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

Chapter Fifty-Five

❝dream (pronounced driːm or dreem), noun
1. a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep.
2. a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.❞

It was three thirty-one. It felt like the clock was barely moving. Ryan sighed, wanting to move the hands of the clock herself. If only that made time move faster.

Hunter had gone to the studio. She had forced him to go- he was so reluctant to leave her alone at home these days, because she was so broken all the time. But she managed to convince him, and for once, he listened to her. But now, she was bored. The kids were doing their own thing. She could hear Elle practising her dancing, and Phoenix was in the living room with Robin, watching some old movie that Ryan couldn't care less about. It was strange, having that little regard for her own life.

There was a knock on the door. She sighed, standing, and whimpering slightly under her breath. Though she had gotten extremely thin, her ankles were swollen and sore, and it hurt to walk anywhere.

She opened the door, and Lola smiled slightly. "Hey."

Lola had been coming to visit since that first time, and she was extremely sweet, but Ryan knew she had been changed forever by what she had seen. "Lola!"

"Dad was busy, but he was wondering if you wanted to come 'round for dinner sometime?"

Ryan smiled, letting her wheel her chair inside. "You two should come to our place. Your poor dad's far too busy to make dinner for all five of us. Did you want a cup of tea?"

"Don't bother, you're tired-"

"No, I was going to make myself a cup now, anyway."

"In that case... yes, please."

She followed Ryan into the kitchen, where Ryan put some water to boil and sat down. "How have you been doing, Ryan?"

"Preeclampsia finally seems to have caught up with me," she said. "I'm having nightmares. But Hunter is helping however he can."

"Of course. Where is he?"

"I managed to get him to go to the studio today." She smiled slightly. "I know he never says it out loud, but he misses making music. I had to force him out the door."

Lola smiled, but didn't respond. They were quiet again, until Lola said quietly, "Ryan?"

"Yes?"

"What... what are your nightmares about?"

She didn't say anything, just stared at her tea. "Why do you ask?"

"I... I was wondering if they were anything like mine."

Ryan looked up. "Mine consist of a lot of things, Lola. None of which you're old enough to have to listen to."

Her eyes flashed, and she said, "You know nothing about what I'm too young to hear about."

"I didn't mean it that way," said Ryan resignedly. "I just meant that I know you're going through enough of your own without you having to listen to my problems as well."

"Please. Just tell me."

She didn't respond for a little while. Then, she took a deep shaky breath. "I have nightmares about Markus. About everything he did to me. About... about the night he took advantage of me. I have nightmares about Dahlia, about what might have happened if we couldn't escape from that house. I have nightmares about Peter, the last words he ever said to me. And Lola, I have nightmares about losing Hunter to all of those people. About losing Elle. Phoenix. Robin. I see them being abused, being held captive, being shot in front of my eyes. And I can't do anything to stop it. They never stop."