You were never meant to stay on Nevis, Alexander.
You were never meant to go and live with your cousin.The conversation replayed in his mind, each sentence bearing news worse than the last. He could remember everything in excruciating detail, from how she spoke to how he reacted. He tried to swallow the small lump in his throat.
You, mister Hamilton, were meant to go to Virginia.He felt like his whole worldview had been shattered, thrown to the ground in one small, insignificant conversation. He felt... angry. Why didn't he go to Virginia? Why did no one deliver him, or even tell him the news? Why did he have to go to his goddamn cousin's house?Why did these Washingtons suddenly get to decide that now was the right time to receive their bastard orphan?
For publicity?Out of pity?It sure as Hell wasn't out of the goodness of their hearts. He felt like he could hit himself in frustration. Of course they would pick now to pick him up, pick now to say, hey, we knew your mother. You were meant to come and live with us after she died. Crazy, right?No. They didn't get to just... do that. That wasn't right. That wasn't fair.
They didn't come help him when he was dying of pneumonia. They didn't come take him when he was sleeping on some street, half dead. They didn't rush in to save him when his mama had died. They didn't just get to whisk him off, expecting everything to be fine.
They did not, under any circumstances, have any right to that.
"Senator Washington. Martha. Please, have a seat." Alexander didn't like how Dr. Barnes just shook the whole thing off like nothing had even happened at all. Like she hadn't just ruined his life, opened up an endless world of what could've been. He suddenly remembered the number one rule of survival, the one that had saved him multiple times before.
Never trust anyone but yourself.
"Thank you Amelia." The woman, Martha, said, turning Alexander's attentions onto her. She was pretty, yes, but in a kind of... motherly way. Her kind eyes were framed by her long brown hair, which was sorta tinged grey. She seemed fine with it though. She seemed like she would be fine with a lot of things.
What happened to only trusting yourself, Allleeeexxxx? You gonna trust this woman?Alexander shook his head softly, to get rid of both the thought and idea. He couldn't trust her. He didn't even know where she lived, for God's sake.
"Don't mention it." Dr. Barnes spoke to her in a sort of bitter way, which once again spiked Alexander's curiosity. He could only ever guess what happened between those two.
"Well. Let's get down to business, shall we?" Southern. The Washingtons were from the South of America, which meant that Virginia was somewhere around that area too.
Alexander averted his eyes to the few pieces of paper that remained on his lap, trying not to catch anyone's attention. Weeks ago, he would've been grabbing it. But that was before. He needed to be invisible at the moment.
He needed to go unseen.
The second rule of survival, never grab unwanted attention.
To Jessica Moore...He read the page slowly as the three sat in awkward silence. They're waiting for your attention, dumbass. He sat up, finally willing himself to look at the man's actual face.
The Senator.
Even in his normal clothes, it was clear that he had been in the army. It was in the way he moved, the way he carried himself. In his eyes too, Alexander noted. They looked stern, but they also seemed as if they were... sad? He didn't really know. He almost reached out for his glasses before stopping himself. They needed his full attention, not for Alexander to be able to judge the man's fashion sense.
He looked like a man that commanded respect.
Which Alexander couldn't give unless he gave him his full attention.
"So. Alexander. How're you?" How am I? Oh you know, just half dead. He bit into the inside of his lip before mumbling a quick 'fine.' He didn't want to talk to these people. Not anymore than he had to, anyways.
"That's good to hear." Martha Washington's voice was kind too, like she actually could see the injustice in the world and wanted to fix it. He supposed the softness of it was meant to calm him too.
Trust is coming on...He bit down on the inside of his lip harder.
"Dr. Barnes here says that she explained everything. So, what'd you think? Yes, no, no, yes? It's okay if you need time to think. It's a big bombshell to drop on anyone, let alone someone as young as you. You need some time, or if you just have some questions, just tell me or George. We'll listen." Martha shifted uncomfortably in her seat, waiting for something to happen. For someone to say something, to add on. It was clear that she was weirded out by the whole situation.
Alexander didn't know - for the first time in his life - what to say.
What could he say? Where were you when I was half dead? Where were you when I had to survive on a biscuit a day?
He doubted that that would fly with them.
But they were waiting for him to say something. Just say something, say something! Do not go into a rant, though. You need this Alexander. We need to go to America. He bit down on his lip as his thoughts became louder. Remember what Dr. Barnes said? She said, "say yes, Alexander." SAY YES! ASK QUESTIONS LATER!Ooh, the anticipation. I'm shaking in my boots."What do you think Alexander?" The man was talking now, in a clear and calming voice. Dr. Barnes was staring at him from across the room, her message clear. Say yes.
"Uh... okay. Yes." So much for good first impressions.
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Super sorry about the chapter quality, but I tried. Anyways, our dear little Alex is going to be going to America! I wrote this all at around two in the morning, so yeah. Thank you all for anyone who reviewed or favourited and I seriously love you all so much.
Anyways, the same goes. Reviews and questions welcome!