked out,” Hayden insisted. 

Stella raised an eyebrow. “Again, we didn’t date until months after you guys broke up. The way you said that makes it sound like we were sneaking around or something.” 

“Are you really going to finally say why you ended things?” Rebecca challenged. “Are you finally going to own up to your shit?” 

Hayden looked right at her. “You want to know the real reason we broke up? You were an insecure little bitch.” 

Stella crossed her arms. “Excuse you? You really think it’s okay to talk to someone like that?” 

Rebecca didn’t even flinch at his admission. It was true; the fans fawning over him everyday kind of got to her. It didn’t help that he absolutely adored being adored. He wouldn’t set boundaries; he used to just tell her to get over it. That it came with the territory.  

“It’s okay,” Rebecca said to Stella. “I’m just surprised he actually said something real.” 

Hayden scoffed. “I had to reassure you back then by telling you all the romantic bullshit. I was hoping you’d see through it and end things with me yourself. You were alienating my fans, which hurt my team and I.”  

Stella laughed at that. “She was alienating your fans? Do you hear yourself right now?” 

Hayden tried to grab her hand to hold it, but she moved it from his reach. “Stella, c’mon. I’ve already told you all of this.” 

She moved away from him altogether. “The two of us need to talk later.” 

Hayden turned to glare at Rebecca, who was still sitting on the elevator floor. “This is all your fault.” 

“Hayden, stop,” Stella snapped. “You’re showing a side to you that I don’t like. It has nothing to do with—” 

“She’s bringing this side of me out. You agreed that she was only dating Bobby for attention.” 

“It might have started that way, but she seems to really care about him.” 

“How would you know?” 

“Do you not see how much happier Bobby is with her? He’s always talking about stuff she does for him.” 

“Doesn’t mean she really cares about him.” 

“Okay. Whatever. Their relationship is none of our business anyway.” 

Rebecca really didn’t like how they were talking about her in front of her. However, she had nothing to add. Stella was saying everything she would want to say anyway.  

“The two of us need to talk later,” Stella added.  

“Might as well just do it in front of her,” Hayden said, gesturing toward Rebecca. “I’m sure she would want to see the show. She’s going to want all the facts so she can go and blab about us.” 

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “I honestly don’t—” 

“Stella, I love you,” Hayden said. “The two of us have always made so much more sense than Rebecca and I ever did. We actually have fun and know how to—” 

“Okay, enough. I told you we can talk about this later.” 

“Don’t throw this away because of this situation.” 

“If things do end, it’s not just because of this elevator ride from hell.” 

“I have to agree that this is indeed an elevator ride from hell,” Rebecca echoed.  

“Why would they have to end at all?” Hayden demanded. 

“We can talk later.” 

“I want to talk now.” 

Stella was saved by the sound of the elevator doors being pried open.  

Rebecca shot up to her feet eagerly. This might be her chance to run. To finally get to the bar like she’s been wanting all day. And sure enough, her phone was connecting again. 

“Heard you folks needed some help!” a kind man chortled. 

Rebecca smiled politely to the man and ran, leaving the bickering couple behind.  

When she was dating Hayden, it was like she was having to fight for attention constantly. Now though, watching all of these texts from Bobby flood through, she knew she was finally with the right guy.  

She also couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. The last time she had been in an elevator with Hayden, she was in tears. Tears of anger. She had had so many questions and hadn’t had any answers. It had been a very vague conversation, and she had known she would have to continue seeing him due to their families.  

She tried to be respectful of Hayden, so she had avoided going to the track. Now, she could go and support her boyfriend like she wanted. She knew that next time they all had a family vacation, he would be right by her side. Just like he should be.  

As they say, when one door closes, another opens. 

Maybe that applied to elevators, too.  

Rebecca frowned. Bobby wasn’t answering his phone. That wasn’t like him.  

However, she was finally at the bar.  

She tried calling him one more time; and she heard his phone ring. 

Bobby Woods turned around with a giant smile on his face. He slid off the bar stool. “Took you long enough to get off that elevator.” 

Rebecca ran up to him and hugged him. He laughed, trying to pull away from her to look at her face. However, she wouldn’t let go. 

“I told you I was missing you,” Bobby murmured. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised I’m here.” 

She realized then just how lucky she was to have him. She pulled back to kiss him in response. She hoped that in that moment, he felt her gratitude for him.