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

Chapter Forty-Two

❝knowledge (pronounced ˈnɒlɪdʒ or nol-ij), noun
awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.❞  

Elle was back home, and was sitting in her room, trying to decide what to wear.

It had been Drew's birthday party a few days ago. He had invited a few other people around too, which meant Elle couldn't go- purely out of fear of infection- but it was just Elle who was available to actually come over on the day before his birthday, the tenth of June. He was going to spend his birthday at home, and wanted Elle to stay the night, just like old times. She smiled slightly to herself, picking out her favourite blue plaid shirt, the one he had gotten her, and her denim blue diamond earrings. Her tourmaline ring shone on her finger, and her space bracelet hung loosely on her thin wrist. She was wearing so much jewellery lately, it was completely out of character. She fiddled with the necklace she wore, the rocketship she had had ever since she could remember. The one Hunter had given her.

"Ellie?"

She turned around, and saw Robin standing in her doorway with Spencer. "Hey, you two." She smiled. "Come in."

They walked in and sat on her bed. After a few moments, Nita came skidding in and jumped onto the bed, making the other two laugh, and Phoenix followed her inside. "Sorry, Ellie," he mumbled. "I'll just-"

"Don't go," she said. "I wanna talk to you three for a moment."

They all looked confused, and Phoenix slowly sat down. Nita came and lay down, wrapping her body around where he was sitting on the floor. He gently stroked her head, and Elle took a deep breath. "First of all, what do you guys think of this outfit?" she asked, holding the blue flannel up with a dark pair of jeans.

"Maybe a lighter pair of jeans. Even white ones," said Robin, and Spencer nodded earnestly. Phoenix didn't look up, and kept stroking Nita's head, making a pattern with his fingers.

"Alright. So, this and this?"

"Yeah! That's pretty, Ellie," said Spencer. "I like how your hair looks with it."

"Thank you, darling." She sat down in front of them as well, and looked at them all. "The second thing I wanted to talk about was something Pa was telling me."

"Yeah?" asked Phoenix quietly.

She glanced up. "You heard me talking to Drew that day, huh?"

Robin's throat tightened, and she looked down. She felt cold all over. Spencer was slightly pale, too, and Phoenix's hand had frozen on Nita's head.

"Y-Yeah," said Spencer hesitantly. "You said you were going to die."

She sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. Do you know why?"

"Because you have cancer." Phoenix's voice was soft, but she knew he understood the weight of his words.

"Yes." She looked all of them in the eyes. Robin, in her aquamarine eyes that sparkled. Spencer, whose blue eyes could capture even the tiniest bit of light in any room. And Phoenix, with his eyes as dark as the abyss, as a moonless night sky, which glittered like onyxes. "Because I have cancer."

"Are you going to die?"

"I don't know. If I knew, I'd tell you, but I don't."

"What will happen if you die, Ellie?" asked Spencer quietly.

"Nothing. Nothing will happen. The only difference will be that I'm not here anymore, but that's okay. I'm not here when I'm at school, am I? I'm not here when I've gone to see Drew."

"But you're always coming back," said Robin. "If you die, then..."

"You won't come back," finished Phoenix.