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

Chapter Forty-Five

❝symptom (pronounced ˈsɪm(p)təm or simp-tem), noun
a physical or mental feature which is regarded as indicating a condition of disease, particularly such a feature that is apparent to the patient.❞

July rolled around. Robin was turning nine, and Hunter and Ryan were making preparations for her birthday.

Elle wasn't having one of her good days.

She lay in bed, feeling her body burn beneath the covers. Her head hurt, and she was crying softly. She was shaking, as though she was cold, though she couldn't be warmer.

Ryan had sat with her all morning, trying to coax her into drinking some sort of medicine, anything, but she wouldn't. So after calling a doctor and getting it confirmed that it was purely a fever because of the cancer and not because of some other infection that could put her in danger, she made a call to someone who might be able to take care of her.

"Ellie?" breathed a voice, and she didn't look around. The room was dark, and she was still trembling and crying softly. "Ellie, what's wrong?"

"It h-hurts," she whispered.

Drew sat beside her, gently lifting her head so that she rested in his lap. His long fingers stroked her hair and massaged her temples. His fingers were cold, and they somehow soothed the burning sensation of the fever. "It's okay," he breathed. "I'm here, okay? I'm taking care of you now."

"I don't want to... it hurts..."

He lifted her blanket off her, to see that she was wearing heavy clothes. A sweater and trackpants? That wouldn't do. He searched through her cupboard until he found her old Tinker Bell pyjamas. Those were thin, they'd help. "Stand up for just a moment, my darling," he said softly.

"N-No-"

"Trust me, okay? I'm gonna help you."

With some help, she sat up in bed, and stood unsteadily. He carefully pulled her sweater off, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "N-No, I don't want-"

"It's okay, cookie," he said. "I'm not going to do anything you're not comfortable with, okay?"

She nodded, and he helped her pull the pyjama shirt on, then the pyjama pants. He couldn't help but notice the multiple bruises all over her legs, like little islands dotted over her skin. Once she was changed, he looked through the top shelf of her cupboard and found a blanket that wasn't too heavy, but would still keep her warm. He made her bed for her, let her lie down on top of her duvet and put the blanket over her. She was still shaking, and he found her blue waterbottle, which had rolled under her bed. "Hey, take a sip. You'll feel better."

"No."

"Come on, just one sip," he said softly, pressing the mouth of the bottle up to her lips. "It's okay, see? It'll make you feel so much better."

She shook her head, beginning to cry again. "No, I don't want to-"

"Please? For me?"

She looked into his eyes, and slowly took the bottle from his hands, taking a shaky sip. "Good girl," he said. "That's my girl. Now, lie down. I'm taking care of you today."

She curled up against him, crying softly, and he lay down beside her, hugging her gently enough that she wouldn't overheat, but tightly enough that he could comfort her. "Shh," he breathed. "It's not the end of the world, okay? You're gonna be just fine."

She took a rattling breath, and he pressed the bottle to her lips again. She took another sip, and he kissed her forehead. "That's my girl," he said softly. "Just a little more, now, come on."