A Break In The Silence (Adopted by Lin-Manuel Miranda)

Chapter 1: Genesis. Genesis James.

 You've gotta be kidding me. What kind of idiot would be dumb enough to try and use the Holland Tunnel while they're drunk at almost 3 am on a Monday morning? As you can imagine, it didn't end well. And considering the traffic in the Lincoln Tunnel had a nearly three hour backup, there was no way in Hell I was gonna waste my time like that. I don't have to be in New York until 4 pm tomorrow, but Vanessa is at home by herself with Sebastian. I sent her a text and she said it was fine, but I still feel bad.

I found a nice hotel in this little town in Northern New Jersey, about 15 minutes from city. It's the best I can get at this hour, so I put the address in my GPS and start towards my destination. When I get to the town, Clifton, I start driving down a long road to get me there. Suddenly, the swerving car in front of me stops in the middle of the road.

"Ugh, really!?" I say. The driver's door opens and I see an angry man stumble out of the car. He's totally drunk. He walks around to the passenger's side of the car, opens the door, and reaches in. He pulls a teenaged girl out of the seat and throws her to the ground, and starts kicking her. "Holy shit!" I quickly unbuckle my seatbelt and jump out.

"WORTHLESS SHIT!" He screams at the girl.

"Hey, stop that!" I yell at him. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Who the hell are you?" He slurs at me.

"Leave her alone, dude!"

"Whatever, fuckhead." He says, and he gets back in the car and speeds off. I kneel down next to the crying girl.
"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I th-think so." She stutters. "Th-th-thank you so much."

"You don't need to thank me." I say. "What's your name?"

"Genesis." She replies. "Genesis James."

"Nice name." I say. "I'm Lin."

"Hello." She says, sitting up and holding her mid-section in pain. I notice that she has more bruises around her neck, a black eye, and a lip that looks like it's healing after being pretty badly busted. My heart breaks at the sight of this.

"Oh my god." I say. "Does he do this a lot?" She shakes her head.

"No. He's a good dad." She replies, but it sounds too rehearsed, and I refuse to believe her.

"You don't have to protect him." I tell her and she looks in my eyes for the first time. "Does he hurt you a lot, Genesis?" She seems surprised, like no one has been able to see through the lie, or they just didn't care enough to try before. She nods, and i sigh.

"Gen."

"What?"

"Gen. You can call me Gen." She replies, and i smile a little, and get an idea.

"Well, Gen, is there anywhere you can go? I don't want you to be in a house with him while he's drunk." She shakes her head, and a better idea comes into my mind. "This may sound creepy, but my hotel is 10 minutes from here. If you want, you can come with me and stay there tonight."

"I'm not supposed to go with strangers." She tells me, and i smile slightly.

"That's a good rule to have." I say. "How about this; I have some water bottles in a cooler full of ice. I'll put some ice in a bag, and we can sit over there while you put it on your sides. While we do that, we can have a conversation; that way, we won't be strangers anymore." She thinks a moment, and then nods.

"Okay." She says, and I get to my feet. I reach my hands down to her, and she takes them. I make no comments about the fact that they're shaking. I get her to her feet, but she shouts in pain at the tension in her side, and nearly falls over. I manage to catch her in time.

"I got you." I say, and she nods. I help her over to the bench, and sit her down. "I'll be right back." I rush over to my car and get a plastic bag from my glove compartment. I shut it and then go into the trunk to open the cooler. I fill the bag with ice and then take a water bottle as well. I close the lid on the cooler, and then pull down the door of the trunk. As i walk back over to Genesis, i see her shaking her leg like she's full of nerves. This must be a lot for her. Her dad beat her in the middle of a road at 4 am, and now some random guy is trying to help her. Considering that, a lot of the time, when a random man helps a young girl, it's usually not just out of the kindness of their heart. I walk back over and sit down next to her, still allowing her to have her space. "Here you go." I hand her the bag, and she holds it to her side.

"Thank you." She mutters.

"I have some water, too, if you want it." I tell her, and she looks at it. She nods and i hand it to her. She uncaps it and I notice her nonchalantly smell it before taking a sip. She's really scared right now, isn't she? "You don't have to be scared of me, you know." She looks at me. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Why?" That surprises me.

"Not all men are just violent drunks all the time, Genesis." I tell her, and she looks down. "Have you been held prisoner or something?" I say it as a joke, but she gives me a look. "Holy shit, have you?" She sighs.

"I'm not a prisoner." She tells me. "My dad just doesn't let me out of the house much."

"So I'm assuming you haven't met a lot of people, then." I guess, and she nods. "You're just waiting for me to turn psycho-evil on you right now, aren't you?" She looks down at her lap, seeming ashamed. "It's okay if you are. You've been stuck with a violent man that beats you all the time; pain is all you know." I'm saying it to make her feel less ashamed of expecting me to hurt her, but saying it makes my heart break a little more.

"I guess so." She says, and i sigh.

"So, do you have any hobbies, Gen?" I ask her, wanting to change the subject, and she nods.

"I write."

"Wow, really? What do you write?"

"Stories. Songs."

"Songs?" She nods. "You sing?" She nods again. "Do you play any instruments?"

"Yeah. I play guitar and drums."

"Wow, thats really awesome. Do you play any sports?"

"I play basketball in the backyard sometimes. But not really, no."

"Do you go to school?" She shakes her head.

"I take classes online."

"What grade are you in?"

"Online, 11th."

"So you're... 17? 18?" She shakes her head.

"I'm 15."

"15?" I ask, and she nods.

"I skipped grades."

"Wow, you must be pretty smart. Do you know your IQ?"

"165."

"Wow!" I say. "So, you're a genius."

"I could be considered one."

"That's really cool."

"What do you do?"

"I write musicals."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

"What have you written?"

"Have you ever heard or 'Into The Heights' or 'Hamilton'?" She nods. "I wrote those." She has a realization.

"You're Lin-Manuel Miranda?" She asks, and i nod. "I've heard of you online. I've listened to the whole Hamilton soundtrack, you're beyond talented." I chuckle.

"That's really sweet, thank you." I say. After a few more minutes of conversation, I ask her if she feels okay with coming to the hotel with me. She nods, and I help her stand. She groans in pain when she gets up, and i lead her towards my car. I help her get in, and then I close the door and walk to my side of the car. I climb in and start the car, and I notice that she's shivering. "Are you cold?" She shakes her head.

"No, I'm just... I'm anxious." I give her a confused look for a moment. "I have an anxiety disorder, and I have panic attacks all the time. Tonight's just been a lot for me." I give her a sympathetic look as I start to drive.

"How often do you have panic attacks?" I ask her.

"Typically, I have a few every day."

"Oh my god." Every day? Jeez, that's a lot for one person to handle.

"It's okay. I'm learning how to deal with it."

"How long have you had it?"

"Three years, but... I haven't been able to figure out how to deal with it yet." She makes it sound like she should have all of this figured out already.

"You're 15, Gen, you don't have to have everything figured out."

"But I've had this for three years. I'm supposed to be able to deal with them by now."

"You're not supposed to do anything. You're supposed to be 15 years old." She smiles at this. As we keep driving, I hear "Wonderwall" by Oasis come on the radio, and I quietly sing along to the words. "And all the lights that light the way are blinding. There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don't know how." I look over at Genesis for a second, and I see that she's asleep. I smile a little at the sight, and look back at the road. It's 4:30 am right now, so I'll let her just sleep once we get to the hotel.