The Reynolds Pamphlet

Phillip

This takes place a few weeks after the last chapter. (2 months after the pamphlet was published.)

Angelica's POV
Phillip's coming home today! I missed him so much. James and I were exhausted. From taking care of John and Will. Not to mention Alex was still an emotional wreck. Hopefully Phillip can help with that.

I went outside to wait. James was playing with John and William was upstairs. Alex was on the couch.

I saw a carriage pull up and Phillip stepped out.

"Phillip!" I squealed, running towards him.

He opened his arms and I flew into them, hugging my brother tightly.

"I missed you so much!" I told him.

He's not just my brother. He's my best friend.

"I missed you too." He said, pulling out of the hug, but he kept his arms around me. "How have you been?"

Suddenly every bit of  pain and sadness I'd been holding back for the last 2 months hit me all at once. I broke down in his arms, sobbing into his chest as he pulled me closer.

"It's b-been so h-hard. I t-tried to stay s-strong for o-our siblings b-but I c-can't! It's so h-hard to h-hide it!" I said through sobs.

He held me tighter.

"Shhh." He hushed, stroking my hair. "It's ok, you don't have to hide it from me."

Eventually I calmed down enough to stop crying.

"Are you feeling better now?"

I nodded.

"Good." He said kissing my forehead. "I don't like seeing you cry. You're my best friend, not just my sister."

We went inside. After greeting James and John I went upstairs to get William. I came back downstairs with him in my arms. Phillip's eyes lit up at the sight of him. I passed Will to him and Phillip smiled, holding his baby brother for the first time. Eventually James took William to the den so he and John could play with him.

"Where's Alex?" Phillip asked.

Phillip's POV
Angie sighed and brought me to the living room. My heart broke at the sight in front of me.

Alex was on the couch, curled up in a ball and lying on his side. His hair was extremely messy. He was staring off into space and had a broken look on his face. He looked like he'd been crying non-stop for 2 months straight - which, I assumed, he had been. He also looked very thin and frail, not to mention weak.

"Alex." I gasped worriedly, rushing over to my brother.
"He cries all day, everyday." Angie said sadly. "The only time he gets up is to go to his room at bedtime. The last time he spoke was a month ago, when aunt Y/N came over. She and uncle Laf have been taking care of mama"

I felt my eyes well up with tears.

"Alex? Do you hear me?" I asked him gently.
"P-Phillip?" He stuttered.
"Yes. Yes Alex I'm right here." I replied, trying not to burst into tears.
"H-home?"

I started crying when it became clear that Alex had lost all capability of speaking in full sentences, only being able to say one word at a time.

"Yes Alex I'm home." I assured him, stroking his hair.

He yawned.

"Do you wanna go to sleep?" I asked, wiping my tears.

He nodded. I picked him up, gasping when I felt how light he was. I've held books heavier than he was.

After carrying him upstairs to his room, I tucked him into his bed giving him a kiss on the forehead, then softly closed the door and made my way downstairs.

"Phil? Are you ok?" Angie asked me, curling up next to me as I sat on the couch.
"I guess so. I don't know what I expected his reaction to be but it definitely wasn't that."
"I know." She sighed.

And with that, we both closed our eyes holding each other tightly, and tried to get some sleep.