@ofxbella Continued from here.
While he’d been surprised when the elevator had come, Talia had been reacting openly enough for the both of them, so he’d simply waited and watched her until she seemed a bit calmer. He’d actually been stuck in this elevator before, and last time (a few years ago), the technician had told him that there was a faulty... something that caused the elevator to get stuck on the chords every so often. It apparently wasn’t common or dangerous, but he remembered they did really need the technician to fix it - the receptionist would not be able to help them.
He decided to keep that information to himself, for now. As she seemed to calm down, he watched her while a mischievous glint betrayed her otherwise solemn face, and even smiled in response - though he furrowed his brows in confusion as he tried to understand what exactly her plan was. His smile fell flat, his heart skipped a beat, and he had to try his very best to keep his face as neutral as he could.
Ever since his release from the Ostroff, he’d had plenty of practice being around alcohol without actually drinking. It was impossible to attend a social event without it. It had been difficult, at first, but over time Eric had managed to feel comfortable in those settings (save for the occasional longing look). This, however, was different. He hadn’t been around drugs in years. He couldn’t be. He didn’t want to be.
“Oh, I actually-” he started, though by that time she was already smoking. Fixating his gaze straight ahead, he tried not to panic. Because he’d been keeping away from drugs for so long, he didn’t trust himself around them. He had no intention of taking anything, but he’d heard it countless times at the Ostroff - being around drugs just paved a path to do drugs.
“Right, thanks,” he eventually said, still not looking at her. He could practically feel his sobriety chip burning a hole in his pocket. “We might be in here a while though, I think they need to call a technician.” His jaw was clenched and his whole body tense while he spoke, but he could only hope that Talia was too invested in her .. activity, to notice.
