Hamilton One Shots

Her Escape

Requested by: wishwishwishes

Crumbling the remaining pages of the pamphlet her husband composed, Eliza tossed them into the fire. Swallowing up the parchment, the fire crackled in satisfaction, begging for more. She glared at her reflection in the orange flames, seeing only broken fragments staring back at her.

How dare he. Her hands rolled up into fists and she threw them down on the wooden planks beneath her, sobbing loudly into the darkness of her home. Upstairs she could hear the floorboards screech. A sense of adrenaline rushed through her body at the sound.

Swiftly grabbing every page in sight, she flicked them into the fire, without looking back. Her intention had been to see every bit of that damn pamphlet suffer. But she couldn't afford for her husband to walk in and force her to stop burning it.

Above her, there was the sound of footsteps heading towards the stairwell. No, no, no. She hurried across the room, to where the door was. Locking with her house key, Eliza stumbled to the corner of the room. For the first time in her life, she was frightened of her dearly beloved husband.

"Eliza?" The harmonic sound of his voice drifted underneath the crack between the floor and door. The handle twisted, only to snap back into its original place, upon realizing it was locked. She heard him take a heavy breath of air, before trying again.

"Eliza, please."

Stepping her way carefully over to the door, key in hand, Eliza racked her brain for something that would get her out of this situation. Alexander was certainly the last person she wanted to see. But how to keep him away seemed to be an issue.

That's when her eyes flickered over at the window. Run away, a voice in her head whispered. Chills crept down her spine as she realized just how risky of a solution that would be. She'd have to leave everything behind.

The door knob rattled again, sending a shrill scream to leave her throat. Alexander, from outside the door, became more urgent with his pleadings. "Eliza, open this door! Now!" He hadn't intended to be firm with her, but if that's what it took, he'd do anything.

"I won't let you in. Not after what you did to destroy myself and your children!" As she shouted through the door frame to him, Eliza began thinking to herself. If she was to run away, the only way to do it was avoiding her family at all costs.

A few weeks ago, the topic of the future came up at the dining table with her sister. And just as an older sister might offer, she insisted that if ever the case to leave it all behind came up, the children would be taken into her care. That was the only reassurance she needed.

"I never meant to hurt you!" Alexander's cry sounded very distant and fake. Eliza chuckled under her breath, heading to the desk in the corner of the room. The fire continued to pop and snap loudly, with each burning ember, welcoming any more paper she might have.

Through the doorway, Alexander could hear the sound of rustling papers. He needed to get in there before she did something that would harm the both of them. Fingertips running over the different textures of the door, he silently tried to come up with a way to get in.

Meanwhile, Eliza furiously wrote an apology to her children. Something in the back of her mind warned her not to do it. To stay and not run away. But the stronger part of her heart screamed to write faster and get out of there.