Take A Walk (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 5 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Twenty-Two

❝admission (pronounced ədˈmɪʃ(ə)n or ad-mish-uh n), noun
a statement acknowledging the truth of something.❞

The day of the trial rolled around, and Drew pulled on a good shirt, one that was dark red with a collar, and black jeans. He looked at himself in Adrian's mirror, and saw Cassie behind him. "Hey," he said softly.

"I need to be at the remand, Ellie needs me," she said quietly. "You okay?"

He sighed. "My tie isn't straight, and it's pissing me off."

She leaned over, taking it from him and tying it quickly, making it perfect and immaculate. She looped it back around his neck, and he thanked her quietly, his eyes downcast. His normally honey brown eyes were darkened, more of a black than brown. His hair was straightened, and he turned back to the mirror, fixing his belt. "How do I look?"

"You look fine. Elle will be happy to see you. She's been talking about seeing you again."

He turned away, looking like he had a bitter taste in his mouth and she sighed. "Drew, I told you, I don't know why she chose to see me and not you."

"I'm... I think I know."

"Huh?"

"She's um... I know her really well. Or at least, I used to. I think she knew that I wouldn't be able to do anything for her, evidence wise. Or maybe she just didn't know that we would be allowed to interact behind that glass barrier. I dunno, Cass, I just-"

"Don't. It's okay. When she's acquitted, she's all yours. And she's missed you, you know. She really has. She's missed you like crazy."

"I've missed her more," he breathed. "I hope she's okay."

She pursed her lips, before saying, "Drew, I think she's... different. Of course, I don't know her well enough to know. I've only known her-"

"What?" he asked softly. "What's wrong with her?"

Cassie exhaled. "It's... she's like, almost just... not her. Not all the time. Sometimes she is, but other times her eyes are different and she doesn't talk, she just... watches. And when she does talk, her voice is all quiet and shaky. It's... strange. And every time I talk with her, she seems to forget something. Like, I mentioned to her that I didn't know that Ivy and Julia were married and I know she heard it because she nodded, but then when I told her later, it was like it was the first time I'd ever mentioned it to her."

Drew was silent, cycling through his endless list of characters, character flaws, habits, memories, lives. He did this to associate anything with any real human being. It gave him a way of understanding people that other people maybe didn't. He remembered something. Claudia. A young, shy, sweet girl, who had developed a disorder because of the trauma she had suffered during war. A way to handle all that was dealt to her, while never really handling it at all.

"D.I.D.," mumbled Drew.

"What?"

But before he could answer her, Adrian's mother called that Cassie's Uber was ready to pick her up, and she apologised quickly, before leaving the house. Drew stared after her, his mind racing.

Could he be right?

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Ivy watched Elle as she looked at herself in her dress, a light blue one that Ryan had delivered to her earlier that day. "It's mine, but we're a similar size, I think it'll look nice on her," Ryan had said anxiously as she handed the dress to Ivy. "Tell her it's from me, and tell her to make sure her hair is neat and that she's not nervous. Y'know, because she'll be okay."