Oh No, Aliens
Chapter Five
Hadley didn’t want to give Jack her address or wait around until Monday to get out of the city, but as gross as it was, he was probably her best chance at reaching her family. She had practically ripped his laptop out of his hands after he emailed his boss.
“This thing still works?” she exclaimed. “My phone hasn’t worked since Wednesday night when the first strike came. I need to use this for a minute.”
“I-“
“Thanks.” She used to the laptop to get in touch with her parents; her mom almost fainted when she answered the video chat and saw her.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t check in, a lot of the electronics aren’t working,” Hadley said quickly. “But listen, I think I have a way to get out of New York and come to Texas.”
“Oh, thank God,” Jo sobbed as Daniel put an arm around her.
“Are you sure you can get out safely?” he asked, gaze moving over her face like he was checking her for injury.
“Pretty safely, yeah. I found someone who’s willing to help me. They want out of the city too.”
“Who are they?”
“I knew them from back in Fairlee,” Hadley said, a trace of bitterness in her tone. She cleared her throat. “He can get a car.”
“He?” Daniel repeated, eyes narrowing. Hadley sighed.
“Yes, Dad. He. It’s a man. Well, sort of,” she added under her breath. Jack gave her a look that reminded her of Kermit the Frog when something distressed him.
“If he tries anything, Hadley-“
“Dad, I promise that he won’t.”
“Is he there?”
“Dad.”
“I want to talk to him.”
“Daniel,” Jo said, rolling her teary eyes.
“I just want to talk to the boy who has so graciously volunteered to drive our daughter, alone, across several thousand miles.”
Hadley huffed and spun the laptop around so that a startled Jack was staring down a very stern Daniel Parker.
“Uh, hello. Sir. My name is Jack and I promise I will do my best to get your daughter Hadley home to you safely. Sir.”
“See that you do, son, because if Hadley has anything negative to report when she gets here I have a shotgun shell here with your ass’s name on it. Do we have an understanding?”
“Um yes. Yes, sir. We do. Very clear understanding.”
“All right then, Jack.”
Hadley had rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and was silently praying for patience.
“Thank you, Dad, for that,” she muttered. “Listen, I don’t know if I’ll be able to reach you again before I get home, so just please...stay safe.”
“Don’t you worry about us, Haddie bear,” Jo sniffed. “You just get yourself out of there in one piece. Keep your head down, and come home.”
“I promise. I love you guys. Give everyone a kiss from me and tell them I’m on my way.“
“We love you too, Hadley.”
She ended the video chat and reluctantly set the laptop aside. She was wishing right then that she’d never left home.
“So, your dad is a little terrifying,” Jack said. “What is he, like six foot nine?”
“I live at the Green Acres apartment complex, near Lincoln Square,” Hadley said shortly. “Apartment 104. I’ll see you on Monday.”
Hadley began worrying as soon as she returned to her apartment. She didn’t know if she could actually trust him. It didn’t matter that he was more clean cut than he’d been in high school or that his apartment was weirdly full of plants, she still just saw the boy who’d once dropped a rubber rat on her lunch tray because, “I figure that’s what you have for dessert, right?”
Hadley drew in a deep breath and huffed it out sharply. If he decided to bail on her with the car, she’d be stuck here with no hope of getting home. She packed some more clothes and water in her bag, showered, and barely slept all through the weekend. She tossed and turned and didn’t dare venture outside again until Jack knocked on her door Monday morning. She was so anxious by then she nearly jumped out of her skin.
“You actually came,” she said, by way of greeting.
“Well, yeah, I-“
“Let’s go.” Hadley practically ran outside, relieved to see that there really was a car. It was some kind of luxury sedan with heavily tinted windows. She climbed into the backseat and scrunched down on the floor.
“Uh, what are you doing?” Jack asked, eyeing her warily.
“I don’t have anything that allows me out of the city,” she said. “I’m going to hide back here until we’re clear.”
“Oh. Smart.”
“Drive, Jackson.”
He got into the driver’s seat and Hadley hunkered down as far as she could, his cat watching her from where he was perched on the backseat. Her heart pounded as Jack drove, slowing somewhere and showing someone that he had permission to leave. She couldn’t see anything but was too nervous to look, in case she was spotted. They started moving again without incident.
