Hamilton One Shots

Farewell

Requested by: madirose24601

"He's been shot?!"

Those were the words Theodosia remembered saying before she went running down the street. She was followed by stares, but nothing was going to stop her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she quickened her pace. She knew there wasn't much time, if any, so she had to move.

When she arrived at her friend's doorstep, breathless, no one answered. Terror rushed through her veins. Where was he? Her head was pounding as she tried to compute the situation. It was so out of the ordinary, so unplanned, which threw her off.

The answer came a few seconds later, when she heard the sound of running feet. Her head flipped around just in time to see one of her friend's siblings heading up the street. Without wasting a second, Theodosia shouted out their name and began running alongside them.

On the way to what was apparently his aunt's home, Theodosia heard the account. Her friend had been challenged to a duel, which he accepted, but miserably failed on what seemed to be his father's advice. "That bastard," she cursed under her breath as she tore into the house behind the sibling.

It didn't take any guessing which room he had been taken to. By the blood streaks on the floor, the intense screaming, the scene seemed unreal. Theodosia followed the bloody footsteps down the hall. She poked her head into the room at the end, where she could see her friend on a bed, yelling and crying.

"Philip!"

The parents of the wounded boy turned to face the girl. Each of them couldn't react in time to halt her from entering. She slipped on the floor as she attempted to come near him. Philip let out a terrifying scream, just as his father rose to his feet and grabbed her by the arms.

"Let go of me!" Theodosia tried to force herself past him, but it was no use trying. He was too strong and broken for her to fight against. She pleaded, but he only shook his head. A cord broke inside her, for all of a sudden she cried out, "Please, he's my only friend! The one person I've ever felt anything for is lying on his deathbed right now. Please, just-"

Her friend's father shoved her closer to his son, with a lot of force, but no words. Theodosia stumbled forward on her feet, glancing at the doctor who was digging a tool into Philip's abdomen. The boy's eyes were squeezed shut, as he screamed, begging for the pain to stop.

"Philip!" Theodosia collapsed on her knees besides the bed. She brushed a hand through his damp, bloody hair. He suddenly reached out for her hand, whispering her name, right before he screamed again. As the doctor stopped for a moment, she quickly kissed Philip's forehead.

Sobbing, he whimpered, "God, please make the pain stop. Argh, stop!" The doctor continued to do whatever he was doing with the sharp object in his hand. Philip's face scrunched up and he curled closer to the girl beside him.

His parents came over on the other side of their son, glancing at Theodosia. Of what their son had said of her, she seemed like a sweet girl. They hadn't formally met her, but they guessed this would bring them closer than before.

Philip's mother linked her hands with her son's, sniffling loudly. Theodosia knew her name, Eliza, but she never called her by it. One time her friend had mentioned how lovely her name was, so she learned it from that.

"Stay with me, please." Eliza buried her face close to her son's neck, not flinching at his whimpers as the doctor tended to his gunshot wound. One of his younger siblings tightly held her father's hand, watching her brother. Her eyes had gone wide with tears, a look that seemed it might never wash away.

Blood from the wound somehow had gotten on Theodosia's hand. Her face turned pale when she realized it. Philip clenched his teeth tightly and grabbed her bloody hand. She only gulped and held his hand back.

The next thirteen hours of her life were unimaginable. Philip continued to scream and sob for the rest of those hours. At one point, his  sister broke down in tears and went running out of the room. Everyone knew the end was near. But not one person in that room was near giving up.

Around the clock of the last hour, Theodosia wept into Philip's hair. His mother had her hands still linked with his. Both of them were a mess of blood, tears, and distress.

The doctor was by the door with his father, discussing the boy's condition. It seemed like they had done that multiple times in the past hours. Only this time the doctor left the room.

Eliza looked at her husband and instantly knew what to expect. He didn't even open his mouth to explain. She just turned back to her boy and erupted into even more sobs. "I love you. More than anything in this world, Philip." The mother broke down into more tears before she could finish speaking.

Theodosia watched as his father also spoke to his son. Her eyes filled with tears, and she couldn't help but feel sorry, even if her own father despised him. "Philip, I didn't deserve you as my son. Words cannot describe how much I love you. I-I'm so sorry."

Both parents wept beside their son. There wasn't much time left and they sensed it. Each of them clung onto their firstborn, to the one thing that had made their lived meaningful from the beginning.

Theodosia took in a deep breath. Dried blood streaked her cheeks, her hands shook, but she managed to get the words out. "I love you, Philip. Maybe it's not in the way your parents do, or anyone else does, but I love you. Ever since we met, you have been there for me. I have broken down in front of you and told you so many secrets. You're my friend. I don't want to lose you." She went to sob on his chest, but he finally looked over at her.

His mouth opened and for that split second it seemed like he was going to be alright. As if they could walk out of that room and everyone would be alive and well. But that wasn't it.

A tear fell down the side of his face, landing in his curls. His mouth stayed open, but no words came out. The once lively, colorful eyes of his stared directly at her, with only a gray spark.

Theodosia frantically pressed her hand to his sweat soaked chest. No heartbeat. A wail left her mouth and it was that moment that Philip was pronounced dead. He had left the world too early, with too many loved ones behind.

And as she pried her arms from his blood stained body, a few hours later, she couldn't help but continue to sob. The one person who ever mattered in her life had been taken from his own without even getting to live it.

Maybe if she had been there to talk some sense into him, instead of his father, he wouldn't have ended up in a grave. He could have the life he wanted, if his friend had been there. But she hadn't. And that was reality that would haunt her until they crossed paths in a better world, somewhere up there.

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A/N: Thank you madirose24601 for the request! For whether or not their relationship was written to be romantic or not in this, that's up to you as the reader to decide. Hope you liked it, this was a delight to write!