Connections - Lams

Chapter 5

Everyone sat around on a log that Herc had helped move for them. Peggy looked at the tents her and her sisters father had spent extra money on.

"Ok! So, first I wanna just point out, there will be a bad thunderstorm tonight. BUT, due to the special tents Daddy bought, they are strengthened against the rain and strong gusts from the storm. So nobody will have to worry about being blown away." Peggy giggled before tapping her chin. "AH YES! So! Two people per tent and yours truly will be giving the name of the person you're crashing with." She cleared her throat. "Angelica and Eliza. Laf and Herc. Maria and I. Aaaaaaaand..." She grinned widely, causing Laf and Herc to smirk. "Alexander and John Laurens~" She snickered. Lafayette leaned over, smirking as he whispered.

"You put them together on purpose, didn't you?" He asked, making sure she was the only one that could hear him. Peggy giggled and nodded quickly.

"I thought you would never ask." She snickered.

Alex was too busy internally freaking out after hearing there would be a storm, anxiety and pure fear filling him. Nobody else seemed to notice this and just thought Alex was embarrassed by how others were looking at him and John. Peggy looked over to see the sun setting, starting the campfire and grabbing marshmallows. Eliza grabbed the Hershey bars and graham crackers, handing them to Peggy. Lafayette grabbed sticks, passing them around to everyone. Each person took one, putting the marshmallow on it before proceeding to hover it over the fire.

Before long, everyone was enjoying their own s'mores contently. The sun had set by then, it getting later on in the night. Everyone started telling ghost stories which ended with John telling his all time famous tales. Multiple shrieks were heard, mainly from the girls, and once or twice from Alex. Just as he finished, the wind started howling fiercely and the rain started coming down. Everyone shot into their tent, John becoming unable to find Alex. He eventually climbed into his tent, seeing the shaking figure in the thick blanket. John turned on his light, making Alex jump and yelp. He shook more, the screeching wind causing him to curl up in a ball and put his arms on top of his head. He whimpered as it got louder and came down harder. John closed tht tent, crawling over to Alex.

"Hey hey hey.... It's alright, I'm here Alex..." He said in a hushed voice, trying not to scare Alex more than he already was. "What's wrong?" John asked with concern.

Alex slowly looked up, his small body shaking each time the thunder boomed. John noticed this, moving closer to Alex and putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Alex snatched onto John's arm, holding it for his dear life as he let out a small whimper like sound. John felt his heart break, not used to seeing Alex like this. He removed his arm from Alex's grip, causing the smaller figure to yelp. John gently shushed him, slowly wrapping an arm around him. He pulled his other arm around Alex and pulled him closer. He gently ran a hand through his hair, shushing him in a gentle tone. Alex nestled into John's chest, feeling safe.

"Alex, are you afraid of storms..?" John asked, his curiosity growing. Alex looked up at him, a look of fear on his face as he sadly nodded. "Do you wanna tell me why? It's ok if not..." He said in a caring tone. Alex sighed, tears in his eyes.

"I may as well... I'm your roommate so you might see this a lot from me.... So I will just tell... Just.... Please don't tell the others....please?" Alex asked with pleading eyes. John smiled softly and nodded.

"I promise I won't. Now, what's going on?" John replied, rubbing Alex's back gently, comforting him.

"It started when I used to live in Nevis. It's located in the Caribbean. We weren't very wealthy and daily living was a constant struggle for us. My older brother hated me and always beat on me every chance he got.... It was miserable... My father left me when I was 10, leaving my mom and I to suffer. My brother up and left one day, never to be seen or heard from again. My mother and I grew very ill one day and I survived, but my mother died right beside me... I went to live with my cousin to which he committed suicide right before my eyes. A terrible hurricane then hit, the waters unbelievable and the wind horrifyingly strong. I nearly drowned because I didn't know how to swim. But afterwards, I got a small job, earning some money. I started teaching myself and reading and writing a lot more. I wrote my views, my opinions. I wrote my way out of hell. And people started noticing this, saving up money to send me to New York City. While they were doing this, I had gotten a letter from King's College informing me that it would be paid for. When the money was saved up, I was sent overseas to American where I came to NYC and attended college... And then here I am now... I've seen doctors to which they tell me I have quite a few things... Severe social anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, and Carpal Tunnel. I have medication for two of those four things, and I have this brace for the Carpal Tunnel as you can see.... And that's pretty much my story..." Alex sighed, slowly sinking down.