I had live-tweeted everything up to Dear Theodosia. It was currently Tomorrow There'll Be More of Us.
@abigailleighmiranda - @Anthony_Ramos1 is currently dying in the American Revolution (well, Hammies finding out) I cry.
As soon as I tweeted that I felt a hand in my shoulder.
"Hey babe." I looked up to see Anthony.
"Oh, hey Anthony." I smiled looking up.
"Uh, I kinda need to talk to you, is that alright?" He asked nervously, wringing his hands.
"Yeah." I said clicking my phone off.
"we can talk in Pips room, I'm sure she wouldn't mind." He took my hand, "or find out." He added under his breath. He held my hand, and led me into her room.
"What's up?" I asked sitting on the couch.
"Uh, yesterday, when you were napping," he started.
"I know, I had a nightmare." I said, cutting him off.
"No, you were talking in your sleep, and at the end, right as I woke you up, you whimpered 'please dad' and, um, you said you dreamt about the Walters, but after you said dad, your body jolted, like you were kicked."
"Yeah, um," I started, but this time Anthony cut me off.
"Were you dreaming about Lin? Did you dream that he hit you? Because babe, Lin would never hit you. He's the most un-violent person I know, and sweetheart he adores you."
"Anthony," I started, and he cut me off again.
"I'm gonna tell you a story babe, the day that Lin found you in the grocery store, he came from there to the theater, he was freaking out.
Flashback
Anthony's POV
I was sitting on the couch, on my phone, when I felt Lin sit next to me.
"Hey man, what's up?" I asked.
"Nothing." He shrugged, "well, actually, um, I was at the store earlier, on my way here. I saw a girl there."
"Lin," I started, laughing a bit, "you've been married for years now."
"Ramos she was like, 16, I think she's being abused."
"Woah." That's all I could say, "um, how could you tell?" I asked, confused.
"She had this massive bruise on her cheek, she said she was in foster care, she also said she hated it." He admitted, nervously.
"Did you ask about the bruise?" I asked, pressing on.
"Yeah, she said she rammed into a pole, I didn't really buy it. She had several other bruises, a bunch on her arm, and one on her jaw, a cut on her forehead. This kid was seriously beat up. And she had a limp." He finished."
"Crap." I said, "it sounds like you're right."
"I, ugh, I hope she's alright, she seems so sweet, so precious." He looked lost in thought.
(1 day later)
I was onstage working out some of the dancing kinks with Andy, when Lin came in and sat in the audience, he looked deep in thought. Once I was done with Andy, I went over and sat by him.
"Hey, you okay?" I asked, he was looking at his phone.
"Uh, yeah, you remember that girl I was telling you about yesterday?" He said, not looking up from his phone.
"Um, yeah, why?" I asked.
"I saw her again." He said, still glued to his phone.
"Oh, where?" I asked.
"Edison diner, across the street." He said, "FOUND IT!" He suddenly yelled.
"Holy crap man, you found what?" I asked, and Lin took a spoonful of his Matza ball soup.
"Her." He smiled, showing me his phone.
@abi_with_a_i - Welp. I'm dead. I ran into the @lin_manuel today. You sir, are the greatest.
Attached was a picture of a teenage girl, who I can only assume was her, she was wearing a pink sweater, she took the photo, and had to lift her arm up to get the picture. Her sweater sleeve fell down to her elbow, her arm was extremely bruised up. I can see why she was wearing long sleeves. Aside from that she was pretty, she wasn't gorgeous, it just wasn't the word, she was cute, she was pretty.
"This is the kid?" I asked. "Oh gosh you weren't lying about the bruising." You could see bruises scattered on her arm, and could see the one on her cheek, it was slightly covered with concealer, not super well though, like it smudged off. "She's adorable though. Looks like a tiny Pippa."
"Oh gosh, she kinda does." Lin said, pulling his phone back. "Either way, I saw her at dinner, she wasn't eating, her family wasn't letting her eat, I know because I saw her try and grab one of her brothers fries, and he slapped her hand away."
"So, she is being abused?" I asked.
"It gets worse, I talked to her outside, and I asked her if she was being abused and she didn't say anything, but the look that crossed over her face. She was scared senseless. I texted V, she's trying to use her law superpowers to figure out more about her."
"Like, what are you trying to do?" I asked, Lin seemed really passionate about this.
"I think, I think I want to foster her." He admitted.
"Woah. Big step. Uh, that's not a small decision, and you have Sebastian, it's not just a sign one form once kind of a thing, you really have to commit to this."
"I know. It's just, I saw her with those people, she was afraid, uncomfortable, the kid was too scared to tell me what was going on, she's precious, oh gosh, why are they hurting her? This is downright scary." He held his head in his hands.
"I'm sorry." I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Think about it Anthony, someone could be hitting her right now, for all we know she could be passed out unconscious on the ground. She's just a kid. She's a girl. You don't hit her, you don't hurt her, don't hit a girl!" Lin was practically yelling, he was passionate about this.
"I'm sure she's okay. I'm sure." I looked over at Lin, he followed the girl, I guess her name was Abi, on Twitter and immediately messaged her. Please forgive me, I read over her shoulder.
@Lin-Manuel Miranda:
Hey, this is Abigail Walter right?
Abigail Walter:
Oh crap, um, yeah... Hi.
Lin-Manuel Miranda:
I just wanted to let you know, I'm really going to do everything in my power to get you out of this. I'm sorry.
Abigail Walter:
You really don't have to do that. I'm kinda a lost cause.
Lin-Manuel Miranda:
No ones a lost cause. You okay right now?
Abigail Walter:
Yeah, I'm fine.
Lin-Manuel Miranda:
Are you sure?
Abigail Walter;
I'm sure. I'm home, I'm in my room, I'm safe. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.
Lin-Manuel Miranda:
Stay safe, bye kiddo!
With that Lin shut off his phone.
"I'm gonna adopt a teenage girl. Oh crap what will V say?"
Flashback over
"Anthony." I said, and he finally looked at me. "I didn't think Lin was going to hit me." I said.
"Oh. Well, deep important story gone to waste. Um, why did you say dad then?" He asked.
"Uh, it's kind of embarrassing." I said, "in my dream, it was when I first met Mr. Walter, he, uh, threw a beer bottle at my head, and I may have called him dad when asking him to stop. It wasn't intentional, it was natural, it just slipped out."
"Wait, you called him dad, and he beat you?" Anthony asked.
"Yeah. He yanked me off the couch, he beat me senseless, I passed out. I woke up the next morning in that same position on he floor." I admitted.
"That's why you were defensive and apologetic when you called Lin dad. You did think he was going to hit you!" He exclaimed, our conversation coming full circle.
"I guess, well it was an instinctive reaction."
"Abi, babe. He loves you so much. Come on, we're gonna find him." He stood up and took my hand.
"Please don't tell him I thought he was going to hit me." I whined.
"He knows, he's brought that up before."
"Oh great." I said, sarcastically.
"Lin?" Anthony knocked on Lins dressing room door.
"Decent! Come on!" Lin yelled, and Anthony opened the door.
"Hey." Anthony smiled.
"Hey Ramos, hey Niñita!" He smiled at the two of us.
"Your kid needs a hug." Anthony said pushing me forwards.
"Awe. Okay, happy to help, come here baby." He stood up and came over to me, enveloping me.
"I love you dad." I whispered.
"I love you too Abigail." Lin said softly squeezing me tightly. "I love you too."
•••
I'm sorry this is up at 3 am. I fell asleep after I wrote the words 'I love you too Abigail' seriously. I only had 10 more until I finished the chapter
3:36 am
Thanks for reading!
- Abi