Angelica's voice shook both young men out of the conversation. She could see that much.

Alexander whirled around to the sound of her voice, eyes large. He sat there in that position, stiff and staring at her for a long moment.

Angelica grappled for words, but found none.

"Hi," she said, voice soft and expressionless.

"Hey," he replied, still stunned.

Angelica felt the wavering quiet surround them, and hated it. But there was nothing she could do. She walked over to his bedside and sat there.

Silence passed between them.

"I'm sorry," Alexander said finally. His eyes stared up at her, cracked and overcome with a layer of tears as he recounted on everything. "I messed up."

"Me too," Angelica whispered.

So many words and confessions hung in the air, remnants of regret and guilt. Shards of memory and exhaustion and shame. Neither of them knew how to say anything else besides sorry, for everything that had happened. So they just sat there in front of each other, watching and waiting and staying.

Five minutes of this staying passed, until eventually Angelica found that both their hands had reached out to hold each other.

Alexander's mouth quirked into a wry lopsided grin, "Hmm. Sorry about the blood."

Angelica realised that his knuckles were scraped and dried of blood. She put both her hands over his one hand, and touched his split skin.

"Do they hurt?"

"No," Alexander answered. He looked down at his knuckles and curled his hands into fists, wincing as his skin split more. "Ah ... kinda."

She scoffed, lips drying up into a wry smile, "Why would you do that to yourself?" She whispered this, almost scolding him but at the same time... just curious. "What was it all for?"

"Are you kidding me?" Alexander said. "It was for you. It's all for you."

He leaned forward, putting his other hand lightly over their pile of hands, so that now they weren't sure who was holding who.

"Okay?" He said.

Angelica stared at their hands clumped together, her hands trying to shade his scraped bloody skin, and his hands trying to protect her clean fragile ones. They were a mismatch that fulfilled each other.

She heard footsteps enter the room.

And then a voice said, "Oh."

Eliza.

"Wow, that was..." Eliza drew in a breath that seemed to be hiccuped. "That was fast."

"Eliza," Alexander's voice flooded with panic. Angelica looked at him, and then down at their hands again. She pulled her own out of the pile, putting them at her sides.

"It's okay, Alexander. She told me everything," Eliza went on hurriedly, before he could make up an excuse. "You don't... have to lie to me anymore."

A dreadful silence followed this.

"Eliza," Angelica started, voice threaded with guilt. She stood up to meet her.

"It's okay, Angelica," Eliza said, but her gaze seemed soft and vulnerable. "We've talked. You know how I feel. Alexander is who I need to talk to now."

A quiet moment passed, as this registered. Angelica stole a glance at Alexander, and saw him staring numbly at the wall, looking regretful.

"Right," Angelica said. "Okay... then if you need anything, I'll be with Thomas."

She turned and walked to the other side of the room, before she could change her mind.

I hope they sort things out. I hope Eliza will be okay.

But if she was being entirely honest with herself, Alexander was the one who she should be praying for.

When she wanted to, Eliza could open a flame and burn someone bad.

:::

Angelica moved to the other side of the curtain, and again, was surprised to see that Thomas had a black eye.

"Oh my god," Angelica said, completely unprepared. "Why do both of you look so horrible?"

Thomas chuckled, "I wonder."

Angelica smiled a broken, sad smile at this. She walked over to him and sat down on the bed, quiet.

"Well, you look really bad," she said.

"Not to be rude," Thomas said. "But I think you mentioned that just five seconds ago. Thanks for the reminder, though."

Angelica laughed, until eventually it turned into a sob.

"Oh, shoot," Thomas sat up straighter, leaned towards her as she broke out into a chain of sobs. His eyes were wide with compassion. "Princess, don't cry."

Angelica didn't answer this. Her eyes glassed over, and two tears came rolling down down her cheeks, like a race to the finish line.

"Shh shhh. Hey..." Thomas scooted forwards as much as he could, and reached out a hand to her. "Don't cry. I mean, it was fun while it lasted."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Angelica asked through her tears.

Thomas watched her for a moment, his hand clutching hers. They were inches away, and close enough they could kiss.

"It means I'm letting you go," his voice was so faint, it could have been a ghost. His eyes cracked and filled with a warmth so deep and powerful Angelica started crying harder.

What? You're letting me go? What do you mean?

"What's that supposed to mean?" She repeated, but this time the sound was warbled.

Thomas sighed, but it wasn't irritable. Just tired, "Princess. Nothing lasts forever. We gave it a go. It was fun ... but Hamilton really cares about you."

Angelica couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her tears actually began to slow down, hiccups dying to a softer pace.

"W-What?"

"Yeah," Thomas breathed out a bitter laugh. "We talked about it. I know. It's crazy."

His hands had reached up now to cup her face, cradling her in front of him.

"You guys talked?" Angelica repeated, stunned. She sniffed. "And ... you're ... okay about it? About everything?"

Thomas sighed, "Fine — I'm not okay with everything. I still can't believe you guys made fun of my hair. I'm deeply disappointed in you, princess."

She laughed, eyes and face shining. Her tears died away now, so that she simply sat there in front of him, holding his hands that cupped her face.

"But, mostly, yes," Thomas admitted, eyes rolling quickly, but you could tell he was joking. Behind them there was a deep reflection that seemed to run in his blood. "I'm okay with most things. Amazing girls like you are hard to come by ... but, I think I have what it takes to win them over now."

"And what is that?" Angelica asked, eyes wet but mood soft and content.

Thomas smiled, "The heart to want to change."

Her head was spinning with the loss of moisture, so she focused on Thomas's amazing, brave face. She felt a rainbow of emotions inside her.

"I love you," she told him.

"I love you too."

Their lips met and they held on, calmly. There were no harmful words or heartache in the story of their kiss — no regrets. Only the two of them, the stars and the universe.

The kiss ended sweetly. Angelica turned her head and burrowed her face into his shoulder, grasping around him for comfort.

"You do have what it takes, Thomas," she whispered into his suit shirt. "You always have. You just need to learn to show it more."

He didn't answer. Just sat there, arms wrapped around her torso and holding her there against him.

"You will find your perfect girl," She said.

Thomas scoffed, voice bleeding sarcasm, "Sure, I will."

Angelica paused at this, lifting her head to look at him, "You will," she hit his chest and he flinched back, grip loosening so that she was arms length. "You're a great guy, okay? Don't forget that. The world just needs to see more of you. The real Thomas Jefferson."

"The real one?" Thomas repeated, brow cocked.

"Yes. The real you. The good you. The one who's ... hiding behind a shell of arrogance and ignorance."

Thomas's eyes seemed to clear up into a wash of fear at this, as if he had just been uncovered from being involved in a serious crime. He looked naked and vulnerable, but he only nodded at Angelica's acknowledgement.

"Yes," he said quietly, eyes in a trance of thought.

"Okay?" Angelica's voice was strong now, sounding like a Mother reprimanding a child. "Don't be afraid to come out. You don't always have to play the big guy."

There was a moment silence, as this sunk in. And then a smile graced Thomas's face.

"Thank you, Angelica," he said, eyes sparkling like someone she knew. "For being a good friend."

She smiled back, wholeheartedly, "Hey. What are friends for?"

:::

A/N

Thank you for helping this book reach 1K Reads! 😘😘

PS. This was the end of Thomgelica, if you hadn't already noticed ... I'm sorry 😅

I warned you! I really did!