“Are you okay back there?”
“We don’t have to talk, you know. This is a business road trip.”
“Sorry.”
Hadley popped her head up and Jack slowed the car down so she could climb up into the passenger seat.
“Don’t forget your seatbelt,” he said. “Safety first.”
“Are you on drugs?”
“Pardon?”
“You’re acting really weird.”
“I’m just trying to be nice.”
“Yeah, exactly. Which for you is weird.”
“I told you, I had a lot of rage problems but I’m working through it.”
“Sure you are. Because you can buy some plants and magically stop being an asshole.”
“Well no, but the plants have a very calming presence, so that helps-“
“With the rage, uh huh. Whatever you say.” Hadley drummed her fingers nervously on her knee.
“I packed some snacks and stuff, in that little cooler by your feet. You’re welcome to it.”
Hadley continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye as she flipped open the cooler to find some fruit, some sandwiches, and some kind of raspberry tea thing.
“Bottled tea?” she said. “You are definitely not a proper Texan if you’re not making homemade sweet iced tea.”
“I wasn’t originally from Texas.”
Hadley plucked a bag of orange slices out of the cooler and opened it.
“How’d you even end up in New York?” she asked. “When I knew you, you were set to win Most Likely to Go to Prison and Become Some Big Guy’s Prison Wife.”
“I’m pretty sure that that’s not a real yearbook title.”
“If it was you would’ve won it.”
“Okay, ouch, but not unfair. I came here for work. How did you end up here?”
“I got a scholarship to Juilliard,” Hadley muttered, nibbling on an orange slice. “I sing.”
“No shit? I don’t remember you being in the choir or anything.”
“I sang at church, and I will remind you that you didn’t know anything about me.”
“I’m not that kid anymore.”
“Yeah, you’re reformed. Hallelujah.” Hadley finished her orange and tossed the bag back into the cooler. “You drive slower than my grandma,” she complained. “Can’t this thing go faster than fifty-five?”
“I’m trying to obey the speed limits.”
“Figures, you choose an emergency to play the good little vanilla citizen,” Hadley sighed. “When we stop for gas, I’m driving.”
“This thing still works?” she exclaimed. “My phone hasn’t worked since Wednesday night when the first strike came. I need to use this for a minute.”
“I-“
“Thanks.” She used to the laptop to get in touch with her parents; her mom almost fainted when she answered the video chat and saw her.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t check in, a lot of the electronics aren’t working,” Hadley said quickly. “But listen, I think I have a way to get out of New York and come to Texas.”
“Oh, thank God,” Jo sobbed as Daniel put an arm around her.
“Are you sure you can get out safely?” he asked, gaze moving over her face like he was checking her for injury.
“Pretty safely, yeah. I found someone who’s willing to help me. They want out of the city too.”
“Who are they?”
“I knew them from back in Fairlee,” Hadley said, a trace of bitterness in her tone. She cleared her throat. “He can get a car.”
“He?” Daniel repeated, eyes narrowing. Hadley sighed.
“Yes, Dad. He. It’s a man. Well, sort of,” she added under her breath. Jack gave her a look that reminded her of Kermit the Frog when something distressed him.
“If he tries anything, Hadley-“
“Dad, I promise that he won’t.”
“Is he there?”
“Dad.”
“I want to talk to him.”
“Daniel,” Jo said, rolling her teary eyes.
“I just want to talk to the boy who has so graciously volunteered to drive our daughter, alone, across several thousand miles.”
Hadley huffed and spun the laptop around so that a startled Jack was staring down a very stern Daniel Parker.
“Uh, hello. Sir. My name is Jack and I promise I will do my best to get your daughter Hadley home to you safely. Sir.”
“See that you do, son, because if Hadley has anything negative to report when she gets here I have a shotgun shell here with your ass’s name on it. Do we have an understanding?”
“Um yes. Yes, sir. We do. Very clear understanding.”
“All right then, Jack.”
Hadley had rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and was silently praying for patience.
“Thank you, Dad, for that,” she muttered. “Listen, I don’t know if I’ll be able to reach you again before I get home, so just please...stay safe.”
