Where We Left Off (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 2 of the HunTia Trilogy)

Chapter Six

HUNTER'S POV:

Oh, Tia. My poor darling. I can't think what might've happened if Trey hadn't found her...
She's taking a shower now, and her throat seems better, although it's starting to bruise where the man had punched her. My hands curl into fists just thinking about him. I swear, if I ever see him again-
"Hunt?"
"Yeah, babe?" I ask, before turning around to see her only wearing a towel.
"My arms are bruised, and so is my face. Should I wear some kind of concealer cream?"
I watch her beautiful image, marred only by the bruises. She looks okay, and I tell her so.
"Thanks, Hunter," she sighs in relief. "I'm sorry about scaring you like that before."
"Tee, I would've been scared anyway. And imagine what might've happened if you hadn't texted me, and I didn't call Trey to tell him to look for you in the city."
She nods. "By now, I would be dead without you."
Maybe you would've died because of me, I think, my eyes dropping to her midsection, where I knew her bullet wound is. I approach Tia and put a hand over the wound, making her gasp.
"What happens to you when I touch the wound?" I ask her curiously.
"I dunno," she says, still affected by my touch."I just get this kind of rush, and it feels strange. But it feels good," she assures me quickly, seeing the look on my face.
"Okay..." I trail off. "So, uh, dinner?"
"Pizza. If I give you the recipe, can you make the dough?"
"Sure."
She smiles, and leaves. Lord, I don't know what I did to deserve someone as beautiful and perfect for me as Tia, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart, I think to myself.
She comes back holding a sheet of paper, and I recognise her loopy handwriting. "Here you are, just follow the instructions."
"Thanks," I say, beaming at her.
"What should I wear?" she asks me, looking concerned.
"You look beautiful in anything. Wear whatever you want." She blushes pink again, and I bite my lip to keep from laughing.
After Tia leaves to get changed, I study her handwriting carefully.
"Mix two sachets of yeast with one and a half cups of warm water, two teaspoons of sugar, and a teaspoon of salt," I mutter to myself. "I can do that."
I grab a small beaker and put everything in, before whisking it with a fork, and putting it on the warm kitchen bench.
"Right..." I say, skimming through the recipe without really reading it. "Sift four cups of plain flour."
Wait, how do you sift something?
I sit and wait for Tia, since I don't know what else to do.
"Hunter?" she asks, coming into the kitchen, now wearing an orange knit top with a pair of blue skinny jeans. "What's wrong?"
"The recipe says to sift the flour," I say, showing her. "How do you sift something?"
She bursts out laughing. I'm confused.
"What'd I say?" I ask, bemused.
"Hunt, sifting is probably one of the easiest things to do. Here, I'll do it." She grabs a small... thing. I don't know what it's called.
"This is a sifter," she says, holding it up for me to see. "Where's the yeast mixture?"
"Over here," I say, showing her. She looks oddly confused for a second, before taking a small spoon out of the drawer, and tasting the mixture.
"Tia, what are you doing?"
She sighs. "Hunter, what did you put in here?"
"I put in sugar, salt, warm water and yeast, like it says in your recipe."
"Show me the yeast."
I show her one of the sachets I found in the cupboard. She rolls her eyes, but she looks amused.
"Hunter, that isn't yeast. Those are dried herbs."
"Oh."
Tia comes and gives me a kiss. "You idiot."
"Sorry," I say sheepishly, making her laugh.

TIA'S POV:

We finally manage to make the pizzas, and I wait for Hunter to get changed. He comes back wearing a well fitted red shirt with a pair of blue jeans, and we wait, until I hear a knock at the door.
Peyton comes in looking frantic, Trey following her, although he looks relaxed. "Where is she? Where's Tia?"
"I'm right here Pey-" I try to say, before she squeezes all the air out of me, she's hugging me that tightly.
"Oh my god. Trey told me what happened. Oh my god. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," she says, over and over.
"Why are you apologising?" I ask, rubbing her back.
She looks at me guiltily. "I didn't even say goodbye to you on the phone properly. What if Trey hadn't been there, and-"
"Don't talk about it," I say. I don't want to think about what might've happened if Trey hadn't been there.
I hear Hunter opening the door again, and Mama comes in and starts talking in rapid French.
"Tiana, êtes-vous blessé? Trey m'a dit ce qui s'est passé. Je veux que tu me promettes que vous n'aurez pas tous les sortir seul de nouveau." She's hugging me the whole time, and kissing my face repeatedly. A basic translation: "Tiana, are you hurt? Trey told us what happened. I want you to promise me that you won't ever go out alone again."
"Mama, I can't promise that. You know that I can't. But I will be more careful from now on."
"Oh, my darling, I'm just glad you're okay!" says Mama, in English this time. Papa hugs me tightly as well.
Lynette and Leo come next, and after making sure I'm okay, we all head down to the living room for some snacks and a bit of small talk. I bring everyone drinks, while Mama and Lynette discuss our future wedding.
"I have a tuxedo that I want Hunter to wear, and I'm sure Peyton's already planned a dress for Tia?" asks Lynette.
"Oh yeah. Designer made and everything. I think even Tia won't be able to resist. Swarovski crystals, L'Amour satin - it's beautiful."
"Dinnertime!" calls Hunter, and the whole family pile into the dining room, where the pizzas have been set out, along with a few store-bought garlic loaves. Everyone starts digging in, when Peyton suddenly stands up.
"I... I have an announcement to make."
We all stop and look at her. Even Trey looks confused.
"Well..." she says, taking a deep, unsteady breath. "This morning, I went to the doctor's to get some medicine for a stomach bug I thought I'd been having. I kept throwing up, and I didn't want to eat. But the doctor ruled out a stomach bug, and gave me a short test."
Everyone is completely silent. You could hear a pin drop.
"It came up with the result that... I... I was pregnant."
Trey, who had been drinking out of his cup, choked. Hunter went up behind him, and started thumping him on the back. The rest of us start cheering.
"Pey, why on earth didn't you tell me this before?" gasps Trey when he regains the ability to breathe.
"Well, before I left, I called Tia, to try and tell her. But then I felt like throwing up again."
"Is that why you left so quickly?" I ask, hugging her. "Oh my god! I'm going to be an auntie!"
She laughs, before continuing. "I wanted to tell you after I got back, but then you called me, and told me what happened to Tia. It was probably the worst possible time to tell you, when everyone was so anxious and worried about Tee. She's my baby sister." She smiles at me.
"I'm so happy for you," I say, hugging her again.
Everyone converges in on the hug, all the women crying, all the men incredibly excited.
After everyone leaves, Hunter and I go to bed, feeling exhausted both mentally and physically from everything that today had brought us.
"Tia?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
I smile in the darkness, and I try to find Hunter. Finally, I find him, and I hug him.
"I love you too."

*A/N: PEYTON'S HAVING A BABY!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!! Well, it was going to happen eventually. So, because I'm random, I want everyone reading to tell me what I should name him/her, and what he/she should look like. More like Peyton, more like Trey, or a bit of both?
VOTE, COMMENT AND FOLLOW!!!
Nethii <3*