❝story (pronounced ˈstɔːri or stohr-ee), noun
an account of one's life, dating back to when they are born.❞
"Honey?" he called, opening the front door. "Honey, I'm home! Where are you?"
There was no answer, though he wasn't quite sure why. "Are you here, darling?"
He went to her study, the most common place for her to be if she wasn't reading by the fireplace in her favourite chair. "My love?" he said, opening the door.
He saw two feet dangling from the tall ceiling- had the roof of the study always been that high?- and followed the feet up to see her hanging from her neck on the crude noose she had made with her clothes. But it wasn't Ryan.
Lilly's cold, lifeless eyes were still open.
He woke up, panting. He felt goosebumps all over his body, and his hands curled up into fists. He cursed quietly, running a hand through his hair and realising that his hair was soaked with sweat.
The competition's prize winner was coming onto the bus today. Virginia Duffy was going to meet them for the first time, eagerly and excitedly. She didn't know that her life may also change in the most extreme way she could imagine.
He got out of bed, running a hand over his chin- he needed to shave, he could feel that much. The New Year was rolling around quickly. It had been Phoenix's birthday just the other day. But when he had called, Ryan was sleeping, and Drew had taken the kids to a movie to celebrate.
He sipped at his coffee as Elle wandered in, looking tired. "Morning," she mumbled, making herself some tea and sitting across from him.
Hunter simply looked at her, then said, "You're hiding something, too."
Elle looked up in horror. "W-What?"
"You know what's wrong with Ma."
She almost breathed a sigh of relief in front of him- that would've given it away. "Drew hasn't told me," she said smoothly.
"But someone else has. I'm willing to say... Nick?"
"That's not your concern."
"So he has? Good. Nice that you're keeping secrets from me, too. I appreciate it. Thanks."
"Pa-"
"No. I get it. You're all keeping secrets from me for no damn reason. I don't care anymore." He stood up again, and stormed out of the room.
Elle sighed. Ma's condition would only be bad if something went wrong. But she couldn't tell him that- he'd go right back to Nashville to take care of her. He loved Ryan too much, that was the issue.
She sighed, looking at her phone and checking the time. It was 9 o'clock, surely Drew would be awake. She needed to tell someone. She needed to tell him.
She stood, leaving the bus and climbing into the car instead, which they towed behind the bus when they weren't driving it. She locked herself in, then called Drew.
"Hey, cookie!"
"Drew," she breathed. "How are you?"
"I'm fine-"
"And Ma?"
"She's alright."
"Alright, meaning...?"
"She's getting on. Rose is taking care of her, too. So's her doctor."
"The one who took care of her when-"
"Yeah."
She took a deep breath. "D-Drew, I..."
"Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing that her tone had changed.
"I'm... I've been waking up a lot at night lately, and last week I noticed... I had a bruise."
"A bruise?"
"They keep appearing, I don't know what they appear from or anything, they just- and then they- I-" She began to hyperventilate. "I'm scared it's coming back, I'm so scared-"
"You think you're relapsing?" he asked softly.
"Y-Yeah."
He was silent, then said, "Alright, breathe. Come on, deep breaths. In, out, in, out."
She followed his directions, trying to calm herself down. "I can't do it again, Drew. I'm so scared, I can't do this."
"What do you plan to do? Are you gonna tell your dad?"
"I can't. He'll stop the tour."
"You can't-"
"I'm not risking it anymore, Drew. I need to find my family." She sighed. "Why do you think I haven't told him what's wrong with Ma yet?"
"But- Elle, if you get sick, if-"
"If, Drew. The key word is 'if'. I could be fine. Maybe I'm just a very active sleeper?"
"I don't like this."
"I know you don't. I don't like it either."
"How long did it take last time?"
"Last time?"
"I remember you telling me about weird bruises before you got diagnosed. How long after that did you go to the hospital?"
She considered this. "After the first one... when did I see it? I think I was in a car... yeah, we were visiting Aunt Naomi. I think, then... I got diagnosed in July."
"When did you visit Naomi?"
"In..." She thought carefully, then her blood ran cold. "It... might have been..."
"When?"
"June."
He was speechless. "J-June?"
