Poison

Chapter Twenty One

Jefferson shut the car down in front of Laurens's dorm building. Angelica threw open the door, eager to get her hands on Laurens after what he did. Jefferson was ready to follow after her, but something stopped him. He looked over at Hamilton, who was staring out the window, his eyes screwed shut. "Lex?"

"Yeah?" Hamilton responded weakly.

"You don't have to go in if you don't want to," Jefferson whispered reassuringly. "I know the last thing you probably want to do is go back there."

"I'll be fine, I just... I need a minute."

"Alright." Jefferson leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh.

After a few moments, Hamilton turned and looked at Jefferson. "You're not going?"

"I'm sure Angelica is handling it."

"Hey, Thomas?"

"Yeah?"

Hamilton smiled to himself. "Thank you."

"No problem, darling. Now, you ready to finish this?"

"Yeah. Let's get my baby back."

Hamilton and Jefferson unbuckled the seat belt at the same time and climbed out of the car. They entered the building and rounded the corner to find Angelica waiting by the elevators. "Glad to see you two could join me."

"We thought we could turn a blind eye and let you get a few hits before we got there," Jefferson said smoothly, covering for Hamilton's mini break down. Hamilton looked up at Jefferson gratefully, although he didn't notice.

"Although I'm all for that plan, I have no clue where I'm going." Angelica gestured to the elevator, which opened on command as she pushed the 'up' button. "Shall we, gentlemen?" Jefferson grinned to himself as he stepped inside the elevator, followed by Hamilton, and lastly Angelica. Hamilton pushed the third button, like he had done so many times. The motion made him nauseated like it always does, but this time for a different reason. Today, he wasn't going to Laurens's dorm to lose his dignity, to have his self worth swept under the rug, to be mentally, physically, and emotionally tormented. He was going to get his dignity back, to get revenge on the psychotic man who tormented him for so long, and to get his son back. Hamilton stood tall, and as the elevator opened up on the third floor, Hamilton didn't cower down in fear of what was to come. He led the way down the empty hall, Jefferson and Angelica right on his heels, before he stood face to face with the dorm.

332. This number had terrified Hamilton every time he had stood face to face with it. But now? All he could imagine was the roles switching. How he would finally hold some power of Laurens, and how Laurens would look on at Hamilton in fear and shock. The though brought an evil, almost maniacal grin onto Hamilton's face. He bravely put his hand on the doorknob and twisted, knowing Laurens never locked his door. He swung open the door to reveal... nothing.

Wait, no, that can't be right.

"Search every corner of this dorm," Hamilton commanded, his voice deep with rising anger at finding nothing.

Jefferson and Angelica immediately set off in different directions. Angelica searched the living room area, and Jefferson went to the kitchen, flinging open every cabinet door and shoving boxes around before moving on to the next. That left Hamilton with the back rooms. He checked the bathroom first, opening the medicine cabinet and looking through what had been taken from it. What he found horrified him, and what was in store for Philip. Cases and cases of drugs, from opium to LSD. Hamilton definitely did not remember Laurens dealing with drugs, or even housing them. Although Laurens was a bad person, he refused to take drugs. That was the one admirable thing Hamilton remembered about him.

Hamilton left the bathroom and opened the spare room. Laurens did have a roommate, but they moved out due to "personal reasons" halfway through the semester. After they moved out, this room became a place to dump whatever wherever, it seemed like. Trash and beer cans riddled the floor, as well as boxes and "misplaced" condoms. Hamilton shivered at the thought. How many girls had gotten pregnant because of the condom that was lying on the floor instead of being used? Hamilton had to move on, this room was useless, but he knew he was stalling. He kicked a box with his shoe. It's just a room, Hamilton thought to himself. There's no reason to get scared.

"Alex?" Hamilton jumped, as if he had just got caught doing something he shouldn't be doing. In fact, he did get caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. He shouldn't be here. He should be home, watching TV while Jefferson lay with his head on Hamilton's lap and with Philip sleeping soundly next to Jefferson. But Hamilton knew he couldn't just stop looking for Philip. This was a minor obstacle he would have to tackle for Philip. Jefferson's shadowed figure stood in the doorway. "I finished checking the kitchen and found nothing. Have you checked the back room yet?"

"No," Hamilton admitted, rubbing his arm as if that would rub away the shame. The truth is he isn't strong enough to go into the room again on his own.

"Lexi, you can go back to the car if you need to," Jefferson whispered, trying his best to comfort the smaller man. "Angelica and I can take care of things."

"No," Hamilton muttered out. "This is my mess, and I have to deal with it."

Jefferson smiled sadly. "Alright, but I'm right behind you. It's okay if you can't do it, I'll always be right behind you."

Hamilton let out a deep breath and nodded. He pushed past Jefferson and faced the door to Laurens's bedroom. He closed his eyes and felt Jefferson put a relaxing hand on his shoulder. Hamilton placed his hand on Jefferson's, opened his eyes, and slowly opened the door.