Hamilton Spy AU

The Funeral

POV Tae
I understood what was going on today. Almost. Mrs. Washington’s daughter passed away. But, she wasn’t Mr. Washington’s daughter. She had a seizure. Today was the funeral, and things were hitting me really hard. John was the only one who understood this, seeing as he witnessed the same things I did. I remember when Mom died, and I could almost feel how Mrs. Washington felt, losing a child. However, we are two different situations with the same outcome. When Mom died, I lost the one I looked up to. The one who promised she’d be there every step of the way, the one who said she’d love me forever. But she died. Mrs. Washington, she lost the one who she promised similar things to.
    “Tae come on, snap out of it,” John waved in front of my face. I shook my head.
    “I was just thinking about Mom,” I said. He pulled me into a hug.
    “It’s okay. I’m here for you, alright? Let’s just be strong for Mrs. Washington today, and we can focus on that instead,” John comforted, and I was glad for that. I nodded and drank the rest of my coffee, then cleaned up the kitchen while everyone else finished getting ready. Aunt Natasha wore a form-fitting black dress, and Eliza wore a knee length black skirt. I wore black jeans and a red and black top with lace on the shoulders. Peggy and Angelica wore black jeans with yellow and ruby red shirts, in hopes of brightening up the place a bit. The guys wore black or blue suits.
    The drive to the funeral was quiet. The Washington’s were already there, way early, but we still wanted to be early. It was a small gathering, Patsy’s friends from school and their family. There were many hugs, many tears, and many fake smiles. Soon, the ceremony was over. The flowers placed on Patsy’s grave were the same ones they put on Mom’s grave. I imagined Mom greeting Patsy on the other side, them watching us together. I would have liked to know Patsy. She was a year older than me.
    That evening, we all went out to dinner at Patsy’s favorite restaurant. It was a quiet dinner, everyone trying to deal with the loss. The waiter was kind enough to give us a booth in the back, away from everyone else. I kept getting shut down when trying to start a conversation, so I just quit and kept glaring at everyone. The rest of the night was quiet, surprise surprise, but I just curled up on my bunk and scrolled through random stuff on the internet.
    The next morning, almost everyone was pretty normal. Laf’s sinus infection had gotten worse, and we had to force him to take his medicine. Alex was getting pretty good at the crutches, and scared Eliza when he’d do something dangerous. Everyone (except Laf and Alex) had work so John and I took care of the boys. They just stayed in their rooms, pouting and watching TV because they couldn’t do much. I spent a lot of the afternoon cleaning and doing other little things around the apartment, and then sat down to read. I had been working my way through The Diary of Anne Frank, and it was very interesting. I enjoyed seeing a teenage girl’s point of view on World War II.
    I decided to bake some stuff for the rest of the group, and John helped me in the kitchen. We baked a lot of stuff, and then we had a big dinner. Not much happened until Alex decided to yet again, be stupid.
    “Alexander, stop that,” Eliza commanded. Alex was balancing on his broken ankle without any crutches. Then he fell.
    “She told you~” Adrienne sang. Alex tried to get up, but gasped in pain. His ankle had fractured again.
    “Come on, we need to go to the hospital,” Eliza said. Alex shook his head no, but still couldn’t get up. He groaned when Clint and John helped him up, and Angelica and Peggy ushered everyone out the door. Aunt Natasha sent me to go tell Mr. Washington that they were headed to the hospital. I ran to their room and knocked on the door. Mr. Washington groggily opened it.
    “Hey, what’s up-” he asked, before I cut him off.
    “Alex is at the hospital,” I blurted. His eyes shot open and he was suddenly very alert, grabbing shoes and a coat. Luckily Mrs. Washington was asleep, so he didn’t have to explain. He almost was speeding when he drove us to the hospital and then we met Aunt Nat in the waiting room.