"I don't know, but- but it was a short while after the- the ballet-"
"Elle, that only gives you a month, if this is... if this is... if..."
She shook her head. "Drew, don't scare me. Please, I called you because I need you, not your fear."
"Uh-huh. Okay. Okay." He took a deep breath. "So you won't tell anyone?"
"No. And don't you dare tell anyone either."
"But-"
"Beanbag, please," she whispered. "Please. I'm begging you."
He hesitated, but said, "Okay. Pinky promise."
She sighed. "I miss you, darling."
"I miss you, too. I can't wait to see you again."
"I guess we'll get to see each other soon, once Ryan..."
"It won't be long."
"Yeah. It'll be good to see you again. I love you, okay?"
"I love you, too. Stay safe. Please, please be careful."
"I will." She sighed. "We're meeting Virginia Duffy today. I'll talk to you soon?"
"Sure. Call me whenever. You know I don't sleep anyway."
"Of course, beanbag. Bye."
"Take care."
She hung up, and realised how hard she was shaking. She didn't have time to think about it, though. She needed to meet Virginia Duffy. And she needed to find out if Hunter's daughter had been in Texas all along.
<><><><><><><><>
Elle smiled slightly at Hunter, who looked pale. "Nervous?"
"A little."
"I don't... I dunno what I feel."
He looked at her. "Why?"
"I don't think it's her. From what I've seen of her..." She laughed. "Well, she's way too tall, for starters."
"Not funny," he said, though he let out a slight chuckle as well. "Any other reason?"
"Well... maybe that's it. I dunno. It just... seems too easy that way. It could never be that easy."
"Who says?"
"Literally my entire life."
He was about to reply, when the door of the tour bus opened, and the girl ran in, looking excited. "If it ain't Hunter Hayes himself!" she said. She had a strong Texan accent, and she was beaming.
"Hi! It's great to meet you. Virginia, right?"
"That's me!"
Her hair was white blonde, the same as Lola's, and she had hazel eyes, round and wide. Her skin was tanned, and she was tall and quite muscular, despite being a little on the large side. She had a small scar on her chin, and she seemed extremely loud and friendly- quite the opposite of what Demi had been.
Hunter hugged her. "It's great to meet you!"
"Can't believe I'm finally meeting y'all. It's so good! What's the plan for today?"
"Well, we're gonna go to a photoshoot, and there's the show tonight- you get to be backstage, and you have full permission to ask any question you like. Elle is gonna be your guide whenever I'm busy."
She held up a hand. "Hi."
"You're Elle!" Virginia gave Elle a bear hug, and she felt her breath being squeezed out of her. "You know what's the most darndest thing?"
"No," said Elle, trying hard not to laugh. Virginia was totally goofy and sweet. She loved her already.
"We're born on the same day! Same hospital, too!"
"Wow! What a coincidence!"
"I know, I said the same exact thing!"
Elle laughed slightly, and Virginia hugged her. "This is gonna be such a good day!"
<><><><><><><><>
While Hunter was getting dressed for the photoshoot, Elle sat with Virginia to the side, staring at her hands. Drew had bought her a ring for her birthday, a swan with a tourmaline gemstone set where its wing would be. "The tourmaline is the gemstone for October," he had said nervously. "Do you like it?"
"I think it's gorgeous," she said. "What's June?"
He smiled slightly. "The alexandrite. It's bluish purple, changes in the light."
She kissed him once. "My favourite colour. Thank you."
It took her a moment to realise that Virginia had asked her a question. "Sorry, what was that?"
"I'm just wondering about you. I dunno, like, I was always a massive fan of your dad, but you're really amazing, too."
She blushed. "Thank you. That's really nice of you to say."
"I follow your Instagram, you're so good at piano."
"My boyfriend is better. He's really good with music, too. He taught me the piano, and I taught him guitar. He's really just... yeah. He's awesome."
"I have a boyfriend, too. His name's Hunter!"
"That's so weird," she said, laughing. "My boyfriend's name is Drew."
"Oh, he's the cute one on your Insta all the time!"
She chuckled. "Yeah, that's him."
Virginia looked concerned. "You okay, sweetie? You look really tired."
"Me? I'm fine. Just a little worn out. All this travelling, sleeping in a bus. It gets to you."
