Laurens, I Like You A Lot

Coffee Makes Everything Better

Alex's P.O.V

"John. I'm leaving for, you know." I say.

"I do know." He looks up from his laptop and gives me a small smile. "Are you sure you don't want me to go?"

"I have to do this by myself." I say. He nods and gets up. He places a long kiss on my forehead and then places a kiss on my lips.

"I love you. If anything happens, call me. I'll pick you up." I nod my head and I kiss him again.

"Okay. I love you too."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The bell dings when I enter the coffee shop. I look around for him and when I see him in the corner, my heart stops beating and my hand starts shaking.

I can't do this. I don't know why I agreed to this. I can't talk to him.

I take a deep breath as I walk over to the table slowly. He looks up from his phone and a small smile appears on his face.

"Alexander. I thought you weren't gonna come." He stands up and I can tell he wants to give me a hug, but he doesn't move. He sticks his arm out so I can shake his hand. I take it and I shake it slowly.

"Please, sit down. Do you want a coffee?" I shake my head. "Are you sure? Coffee makes everything better." He gives me a toothy smile and I sigh.

"Sure. I'll take a coffee." He nods his head and stands up to go to the cashier. I quickly take out my phone and I send a text to John.

Hammy: I'm terrified and we haven't even started talking.

ThePlaceToBe❤️: relax. You got this. You're Alexander freaking Hamilton. You can do anything.

His text makes me smile and it calms my nerves a little bit. He comes back and places a coffee down in front of me.

"I hope hot is okay. I should have asked before I went up but, it's too late now." My heart softens a little for him. He's trying so hard.

"Gosh, where do I even begin?" He asks.

"Did you love me? Did you love James and I?"

"Did? I do. James is still in the Caribbean. You left so it was harder to track you down, but he didn't go anywhere."

"Is he okay?"

"He is. He is. He misses you."

"Why didn't you ever come back? Why didn't you tell us why you were leaving?"

"It was too shameful to come back to you two. To come back after I left. You guys were so young and you would have forgiven me too easily."

"So you let us build up a hatred for you over the years? Makes sense." I say.

"It was my pride I was afraid of hurting, not your feelings, which clearly was the wrong thing. And I didn't tell you guys because it would have been harder. You guys would have told me to stay or to come back and I just...I'm seeing my mistake. I...didn't think about your feelings...I just left. Alexander, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I left. I'm so sorry I had you thinking for all that time about where I could have been and why I left. I'm sorry that I never tried to keep contact. I'm sorry that...I just wasn't a father. I...wasn't around. I'm getting that now."

"It's...it's..."

"I'm just so grateful you took the time to talk to me. I never stopped thinking about you when I was gone. I was trying to give you an easier life but, I feel like I made it harder. I made it emotionally harder for you and I'm truly, deeply, sorry."

"It's okay."

"What?"

"It's. Okay. I forgive you. I won't forgery what you did, but I forgive you." He leans back in his chair and a small smile appears.

"I'm so glad. I want to have a relationship with you, I really do. I want to start over, get to know you, get to understand you."

"It can happen, just not so soon. Slow. Progress. Maybe like, once every two weeks. And then once a week. Then maybe two days a week." His face shines when I suggest spending more time with him.

"I would love that. I really would."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I get back after a couple of hours of catching up with my father. I close the door gently because John is taking a nap.

"Baby?" I whisper. I hear him groan and he sighs. He sits up as I sit on the bed.

"How was it?" He says, scratching his head.

"It was...alright."

"Did you cry?" I shake my head and he has a small smile. "Do you want to?" I stay silent and I manage to shrug.

"I wanna lie down. Can we watch a movie?"

"Of course. You want me to get some chips and candy from the store real quick?" I nod my head.

"And some popcorn." He kisses the top of my head.

"Of course my love."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

John comes back with bags of snacks. I smile as he struggles to open and close the door. He drops a bag and I start to laugh.

"Thanks for your help." I give him a thumbs up and he drops the bags on our bed.

"Okay. What movie you want to watch? Classic? Romance? Comedy? Horror?"

"Whatever is fine." I watch as he scrolls through the options.

"Hey, have I told you that you're amazing?" I say. He laughs and turns around.

"Yes. But say it again."

"You're amazing."

"As are you."