Life Goes On (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 2 of the Hardships Saga)

Chapter Twenty-Six

❝safe (pronounced seɪf or seyf), adjective
to be free of harm.
eg. you're safe and sound, I swear that I won't let you down.❞

"So, what happened?"

Ryan kept her arms crossed, feeling vulnerable and scared. "He's been hitting me for the last few months."

"I saw it with my own eyes," said Hunter to the police officer. He seemed livid. "He kept cursing at her, yelling at her- he had a knife..."

"Did he attack Miss Lockhart with this knife?"

"Attempted to. I came in and fought back."

"It was self defense," said Ryan softly. "He tried to hurt me first, and when Hunter pushed him out of the way, he tried to stab him instead. He only did what he could to- to save me."

Hunter looked at her appreciatively. Granted, he had a very real chance of getting arrested, but if Ryan was on his side, then he might be able to get away with it. The private investigators were also on the case. Ryan was asked several times if she needed to go to a hospital, but she kept insisting that she was okay. Hunter was asked as well, and he insisted he wasn't hurt either, though he tried to convince Ryan to tell them that she needed medical assistance.

A pair of police officers came out of the house, with Markus struggling between them, swearing like a fiend. Hunter instinctively looked to where Elle would've been sitting in the backseat, to block her ears. Then he spotted Ryan. "F*cking c*nt! How dare you- I'll f*cking kill you! Calling the police on me and trying to f*cking leave me!" He tried to break away from the grip of the police officers, and Ryan hid behind Hunter, terrified. "You and your f*cking boyfriend, thinking you'll get me arrested-"

"Enough, Mr Abony," said one of the officers. Then, she looked at Hunter and Ryan. "You're free to go, sir, ma'am. Does Mr Abony have any family or relatives he can call?"

"Not that I know of," replied Ryan. "Thank you."

"Just doing our job. Mr Hayes, does Miss Lockhart have somewhere to go tonight?"

"Yes, she'll be able to stay at my place."

"Good."

The police eventually dispersed, and Hunter helped Ryan into her seat. "It'll be okay now."

She nodded, silently staring out the window. Hunter started his car, starting the drive home.

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He opened the door, and Elle ran up, holding a frying pan. "Elle, what-"

She dropped the frying pan and stared at Hunter. "You were gone for ages! I thought it was a monster!" Suddenly, she noticed Ryan behind him, looking broken. "Ryan?"

"Elle, you have to go to bed, okay?"

"Papa, why is she bleeding?"

"Bed. Now."

"What happened to your hands?!"

Hunter looked down at his knuckles. They were bruised and bloody from punching Markus. "Pumpkin, listen. Go to bed. I'll tell you in the morning."

Her lip trembled. "P-Papa?"

He leaned down to her level and whispered, "Listen to me. Please, please, listen to me. I promise, I'll tell you everything in the morning. I need to do some things first."

She nodded, hugged Hunter tightly, and ran into her room, closing the door. Hunter took a deep breath, and looked at Ryan. "What do you need?"

"I... I just..."