Laurens, I like you a lot!

Chapter 12

I opened the door to Mulligan's, and quickly slammed it behind me. 

Everyone from the sitting room was staring at me.

Burr, Lafayette, Mulligan.

"You look like you've seen a ghost, little lion," said Marquis, as he walked over to me.

The room started getting brighter, and I braced myself against the wall. Lafayette grabbed me by the arm and led me over to the couch. He lowered me down along with him and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I rested my head onto his shoulder, I felt so drained.

Herc was sitting in the arm chair, looking at me. He exchanged a look with Burr.

"What's going on," he asked. 

Oh, Aaron, if only you knew.

I raised my head up and said, "He's not gone."

Confusion filled the room. Even Lafayette, the most eccentric of us all, removed his arm from around me and gave me the most bewildered look.

"What do you mean, Ham? Of course he is gone!"

Burr spoke up.

"I know what he means. John's still around. Perhaps not physically, but his energy is still present. But, Alexander, I wouldn't go around telling people that your dead lover is still around. It is a little bit hard to take. Just look at Laf, the poor man's completely lost."

Lafayette stood up and walked out of the room, leaving only a small dent in the goose-down cushion where he sat.

From the kitchen, we heard a frustrated scream. Then, something snapped. Lafayette walked back into the room, his heels clicking loudly on the mahogany.

"Alexander, you are full of chicken shit! Burr, you're a stubborn lunatic. And, Hercules, you are an absolute moron for housing these crazies!"

Mulligan stood up.

"You may not agree with these guys, but you can't tell them that they're wrong just because they miss their friend!"

"I miss him too, but that doesn't mean I shall attempt to summon him and use him as an artistic outlet!"

I stood up and announced, "Alright, Laf, that's enough!"

"That's enough?! It's never enough! Never! Never enough for any of you! He is gone and there is nothing you can do about it! Why don't you just cry about it, attend the ceremony and then visit it once a year like a normal person?! He will not come back no matter how far you go with your insane attempts to contact the dead."

A hand rested on my shoulder and I heard a disembodied voice tell me to stand up for what was right.

I stepped forward, and pressed my finger to Marquis' shoulder.

"Shut. Up."

I pressed my finger harder with each word.

He shoved me down onto the ground, hard.

Aaron had him by the shoulders, pulling him back.

As Herc pulled me up from the ground, I heard footsteps coming from the stair well.

Not again.

To my surprise, there was a curly haired woman stomping down the stairs.

"Which one of you fools would like to explain the ruckus to which I woke up," inquired Angelica. Her face was still red from sleep and her posture bent.

We all exchanged looks.

Which one us wanted to explain this?

Lafayette quickly removed himself from Burr's hands and made his way out the door.

"Well, I suppose that answers my question, boys."

We all hung our heads in shame. We looked like we'd just been scolded for a school yard caboodle.

"Alexander, go home. You ought to talk to Eliza about this. All of you need more time to mourn before you talk about this. George has been in his home for days, and I think you all should take some time alone. Go home, gentlemen."