Savannah's POV
After we had spoke about many events that happened over the last year, since I haven't been home much, we needed to catch up, my mother and I walked out into the courtyard, sitting on a bench.
"So how are things with you and Hayes this time around?" After hearing the question, I now knew how Hayes felt lying to his parents. "Things are going well. We're still planning the wedding, we've decided to move it til next year. We've had a lot going on." I smile, hoping she'd buy the lie.
"Why not now? You guys are perfect together!" She laughed as I looked down at my hands. "Umm, his mother, she's unwell at the moment, and Hayes and I have been focusing our time on her. So we decided to postpone the wedding for now." I let out a sigh, putting a down look on my face.
"Oh my, I didn't know darling. Is everything okay with Liz?" My parents and Hayes' parents used to be pretty close but since they moved to different states, they hardly kept in touch. "It's cancer. Lung. Um Hayes has had a really hard time so that's why we decided to leave the wedding just now." I frown, thinking about Elizabeth and how Hayes was doing with it all.
"And how have you been? Did the doctor I set you with get your medication on time? I called the week you left with Hayes to get your pills transferred." She panicked as I calmed her down. "Yes. I picked them up last week." I looked down avoiding her gaze, beginning to feel guilty about how my parents and siblings were the only ones who knew.
"How's Hayes handling it?" She asked the one question I was dreading to answer. I looked away guilty. "Uh yeah he's um ok?" I say unsure in my voice. "You haven't told him?! He's about to become your husband Anna! He deserves to know." As she said her nickname for me, more guilt came to me.
"I deserve to know what?" I gasp as tears sprung in my eyes, hearing Hayes' voice behind me. He catches on to my tear stained face and he immediately becomes concerned. "Issabella, would you give us a moment please? I actually came for you, Robert is looking for you." He asks as my mother looks at me with an emotion I had never seen before.
She says nothing but smiles at him, before leaving Hayes and I in the middle of the garden on our own.
"Sav? What's going on?" He asked, sitting beside me. "Nothing." I laugh, wiping my eyes and standing to my feet. "We were just happy to see each other. We should get back to- Savannah!" He cut me off, shouting my name furiously. "Sit down." I made no further move to leave but instead, sit on the bench beside him.
"I don't want to hear any bullshit story's Sav. Or I will go to your mother and find out myself. So what was she talking about? What are you hiding from me?" He grabs my hands tightly as tears flow from my eyes.
"I don't want to put this on you. Not tonight. You have a lot on your plate and with your mother being unwell, I can't do that to you." I shake my head, tears burning my eyes as I try to release my hands but his grip tightened. "Sav, if I have to get your mother back out here for her to tell her myself I will." He threatened.
I look into his eyes as I force a smile. "I can't tell you right now. Please can we get dinner over with? And I promise to tell you as soon as we're home." I knew I wouldn't get out of this anytime soon but with a little persuasion, I managed to get Hayes to leave off for the meantime.
We walked back into the hall hand in hand and my eyes immediately fell to my mother. "Give me a moment." I whisper to Hayes as I let go of his hand, walking to her. "Did you tell him?" She asked as her eyes watered. "I promised to tell him tonight. I can't right now with the family having dinner and him being worried about his mother." I sniffle.
"You got to tell him baby. It's the right thing to do." She kisses my cheek and wanders to sit with my father.
Sooner or later, the dinner came to an end quicker than I wanted it to and now, Hayes and I had returned home along with Elizabeth who had already made her way to bed. We stood in Hayes' downstairs office as I watched him pour a glass of whiskey.
"You're not leaving this room until you tell me what the hell is going on."