    “Which room,” Mr. Washington demanded. Aunt Natasha just walked us there instead of saying anything. They had Alex on steroids and he was asleep, with Eliza next to him. Everyone else was scattered about the room, asleep or cuddling. Aunt Natasha went to sit down with Clint, who was asleep under a thin sheet. I sat down with Peggy, who was still awake scrolling through her phone while Mr. Washington pulled up a chair next to Alex’s hospital bed.
    “How bad is it?” I asked Peggy. John was asleep a few inches away, sharing Peggy’s blanket.
    “Well, Alex’s bone is resplit, but not all the way, apparently, he’ll have surgery in a bit to remove a chip of bone that cracked. It’s wedged between the split, which is causing the bone not to be able to heal properly. But it will be a small, quick surgery and if he’s careful, he’ll be on his feet soon enough,” she explained quietly.
    “You know, I can’t believe you’re three years older than me. You and John would make an adorable couple,” I commented, trying to have a conversation. She blushed.
    “When do you turn 17?” she asked, changing the subject.
    “Actually now that I think about it, in about 2-3 weeks. But back to you and John… how well are y’all getting along?” I nudged her shoulder, and she turned cherry red again.
    “I mean… we’re friends, I guess. It is nice to have someone actually my age,” she gave a half smile and bit her lip. I thought about John for a second before saying something.
    “Look, I’m totally for you guys and fine with that, and John would kill me for saying this, but just be careful. John and I… have a lot of baggage. It’s been really hard, so unless he initiates the conversation, I wouldn’t talk about his childhood. It was really rough for him,” I warned, and her face turned sympathetic.
    “I’m so sorry, and thanks. I’ll be sure to avoid that,” Peggy smiled again, and we spent the rest of the night chatting and looking at Pinterest.
    The next morning, around four, Mr. Washington went back to work so Mrs. Washington didn’t worry, but he didn’t want to leave Alex. We promised he’d be fine, so reluctantly left. Alex’s surgery was at 5:30, which was about an hour from now. Adrienne and Lafayette went to the park because he was super stressed. Peggy, John, and I went to get breakfast because Peggy made me tag along, even though I wanted them to have some alone time. Angelica stayed behind with Eliza while Alex went to surgery.
    “Well, the surgery was successful!” the nurse said, smiling. We all let out a breath of relief. Alex walked up with a goofy smile on his face.
    “Hey, look! It’s my friends- and that’s my wife!” Alex said and Eliza looked at him oddly.
    “He’s still a little silly from the anesthesia,” the nurse explained. We all nodded in understanding.
“Come on Alex, we’re going home,” Eliza said. We walked out to the cars and I rode with Eliza and Alex. He fell asleep and was startled when Eliza woke him. John helped him walk to his room, and it was now around 8:00 in the morning. Everyone went to sleep, except for Peggy and I, who had Starbucks’ Ventis to keep us awake. John decided to join us, making a pot of coffee. I smiled at Peggy slyly and made an excuse to go to my room. She stuttered while John shrugged his shoulders tiredly.
Eventually, after everyone’s naps, they went to work or did stuff around the city. Peggy, John, and I stayed home. It was around 9:00 before everyone was back. According to Peggy, they watched a movie. I told her to get off her phone and make a move, but she was shy and stubborn. So I texted John. Mr. Washington had gotten us phones so we could keep in contact.
Tae: How’s the movie?
John: Good. Peggy seems more interested in her phone tho…
    Tae: Pls cuddle with her. She deserves cuddles, and she feels awkward. Pls do something because she’s too stubborn to do anything. 
John: Wdym?
Tae: I mean grab a blanket and cuddle as friends. Friends do that. It’s cold out there and she’s shy. Just make her feel comfy.
John: Okay. But if she gets mad I’m blaming you.
Tae: Have fun.
With that, I returned to scrolling through Pinterest, happy with my work.

A/N: Um....so I owe an apology to everyone invested in this book. Which is maybe two people. But still. Between school and my declining mental health, updating wasn't a huge priority. I'll try to finish this book out for y'all.