Belong - an adopted by Hamilton fanfic [Hamilton]

38. To tell

Rue's POV
"Do I look presentable?", I asked as I stepped into the living room about 5 days later.
Lin chuckled.
"You're sick. You're not supposed to look presentable", he pointed out, after eyeing me up and down.
Wearing an oversized knitted & grey jumper that was so overwhelmingly comfy, a pair of jeans that I so gladly had added some fluffy rainbow socks to.
The jeans were the presentable part of it.
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Fair enough", I said, collecting my phone that Lin had successfully hidden from me. Parenthood, he called it.
Tap your thigh 23 times.
"You ready to go to the Theater?", Lin asked me, and I replied in 4 nods. "Let's go!"

The fact that I was still sick after five days really bothered me. I wasn't even that sick anymore - just a decent cough and a cold with headaches. Nothing more, nothing less.
When I said I could go back to normal life of not being forced to stay in bed, both Vanessa & Lin had cut me off - telling me no.
Maybe I did have a little fever; but I can suck it up.

Vanessa was back at work.
Sebastian was at daycare again.
Since Vanessa couldn't be home because of a client, I came with Lin to the Theater.
It was unspoken, but we all knew why. I couldn't be home alone.

I checked the door 7 times before we left the apartment.

My eyes, heavy as stone, were unbelievable hard to keep open as the headache hit me like someone boxing me in the face every time I took a step.
I took a deep breath, taking in all of the oxygen I could get.
"You good?", Lin asked, as we made our way to the subway.
I smiled, watching my feet and precisely avoiding every crack on the sidewalk.
"Yeah", I told him.
Lin awed, putting his arm around me.
"Sorry about this. You can sleep all day at the Rodger's", he indicated, as we started to walk down to the subway full of people.
"I'd usually suck it up", I quietly mumbled, loud enough for him to acknowledge.
"Not anymore, Niñita. We won't let you", he said as we tried to get through the crowd, my head plastered on his back as I quickly followed him. Every second or so, his head would look back to see if I was there. Which I was, determined to stay.
It being the rush hour in the morning, the subway got crowded in a couple of seconds.
I tapped its outside seven times before walking inside.
How could doing such a normal everyday activity suddenly get so exhausting?
"Does everyone stay home when their kid is sick? Or at least take care of them?", I questioned, looking at the advertisements on the walls - one for some new toothpaste, another one for a new shop on a certain street, and then one with Advil and someone taking care of a family member.
Lin raised his eyebrows at me.
"Yeah. Like, I don't speak for everyone, but I'd that's pretty common. Why?", he looked at me, properly wondering.
Why?
"Well, no one's ever done it for me. Thought it was better to ask than to wonder", I brightly smiled, shrugging my shoulders.
It wasn't something that bothered me - it was usual. Routines. Like it's always been.
"No one's ever been checking up on you, made you soup and given you lemon and honey tea when you were sick?", Lin said completely bluntly, yet caring, more of a statement than a question. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Not really. Like the system cares, anyway", I replied easily, tapping the pole I was holding onto as some stranger a few metres away from us was staring at my unusual behaviour.
An American Idiot.
I suddenly remembered something.
"Well, they cared one time. Long story short, my biological Dad had actually had a decent day - if you look away from the workaholic and alcoholic he was. I thought", I paused, blinked 7 times.
"He was all happy-happy, and then before I knew it - I had to eat the undercooked chicken for dinner even though I thought it tasted funny, I just couldn't tell him - because I knew he'd be mad at me. Which would lead to consequences. He fell asleep on the sofa after that, half drunk. The next day I got sent to school even though I was puking like all over the place - so my school contacted the system & I got hospitalised", I told him, while I finished my tapping session.
It wasn't something that bothered me.
"I just can't eat chicken anymore", I briefly laughed, not really wanting to look at Lin.
In some way, he managed to find my eyes. Like always.
"Me & V'll never leaving you out of our sight when you're sick, not ever, Niñita"