The Road Ahead (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 4 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Twenty

❝wake (pronounced weɪk or weyk), verb
to become roused from sleep❞

His eyes weren't just red- they were bloodred. The whites of his eyes weren't white anymore. They were a bright crimson, and the blue shone through. It was some sort of subconjunctivital hemmorhage... was that what it was called? She couldn't remember. His chapped and bloodied lips parted, and he was shaking slightly. "Ry? What happened?" he said. "Where am I, where's Spencer?"

Elle looked at Ma. Her eyes were trained on him, and she had gone white. "You..."

"What do you remember, Pa?" asked Elle.

He tried to breathe, and gasped, his hand instinctively going toward his chest. "A-Ah... I remember... the truck..."

"I could kill you right now," breathed Ma.

"My dove-"

"Don't you f*cking dare. You bastard. How could you?"

Elle was taken aback- she had never heard her swear before. Judging by Pa's reaction, it wasn't a common occurence.

"Ryan, I... I can't apologise for what I've done."

"Damn f*cking right you can't."

"Ma, calm down."

"Where's Spencer?" Pa asked. When Ryan didn't reply, he looked desperate and guilt-stricken. "Oh God, Ry, where is he?"

"He may as well be dead," she whispered. "And it's your fault."

Hunter wished he could cry. He willed himself to. But he was so numb... he couldn't even consider it. He looked at Ryan, at his wife, who had been through hell and back, and watched how she sat there, pure fury causing her to shake uncontrollably. "Have you done enough?" she whispered. "Have you satiated your desire to hurt me? Because if you haven't, the last thing you can do is probably just kill all four of them. So why don't you?"

"Ma, that's not funny," said Elle sharply, feeling her stomach drop. "Stop."

"I'm sorry," breathed Hunter. "I... I don't know what... I thought I could drive..."

Ryan stood up, and raised her hand, as if she were about to hit him. He flinched, but her hand dropped. "I'm leaving you," she breathed. "God knows Robin or Nick or Ellie will be next. I'm not letting your f*cking habit kill them, too."

"Ry, no," he said urgently. "I won't drink after this, you know I-"

"YOU PROMISED!" she yelled suddenly, making Elle jump. "YOU F*CKING PINKY PROMISED THAT YOU WOULD STOP DRINKING, BUT THAT WAS JUST BULLSHIT, WASN'T IT?!"

He had nothing to say. It was true. He had broken his promise. He had failed her again.

"I don't think," she said, in a quiet, shaky voice, "that I've ever hated anyone as much as I hate you right now." And with that, she stormed out of the room. Hunter could hear her just outside the door, sobbing.

Hunter felt tears finally come to his eyes. Listening to her cry finally cracked him, and his tears made clean tracks on his face, cutting through the blood and dirt. The salt water stung his cuts from the broken glass. It was all such a clear memory now.

He had gotten Ryan's text about halfway through his third bottle. He had finished that off, too, and didn't even question the fact that maybe he shouldn't drive if the world was spinning so wildly. He felt fantastic, and he was functioning fine, surely he could get to the daycare and back without any trouble.

Spencer had asked what that smell was when he climbed into the car. The smell of alcohol... it was one that he didn't know very well. Hunter simply brushed it off... and then the truck came flying at them.