The elevator rumbles around you as you cling to the back wall's railing. The metallic walls reflects the nothingness around you, smudged and misshapen. The light in here is brighter than normal. Your stomach twists, slithering from the beginnings of motion sickness as you are being shuttled along your way. 

The floor sign refuses to count up from above the elevator doors. You need to go to the 5th floor, yet you wait patiently for the sign to change from the lobby. It's been a while now- you're going to be late. The momentum of the elevator continues to rumble in an unknown direction. Your stomach coils in on itself. You close your eyes and sigh.

The elevator pleasantly chimes. The elevator becomes still, shuddering to a stop. You look up towards the sign above. The sign is blank. The elevator chimes again, and the door opens. The lobby opens in view, and your brother shuffles in. He's not paying much attention, as usual. The doors close behind him. The elevator begins its journey again, and you reach out for your brother. When he sees you, his face is filled with joy.

He has cold hands. He has cold arms. They wrap around you and give you the most loving embrace you have felt in years. He holds you as though he is trying to press his heart into your chest. You hold him the same way.

"How long are you staying?" There are words crawling up your throat, begging for freedom. You sharply inhale in hopes they are driven back. If you ask too many, he'll become overwhelmed.

Your brother does not answer. He stands next to you, curling an arm around your own. You latch onto him, locking arms so your elbows are hooked around each other. Your brother lays his head on your shoulder for a moment. He lets out a tired sigh. His eyes slowly close, and he looks peaceful.

You glance at the wall to the side of the elevator. It's a sight you've seen many times but never often enough. The colors merge and shapes bend, but its the two of you. Your funhouse reflections are melded together, just as your real bodies are. You glance down at his arm as he moves his hand into his pocket to check his phone. His arm still feels cold. His fingernails haven't been cut in a while. His phone needs to be charged.

"Whatcha looking at, bub?" It's casual. He shouldn't feel pressured to answer this. Your brother doesn't answer you, though it's not on purpose. This is how he always is. You watch as he thumbs through the different apps on his phone. He doesn't open any of them. He swipes across pages of squares and squares.

You sigh and cling to his arm tighter. It must be too tight because your brother breaks free from your arm, opting to stand next to you. He's become immersed in his phone. You're not quite sure what he's doing on it anymore. It's all unfamiliar screens. You lean back onto the back bar of the elevator to feel the machinery's quaking against your spine. This too ends.

The sign at the top of the elevator doors flickers on, showing that the elevator has stopped at the lobby. The elevator must be broken after all this time. You take a step forward, putting a guiding hand around his arm to urge him forward. Your brother refuses to budge.

"It's time to go," you say, stopping in place. Your brother looks up from his phone and shakes his head. He looks tired.

"C'mon, we're going to be late." You try again, taking a step forward. You brace your arm against the elevator doors to keep them from closing the two of you inside. He makes no movements forward, instead settling against the back bar. You bob your head towards the lobby gently, trying to get him to sense the urgency. Your brother doesn't move.

"Please, please, we're going to be late." Your throat is dry, and words are raging war in order to be said next. You step over the elevator's threshold, arm still braced against the doors. The machinery begins to fight against you. It's a losing battle. The doors are much stronger than you, and your pleads messily spill out of your mouth. Your brother begins to say something, but your arm instincitvely flinches back when the doors slam shut.

You watch helplessly as the sign counts up slowly as gears hum behind the closed doors. He's going up to the 5th floor.

You realized you hadn't learned from your mistakes when the last petal fell.