“Don’t you worry about us, Haddie bear,” Jo sniffed. “You just get yourself out of there in one piece. Keep your head down, and come home.”
“I promise. I love you guys. Give everyone a kiss from me and tell them I’m on my way.“
“We love you too, Hadley.”
She ended the video chat and reluctantly set the laptop aside. She was wishing right then that she’d never left home.
“So, your dad is a little terrifying,” Jack said. “What is he, like six foot nine?”
“I live at the Green Acres apartment complex, near Lincoln Square,” Hadley said shortly. “Apartment 104. I’ll see you on Monday.”
Hadley began worrying as soon as she returned to her apartment. She didn’t know if she could actually trust him. It didn’t matter that he was more clean cut than he’d been in high school or that his apartment was weirdly full of plants, she still just saw the boy who’d once dropped a rubber rat on her lunch tray because, “I figure that’s what you have for dessert, right?”
Hadley drew in a deep breath and huffed it out sharply. If he decided to bail on her with the car, she’d be stuck here with no hope of getting home. She packed some more clothes and water in her bag, showered, and barely slept all through the weekend. She tossed and turned and didn’t dare venture outside again until Jack knocked on her door Monday morning. She was so anxious by then she nearly jumped out of her skin.
“You actually came,” she said, by way of greeting.
“Well, yeah, I-“
“Let’s go.” Hadley practically ran outside, relieved to see that there really was a car. It was some kind of luxury sedan with heavily tinted windows. She climbed into the backseat and scrunched down on the floor.
“Uh, what are you doing?” Jack asked, eyeing her warily.
“I don’t have anything that allows me out of the city,” she said. “I’m going to hide back here until we’re clear.”
“Oh. Smart.”
“Drive, Jackson.”
He got into the driver’s seat and Hadley hunkered down as far as she could, his cat watching her from where he was perched on the backseat. Her heart pounded as Jack drove, slowing somewhere and showing someone that he had permission to leave. She couldn’t see anything but was too nervous to look, in case she was spotted. They started moving again without incident.
“Are you okay back there?”
“We don’t have to talk, you know. This is a business road trip.”
“Sorry.”
Hadley popped her head up and Jack slowed the car down so she could climb up into the passenger seat.
“Don’t forget your seatbelt,” he said. “Safety first.”
“Are you on drugs?”
“Pardon?”
“You’re acting really weird.”
“I’m just trying to be nice.”
“Yeah, exactly. Which for you is weird.”
“I told you, I had a lot of rage problems but I’m working through it.”
“Sure you are. Because you can buy some plants and magically stop being an asshole.”
“Well no, but the plants have a very calming presence, so that helps-“
“With the rage, uh huh. Whatever you say.” Hadley drummed her fingers nervously on her knee.
“I packed some snacks and stuff, in that little cooler by your feet. You’re welcome to it.”
Hadley continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye as she flipped open the cooler to find some fruit, some sandwiches, and some kind of raspberry tea thing.
“Bottled tea?” she said. “You are definitely not a proper Texan if you’re not making homemade sweet iced tea.”
“I wasn’t originally from Texas.”
Hadley plucked a bag of orange slices out of the cooler and opened it.
“How’d you even end up in New York?” she asked. “When I knew you, you were set to win Most Likely to Go to Prison and Become Some Big Guy’s Prison Wife.”
“I’m pretty sure that that’s not a real yearbook title.”
“If it was you would’ve won it.”
“Okay, ouch, but not unfair. I came here for work. How did you end up here?”
“I got a scholarship to Juilliard,” Hadley muttered, nibbling on an orange slice. “I sing.”
“No shit? I don’t remember you being in the choir or anything.”
“I sang at church, and I will remind you that you didn’t know anything about me.”
“I’m not that kid anymore.”
“Yeah, you’re reformed. Hallelujah.” Hadley finished her orange and tossed the bag back into the cooler. “You drive slower than my grandma,” she complained. “Can’t this thing go faster than fifty-five?”
“I’m trying to obey the speed limits.”
“Figures, you choose an emergency to play the good little vanilla citizen,” Hadley sighed. “When we stop for gas, I’m driving.”