Keep On Walking (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 3 of the Hardships Saga)

Chapter Nine

❝secret (pronounced ˈsiːkrɪt or see-kret), noun
something that is confidential.❞

A month went by. Ryan slowly stopped talking to and acknowledging Hunter. Using the excuse that she was preparing things for the wedding, she avoided the hospital and avoided going home as much as she could. She woke up and left before Hunter woke, and came back to bed long after he had fallen asleep.

Today, she had left again, but realised that she actually didn't have anywhere else to go. She had been everywhere she needed to go. She had done everything for the wedding, she had prepared everything. She had another month until she began to show.

As she drove back home, late in the evening, she noticed how quickly the ground was moving beneath the car... and how queasy she was feeling. She felt the bile beginning to build up in her throat, and she hastily pulled over, opening the car door and throwing up onto the side of the road. Thankfully, there was bushland.

A car slowed beside her car, before making a u-turn and coming back. Ryan cursed internally when she saw the car. This couldn't have gotten worse.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" asked the police officer. Ryan tried to say yes, but retched again, throwing up.

"I- I'm pregnant, I think I just- oh-" She threw up again, and the officer tried not to look disgusted.

"Of course. But once you're feeling a bit better, I'd just like to do a breathalyser test to make sure you aren't drunk."

"Yes, of course." She took a deep breath, and noticed the officer's eyes passing over her face. He frowned slightly. "Do I... know you from somewhere? I feel like you're... you've been on TV or something."

"I'm a stunt double," she said quickly. If this officer blabbed to some local news station that Hunter Hayes' fiancée was pregnant... "For, uh... Dakota Fanning."

"Ah, of course, that must be it," he said, nodding. "Right, feeling better?"

"Yeah. May I drink some water?"

"Just after the test."

"Yep, sure." She did the test, before drinking half a bottle of water in one go. The coolness refreshed her, and the police officer nodded.

"Alright, you're free to go."

"Thank you, Officer. Take care."

"You too, ma'am."

She drove on, making sure to keep careful focus on the road and not the way it was moving far too quickly.

She pulled into the driveway of their home, and sat there for a moment, trying hard to convince herself to walk inside. She knew Hunter was awake and at home. She could hear him singing along to some old Punch Brothers track, and Phoenix was likely in the living room. She opened the door and smelled pot roast, and her stomach growled in anticipation. Hunter came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron. "Oh," he said, looking surprised. "You're here?"

"Stuff finished up. It's all set, I guess."

"That's great, honey! Dinner's in the oven, I was just making a salad to go with it."

"Oh, okay. Would you like a hand?"

"Sure. I haven't gotten to talk to you in ages."

She smiled slightly, and Phoenix toddled into the room. "Mama!"

"Hey, bud," said Ryan, picking him up. As he began to tell her about his day, she thought about how her own child- her real child- was going to be when he was Phoenix's age. Would she or he be taller? Shorter? Thinner, maybe a little chubbier? Or maybe they would talk a lot, or they wouldn't talk at all...