Never Say Forever (LAMS READERS CHOICE)

Chapter Nine

Option Two: Have him sleep on the couch.

John's POV

"Hold on, you're telling me that Alexander.. Survived?" Lafayette asks, sitting across from me with wide eyes.

I nod slowly. "He did."

"And he's been what, sneaking around town this whole time? Watching all of us grieve over him?"

"Sort of."

"Well, why? Why would he do that to us? To his wife and kids?"

I shrug. I wasn't sure either. He never really told me the reason, so I was forced to move on, not knowing what really was going on in his mind. I look up at Laf and his expression softens.

"You're hurting still, I can see it." He mentions.

"Well, I shouldn't be, right? He's back, I should be happy he's alive. His kids were." I say. I still remember little Angelica calling me on her mother's phone, all excited that her dad was back.

"But when was the last time you saw him?" Laf asks.

"When I drove him to Elizabeth's house." I mumble quietly.

"John, that was almost two weeks ago." He sighs. "You don't feel like he's truly back, do you."

I shake my head. "How could I? He's gone with Elizabeth, he's far too busy with his own life to even talk to me. Elizabeth won't talk to me either, she's probably mad at me for keeping his survival a secret from her. I'm just.. I don't know what else there is to do."

"You go to their house. You walk up and you apologize to Mrs. Schuyler-Hamilton, and talk to Alexander and figure out what the hell is going on. He owes you that."

"I don't know, Laf.. He clearly doesn't want to talk to me."

"If that were the case, he wouldn't have come back to you in the first place." He pauses to think before looking back at me. "That day you went back to work and were on the phone with me.. You said there was a glass shatter in your home and then the line went quiet.. Was that when you first discovered him?"

I nod again, staring at the table.

I hear him scoff/chuckle, and I frown a bit more. "How ironic. I was ready to go to your house if you didn't say anything. Then I would have seen Alexander earlier."

"I almost wish you had." I chuckle gently and shake my head. "Then I wouldn't have thought I was going crazy."

Laf frowns and shakes his head at me. "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."

"Don't be, it's my fault. I could have just told someone, and then I wouldn't have to go through it alone." I chuckle softly, shaking my head. "I almost told you a couple times, but I couldn't bring myself to. Not sure why, though."

"Because you wanted to keep his secret." Lafayette claims. I give him a confused look and he sighs. "You love him, do you not?"

I feel my cheeks heat up and I go back to staring at the table. "Alexander is a very close friend of mine, but I would say the love does not extend past platonic purposes."

I look up just enough to see the French man across from me rolling his eyes. "Yeah, whatever, John. You can't fool me. Anyways, you love him so you didn't want to hurt him or have him be mad at you, so you kept his secret. You offered your place for him."

"Well, yeah.." I sigh, giving up. It would be nonsense to lie to Lafayette, the man could detect a lie from anyone around him. "Look, it doesn't matter anyway. He loves Elizabeth, he went back to her in the end."

"Laurens, I know you do not think this is the end." He says, seeming shocked. "You of all people should know the end never really means the end. There's still hope, you know."

"Is there? He's going to choose her and his kids over me every single time, he always does."

"What about when he came back the first time? Did he choose Elizabeth and his kids over you when deciding who to come back to?"

I pause and think about it a moment. He did have a point. But Alex just left after that anyway, so it didn't really count. Before I could say anything, however, the man himself walked in with his wife hooked on his arm. I frown and hide my face.

"What's wrong, you look like you just saw.." Laf's voice trails off and I hear him sigh. "Oh, I see."

"Don't look at them, I don't want them coming over here-"

"Laurens, Lafayette!"

I groan quietly and look up to see Alex walking towards us, his wife not looking very happy to see us - well, me anyway. Lafayette nods at him and stands up.

"So the rumors are true, Alexander Hamilton really did escape death." He pulls the shorter man into a hug as I look away, avoiding the way Elizabeth was looking at me. I know hiding it from her was terrible, but Laf was right, I didn't want Alex to be upset with me.

"Well, you know me, I'm a survivor." Alex tells him, smiling gently. He looks over at me and then at the table. "Do you mind if we join you for a little bit?"

"Oh, I don't-"

"Of course not! Sit down, we have lots of catching up to do I imagine." Laf interrupts, earning him a subtle glare from me.

Alex smiles and sits down next to me, Elizabeth sitting next to Laf. I stare down at my lap for most of the conversation, not really listening to them. I was more worried about the people who just joined my table.

Elizabeth was my go-to person after Alex "died." We comorted each other, understood each other's pain, and basically just helped each other get through the tough times. I can't even imagine how she felt after learning I knew he wasn't dead. I wonder if he told her they were once in the same house, as well.

I then turn my thoughts towards Alex. How could he just act so chill about this whole thing? Everyone thinks he died, and he just sits down next to me, talking to Lafayette like we all saw him yesterday. It drove me insane.

As they continue talking, Alex pokes the side of my leg. I raise an eyebrow and look at his hand, seeing him holding a thumbs up. I look up at him and he glances at me, seeming to ask if I was okay. I give him a look and he just frowns and goes back to the conversation.

I sigh and look back down at my lap, waiting for them to finish their conversation. Near the end of it, I hear my name being called.

"John, can we step outside and talk a moment, please?"

Who says it?

Option One: Eliza
Option Two: Alex

Place your votes here →→  

1150 Words