(A/N): Sorry for being the world's worst updater! I was grounded, and I feel horrible! I hope you like this chapter, though! I should have a new one up by next week! xo
Chapter Seven
It was late Friday night. I was home alone, working on homework that I had yet to catch up on from the previous week. My parents were out to grab some groceries.
While I was writing the answer to number 6 on my Geometry homework, my stomach growled. I want cookies, I thought. Unfortunately, I had already gotten a text from Dad saying that they were done with shopping and were about to drive home. I stared at the clock. They sent that text an hour ago! The drive shouldn't be that long.
My normal phone—the one not made by Tony—rang. The number of the caller wasn't saved in my contacts, and the number didn't look familiar. I hesitantly picked up. "Hello?"
"Beth Lomen? Is that you?" the voice asked. "This is Amy Oliver." Thankfully, I knew an Amy Oliver. She lived across the street from me.
"Yeah, this is Beth," I said.
"I have some bad news for you, dear," she said. My heart started racing.
"Yeah?" I asked, voice shaking. What was happening?
"Your parents got in a car crash on Main Street."
I gasped, taking it in. What? "Are they...?" I started, my voice becoming weak.
"They're alive, yes, but severely injured. I saw it with my own eyes while I was going on a jog. There are a couple ambulances picking them up right now."
Tears fell on my homework. I didn't even realize I had been crying. I tried to wipe them away. "Okay," I said. "Um, thanks for telling me, Amy."
"Not a problem, dear. Do you need me to call any emergency contacts? A relative? Someone needs to be watching you while your parents are in the hospital."
I sighed. My work phone started ringing. "I'll call you back in a couple minutes. Someone's calling on the other line," I half-lied.
"Alright," she said. "You take care."
I ended the current call and picked up my work phone. It was another stupid video calls. Great. They would probably see me crying. "Hey," I said, attempting to smile.
Tony, Natasha, Steve, and Thor were there. I didn't know the time difference, but I assumed the other two were working. "Hi, Elizabeth," Steve said.
"Fury wanted us to remind you to pack for work tomorrow," Tony said.
I sniffed and wiped a tear, swearing in my mind for showing that I had been crying. "I'm not really in the mood for work," I said. "I'm sorry."
"What is wrong, Miss Elizabeth?" Thor boomed, concern apparent on his face. Actually, they all looked concerned. Even Natasha.
"Was it Madison?" Tony asked. "Sorry."
I laughed a bit, ironically enough. "No, it's not her. The worst she did as a result from the prank was flip me off."
"Then what's wrong?" Natasha asked.
I took a deep breath. "My parents got in a car crash tonight. I haven't seen them since before the accident, but apparently their at the hospital." It sounded strange to say it out loud.
"BRUCE!" one of them called. I didn't see who. "CLINT!"
In a couple minutes, they appeared in the hologram as well. I watched as they were told the story by Steve.
"Guys, it's fine," I lied. "Really. I'm fine."
"What time is it there?" Tony asked.
I furrowed my brows. "Around eleven... why?"
"We'll be there in an hour."
I rolled my eyes. "It takes longer than an hour to get to Oregon from New York," I reminded him.
"Not with Tony's crazy technology," Bruce replied.
I laughed through my tears. "I don't work until tomorrow," I said. The original plan had been for me to be retrieved today, but Fury had contacted yesterday and decided to pick me up on Saturday.
"Too bad," Tony said. "You're getting a normal weekend with us. Don't bother packing anything, you aren't working. Hold out for an hour, Junior."
With that, they hung up. I couldn't help but laugh. Maybe work was what I needed. Or, as Tony had said, not work. The Avengers knew how to cheer me up.
I called Amy back, explaining that I had someone who would be watching me for the weekend, and then let myself cry. My parents were in the hospital—in my opinion, I had a right to sob.
oooooooooooo
HONK HONK! I raced to the front door and looked out the window. A strange-looking red vehicle was in my driveway. Clint was in the drivers seat, honking the horn. The others were in front of it. Thor was waving frantically, grinning like mad, and the others had totally goofy but somehow sympathetic smiles. I walked through the door, remembering to lock it. "Hey," I said, my tears drying. I laughed. "You guys are insane."
"You were upset, and we didn't want you upset," Natasha said. Even she had been smiling, despite her usual indifferent expression that her and Clint always seemed to share. "C'mon. We have tons of deserts back at the tower."
I walked into the vehicle. I still wasn't sure whether it was a car or not. "Move over, Hawk," Tony said. "I'm piloting."
Piloting? I was shocked. In a few seconds flat, we were in the air.
I sat in the very back row in between Natasha and Steve. Bruce and Thor were in the row ahead, and Tony and Clint were in the front. "Thanks, guys," I said.
"Don't mention it!" Tony called. I rolled my eyes.
"You're like a little sister to us. We didn't want you to be sad about this," Steve explained. "And you clearly are sad, so it was our mission to make you happy."
I laughed. "Your mission? That sounds so dramatic."
"It is dramatic," Clint said. "Your parents are in the hospital."
With that reminder, my throat tightened. Tears started brimming on the bottoms of my eyes.
"Wrong thing to say, Clint." Natasha glared at him. It was the first time I had seen her express anger towards anyone other than Tony, and even with Tony, it wasn't that much. And angry at Clint? He seemed like her best friend.
"Sorry," he muttered, and I could tell it was sincere.
"It's fine," I said. I sniffed and blinked away the tears.
"So, do you like chocolate ice cream?" Bruce asked.
I laughed. "Is that even a question? It's my favorite flavor!"
"What are your opinions on the morsels they call 'chocolate chips'?" Thor asked.
I laughed again, this time more at Thor's Asgard-speak. "Love them," I replied.
They continued to ask all sorts of dessert questions for the way to the tower, a couple of them totally ridiculous. I couldn't stop grinning, despite the current incident.
