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

Chapter Fifty-Five

*definition will be mother*

When Drew's phone rang, it was three am, and he groaned, reaching over to pick it up. "Hello?" he said groggily.

"Hey," breathed Elle. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I'm not sleeping," he mumbled, his feet touching the carpet of his bedroom as he sat on the edge of his bed. "Gimme a minute to go outside so I don't wake my parents up."

"Sure."

He walked down to the little area where he knew his parents wouldn't hear him talking and yawned. "Hey, love."

"I didn't realise you'd be asleep-"

"Don't worry about it. What's up?"

"I just... I miss you."

"I miss you, too," he said gently. "How much longer?"

"We're back in Tennessee now."

"Oh?"

"We're near Memphis. Apparently Nick's parents are here, and Celeste still lives in Nashville with her dad. We met her mom, Julia, and she gave us DNA to compare against mine."

"The results?"

"Nothing yet. We're waiting to see if anything conclusive comes up."

He could hear that there was something not quite right about her voice. "What's wrong, Cookie?"

She took a deep breath. "It's Nick."

"What about him?"

"We found out where his mom used to work. Charlotte Ruscoe- it's almost certainly her. There's even photos of her with her son, Phoenix. Something's wrong, and I don't know what."

"What do you mean?"

"They were such a happy family- him, his dad and Charlotte. You can see it in the photos, they act like how Ma and Pa used to. But then... Nick still ended up on our doorstep for God knows what reason. I'm just wondering... are they dead?"

Drew was quiet for a moment, his analytical mind going into overdrive. "Well, that can't be right. Didn't he say he remembers being dropped there by his mother? Didn't Hunter say he remembers her face, too?"

"I don't know how to explain that. But... something just isn't right. And I don't know if he's ready to hear whatever the reason is. He's so young, Drew."

"You don't think it might have been because they couldn't provide for him?"

"No. Charlie was a lab assistant, and Martin, his dad, was an artist who drew different specimens and had them published in textbooks. They weren't poor, I know that much."

"So you think there's something going on behind the scenes here?"

"He's only twelve. That's how old I was when I found out about all of this. Drew, I remember wondering if my parents were dead. I remember wishing I knew where they were."

"This is more than just Nick now, isn't it?" he asked softly.

She contemplated lying to him, then decided against it. He knew her too well. "Yeah," she said finally. "Drew... I don't know how much I want to find my own family anymore. I'm not just ruining my own family, but I'm ruining hers as well. Everything she thought she knew is gonna be completely gone, and..."