Chapter 14
"John!" Peggy shrieked, tackling him into a hug. "I was so worried you asshole!"
"John!" Martha ran up to them. "John, where is he? Where is my son?!"
"He-he should be coming soon. I-I left with the car and he told me he was right behind me," John stuttered out.
"And you just left him?" George asked. "You left him in the rain, during a hurricane, knowing he has issues with this weather?! Not to mention the hurricane! He could die, John!"
"I-I'm sorry he to-told me to leave..."
"Y-" Martha put a hand on George's shoulder, his response dying with his anger. "Sorry, I'm just...worried."
-
Each scream tore a hole in his chest. Each scream reminded him of that day. So many people died. That can't happen again.
"No, no, no," Alex panicked as his mind screamed at him. Find them! Save them!
After running around the block, he heard the source of the screams. They were only small children attempting to battle the flood and strong winds.
He ran as best as he could with the water levels rising. The children waved their arms towards him. He could see the relief on their faces as he picked them up and dropped them on the sidewalk. The sidewalk was just high enough for them to run on and not be drowned by the water. The kids ran off together, hopefully somewhere safe.
He started making his way towards the hotel as fast as he could. He knew Martha would be worried.
The winds and flood grew stronger by the minute. His limbs grew tired of fighting nature's proud stance. The wind blinded him and to be honest, he was lost. He managed to find an evacuated building to rest for a while.
The building looked stable enough. Maybe the windows would break open, but it's okay, he could just hide out in a corner.
The moment he sat on the floor, Alexander felt like jelly. He was cold and exhausted. He wanted to keep his eyes open. He wanted to keep moving. This was just a quick rest.
Just a few minutes, he thought, letting his body have its way.
-
"What do you mean he's not here!" Laf yelled.
"John, where is he?" Maria huffed, trying her best to stay calm.
Martha fidgeted with the useless phone in her hand. "He's coming. He's going to be here."
Laf sat down and put his head in his hands. "Maman, qu'est-il arrivé à Alexandre? Pourquoi n'est-il pas là?" ("Mom, what happened to Alexandre? Why isn't he here?")
"I don't know, but he's going to be here. Don't worry." She pressed a kiss to her son's forehead.
-
It was probably around 12 am and Alex still hadn't shown up! Everyone else was still awake waiting for him to show up. Waiting for him to let them know that he's safe.
Although useless, Maria gripped onto her phone and fidgeted with it. John and Laf were crying. Angelica and Herc looked calm for the most part. Peggy was muttering nonsense. Eliza was basically paralyzed, and the Washingtons were pacing around.
"George, George, why isn't he here," Martha cried.
"I-I don't know."
-
Alex woke to ice cold water dripping on him.
"Fuck," he cursed, sitting up and wiping his face. He looked around confused and disoriented. Then, it all came back to him.
He stood up, shivering, and trying not to fall. His head was spinning and his vision was dotting out. Outside, the wind was howling and the water level was already up to his chest. The water was freezing, but he needed to get to the others.
He managed to make it up some hill where the water was only up to his heel when he felt like he was about to pass out again. The last thing he heard was a snap, the last thing he felt was something heavy on his lower body, and the last thing he saw was a tall building.
-
The group sat uneasy, waiting for Alexander. Waiting for any answers, just anything. At 5 pm, they heard an announcement.
"Attention, rescue teams will now be going out to find any missing people."
-
A few hours later, paramedics came rushing into the bottom floor of the hotel. There were about seven people on stretchers, one being Alex. Alex wasn't bleeding too much but, had a couple of ribs broken, and a broken leg after a tree had fallen on him.
The paramedics were working on getting everyone stable, and trying to contact guardians or family members. So far, 5 out of the 7 were stable and 1 family member was able to be reached.
-
The backup generator had kicked in now, and Maria and Peggy were trying to find Alex. His phone was offline so they couldn't track him, and he wouldn't answer his phone.
A few hours later, some people walked up to the group, looking for George and Martha. The kids couldn't hear what they were saying, but they're were hushed whispers and a few gasps from Martha. George and Martha came up to the kids.
"Guys, we gotta go, but we'll be back, okay?" George told them. They nodded, and the Washingtons left with the other people.
"What do you think happened?" Eliza asked.
"I don't know. I'm scared," Maria said. The group lowered their heads and murmured agreements.
-
The Washingtons followed the people downstairs where they set up a makeshift hospital. Their thoughts were racing.
They led them into a small room where Alex was. He looked terrible. His skin was pale and slightly blue. He had bruises all over his body and had multiple casts and bandages.
Someone behind them cleared their throat, trying to get their attention. They turned around. "Are you-" she looked down at a clipboard she was holding. "-George and Martha Washington?" The couple nodded. "Well, your son, Alexander Hamilton, had a tree fall on him, resulting in some broken ribs, and a broken leg. We're not seeing too much bleeding, but we also can't find the bleeding site. We're just watching over him for now. He is also recovering from hypothermia."
"Oh, god." George breathed.
"Sadly, we don't know if he is expected to make a full recovery, but we're trying our best."
The Washingtons nodded. They went back upstairs to get the kids. They needed to know what was happening. They brought them back downstairs to see him.
Laf was sobbing, scared for his brother. Blinded with emotions, he turned to John, starting to yell. "This...this is your fault!" He jabbed a finger and his chest.
