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

Chapter Twenty-Two

❝sinister (pronounced ˈsɪnɪstə or sin-uh-ster), adjective
threatening or portending evil, harm, or trouble.❞

The doctor walked into Hunter's room around lunchtime. "Dr Hayes-Lockhart?"

"Yes?" she said, looking up from her papers.

"We're about to wake Spencer. Would you like to come with me?"

"Y-Yes, I- I..." She faltered, looking back at Hunter.

"Don't worry about me," he said feebly. "I'll just wait here. Tell him I said hi. And that I'm sorry."

"I will." She left her papers on the table, and walked out of the room, taking a deep breath.

Hunter sat there for a moment, before looking at the paper. It was right there. He would finally be able to see what she was writing. But was it worth reading?

Yes, he ought to read it. Perhaps it would give him an idea of what to do next. How to fix their broken relationship.

He reached over, wincing as his ribs sent a sharp pain through him, and started reading.

It's too much. It's not enough. I can't help, and I'm the only one who can. I'm not good enough. I can't help them, I can't help myself, and I can't leave him, for God's sake just let me leave him. I need him more than he needs me and yet we can't be together anymore because he just... he can't. I can't. We can't. He's trying to convince me that he can fix it, but that doesn't mean he can. he's not perfect, and neither am I. Can we fix us?

It was page after page of that. Just her fears. How scared she was of staying with Hunter. That's all it was.

He put the book down, his heart sinking. There was nothing much more that he could do, was there? She was intent on leaving him, and yet, she just couldn't do it. It was ridiculous, just a broken record. He leaned back slightly, wondering exactly what was happening with Spencer at that moment.

Meanwhile, Ryan sat anxiously, holding Spencer's tiny little hand, and the doctor said, "He may not wake up immediately. We've taken him off the medication for a small while now, but there's a chance he simply won't wake for another few hours. But, since he's young, he could wake up very quickly and very soon. Just know that he'll be very disoriented, and perhaps irritable. Just be there for him, alright?"

"Of course," she said. "He's my son. I'll do anything for him."

Elle walked into the room as well, sitting down beside her. "Grandma Lyn sent me, said you might need me around."

Ryan looked at her in appreciation. Despite how distant she had been the past few weeks, she had been the only thing keeping her sane in the past week. The only one who listened to her endless rants about her fears, the one who read through the notes she would write. It was infinitely painful, and yet Ryan relied on this sixteen year old for mental stability.

"So what's going on with him now?" she said.

"Hunter or Spencer?"

"I suppose both of them. Tell me about Pa first."

"He's getting better. They're working on getting him well enough for the tour for your family."

She looks down. "I'd forgotten. And Spencer? I heard he's supposed to wake up today."

"Yes. Supposed to." She looked down at him, stroking his hand gently. "He hasn't yet. But he will. I can feel it."

"Is he well enough?"

"A week long coma is long for a medically induced one. He should be recovered within the next few days."

Elle took a deep breath, her tongue feeling like lead. "Ma, there's... something... I wanted to talk to you about."