In fact, it wasn't the sleeping in the bus that wore her out. It was the slow return of her leukemia. She was sure of it now, she was sure that it was coming back in a very short amount of time. It was the exact same as the last time- she was aching all over, waking up from fevers at night time- but she couldn't tell him. The moment Hunter recognised the symptoms, the tour was over.
"If you're sure. Anyway, yeah! What's your favourite colour?"
"Purple, what's yours?"
"I just love red."
"That's cool. Any pets?"
"Just my cat, Tina."
"I have my brother's dog, Nita."
"That's so weird, they use the same letters!"
Elle laughed, and they talked some more, before one of the cameramen walked up to them. "Elle, would you like to be in this shoot?"
"N-No, I'm not even dressed-"
"Don't worry about that, darl," said Hunter, holding out a hand for her to grab. "Just touch up your makeup, and let's just have a good time."
She looked back at Virginia, and she smiled. "Go on, y'all. It'll be cute!"
So once Elle had her makeup touched up, they danced around, laughed, hugged, and the photographers had a field day. Virginia smiled at them, and for just one second, Hunter caught Elle's eye, and asked her without saying anything. Is it her?
She shook her head, no. Hunter looked downcast, but nodded.
It was time to look elsewhere.
<><><><><><><><>
Phoenix drew her again.
She still didn't look the exact same as she did in his dream, but she was getting closer to it. The woman had dark, curly hair, and black eyes, pale skin. Just like him.
There was something about these dreams, something that was reminding him of something long repressed in his mind. There had always been something different about him compared to Robin and Spencer- they were both so much more... light. Their features were similar, or the same as his parents'. Robin was a carbon copy of Hunter, and Spencer looked just like Ma. Phoenix looked like no one in the family. His hair and eyes were dark, and no one had those features in their family.
It was something to do with that lady. He knew it.
He checked on Ma, who was sleeping. She was still getting more and more sick, and Aunt Rose took care of her most of the time. He noticed a photo on the wall, and then he realised something.
A photo album.
Surely, surely there'd be a picture of this woman, whoever she was, in the photo albums? There'd be a picture of her if she was connected to the Hayes-Lockhart family in any way. He'd find them there, he knew it.
He went to the living room, where Spencer was quietly playing with his toy kitchen, and he pulled open the cabinet where Hunter kept all the photo albums.
The first one he found was a photo album from a long time ago. There were photos in it of a young, blonde boy, and a red haired girl. It showed them getting older and older, until Phoenix suddenly recognised Pa as the boy. The girl... it must have been Lilly, his first wife.
Sure enough, he soon found pictures from their wedding. Hunter was smiling, and there were pictures of them kissing. It was strange to see Pa in love with someone who wasn't Ma.
It ended somewhere around where Lilly had been pregnant. It was the last photo of her- the two of them hugging at the dinner table. That was the end of that book.
He opened another one. This one was a blonde girl, who slowly got more and more beautiful. It was Ma, of course. There were some pictures of her receiving her high school diploma, and something from the Navy, but nothing more.
The next one was pictures of Elle. There were none from the hospital- that made sense. It wouldn't have been his top priority. There were a few photos of the funeral, but not many. The first thing Phoenix found of Elle were some photos of her in the bath. She was sitting in a saucepan, and laughing apparently, as the bubbles surrounded her. He smiled slightly, turning to the next page.
There were hundreds of photos of Ellie, through her childhood and to when she met Drew, and when Pa had first met Ma. But there was something wrong with the timeframe of those photos. Elle was five years older than he was. These photos were from when she was six.
This didn't make sense. If Elle was five years old when Phoenix was born, then Ma had to have met Pa at least in March of 2020. But from the look of these photos, they weren't together until around February of the next year.
Frowning, he found another photo book. This had pictures of Robin and Spencer, and they showed the timeframe from when Ma was pregnant with Robin to before she had left for London.
He found one last album, this one smaller than the rest. It was filled with photos of Nick.
But only from 2023 and onwards.
His head was spinning, and he closed the albums, putting them away in the cabinet.
Something was wrong with this.
Something was very wrong with this.
*A/N: woop de doo
VOTE, COMMENT AND FOLLOW!!!!!!!!!!!
Nethii <3*