The First Aider

They had been sitting in silence for about ten minutes. There were soft noises clanging below the elevator, presumably the people working at getting in. Taylor's eyes had slowly adjusted to the darkness, and she could just make out the shadows that were caressing Nasir's face so intimately. The frame of his glasses was gleaming slightly, and he paused to push them up, before checking his phone.

"Quarter after." He murmured, his voice soft and delicate. He was wearing dark blue jeans and black running shoes, and over top of the black jacket, he had on a grey toque, with a small beaver stitched on the hem of it.

Taylor tilted her head, her eyes trailed downwards, from his dark eyes, and lingering on his lips. Now that she was here, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with what she had said earlier that week. It had been a joke, but it was still kind of awful of her.

His eyes flicked upwards to look at her. "Will you quit squirming?"

Taylor ducked her gaze away from his face. "Sorry," She hesitated. "For everything."

She could see his eyes widen in the dark and his mouth open slightly to reveal white teeth. He pushed a hand through his hair, nearly knocking off his glasses. It was something, she realized, must be a nervous tic.

"I'm sorry for calling you a bitch. You're really not."

They sat in silence for a moment longer, listening to the clanks of people working, and Taylor ran her hands along her jeans, intent on wiping away the nervous sweat that was accumulating. She could feel her breath getting more shallow and she narrowed her eyes. She wasn't going to have a panic attack in an elevator with someone she didn't like.

She dug her face into her palms, clenching her fingers into her hair. She listened to Nasir as he shuffled forward slightly, and gently grabbed her hands, tugging them away from her face. Tayor kept her eyes downwards, avoiding all attempts at eye contact.

"Hey," His hands were gentle as he ran his thumbs over her knuckles. "They are going to get us out of here, don't worry."

"How come you aren't panicking?" She asked, letting him continue to touch her hands.

He chuckled. "It's a dumb story, but I've been stuck in an elevator before."

Taylor let out a laugh. "Really? Where?"

"Vancouver. I was visiting my grandparents," He smiled at the memory, and he didn't object as she shuffled closer, away from the wall, so their knees were brushing. "I was with my grandmother, and we got stuck in a small one in an office building. We were in there for probably thirty minutes before anyone got us out."

Taylor chuckled. "Maybe it is just your bad luck?"

Nasir laughed, pushing his hair out of his face. "Maybe it is. I wouldn't be surprised. It's probably a good thing I'm not claustrophobic."

Taylor clenched her hands in his, ignoring the way they were much closer than they were before. She could feel his pulse in his wrists. It was steady. She needed a distraction from him.

"Tell me about Nijah." She said. "What's she like?"

Nasir must have figured out that she wanted a distraction because he answered without question. "Nijah is the epitome of an extrovert. She loves being funny and getting people to laugh and smile. It's gotten her in trouble a couple of times."

Taylor recalled the day at the flannel fest and smiled. Nijah had been like a ball of sunshine. "What about Aya?"

He smiled fondly, letting it light up his face, and Taylor had to refrain from smiling with him. "She takes after my dad. Doesn't love being in front of people or talking, but very resilient and likes sports."