The Road Ahead (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 4 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Forty

❝pill (pronounced pɪl or as spelled), noun
a small, rounded mass of solid medicine for swallowing whole.❞

Another few weeks passed, and Elle slowly became weaker. Ryan became used to the silence that came with a mute child, and Phoenix came out of his room only at night time, long after the rest of the household had gone to bed. Robin sat with Spencer, and the two of them played with dolls throughout the day, which Spencer enjoyed greatly. He only ever played with dolls at home, though- the preschoolers in his class had told him that playing with dolls was for girls. He had stopped playing with them at preschool- the boys would laugh at him. Though he had made particularly good friends with a girl named Abby.

Hunter woke up, his hand resting on his guitar and Ryan curled up like a cat on the couch beside him. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. He and Ryan had stayed up, trying to write some music, but had ended up both falling asleep on the couch, so it seemed. He had been resting on Ryan's hip, which was surprisingly comfortable, and his guitar was propped up on his leg.

"Wake up, my dove," he mumbled, shaking her, and she groaned.

"No, I don't want to."

"I know you're tired, but the doctor asked if we could talk to him about Elle's condition today."

Her eyes opened slightly, revealing the green he had fallen in love with. "Must we?"

"Yeah, we have to." He kissed her cheek, and stood up to check on Red. "You take care of Red, I'll get a start on breakfast."

She sighed, and he paused, glancing at her again. "Ry?"

"I'm... I dunno. In a little bit of pain. It's nothing."

"Period?" he asked, remembering the date.

"Mmm."

He kissed her cheek again, giving her a soft hug. "You okay?"

"Should be."

"Take a painkiller, maybe?"

"Sure."

"I can make you a chai."

She smiled, giving him a small kiss. "Thank you."

"I love you. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course, Hunt."

"That's good. That's all I care about. As long as you know how much I love you."

"Yeah. Of course."

He was concerned, but decided not to dwell on it- he didn't really have time to be worried. He stood up and stretched, checking on Red, who was still asleep. She had slept soundly to the sound of Hunter's guitar- perhaps even though she couldn't speak, she'd enjoy the sound of music, which was good enough for him.

He walked to the kitchen, leaving her in her other bassinet, and began to make eggs and toast for breakfast. His heart was racing slightly- the doctor would give them news today, and they had no idea whether or not that news was good. He heard rustling behind him, and noticed Spencer sitting at the breakfast bar. "Good morning, pumpkin," he said. "Sleep okay?"

He shrugged, playing with a braid on one of Robin's dolls. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong?"

He kicked his feet. "Nothin'."

Hunter turned around, glancing at him again. He was too focused on the doll's hair, not enough on his usual laughter and chatter. "Come on," he said, sitting down. "What's up, bud?"