Keep On Walking (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 3 of the Hardships Saga)

Chapter Four

❝alcohol (pronounced ˈalkəhɒl or al-kuh-hol), noun
a colourless, volatile, flammable liquid, which is the intoxicating constituent of wine, beer, spirits, and other drinks.❞

She woke up feeling drowsy and unrested, and found that Hunter was gone. She rolled out of bed and pulled on her robe, before walking down the hallway into the living room. She could smell something strong, but what was it?

She came into the living room, and found Hunter sitting on the couch with a glass in his hand. That was where the smell was coming from. "Bluejay?"

He turned around, and she noticed how bloodshot his eyes were, and how his eyes weren't quite focused on her. "Hey, baby," he said, sounding slurred. "Care to join me?"

"You're drunk!"

"Couldn't sleep, so I came down here. They all brought wine, whiskey, all the good stuff."

"You- but-"

"Sit down," he said, and she pursed her lips, but sat down anyway. He grabbed a glass (apparently he had expected her to come into the room) and poured her some wine, before handing it to her. "Here. Drink. It feels nice to let go every now and again."

She held it gingerly in her hands. "What made you want to come down here?"

"I already told you. I couldn't sleep."

She took a tentative sip of the wine, and found that it was her favourite red wine. She slowly drank a little more. "But why didn't you just wake me up? We could've gone somewhere together."

"You looked so tired. I didn't want to bother you." He grinned. "Besides, all this was gonna go to waste, right?"

"Maybe this wasn't the best idea-"

"Shh. Drink."

She sighed and drank a little more. "Hunt, we can't just get drunk to avoid our problems. We should talk about it."

"Just drink. You'll feel a thousand times better."

But she put the glass down. "Hunter, we should go to bed."

"No."

"Hunter!"

"I'm not listening!" He stuck his fingers in his ears. "Lalalala, not listening to you!"

"Are you five?!"

"I'M NOT LISTENING!"

"HUNTER, FOR GOODNESS' SAKE!" she yelled, knocking the glass out of his hand. "Stop drinking! Stop it!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

"Stop acting like an absolute idiot!"

"Damn it, Ryan, just drink! You're so wound up all the time, just relax!"

"I'm not getting drunk!"

"Fine. All the more for me." He picked up his glass, refilling it with whiskey, and Ryan grabbed it and put it down again.

"Hunter, stop it," she said warningly. "I'm not kidding. Stop."

"Then join me. Drink with me, and I won't be able to drink it all."

"Blackmail," she said softly. "I expected better of you, Hayes."

He shrugged, picking his glass back up. "Well?"

She picked up her glass, and had an idea. "If I drink this, will you willingly talk with me about kids without getting angry?"

"Sure. Whatever."

She felt awful- she told him off for blackmailing, but here she was, trying to take advantage of the fact that he wasn't hiding behind his walls anymore. But it wasn't like she was going to take advantage of him. No, she wanted to find out what he really thought about wanting kids. And whether it for for his own sake or for Ryan's that he wasn't ready.