Take A Walk (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 5 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Two

"We look alike?" breathed Elle.

"Exactly. Except your eyes. They'd match Gabriel's."

"Gabriel and Ivy," she said quietly, reverently.

Hunter looked at Caleb. "You need to tell us everything you know about their family."

"Right," said Caleb, while Lola still looked shell-shocked. "Okay. Let's go from the beginning.

"Ivy got pregnant with... Elle... and gave birth on the eighth of October. She was in a lot of pain and the child was taken out of the room. The midwife came back and informed us that the baby had a few heart problems that would make it very difficult to leave the hospital for a while, but Ivy needed a lot of treatment, too. They both left the hospital in January, and they lived at home for a while, but Gabriel was a bad husband to her, and she left."

"Left?"

"Disappeared. She never came home, she never left a note. We have no idea where she is, whether she's alive or dead."

"So now Cassie lives with Gabriel?"

"She wanted to move to America and become a scientist for NASA-"

"Just like Lilly," whispered Hunter.

"- so she's staying with us right now. Gabriel might show up soon, just for Easter."

"Where is she today?"

"Night classes. She's in the middle of trying to get into the job she wants and she needs a few classes for it."

"Right." Ryan looked at Hunter. "What can you tell us about her?"

"She was raised in Ireland, and she lived there for most of her life, before she moved to London. Then she came here. I don't know much about her personal life, but-"

"She has a boyfriend," said Lola hollowly. "Cute guy named Adrian."

"Adrian?" asked Ryan.

"That's right."

"It's... that's the masculine version of Adriana," said Hunter quietly. "Shit, I..."

"He's a good looking lad, her Facebook profile picture is of the two of them."

"She has a Facebook?"

"It's under her first name and Gabriel's surname. Just Lovelace. She doesn't talk about Ivy, shuts up like a clam when anyone mentions her," said Lola. "She's legally still Edwards-Lovelace, but doesn't answer to the name."

"And she talks to you?"

"She was friends with Penny," explained Lola, and Caleb looked down at the table. "They were really close when... yeah. She never really got over it. Penny was like a sister to her."

"Funny, because she had one," mumbled Hunter. He stood up, his eyes filled with tears. "I might go down to the studio," he said, trying to sound nonchalant, but the forced lack of tension in his shoulders showing that he was anything but relaxed. "I'll get back to it." He left his plate nearly untouched, and Ryan watched after him with... almost something that looked like pain in her eyes.

A beeping noise filled the room, and Ryan stood up, tending to Red. "Thank you for your help," she said quietly. "He's just... understandably a bit emotional right now."

"Yeah, of course," said Caleb, while Lola was silent, staring at Elle in a new light. "We'll get going. Thank you for the meal, it was lovely."

"No problem," she said faintly, and they left.

Elle looked drained. "I'm gonna go to bed."

"Remember to take your pills."

"Yep. G'night, Ma."