Click-Boom

Chapter 12: I'm Sorry

Phillip and I share a worried look. His eyebrows furrow and his face turns a light shade of crimson. His dark eyes shoot daggers at the wooden floorboards. His hands clench into fists, the tendons in his hands stand out prominently, threatening to burst through his freckled skin. 

"When did they come?" I ask, my voice echoing through the tense silence. 

"I can't be sure, Hercules came before--everyone was joyous, everyone reunited, then I saw her..." He trails off. "But what she said..."

"Alexander, what did she say?" I look over at Lafayette, who looks confused. He and Laurens seem to have the same mindset--no clue what is happening. "Phillip, I think I left my phone in the car, could you go look?" I know I didn't leave my hone in the car--it's in my pocket--i just don't wan him to hear what his father will say. 

"Why did you have him do that?" Lafayette asks, watching Phillip make his way to the car.

"I don't want him to hear what Alexander my say." I say cooly. "Now go on, before he comes back--or realizes that my phone isn't in the car." I say, he takes a deep breath before starting.

"When I saw her crimson dress, I knew who it was. I was scared--scared what everyone would say, what Betsy would say." He chokes, covering hid mouth with his hand. "She looked at me, and seemed happy for just a moment. Then saw Betsy, and her eyes filled with tears. I'm sorry, she kept repeating... I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I approached her and she flinched away..." 

"Well, she was scared. It's not that absurd for her to be afraid of you with your, um, history...?" I say, my words sounding more confused than I feel. 

"No, she flinched away, covering her face, pleading, Please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me..." I notice his eyes have filled with tears, threatening to fall. 

"Why is she scared of you, Alexander?" Laurens asks. "What history?" 

Alexander turns sickly pale at the thought of having to explain himself again. 

"How do you--wait, what year did you die?" I raise my eyebrow, looking sternly at Laurens. 

"Normally I would comment of how absurd that question is, but 1782, I think." He shrugs. "I can't be too sure, though."

"It was 1782..." Alexander says softly. 

"And the first records of you-know-what was in 1791 and the other you-know-what was published in 1797... Of course he wouldn't know about it! He died fifteen years before the Reynolds Pamphlet--I mean, you-know-what."

"The Reynolds Pamphlet?" Laurens' eyes flick up to mine, filled with confusion and what looks like sorrow. 

"I don't think anyone but Alexander should explain this, let's go inside and let them talk." I say, stepping off the porch and begin walking to the car. 

"Miss. Annette, I don't think what you asked me to retrieve is in here..." Phillip mumbles as I approach the hood of the car. 

"It's not, I have it." I say. Phillip pulls himself out of the car with little trouble, but a puzzled expression resides on his face. 

"What? Then why and I looking for it?" He asks, confusion in his voice. 

 "Because I didn't want you to hear that." I say, shrugging. 

"But I already knew everything, it's not like it could surprise me." He says, his voice low. 

"I just didn't think you should go through it again, okay?" I whisper. My throat grows tight, as if someone shoved a wad of cotton inside. 

"Thank you, but it wasn't necessary. It's not me you should worry about, it's mother. I don't know how she's going to react. When it first happened, she wouldn't talk to anyone, she shut everyone out. She mourned herself, she spoke to herself--" He pauses, taking deep breaths in and exhaling strongly. 

"It's alright, you don't have to tell me." I whisper, walking closer to him. He nods and looks at the dried grass. "Let's go inside, you'll have to face everybody eventually."

"Alright, Miss. Annette." He mumbles. 

"Don't call me that, everyone else it's normal, but not you. Just... pick something else." I say with a small grin. 

"Alright, how about... Nattie?" He asks. 

"That's a new one, Freckles." I grin. "I like it."

"Nattie it is." He smiles and jogs up to walk beside me. I look up and see him smiling down at me, his green eyes alight. We are silent as we walk up to the front door, my eyes shifting to Laurens' pain stricken expression as he leans against the wooden railing. He is silent, his green eyes narrowed as he glares angerly at the dark haired man before him.

The room is painfully quiet, except for the muffled sniffles of a woman. My eyes scan the room, falling on the blood red material of a beautiful red dress. Phillip goes to comfort his mother but I go to the young, terrified woman huddled in the small corner. 

"Hey," I say softly. The woman's dark eyes shift to mine, they are a deep brown--and filled with tears. "What's your name?"

"Maria," She says through sniffles. Her big brown eyes shift to mine and she wipes the falling tears. "Where am I?"

"You're at my house, nobody knows why. Do you need help?" I gently grab her arm but she yanks it away. 

"Please don't touch me..." She chokes. 

"Okay, okay, I won't touch you. Can you stand up on your own?" I say, my hands held up where she can see them. If I want to help her, I have to have her trust me. 

"I think," She mumbles, fighting against the beautiful fabric of her dress before she stands. As I look more closely, I can see that it is ripped in many places and poorly sewed back together. 

"We should get you some new clothes, would you feel comfortable changing into something else? I can sew the dress you have now if you like." I say softly. Her eyes dart around the room, not residing on one thing for more than a few seconds. 

"Okay, just--I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry--I saw him, I didn't know what else to do." She whispers hoarsely, tears streaming down her mocha coloured cheeks. "I'm sorry."

"We can talk somewhere else, come on." I say, leading her towards the hallway. The front door opens just as we pass, and Alexander stands in the doorway. Maria looses her footing and trips over her dress and collapses to the floor, her dark hair enclosing her face. 

Alexander goes to help her up but she leaps out of his grasp and lies on her back, staring wide-eyed up at him. 

"I'm sorry," He whispers, looking sorrowful. Laurens comes up behind Alexander with a look of scorn carved amongst his features. Without a singe word, he grabs Alexander's forearm and drags him away from Maria. 

"Please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me..." She pleads as I attempt to help her to her feet. I don't manage to bring her to her feet until another set of hands assists me. A blue sleeved arm and pale skinned hand easily helps the young woman to her feet. I brush a strand of hair out of my face and look to see who'd helped me.

Eliza stands before me, her hand placed on Maria's shoulder. Her tear streaked face stares at the floor. 

"Eliza, what are you--"

"I never thought I would meet her, the woman who--" Eliza pauses, her eyes filled with tears. "The woman I've heard so much about."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Please, allow me to speak my story, the real reason I did what I did." Maria sobs. "Please."

Eliza closes her eyes, and sighs deeply. Her eyes open in a flash before she whispers, "Okay."

Hello, my friends My faithful friends! Wow, okay, I've been listening to Sweeney Todd too much... Anyways, how did y'all like the chapter? Hope you liked it! Remember: READ, VOTE, and COMMENT! Bye, Pansycakes!

~Love, Emily

Be brave