Hamilton OneShots

Trying to Help ~ Laria (Laf & Maria)

Warning, mentions of abuse.

"Stay away from me James!"

"NO, I CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT TO. YOU KNOW WHY? CAUSE YOU'RE A GIRL! I'LL MAKE YOU MY BITCH IF I HAVE TO!"

I ran up the stairs and threw clothes into my bag. Suddenly, I heard the door slam open.

"Where the FUCK do you think you're going, whore?" I felt a firm grip on my shoulder as he spun me around to face him.

"James please, j-just let me l-le-leave!" I demanded through tears.

Then I felt the slap. I fell to the ground in pain, holding my cheek. James grabbed my hair and pulled me up. I continuously pleaded for him to stop. Eventually, he passed out from the alcohol. I took my chance and ran. It wasn't the first time that he came home drunk and hit me. By now it was probably the ninth. As I ran down the streets, I ran into someone and we both fell to the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I squeaked.

"Non, It's okay. Why are you in a rush?"

Memories flooded my brain and I started crying. The man rushed over to me, wrapping his arms around me.

"Here, let me bring you to my house, and we can talk okay?"

I nodded and got up.

That was five years ago, now I'm sitting in the living room of my best friend's apartment. I never did tell him why I ran. But every night, I cry myself to sleep. I never got over James or the abuse. I doubt I'll ever get over it, but I'm too afraid to talk or ask for help.

"Good morning Maria."

"Morning Laf," I said excitedly.

Lafayette helped me from the moment I ran into him. He took me in. Usually, he doesn't ask me about it, because when he does it turns into a fight. Neither of us like fighting, so he just never brings it up. He knows I have some kind of PTSD but he doesn't know why. It's why he doesn't raise his voice around me, he knows my triggers and he avoids them. Today I decided was different, I needed someone to help me pick up the pieces of my past, but I haven't talked about it in so long. Even I don't know how this conversation will go.

"So Laf, we need to talk about something serious."

He sat down next to me and looked me in the eye.

"Okay." Is all he said.

"So, you know how I never told you why I ran into you."

He nodded to show he remembered.

"Well, I'm ready to tell you."

Lafayette put his hand on mine.

"Okay, but proceed at your own pace, don't feel obliged to tell me."

"No, I want to."

I took one deep breath and started the conversation.

"So, I was living with someone at the time, and this someone is my ex-boyfriend. We were happy at first, high school sweethearts, but then came the drinking. Most of the time he wouldn't get home until one in the morning. So I got used to it. Until one night when I confronted him about it. That was the night where the abuse started."

I was trying to keep the tears in, but Lafayette ended up wiping one off my cheek.

"S-so that night, I ran. I never looked back and I ran right into you. Laf, you saved me from a world of hurt. If I didn't run into you, he probably would have found me. I never told you because I was scared to. And I'm sure you know the effect It's had on me. Even last night, you came to sleep in my bed with me because I was crying."

He let out a small smile.

"Maria, I had no idea, But now that you've told me, I can get you help, maybe a therapis-"

"NO!" I shouted. "I don't want a therapist, I trust you with this information and I don't want you telling ANYONE."

I didn't want to raise my voice, but it happened.

"Maria, you need help. Please, let me get someone who can help you."

"No, why do you think I never go into the outside world? I'm afraid I'll see him again. I'm in a constant state of worry that he'll track me down and I don't want to stress you out!"

He considered this for a moment.

"Maria, you haven't stressed me out, ever-"

"Really, then why does it seem like you all of the sudden are stressed that you need to get me help!"

"What stresses me out is that you haven't let it g-"

"AHA, so it does stress you out! I hate that I do that to you, god I'm such a mess!"

"Woah, I never said it bothered me, I just think that you need help, and if you don't want that, then fi-"

"I DON'T WANT HELP FROM ANYONE."

Suddenly I realized something.

"Except you."

I watched Lafayette's entire expression turn soft, as he slowly realized what I meant.

"I guess what I mean is that I've grown to like you..."

"You're just now realizing that? I can tell you've liked me since the day I brought you home. Ever since then, I've been leaving hints, hoping that you'd catch on. But you never did. So I waited for you to tell me. I knew it was going to take you letting go of whatever you were holding on to before you'd see me that way."

"You've been dropping hints?"

"YES! FOR FIVE YEARS!"

"I'm sorry."

"No, Maria, you don't have to apologize for anything, you changed my life, you made my life worth while. I should apologize for not being there every night, and not comforting you every night."

"Laf, you've been there for me for five years. You've been there every day. The only help I need is the help from you to move on and learn to trust people. I figured that out the moment I realized just how much I love you."

His eyes widened.

"When did you figure that out?"

I leaned in and our lips brushed against each other.

"The day you saved me from an abusive relationship and brought me home. Maybe now, we can be more than friends, because dammit Lafayette I love you."

He leaned in and closed the gap, signaling his answer.

From that moment on, I learned to forget James Reynold, and Lafayette taught me what real love was.

(A/N: Thank you to @ArtisticSunflower for the request, I know It's not as angsty as you would like, but I'm not used to writing angst that doesn't end in a depressing way. As for the other requests I have, I'll start working on those ASAP. Don't ever be afraid to request something, I'll write anything. If you don't like what I wrote from your request, feel free to message me your feedback and I'll rewrite it the way you wanted. Thank you for 2.5k reads, I never thought in a million years that people would like my writing. Another thing I want to start doing is making fanart along with requests I get. And if you have any fan art that you would like put with your request, then send it to me. Either on wattpad or by my email: thefailedcanadian@gmail.com Thank you, BAI!!!)