What you know (Hamilton cast)

Twenty-five

We look at Kelsey. The door swings open. It's the same man from the other night. He glances at all of us.

"You guys should go." She says, quietly and weakly to us.

"You won't let her get better? Will you?" I say. He ignores me and walks right over to Kelsey who keeps her eyes down.

"I'm headed out." He helps her to her feet, wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her forwards against him, his hand subtly starting to travel a little low as she grabs his wrist, warning him not to go any lower. "I'll be back Wednesday. Happy early birthday." He says before giving her a kiss that I don't think she returns. We aren't just staring. We aren't that creepy. But I can tell that she pushes him away, after a moment. His arm slips out from around her waist, trailing far too low for my liking. She sits back down, eyes down until he leaves. I'm now sorry that I saw that, hating the way that he grabbed her despite her small acts of resistance she fought to keep from being obvious.

"Ohhh." Jazzy says. She has no reaction to it. She just drinks her water and listens to us as we begin to talk again, not participating but twice to ask questions on the events we mention. The sun goes down very quickly, considering that it was already going. She falls asleep around 7:30, just as I set her to lay down, her criss cross legs falling to a bent position on her side.

"That's precious as hell." Jazzy says, snapping a photo of her. We have to be quite because sometimes she will wake at a click of a lock in another state.

"Hell?"

"Bunnies. As precious as bunnies." I quietly laugh.

"What time does she wake up?" Carleigh asks.

"Early. Before seven, always."

"She'll be twenty!" Jazzy squeaks.

"Our baby's growing up."

"She's more mature than a lot of us, though." Anthony says.

"I've seen another side of her. I'm not so sure that it's maturity. More like depression."

"Let's bring out that other side of her. The happier side."

"Maybe we can tomorrow. The ensemble members know it better than I do. She gets pretty silly every now and then. I saw the animal cracker incident." We continue to talk quietly until she starts to toss a little.

"Should I wake her up?" I whisper. Kelsey turns away and to the wall.

"Definitely a nightmare." I reach over and stroke her hair. It shocks me that she doesn't wake up. I can feel her shaking.

"Kels." She whimpers, looking smaller now. "Kelsey. Kels, wake up." She wakes abruptly and immediately pushed herself up, looking like she's seen a ghost.

"Lay back down. It's okay." I say, trying to help her to do so.

"No!" She says, trying to push me away. "No, don't. Please-" she stops. She's out of breath and terrified. She can probably barely see me with the light. She lays back down and looks at the wall. Eventually, she falls back asleep. She must have been embarrassed. I feel bad.

I fall back against the wall to fall asleep. We aren't leaving her alone on her birthday. I know she might get mad that we didn't go home but that won't change our minds. I wake up to Carleigh shaking my shoulder.

"It's six-thirty in the morning and she's gone." I sit up with bounds of energy from going to bed so early, and look around. Her phone that was next to her was gone and her backpack is.

"Great." I mumble, disappointed.

"How do we get her to the theater if we don't know where she is?" Anthony asks. She shrugs.

"Call her and ask her to meet you." I say to Carleigh.

"Lin?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened last night?"

"She had a nightmare. She thought I was trying to rape her."

"She had a nightmare an was freaked out. She didn't know it was you." Anthony tells me.

"Yeah. But either way. I was the man that she thought that. Even if she didn't know. It just feels awful. How could anyone do that to her? I clearly had no intentions but to wake her up and then her voice- her pleading- how could someone ignore that?"

"I don't know Lin. There's a lot of horrible people out there." The lock turns and Kelsey steps in.

"You're awake. Go home."

"Happy birthday!" We all yell. She smiles.

"Thanks but go home. You have places to be and a show today." She says, putting her backpack on the floor.

"It's Monday and my wife's on a business trip and my parents are taking care of my son because they feel that they haven't gotten much time with him." I say.

"Okay, you're free to stay if you'd like, but feel free to leave anytime you want to."

"Thanks."

"Where did you go? And when?" She shrugs as Carleigh grabs her backpack and unzips it. "What kind of dance class is before six."

"It wasn't a class." She says, taking her bag back. "The studios are open and it's quiet. And I couldn't shower here because there were three people sleeping so I did there. Want breakfast?"

"What do you have?"

"Um," she opens up a cabinet with a few things on the shelf, "that." There is a small box of oatmeal, some nuts, saltines, a banana, and two cans of soup. "And milk and eggs."

"That's all?" Carliegh asks as Kelsey shits the cabinet. "All you ever eat?"

"Of course I don't eat just that. Oh wait." She opens the next shelf. "Coffee and tea."

"Where should take Kelsey to breakfast guys?"

"I know a place."

"You don-"

I grab her phone and keys off the counter and her wrist

"Let's go."