The First Steps (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 1 of the Hardships Saga)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

❝forgive (pronounced fəˈɡɪv or fer-give) verb (used with object)
to grant pardon to a person❞

"Lilly, are you ready?" said Hunter, knocking on her front door.

"Just a minute," she called. Hunter had gone back home to put on a casual denim jacket and jeans, and he had just come to pick Lilly up.

She opened the door, and Hunter's lips parted slightly in surprise. She looked gorgeous- that wasn't the surprising part. She was wearing a grey, somewhat casual dress, though when she moved, it shimmered just slightly. It went to about the middle of her thighs, and she looked gorgeous. The colour of it brought out her eyes. Her eyeliner was black, but her eyeshadow a shimmering green.

"You look..." he whispered, his eyes moving down her body, devouring every detail. "There are so many words in the English language, and there aren't enough for me to describe how incredible you look."

She looked down, blushing. "I don't know what to say."

"How about 'thank you'?" he said jokingly, and she smiled, showing off her dimples.

"You're crazy," she said.

"But I want crazy," he said, grinning. Though he smiled, he could still see pain in Lilly's eyes, still see how her body had wasted away. Lilly wasn't blind either. She could see the sadness behind his smile, and she wanted to fix that.

Hunter was behind the wheel, and he drove in silence. Lilly sat on her hands to stop them from shaking. It was like their first time being together all over again, when they weren't sure exactly what they were meant to do as a couple.

"So... how've you been?" asked Hunter awkwardly, before mentally slapping himself. She had been broken, because of him.

Lilly shook her head. "Honestly?"

The corners of Hunter's mouth tightened. "Yes."

She looked at him. "I couldn't stop thinking about you. Why you had left me. What would've happened if I had pushed him off before you had seen us. And how many other girls he had f*cked before he tried me. I felt bad for them. I felt worse for myself, though. I had no one to comfort me, no one to tell me it would be okay, that it would never happen again." Lilly watched his eyes slowly fill with tears, and he blinked frantically to get rid of them.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't blame you," said Lilly quietly. "I never blamed you. I knew that I would've done the same, if it had been me."

Hunter didn't say anything, and Lilly went back to watching out the window.

They finally stopped at a shopping center, and Hunter took her to Tiffany & Co. jewellery store. "Pick whatever you like."

"Hunt, no!"

"Yes," he said. "This is all I can think of to make it up to you."

"Hunt, just dinner is fine, I swear-"

"Then I'm gonna pick something for you, and it's gonna be the ugliest thing ever, because I don't know how to pick jewellery."

"Hunter!"

"Lilly, please," he said quietly, taking her hand. "Pick whatever you like."

She pursed her lips, then sighed, walking into the store. He saw her admire a pair of diamond earrings that looked like a flower with four petals, but she sighed and moved on. Hunter noticed the price of it, and realised why she had passed it by.

She ended up picking a pair of simple silver beads and showing it to Hunter. He sighed. It was the second-cheapest thing in the store.

"Alright, darl. Why don't you go outside and find us someplace to eat, huh?" he said, kissing her cheek. "I'll buy this for you."