Befallen childhood- Adopted by Hamilton

-15-

Lin's POV
"Aleigha's parents said that she's doing okay. Getting some practice with her Spanish too."

"I hope when she comes back she'll be ready to talk." Pippa says as we sit on the stairs backstage.

"Guys!" Jazzy rushes over to us and sits right between us. I close my lab top. She clicks on a link that opens a page with a video.

"Oh my god. She sung on Thursday and didn't day anything." I say just as the video begins.

(Not her but same voice)
"She never said she was doing this! What the hell?"

"She was good." Pippa says.

"How did I not know she was doing this?"

"I don't know but she kept it from us for some reason." I pull my phone out.

Me: Good job on Thursday

Liv: with what?

Me: that national anthem I saw the video of.

Liv: crap
-
When I see Liv, she looks different. Something about her strikes me as unusual.

"Hey, kid."

"Hey." She waves 'bye' to Aleigha who waves back before walking away.

"Welcome back. We missed you." I wrap my arms around her. This feels different. Maybe she's grown up a little and I only noticed when she left for three days. But I haven't had her that long and she definitely doesn't look older no matter what it is that is different about her. Vanessa gives her a hug too and we go into the apartment.

"So what do you want for dinner? It's your choice." She says. Liv shrugs.

"Anything goes."

"Not you too." I sneak her a high five from around my back and she doesn't see it.

"Psst!" She looks.

"Oh." She high fives me.

"I won't forgive you for making me feel awkward." She rolls her eyes. "There's the teenage attitude setting in." She glares at me. "I'm joking. Or am I?" She pushes me lightly. "Don't be gentle. Get mad! Push me."

"No."

"Why?"

"'Cause pushing you was only a joke." She lifts her bag and heads to her room.

"Does she seem different?" I ask Vanessa.

"It's only been a few days, Lin."l nothing drastic could have changed in her."

"You think she'll crack." She looks towards her and Sebastian's room.

"No. Not on her own, she's gone so long hiding this, she knows how to bury the pain so if she doesn't have to, it won't be anytime soon."

"Then we have to push her." An hour later, Vanessa asks me to fetch Liv within the next five minute. I know on the door frame since the door is open. "Dinner is in five. What are you doing?" I head towards her and sit down. The screen is blank and she's shutting it down.

"I was just checking emails." She says, tiredly. "Nothing important." She shuts it and puts it next to her. "What time is it anyways?"

"Almost seven. How was your trip upstate?"

"Pretty good. Very spread out and much quieter."

"It's quiet uptown." She rolls her eyes. "We really did miss you."

"I doubt that. It was probably nice having a bit of a break."

"Oh, it was anything but nice. Everyone in the cast has seen that video that you didn't tell me about."

"Oh, god, no."

"Why didn't you want us hearing you?"

"Because you're all amazing. You'd probably find singing a national anthem at a game between two high schools silly."

"I don't find that silly at all!"

"And I thought I would mess up."

"Well, you didn't."

"If I knew anyone in the cast was going to see it, I would have messed up."

"You wouldn't have. Time for dinner." I shoot to my feet.

I lift Sebastian as we walk into the kitchen and put him in his seat. I ask Vanessa about her case and she tells me some general things.

"I need at least five minutes away from it." She says, after. I look at Olivia who is cutting up her food, still. She takes a bite and chews slowly. "How about your weekend?" She asks Liv.

"Quiet but nice."

"Did you do anything fun?"

"We spent half of Saturday at the Library."

"Was that the highlight of your trip?" I ask, laughing.

"Yes, but only because books are my favorite." She takes a sip of her water and pushes the things around her plate out of the corner of my eye. When I look at her again, she doesn't see it and continues. Vanessa glances her way and then back at Sabastian.

"May I be excused. I have to make sure I've gotten all my work done for tomorrow."

"Well, you don't want to do that on an empty stomach."

"Trust me, my stomach is anything but that. How about I put it in the fridge so that it doesn't go to waste since you worked hard to make it and it's very good."

"Stop it with the manners, you drive me insane." I say, laughing. "Yes, you may be excused. We'll save it for you."

"Thank you."

"You know, manners are good, but you act like you have to be someone else around us. We don't want a robot, we want you to be yourself."

"Yeah, you don't want that. You can ask Noah if you don't believe me." She puts the napkin on her seat and walks into the other room.

"She ate almost nothing." Vanessa says, looking at her plate.

"I'm sure they had a big lunch earlier."

"What are we gonna do about her school?"

"I was looking into an online program yesterday."

"Lin-"

"Hear me out. I work more at night so I can't be there for her right now. Of course she would have the final say but that school is now a place she had a traumatic experience at and the chances of her getting into yet another charter school aren't great."

"And what about being around kids her own age?"

"I think we can agree, she's more mature then most of the cast. But she would still spend time with Noah and Aleigha when they weren't in school."

"We aren't discussing this tonight. We don't know enough about how she is doing."

"Well, when are we gonna know?"
-
A/N- it's so hard to avoid making accidental Hamilton references.