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

Chapter 33

Alexander's POV

2 Hours Later

I sighed as I shut the door to the (huge) room. I'd just finished putting the baby (Kitty, was it?) down for a nap. Only a few more hours of this.. I hope. Jackie had been asleep for the past two hours, which I didn't really mind. Like I said before, I think they drugged him a bit too much. "Alex, I'm hungry," Corri whined. "So am I. You guys want McDonald's?" I asked. "Judging by the uproar of noise, that's a yes." I pulled my phone out and ordered the food, with everyone coming up to me and telling me what they wanted. Okay, just press this button- The doorbell rang. I got up and answered it, only to see Maria and Eliza standing there. Well, Liza was passed out and Maria was holding her up. "What happened to you two? It's only 6," I told her. "She insisted on drinking for some reason. I don't know why she wanted to, but I let her since she's cute," she explained. "Sorry for leaving you with them. I hope they weren't too much to handle." Too much is an understatement. "It's fine. They weren't that much to deal with anyway," I replied. "Okay, great. And is John still asleep like he was earlier? I mean, I'm assuming he was asleep because I called him like five times before I called you," she commented. "Yeah, he's out cold. The kids were making so much noise before I put Aladdin on for them yet he didn't even move. I think they gave him a few too many painkillers." Mari laughed at the joke I'd made for a little before stopping. She must've noticed the fact that I looked worried, because- "Alex, are you okay? You look stressed." Is it that obvious? "Well, that's 'cause I am. I'm worried that John might have a concussion or something other than just a broken arm. And what's worse is that his C-PTSD is probably acting up right now, and when he wakes up he's probably gonna be a mess of emotions. I don't even know how he's able to brush his flashbacks off sometimes. If I try to talk to him about this, he'll just say that he's felt worse and that it's nothing. I just want him to be okay and-" Mari slapped me in the face. "Alex! Control yourself! You're spiraling. He's going to be fine. Also, what's C-PTSD?" she asked. "It's PTSD, except when the traumatic event has been recurring throughout a person's life. Long story short, it's what happens to someone after being abused for a lot of their life," I explained. "Ohhhhhh, okay." She'd put Eliza down next to John (great, someone else who can wake him), and they were honestly kinda cute. No, not in the "aww what a cute couple" way, but in a "awwwwww they're so sweet" kinda way. That was, until, Eliza started shifting and nearly crushed John's already-broken arm. Mari quickly grabbed Eliza and moved her to another room, leaving me to deal with John. He was sobbing, and I didn't know what to say. "Alex.. m-my arm h-hurts..." he stuttered. I sat down next to him and started shushing him. "It's okay. Calm down, you're okay. You want an ice pack?" He just nodded, using his free hand to wipe his face. I got up and grabbed the ice pack from the freezer, ignoring the kids asking when the food was gonna get here. "Okay, here you go Jackie. I'll be right back, okay?" He mumbled an "okay" before watching me get dragged off to another room by the kids. "Kids, you do realize that Mari and Liza are home, right?" They nodded. "So go bother them instead. Henry, Mary-Ellie, we're leaving in a few. Make sure to tell James," I told them before walking out of the playroom I'd been forced into. Henry ran out behind me. "Alex, I wanna talk to you about my thing with Philip," he whispered. "What is it?" I asked. He took a deep breath. "I think he likes me back. I mean, I think so because he's been acting really nice to me and stuff and showing me around and going out of his way to ask me what I wanna do and what I wanna play or if I wanna use one of his things. He's just been so nice and-" I cut him off. "It sounds like he could, but just try not to get your hopes up. He could be acting like that because he wants to make a good first impression, but I can't be sure. Just go back in there and be yourself, okay?" He nodded and smiled, quickly giving me a hug before running back into the playroom. OhmygoshohmygoshIjustdidthat. I went back to sit with John, who looked exhausted. "Hey Jackie, are you okay?" I asked, sitting down next to him and wrapping my arms around him. "Yeah.. I-I'm fine..." he mumbled. "I j-just had another f-flashback, t-that's all.." He broke down, hugging me as best he could and sobbing into my shirt. "I know, I know. It's okay. You're okay. Your dad can't hurt you anymore. And the guy who hurt you today can go jump off the Empire State Building. Don't let these stupid bigots mess with your head, okay?" I told him. "O-okay.." I felt him relax a little bit in my arms.

~

John wasn't crying as much as before, although he'd still burst into tears for a few minutes from time to time. I was on my phone, just scrolling through YouTube and debating over whether or not I should watch another "r/IAmATotalPOS" video with John and have him either rant about how stupid people are or cry about it for five minutes. I think they said earlier that the painkillers would make him emotional, so he's not being a crybaby, he's just a little on edge. "W-when are we gonna go home..?" he asked me with a yawn. I was starting to feel a little drowsy too. "Now, I guess," I replied. "James, Henry, Mary-Ellie! We're going home now!" I called. Henry looked angry, Mary-Ellie looked like she wanted to throw a temper tantrum even though she's 8, and James was texting away on his phone. "You guys got everything?" I asked. They nodded. "Good. Now say goodbye to your friends and let's go."

~

We were (finally) driving home, John half-asleep in the passenger seat while the kids argued in the back. "Guys, there's something I wanna say.." Henry mumbled. "You have the floor, sir," John replied. "I-.... I think I'm bisexual.." he told us. "Wait, what's that mean?" Mary-Ellie asked. "It's when you can like girls and boys," I explained. "I saw it coming," Jackie mumbled. "Well no duh! I told you about my crush on Philip, so it was kinda obvious!" James and Mary-Ellie started to question him about everything that had happened with Philip that night, and it made for an interesting drive home. "Finally, we're here. I've spent all day either at work, which I'm not the fondest of, in a hospital, which I hate, and at Schuyler Mansion, which was awesome since I got to take a two-hour nap. But, I'm glad to be home. Who wants to watch a movie?" And we got into a long argument about which movie to watch on the way up to the apartment (John and I won, we're watching Legally Blonde).