I Know Him: Final Book in the Adopted by Jonathan Groff Trilogy

🌹 Chapter XXIII

"I'll see you later," I whisper as Beth pulls her jacket on. She kisses me, grabbing her car keys. "Have fun."

"I love you," she mumbles. She leaves the apartment, smiling. What she doesn't know is that I'm coming to watch the show tonight. I won a lottery ticket, so I can afford to go for once.

•••

"When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden. Two years later see Alex and his mother bedridden, half-dead," Beth sings. When did she get so good? "Sitting in their own sick, the scent thick."

Jesus, how the fuck did I miss this? Now that I think about it, I haven't heard Beth really sing in forever. No wonder she got the part.

"Boy, ya got me helpless. Oh, look at those eyes! Oh~" I sigh, watching her dance around the stage. Thayne's obviously been a huge help. She kisses the guy playing Hamilton, and a shot of jealously hits me. Nope, I'm being stupid. It's fake.

During intermission, Beth texts me. Ironically.

B: Being on stage is so much fun!!!

V: Good for you.

B: I didn't even mess up the dance!!! Helpless sucks.

V: Really? Sorry.

B: *photo attachment*

I open the picture. It's a mirror selfie of Beth in full costume, with the other Schuylers in the background. She looks amazing.

V: Pretty.

B: Places. I love you.

V: Love you, too.

B: Btw, I'm stage sorting so I'll be late getting home.

B: Stage dooring

"I'm watching it burn~" Beth loudly sings. I'm not crying, I swear. She lights the letters with the lantern, still singing. Her voice cracks in the middle of a lyric, but it just makes her sound great. "I hope that you burn."

Beth leaves the stage and I quickly wipe my eyes.

•••

Beth bows and I cheer loudly. The lights raise and everyone rushes out of the theater. I walk to the stagedoor, standing right by the door. I boredly flip through my Playbill as I wait. Everyone cheers and I look up as someone steps out of the door.

Another person comes out. And another. Then, finally, Beth. She has her jacket on, and she grins widely to the crowd. She starts walking towards me, waving at everyone. She spots me and her face lights up.

"What are you doing here?" she cries. I hand her my Playbill and she laughs, signing it. She leans over the barricade, tightly hugging me.

"Surprise. I'll be waiting at Starbucks," I mutter. She nods and continues down the line. I step away from the crowd, roll up my Playbill, and walk to the Starbucks down the street. I order a black coffee for myself, and a hot chocolate and cookie for Beth.

I sit down with the drinks and snack, waiting for Beth. After fifteen minutes or so, she enters the Starbucks, grinning at me. She quickly walks over, thunking down in the chair across from me.

"Why are you here?" she asks. I shrug. "How'd you get tickets?"

"Lottery. The show happened to be your performance. So, I obviously had to go."

"Thanks," she laughs. I tap my coffee lid, exhaling sharply. "I think I'm doing alright for my first Broadway show."

"You're amazing," I sigh. "And you're making me feel bad."

"Why?"

"I feel like I've missed out on your growth."

"What?"

"Well, for one, your dancing."

"We don't talk about my dancing."

"You've gotten much better." Beth blushes, smiling softly. "I told you the cast would help you."

 "They've been so supportive. Especially Thayne."

"Have you been taking voice lessons?" Beth cocks her head, looking confused.

"Voice lessons? God, no. Like I could afford that. Why do you ask?"

"Your voice sounds... different. Good different, but still different."

"Oh."

"I realized, I haven't heard you sing in a while. A long while."

"Well, for one, you're always getting home ridiculously late. But, I'm also embarrassed to sing when you're around."

"Why?"

"Well, you're so much better than I am. And, I keep hearing you singing in the shower, and you sound, like, ugh... I--"

"You're amazing. I can't even imagine them refusing you for Eliza."

"Thanks," Beth whispers. I grab her hand, taking a drink of my coffee. "You should sing in the shower less and sing for me more."

"Please. I'd much rather listen to you sing."

"And I'd much rather listen to you. So, how about we just sing a duet?" I laugh, almost spitting out my coffee.

"Via? Holy crap!" someone calls. I look at the door, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, Henry," I mutter. He runs over, sitting down next to me. "Henry, this is my girlfriend, Beth. Beth, this is my idiot classmate, Henry."

"Stop calling me an idiot just because I made one stupid calculation error."

"What?" Beth asks.

"I said that three plus three was nine. Your special friend over here thought it was fucking hysterical."

"Because it was fucking hysterical. Would you please go away? I'd like to have some alone time with my girlfriend."

"Well, have fun. See you in class."

"Yep." Henry hops up from his chair, walking over to the counter. "Sorry about him."

"It's fine. I didn't realize that you had friends at school," Beth teases.

"Because they don't!" Henry calls. Beth giggles as I scowl at him.

"Can we go home? I'm hungry and tired."

"I'll race you there," I say.

"Not if I get there first," Beth says. She scrambles out of her chair and towards the door. She pauses, looking back at me. "Via. Come on."

"See you tomorrow, Henry." He waves at me, and I slowly walk towards the door. Beth sighs, opening the door. I walk past her and she jumps on my back.

"Onward, my handsome steed." I scoff, holding her up as I walk down the sidewalk.

"Do you want to drive home by yourself or have me drive both of us and drop you off at work in the morning?"

"I want to go with you. Please?" I start walking towards the lot where I parked, and Beth rests her chin on my shoulder. She lightly kisses my neck, just below my ear.

"Do you mind?"

"Nope. I like admiring your secret freckles. Although, I guess your hair is slightly better." I boost her up again, adjusting my hold on her thighs. "You wanna know my favorite thing about being Eliza?"

"What?"

"My dress fits me! They, like, custom-fitted it for me. And, I'm honestly becoming more comfortable in my body. With your help, of course."

"Alright, get down." Beth sighs and drops down from my back as I walk into the parking garage.