The Coffee Shop (Hamilton Lams Modern AU) **IN EDITING**

Chapter 31

Alexander's POV

4 ½ Hours Later

I sighed, trying to tune out Aaron Burr's talking. I honestly didn't even feel like being in class. I would've preferred to be at home, snuggled close to John while watching Legally Blonde or something similar. But, as I'd missed class yesterday, I had to come in today. Plus, Mr. Washington wanted to hear about the trial. "So, anyway, I was thinking that we should-" he was cut off by my phone vibrating. "Hold on, Burr, I gotta take this." I answered my phone. "A-Alex..?" John asked. He sounded upset about something. Well, he was in a bad mood this morning, maybe he had another breakdown? "John? What happened? You sound like you got hurt or something." All I got as an answer was soft crying. "I-I did.. someone c-came in and was ranting a-about how my dad w-was innocent and shouldn't have been sentenced, s-so when I spoke up, h-he recognized me and started screaming at me. He k-kinda beat the stuffing out of me, and n-now I can't m-move my right arm b-because it hurts too m-much.." he stuttered. "Wait, what?! I'll be right over." I heard him mumble an "okay" before hanging up. I got up from my seat and went over to Mr. Washington, ignoring Aaron telling me to sit back down. I explained the situation as quickly as I could before leaving to catch a cab.

~

With my luck, the ten-minute cab ride turned into half an hour because of traffic. I sighed with relief as we finally pulled up in front of the shop, paying the driver before hastily exiting. I darted into the shop, more specifically into the back room, only to find John being comforted by Eliza. He had small cuts and bruises on his face (completely broke my heart, he looked so upset), and Eliza was putting ice on his right arm. "Jackie, are you okay?" I asked him, sitting down next to Eliza. He shook his head. "Everywhere hurts.." he mumbled. "A-and I keep getting flashbacks..." I hugged him close, being careful not to hurt his arm. "Alex, will you please tell John that he needs to actually go to the hospital? From what I could tell, his arm is broken," Eliza explained. "But I'm fine. And I also don't wanna go," he huffed like a little kid. "No, you're not. You've been complaining about how much everything hurts for the past hour. You really need to go to a hospital. You'll get a cast and probably a sling, and then you'll be fine," Eliza told him. "The girl's got a point," I added. "I-.. fine, I'll go. But only if Alex comes with me."

1 ½ Hours Later

John was in the hospital, although he'd be out in about half an hour. I'd stayed with him for a bit before he told me to go stay with the kids (even though James is 16 and can watch them). His arm was actually broken, and he'd need a cast and sling for three weeks to a month. I'd decided to do something productive instead of just sitting at home and watching Mean Girls while thinking about how I let this happen to him. So, I'd taken the kids to get registered at their schools. That had gone well, even though it'd bored me half to sleep. "Alex, can we stop for McDonald's? I'm hungry," Mary-Ellie whined. "On the way back, okay? We're just going to pick Jackie up," I told her. "Okay.." she huffed.

~

Finally. After around two hours, John was sound asleep next to me. He was sitting in the passenger seat, although his head was slumped on to his shoulder. His right arm was in a sling (looked very uncomfortable, 0/10, would not recommend), and he'd barely been able to stay awake when I'd picked him up (I think they drugged him too much). He had bandages on his face where I'd seen bruises before, although I couldn't see anything else, as he was wearing jeans and one of my hoodies. My phone started ringing, interrupting my thoughts. I answered the call, putting it on speaker. "Hey Liza! How's everything? I heard the guys were staying with you." No answer. "Uh, this isn't Eliza," Maria told me. "Oh, sorry Ri! Why're you calling?" I asked. "I'm going out on a date with Liza tonight, the guys are coming with, and Peggy and Angie are going somewhere. We need you and John to watch the kids for us, and we thought it'd be a good idea to introduce his siblings to theirs, so you guys are kinda stuck watching the Schuyler kids. There's five of them: John, Philip, Ren, Corri, and Kitty. Their ages are as follows, and I hope you're writing this down: 17, 12, 8, 5, and 1. I know you guys have kids who are like 16, 11, and 8, right? I'm assuming I'm right. I hope you guys don't mind. I gotta go now, thanks for understanding, Alex!" And she hung up. I groaned, nearly slamming my head into the steering wheel. I have to watch 8 kids, plus make sure none of them hurt John? This is gonna be one long night.