Packing
"This really was the worst day of school ever, and she didn't even make it through the whole day."
The familiar furniture of her home's living room was helping with her nerves. She held the back of the white leather sofa, trying her hardest to get her heart rate under control. The non-stop sprint from school to her home, followed by the panic from everything catching up to her jacked it up quite a bit.
When she finally got her breathing under control she asked, "Clove. What's going on?" Danica needed to know. They'd already had an argument earlier that day, and now there's another reason to question his trustworthiness? "Why were you waiting for me at school, what the heck did Mrs. Morton turn into, and where are your crutches? I have so many questions, and I know you know what's going on so please just tell me!"
"No time to explain. Where's your dad?" Clove's panic caused Dani to ignore her questions for now. Clove had never seemed remotely scared before, so she knew something was happening and it was very dangerous or very important.
"In the lab, probably. He practically lives in there." She started walking towards the basement. "I'll go upstairs and pack some essentials for you, but you need to hurry!" Clove started up the glass stairs. Looking almost more like trotting than just walking or running.
"Do you need any help finding my room?" She didn't hear a response. "Apparently he doesn't." A little creepy but ok.
When she got to the glass doors of the lab, she could already hear the ACDC on full blast. He usually at least turned it down when she was home, but I guess in the middle of the school day, he wouldn't be expecting her.
"Jarvis, open the door to the lab, and turn down dad's music." She didn't want to deal with remembering the 10 digit code that her dad installed.
"Of course, miss Stark." The voice of her dad's AI was quick to answer and comply with her wishes. Although that is to be expected, since he was programmed to listen to her.
As she ran into the lab, her dad turned his head, hearing the change in the volume, as well as her loud footsteps. "Hey honey, what are you doing home from school, it's a Wednesday. You don't get out until about three?" He finally looked over her small form, and noticing the blood on her white uniform dress shirt, he ran over to her and grabbed her arm. She flinched when he touched the wound and he immediately grabbed her hand instead, while gently rolling up her sleeve. "What happened here?"
He was already leading her to the first aid kit he kept in the lab for emergencies. It was right next to the sink, so he gently washed the cut on her arm before dressing it.
"I'm so sorry dad. Mrs. Morton turned into this awful creepy vampire monster thing, and she tried to eat me, and she scratched my arm, and then I locked her in the boiler room so I could run away and Clove was there and he ran with me and he wasn't even using his crutches and he said we have to go. He said it's really important!" She got it out as fast as she could, but he seemed to understood.
His face went two shades paler and even a little bit green. He started wrapping her arm more quickly. He whispered under his breath, more scared than she'd ever seen him. "Shoot, I thought I'd have at least two more years." Likely hoping she wouldn't hear. More loudly, and to her, he said, "all right. Go get some snacks and extra clothes. I'll get Happy to bring a discreet car. Is Clove still here?"
"Yeah, he's getting my clothes" she was not expecting her dad to react this way. Instead she thought it would be more like 'you're crazy. Go talk to the therapist and go back to school', but he obviously knew something she didn't. "You know what's going on. Please tell me?"
Her dad looked up from his phone and said, "we're going to New York, I don't have time to explain, we can do that in the car, now go!" He had raised his voice with her before, but this time seemed different. Like he was worried that he'd never see her again.
And so, she ran up the stairs and into the kitchen where she started grabbing bags of chips, Oreos, bread, a jar of peanut butter and jam. This is how Clove found her a few minutes later with two large duffle bags presumably full of clothes and toiletries.
She grabbed a bunch of bananas and juice boxes as the final touch while Clove hauled in a large case of water bottles. Clove looked everything over and then grabbed a few apples from the fridge. He really loves them, even more the the vegetarian soba he brought to school regularly.
At this point, her Dad came up the stairs with a large backpack, immediately grabbed the water bottles, and told them "Happy is on his way inside. Both of you, grab something and get in the car."
Right after she and Clove each grabbed a duffel bag, and started the trek to the garage, Happy came running in and grabbed the box with food, following them back to the car.
As soon as they were all in the car, Happy motioned for her to roll down her window, and said, "be safe kid, and good luck." Before she could reply, he gave her dad the keys, let him know that he'd keep everything at the house up and running, and they were officially on the way to New York.