Sons of Liberty University | Hamilton College AU

Chapter 14 - Nina is a Badass

"Why would you say something like that?!" I yelled angrily at Jefferson. "She hasn't done anything to you! You're the one who hurt her!"

"It's none of your business, Hamilton," he snarled back at me. "Stay out of this. Stay out of the school! You're so worthless! Why would they send that stupid scholarship to you and not him, anyway?! James deserved it so much more than you did!"

"James has a rich-ass family he can turn to whenever he has financial issues, okay?" I said, tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. "I was trapped on an island in the Caribbean for--"

The fiercest, sharpest pain I had ever felt in my entire life was practically shoved into my side. I stumbled to the floor with a sharp gasp.

My head hit the shiny tile with a loud crack.

"Hamilshit, do you ever shut your mouth?" I recognized the bored drawl of George King. "God, you won't shut up about that shitty island. Oh, and we know your pretty little secret about Mommy, don't we, Jeffershit?"

"I told you not to call me that, George," Jefferson said, obviously flustered. "The only reason we're working together is so that you can give me that money for James's tuition. So let's just get this over with."

They began roughly kicking and punching me until I was a bloody, painful heap. George lifted his boot above my head--

WHAM!

George was decked to the floor, followed by Jefferson.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM USNAVI, YOU BASTARDS!" I heard a woman scream. George and Jefferson sprinted away.

Once I had pushed my head off the floor, I was met face-to-face with a beautiful woman who looked to be in her twenties. She had dark, curly hair and pair of bright brown eyes that were filled with rage. They melted into concern when she crouched down next to me.

"Oh, 'Navi," she said softly. "I'm so sorry about them, they're real jerks, I met them a few days ago. I should've warned you. Shit, this looks bad, hold on, I'll go grab Vanessa and Benny--"

"Who are you?" I asked, confused.

Her brow furrowed, then comprehension dawned on her. "You aren't Usnavi. You're Alexander."

I nodded my head, still confused. "Uh, yeah, so who are you?"

"Nina Rosario," she said, then carefully helped me to my feet. "Ugh, you could have a concussion. I'll get Benny, he can take you up to the hospital. He's probably in business class, though. Shit. Um, do you have any friends?"

"M-my boyfriend, John," I groaned. My head was a pounding mess.

"Okay," she said. "Um, 'Navi told me about you a few days ago. It's good to meet you, even though it's not under the best of circumstances."

"It's nice to meet you too, Nina," I said. "Can you call John for me and tell him to meet us at the nurse's office?"

She laughed. "Oh, honey, you're going to the hospital."

The blood drained from my face. All of the memories of Mom and her doctor's appointments came flooding back.

"Shit," she muttered. "I'll call your boyfriend for you." She looked up at the sky. "Abuela, give me the strength to do this, won't you?" she muttered. "Even if it isn't Usnavi, he really looks like him."

A familiar face rounded the corner. I believe his name was Benny.

"Oh my God!" he said, dropping his textbook and running over to Nina's side. "Holy Shit, 'Navi, what happened to you?!"

"It's not Usnavi," Nina said. "It's Alexander."

"Oh," Benny (I LEGITIMATELY ALMOST SAID CHRIS) said. "But what happened?"

"Remember Jefferson and King from last week? The guys who tried to hit on Vanessa?"

His face hardened. "You mean the guys that almost killed Usnavi? Yeah, I remember."

"Yeah, they happened," Nina said. "He might have some sort of concussion. His head hit the ground pretty hard."

At that point, everything was kind of spinning. My vision became like water as I desperately fought to stay conscious.

"John," I gasped, my head practically shanking me every 0.43 seconds. "Please, g-get John..."

Nina took my phone and dialed my boyfriend, while Benny examined my bruises.

"Ugh. These don't look too good," he mumbled. "You might have a broken rib. He kicked you pretty hard. Like, there's a shoe print on your side, man."

"Yeah, we're gonna take him to the hospital- Oh god, please calm down," Nina said, her eyes widening. "Oh geez... um... Alex?" she said, then held the receiver away from her mouth. "You're boyfriend is going ballistic."

I reached out for the phone, which she gave to me, and held it up to my ear.

"John?"

"Oh my God, Alex!" he shrieked. "Holy shit! I'll be there in a little bit, babe. I was so scared that it was your dad or something! I love you so much, Lex. I'm almost there. Stay on the phone with me."

"O-okay," I said, my vision darkening. There was more than just a burning pain in my side now.

"Holy shit," Benny muttered. "This isn't good. At all--"

"ALEX!" John shouted running around the corner. "Oh, God, Alex! Are you okay? Of course, you aren't. Let me help you up, babe."

I took his arm but fell back down. Searing pain ripped through me.

"Alex?" John asked, terror evident in his voice. My vision was beginning to fade away completely. I coughed once and began to choke.

Nina screamed. Benny gasped. John yanked out his cell phone.

And then everything plunged into darkness.

~.~

I awoke in a cold sweat, tears streaming down my face.

"Alex!" I heard John say. He rushed over to my side and kissed my cheek gently.

And then I realized where I was.

A hospital.

"What happened?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"Jefferson and King beat you really savagely," John said gently. "You started coughing up blood, so I called an ambulance. Nina and Benny had to go to their next classes. You've only been out for a few hours."

"Can I hold your hand?" I asked. I was still afraid.

"Yeah," he said, then sat on my bedside and took my hand. Calming sensations flitted through me at his touch. I sighed in relief.

John carefully tucked a piece of hair behind my ear with an exceedingly gentle touch. Tears streamed down his face.

"I thought I had lost you," he whispered. "They said you had lost too much blood to survive."

"Well, I'm okay," I said. "And don't worry. You're not gonna lose me."

(To clarify, if a sentence is in italics like the one above, that means it's crucial to the story line. SHIT'S GONNA GO DOWN)