Lyrical Abstraction (Hamilton) [on hiatus]

Chapter 4

"John, honey, I need you to calm down for a second and tell me exactly what happened." Angelica said, putting a hand on John's shoulder as he sobbed violently into Peggy's shoulder. Eliza came back from the kitchen with a hot cup of tea. Peggy pulled back from the reassuring hug she had wrapped him in so he could explain. He took deep, shaky breaths to calm himself down before settling with the mug of tea, sandwitched between Eliza and Peggy on the couch, Angelica leaning in from behind.

"I-I was gonna s-show him a painting I'd made for our anniversary and-" he choked back a sob, "I-I walked into the bedroom and he was there with T-Thomas. They..." John couldn't finish before he was crying again, and Peggy hugged him again as Eliza took over the mug to avoid John dropping it.

"This is awful. And on your fucking anniversary too. That's tough man." Angelica said, a frown appearing on her face. She had always been the type to be the calm sort of angry, and right now was no different. She was raging on the inside and was ready to snap Alexander's neck the next time she saw him, but right now she was calm. She knew it wouldn't help John out if she began raging now.

"How long has this been going on for?" Peggy asked, once again letting go to look John in the eyes. He shook his head.

"I-I don't know. I have a s-suspicion that it's been since the war, Alex t-told me they met there." he said, tears still coming down in rivers. He was so hurt, and couldn't believe Alexander would do something like that to him.

"Since the war?" Angelica exclaimed. They could all tell she was trying her hardest to keep calm and not go to Alexander's place and murder him right on the  spot.

"John, that's almost for as long as you've been married..." Eliza said. She too, was losing her patience and was ready to beat Alexander up along with her sisters. She bet she could get Maria in on it too.

"I know I  just- I don't know what to do about it. We've been together for so long and he just up and cheats on me right after we got married. I-" he hesitated, "I don't want this stupid ring anymore. He can go give it to Thomas." John finished, taking off his ring and throwing it on the floor like it had burned him. Eliza looked at him in sympathy.

"I'm so sorry John, I still can't believe he would even do this. And to think he could have been doing it for years-" John flinched, "is... Disgusting." she said, rubbing his back as more tears rolled down his cheeks. She gave him his tea back and he sipped at it slowly, not in the mood to eat or drink, but not wanting to offend Eliza who had been kind enough to even make it for him.

"Does Hercules and Lafayette know yet?" Peggy asked, her hands gone from John's shoulders to rest in her lap. John shook his head at her question.

"I called Eliza as the first person. I-I didn't know who else to call at the time, my first thought was just straight to her." he turned to Eliza, "Because you've always been there for me. I hoped this wasn't any different."

Eliza softly smiled at him.

"It's not, not at all. And," she winked, "We'll kick his ass if we need to."

John smiled a little at Eliza's attempt to cheer him up, despite the lack of success.

"Thanks, Eliza." he said before looking back down at his tea. He still couldn't believe what had happened. He was so angry, but he was also hurt, and god, was he sad. Even better, he had no idea whether to feel bad for Thomas and be angry with him too. In the end, he really just wanted to fall asleep and wake up to kisses in Alexander's arms, him wishing John a happy anniversary.

John slowly teared up again, silently crying his heart out, while the Schuylers tried comforting him again. He was a mess of emotions, his body not big enough to fit them all, so he cried them out to make space for more. Peggy and Eliza were both hugging him tightly while Angelica, still behind the couch, stroked his hair gently. They just hoped for him it wouldn't be as bad as his last breakup, or worse. John could get himself seriously hurt on purpose because of this. They were worried.

After a few hours of a mix of crying and sitting in silence, John took a deep breath and gently nudged Eliza and Peggy away.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just... Eliza will you go with me to get my stuff?" John asked, more of a pleading than a question. Eliza nodded.

"Just tell me when we'll leave."

"What if I came too an-" Angelica tried but John shook his head.

"You might actually punch him. I don't think that's the best right now. I just want my things." he said, and Angelica nodded understanding even if she hadn't planned on punching him as much as slapping him into the next century. Whatever.

Eventually both John and Eliza left.

-

When they arrived at John and Alexander's place, John was hesitant to walk in. He didn't want to face Alexander but he really wanted his things. Get it over with, he thought, the quicker, the better. John grabbed Eliza's hand for comfort as they both made their way up the driveway.

John tried the door and found it unlocked. Great. Alex was still home. He took a deep breath before opening the door and leading himself and Eliza inside. They were just gonna grab a few things, easily fitting in a small backpack he'd have to get from the bedroom. So far, it was fine, he hadn't bumped into Alexander yet, and everything was quiet. He enjoyed it for a bit, not having to worry in his own home.

The content silence was broken as soon as he stepped foot in the bedroom. Alex was asleep. Nothing that John hadn't seen before, in fact, he used to love seeing it as his husband would be constantly moving yet so peaceful while he slept. However, he was less than unhappy to find Jefferson there too, tightly hugging Alexander in a protective grasp. As if Alex was even worth protecting anymore.

John sunk into himself. It wasn't like him to think this low of Alex and he hated it. He hated how he couldn't seem to hate Alex, hated how he still wanted this to work out despite the years of infidelity, hated how absolutely madly in love he still was with Alexander.

Eliza entered the bedroom and the sight instantly had her furious. She was about to scream at Alexander but John stopped her. Not now. Now wasn't good. John would rather they confronted Alex while he was alone. Jefferson didn't need to be dragged further into this than he already was.

The room smelled like sex and regret and John was hurrying to find the damned bag so he could get out of there as soon as possible. He wanted either himself or both of them out of the house, but seeing as he was one against two, he doubted he was the one who got to stay. He was fine with that, as long as it happened as soon as possible.

The moment he found the backpack, he was out of the room going to his studio to pack what he needed for his stay at Eliza's. He dabbed a few canvases, some paint, and some brushes. If he missed anything he didn't hang around to check, just headed out the door with Eliza. He had a feeling he wouldn't be back for a while.

As soon as they were in the car though, Eliza spoke up.

"About what we saw-"

"Drive." John interrupted.

"John, I-"

"Please, just drive."