Just Following Orders

21 - Nervous

  ఌ𝙰𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚢𝚊𝚑ఌ

I should get a car. Maybe then I wouldn't be stranded like this. Like and idiot.

I don't even know what I did.

Well, I do know what I did. I fell asleep on the friggen bus. Which is extremely dangerous—I do not recommend doing that.

I'm not entirely sure where I am to be completely honest. I got woken up by the bus driver and I got kicked off the bus.

This is very dangerous..

At least if I get murdered, Jerry will be taken care of. Mom told me she'd take Jerry if I ever needed her to.

I take my phone out, checking the time. It's already ten, almost eleven. Mom goes to bed at seven, and practically forces Dad to either sleep or power down for the night. Noah left for California a few days ago.

Which leaves...

Ohh, frick you, universe.

It's like I'm in a really bad story that has extremely predictable tropes.

I shake my head at myself as I scroll through my contacts, staring at his. I feel like it's kind of bad that I'm calling him just because I need him, but that's what he told me to do, right? He told me to call him when I needed him.

All I can do is stand here and listen to it ring and pray he isn't asleep yet. I hug myself and squeeze my eyes shut, terrified.

"Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up,"

I repeat it back to myself like it's actually doing something, which I doubt I am. I heard this thing about manifesting things or whatever it's called, maybe I could do that.

"If you're asleep right now you're a loser." I threaten. "Because you said you'd be there." I quickly add. He specifically said he would and if he doesn't answer, then he lied.

Yeah, this isn't doing anything. It's just making me look like a crazy person mumbling to myself.

My heart races when the ringing stops. I prepare myself to hear his voicemail.

"Aaliyah?"

His voice is deep and quiet. I definitely woke him up. I cringe, feeling bad. "Hey..." I quietly greet.

"It's eleven," He mumbles, clearly still half asleep. "Are you okay?"

"Umm.." I glance around. "Yeah?"

"You don't sound sure." Alex points out. "What's wrong?" He asks, there's quiet shuffling in the background which makes me feel a little more worse about this. He's probably really comfortable in bed right now.

"What isn't wrong?" I sigh. I shake that off, not wanting to waste his time more than I already am. "I'm sorry." I apologize beforehand. "I'm kind of in a pickle and I need your help." I mumble, hopping he doesn't just hang up on me after telling me to go screw myself.

"What do you need help with at eleven at night, Aaliyah?" He doesn't sound angry. He actually sounds worried which throws me off a little.

It's not like I want him to be angry with me, I don't. But I was expecting it. It's confusing to me that he isn't yelling at me right now.

I take a deep breath, preparing to explain my whole story to poor, half asleep, Alex. "Um..okay, so, I'm kind of in the middle of nowhere. Well, I guess it's not nowhere because there are people here, but it's not a lot of people and I don't really know where it is so it's close enough to nowhere." I rush my explanation a little. I don't even know what I'm saying.