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

Chapter Twenty-Nine

❝fight (pronouced fʌɪt or fite), verb
take part in a violent struggle involving the exchange of physical blows or the use of weapons.❞

"Ellie?" asked Robin, while sliding a brown bead onto the elastic she was using, followed by a purple one. "What are Mama and Papa talking about when they talk about they talk about the media?"

"The people who take photos of us and put them in magazines."

"I know that," she said. "I mean, why do they keep telling you to be careful?"

"Because we told them something about us. So that people like Chad can leave us alone."

She looked up. "What did you tell them?"

"There's... well, I'm not..."

"Am I too young?"

"No, no, it's just..." She took a deep breath. Phoenix already knew, but Robin and Spencer didn't. Was it finally time to tell her? "Basically... okay, you know how Papa used to be married before he met Mama?"

She blinked. "No."

Elle frowned. "Wait, what? You didn't know that?"

She shook her head slowly. "Did Papa get a divorce?"

"No," said Elle. "He, uh... okay, well, Papa's old wife's name was Lilly. Lilly passed away."

"Passed away?"

"She died. Lilly died."

Robin's eyes widened. "Oh."

"So, Mama's not really my mom. She's my stepmom."

"Wait, was Lilly your mom?"

Elle shrugged. "Yes and no."

"What?"

"Something happened at the hospital, and Papa's and Lilly's real daughter got swapped with me. So now his real daughter is living with my family, and I'm here with you. I'm... adopted, basically."

"Oh."

They were silent, and Robin asked, "Did Papa love Lilly?"

"He loved her a lot."

"But now-"

"He loves Mama more. Mama... Mama looked after him, and loved him more than Lilly did. She's perfect for him."

"Wow. I didn't know he used to be married before Mama. I thought stepmoms were evil."

"They're not. Mama's my stepmom, and she's definitely not evil."

"Yeah."

Elle looked at her elastic, and said, "Hey, I used to have scoubidous. Maybe I still have them."

"Scoubidous? Isn't that the dog?"

She laughed. "Not Scooby-Doo. Scoubidous. Scoubis for short. Here, let me find them, and I'll show you." She stood up, walked to her room, and found the pack of brightly coloured plastic string. "See? These things."

"What do you do with them?"

"Weave them. They make friendship bracelets and keyrings. Here, let's see if I remember how." She fiddled with them for a few moments, then showed her. "See?"

"Wow!" She examined them closely. "They're so pretty! Will you teach me, please?"

"Sure. Let's get started!"

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Hunter walked into their room with a sigh, not expecting Ryan to be awake. She was knitting quietly, and looked up. "Hey."