Chapter Text
“What was that about?”
He frowned, confused at her anger. He wasn’t too keen on telling her the real reason he was on the phone; he’d already been belittled by asking for money, and didn’t want to make himself seem even weaker by telling her he was on the phone with his biological father, whom he’d contacted when he was young, childishly believing there was some chance that he actually cared for him.
“…nothing. It was… something silly.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, and he’d never felt more scrutinized.
She was seldom angry at him or anyone she loved, always happy and positive. This was rather jarring.
“I’m not an idiot. Tell me the real reason.”
He swallowed, trying to find something else, anything else that didn’t make him sound as pathetic. His hesitance was caught nearly immediately by her and misinterpreted.
“So it’s exactly what I heard? You’re using me, then?”
His brows furrowed in confusion. Using her? Where would she have gotten that?
“I heard you talking. $5,000. Using me to do it. Don’t act dumb.”
His eyes widened as it clicked. She’d probably overheard only snippets of his conversation - which involved lots of money talk. And most definitely included his insecurity muttered under his breath at least once.
“No, no, no, I—“
“That’s why you won’t tell me, huh? Because you know that’s what it is. I can’t believe you!”
“Eliza, that’s—“
“I can’t believe I thought you loved me.”
His mouth clicked shut — he wanted to defend himself, but, god, his heart was too busy splitting down the middle for him to do so. How could she figure he didn’t love her? He’d poured his heart into everything he’d ever done for her; he’d tried his hardest to make sure she knew that she was the first person he’d loved with the intensity that he did, the first person he could see himself marrying.
Maybe it wasn’t as much as he’d figured, and she really believed he would do something like that.
“I can’t believe I let myself believe that you cared — I should’ve known, right? We started off hating each other; I shouldn’t have ever expected you to change! How could I be so stupid?”
“Betsey—“
“Don’t. Don’t call me that. You have no right.”
She stormed into the living room, grabbing at her duffel bag (she’d already folded and organized her things the night before; she was perfect and polished and he’d just lost her) and throwing on her shoes, staying in her PJs.
“Don’t contact me,” she hissed, before storming out his door and slamming it behind her.
His tears caught in his throat, strangling him.
—
“Wow. Wow.”
“I know! That’s what I was thinking.”
“And to think we trusted him!”
Just as quickly as Alexander had joined her life, she’d made sure he left it, blocking him on everything and deleting his number from her phone. Her friends were huddled around her on the floor of her living room, listening to the story of what had happened that very morning. Eliza, a little distraught (well, obviously - the life she had gotten so used to was torn away from her; the man she’d grown so comfortable with turned out to be lying to her), was incredibly grateful for her friends’ comfort.
“‘Liza, we’re so sorry that happened,” Maria said, going to hug her tightly. And then her sisters joined, followed closely by the boys.
“Thank you guys,” she sniffled, suddenly very emotional, “I’m really grateful for all of you.”
A chorus of “aw, Lizzie”s and “we love you”s echoed throughout the group, and she finally felt she was able to breathe easier since that morning.
—---
“Hello?” Alex answered, sounding incredibly distressed, voice tinny from over the line.
“Alexander Hamilton, you’d better start explaining right now,” Maria said, face burning with pure rage. She sat on her couch and prepared to hear a very plausible explanation for why Elizabeth had decided he was using her for money.
“Okay — Christ, I… My dad called, and I didn’t… I’d emailed him so long ago, simply trying to catch up, and then eventually I gave up that pipe dream, but then he called, and he asked for money — money that I don’t have — and so I said I’d find a way to get it to him, because I will, but not through using Eliza.”
She frowned, shaking her head. “Right, but that doesn’t cover where she’d said you said you were using her.”
“Because I didn’t! I didn’t say it to my dad; I said it to myself.”
“Why?”
“Because! I’ve been asking for money; that’s using her. But I’m not going to use her for this. I have a job now, and I wasn’t going to use her any longer.”
A pause came from her end. Alexander was an incredibly intelligent man, but also incredibly idiotic when it came to himself. He’d a fantastic way of convincing himself he was a villain for simply living, a way of twisting any of his actions into something bad. She didn’t see where he’d assumed he was using her; maybe she was missing something?
“Did you… like, ask her unnecessarily?”
“No, I… didn’t even want to ask her to begin with. I shooed off George and lost my job, and then the food supply ran out, and I had no choice.”
His voice was strained, watery, and her frown deepened.
So, he didn’t use Elizabeth. Maria should’ve figured. He’d probably convinced himself that he used her through that strange, twisted way he often thought while regarding himself. He was probably tearing himself up over that idea - not to mention how vulnerable he must’ve felt at having to ask for help in the first place. He, the man whose pride was made of steel, begging for money.
“You didn’t use her, then, Alex. How did you even…?” She sighed, hand absently running through her curls. She let out a quiet groan, “You’re unbelievable sometimes, honestly.”
“I know. Sorry, ‘Ria.”
She shook her head before remembering he couldn’t see her. “It’s okay. I just… this is a bit of a mess now.”
A sigh sounded from his end. “I know.”
The worst part of the mess was that there wasn’t a possible way to clean it up. Eliza had refused to talk about, think about, say the name Alexander, and Alexander wouldn’t try to explain - he figured he’d already done enough damage and broken her enough to the point she wouldn’t want to hear from him (which, unfortunately, he was right about); he didn’t want to upset her further.
Neither party would make an effort, which meant they were stuck where they were with no exit in sight.