"Laf, hey, Laf, calm down," his boyfriend urged.
"No! This is his fault! He left him there to die!"
"Laf," Martha warned, holding him back by the arm.
Laf struggled, trying to get out of his mother's strong grips. Eventually, he calmed down but didn't apologize. The group left John, knowing he needed it.
John looked at Alex. He felt terrible. It was his fault. He was the one who left him there. Alex was suffering and it was all his fault.
He watched Alex intently, making sure his chest moved, that he was still breathing. When he didn't for even a second, disturbing the rhythm, John gripped the chair. He was ready to get up and call someone for help.
John held his hand waiting for any sign that he would wake up. Soon enough, there it was. There was a tiny squeeze. It was light enough for anyone to just brush off without thinking, but John was looking for anything.
"Alex?"
Slowly, Alex's eyes opened.
"Alex?"
He winced and gasped in pain.
"Alex, Alex, you're okay, what's wrong?"
"It-it hurts to breathe. My head hurts- I-I don't know..." he said.
John felt the guilt pooling in his stomach. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I'm sorry."
Alex's lips twitched into a light smile. "What for? This isn't your fault."
"It is! I left you there!"
"And I told you too, John. It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. Please don't cry."
John sniffled, wiping the tear he didn't know were there. He stared down at Alex. The boy was staring up at him, his big, dark eyes twinkling with fondness.
"Your eyes are beautiful," John blurted out.
Alex breathed a laugh, slightly wincing after.
-
After some time to calm down, Laf realized he needed to apologize. He went downstairs, about to greet John when he heard a laugh. Alex's laugh. He saw Alex awake and talking to John. He had a slight smile on his face and his eyes basically had hearts in them.
Laf sighed and turned around, letting them have their moment.
"Laf," Alex called out behind him.
Laf turned around to face his brother and smiled. "You're awake." He paused, not knowing what to say. "John, I want to apologize. I'm sorry, that wasn't fair of me to say."
John launched himself into Laf's arms for a hug. "Thank you."
Alex, although not knowing what was wrong, smiled.
An hour passed, and Alex got to talk to the others. Maria and George gave him a long scolding. There were tears, but they were happy.
-
Alex knew something was wrong. His head shouldn't have been pounding, it shouldn't have been so hard to breathe, he shouldn't have been sweating so much, feeling like he was about to drown in lava, he shouldn't have been dropping in and out of consciousness. He should've known when he was getting dizzy and couldn't focus on anything.
"-and then-" Maria cut herself off when she looked down at Alex. His skin was very pale and his breathing didn't look very even. "Alex." She shook his arm carefully, trying not to hurt him. "Alex." No response. Not even a flinch. "Martha, something's wrong with Alex..."
"Hang on, I'll try to get someone."
Martha came back with someone, and with one look at Alex, they called out, "We need to get this boy to a hospital!"
"What?" Everyone yelled in unison.
"We need to get your son out of here. He needs severe medical attention," they said, lifting him on a stretcher and wheeling him out.
"Wait, where are you taking him?" George asked.
They didn't answer.
-
Two hours. Two hours! They left them there for two hours with no answers. No one knew what was going on.
They sat there in silence. No one knew what to say.
Then, Martha got a phone call.
"Hello...? Yes... yes... how is he...? What...? Yes, yes, of course. Okay, bye." She hung up and turned to the others who were staring at her, waiting for an answer. Outside, the hurricane had died down and was now just a storm. "We need to leave."
"Where are we going? What's wrong?" Eliza asked.
"Alexander is in critical condition and is in surgery at the moment. We have to get to the hospital," Martha answered. "We need to leave now."
There was no need for another word. They left in a panic, so many questions left unanswered.
-
They all sat in the waiting room, waiting for any answers. There were a lot of other families in the room. The tension in the air was terrifying.
"Alexander Hamilton?"
The group directed their heads towards the voice.
"Yes, how is he?" George asked.
The nurse bit her lip. "He's still in surgery. He had severe internal bleeding, causing him to go into critical condition. We don't know if he will make it."
George nodded, and the nurse walked away.
Silence.
Again.
No one knew what to say.
Again.
They couldn't even cry. They just sat there, thinking.
John was scared. At least Alex had forgiven him if he doesn't make it...
No! Don't think like that! He's going to make it! And we're going to go on a date when we get back. He's going to be okay. Please. Please be okay, Alex.
Even if dating didn't work out, it would suck to lose his best friend. He and Alex have been friends for so long. When he first moved in with the Washingtons, when he was all jumpy and scared, John was the first person Alex would go to. They clicked in an instant. John, no matter how boring the topic was to any normal human being, was entertained by Alex's rants. They never managed to not make his day. Alex was completely mesmerized by John's art. Even if they were just simple doodles. It always managed to get his serotonin up and running.
I can't lose him. Not now. I need him.
-
By now, most of the other families had cleared out of the waiting room. Their family members got out of surgery safe and sound and were now with them, or they just decided to try their best to take care of themselves.
It was maybe 3:30 am, maybe later. It didn't matter. Alex was still in surgery and they hadn't got any news. This had been a long week, way too long to just've been a week. It felt like at least 4 months.
At around 5 am, they finally heard something about Alex.
"Alexander Hamilton?"