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

Chapter Twenty-Eight

❝normal (pronounced ˈnɔːm(ə)l or nor-mal), adjective
conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.❞

"N-no..."

Drew jerked awake. They were home, they were finally home, and Drew had elected to stay the night with her again. She had fallen asleep nestled against him, and he had fallen asleep with a smile on his face and a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.

But now there was no Elle beside him. No, she was huddled in the corner of the room, crying silently and whispering into the night air. "No..." Her lower lip was trembling, that much he could see in the moonlight.

"Ellie?" he whispered, and her eyes darted up to look at him approaching her slowly.

And she screamed.

A bloodcurdling scream ripped from her throat, and Drew fell backwards in shock, stumbling over his own feet and crashing into the bed like a lanky bowling pin. Thudding footsteps, and the door swung open violently, Hunter and Ryan running in. "Ellie!" said Ryan, kneeling down in front of her.

"STOP! STOP! HE'S HERE, HE'S HERE, LET ME GO!"

"No one's here," said Hunter, reaching out to hold her, but she screamed again.

"HE'LL HURT ME! PLEASE, NO-"

"I didn't touch her," said Drew urgently. "I swear, I didn't-"

"We know," said Ryan tightly, before grabbing hold of Elle's wrists, forcing her to stop flailing. "Ellie. Look at me."

"NO!"

"Amber," Ryan tried again, and this time, she stopped slightly, looking Ryan in the eyes. Her brown eyes were caught in Ryan's green ones. "Breathe," she whispered. "Breathe with me, okay?"

Amber was shaking terribly under Ryan's hands, and she held her tightly. "Shh. It's me. I'm your mother, my darling."

She didn't respond to Ryan's statement, instead staring at Drew through the darkness, and whispered, "Not you again."

His heart sunk.

"It's not Frank. That's Drew. He's... your friend."

"Her friend?" Drew choked out.

Hunter looked broken as well. "She needs time to realise that we're not like Frank. She's generalising all men into that category."

Drew was crying, and he didn't realise it until Ryan helped Elle- no, Amber, he had to remember that this was Amber- stand up. His face was burning, his eyes stinging. "Alright, hon," she said gently. "My name's Ryan, I'm your mom. Let's go and clean you up, okay?"

"Why haven't I met you before?" asked Amber, trembly. "Why'd you leave when I was a baby?"

"It wasn't the right time," responded Ryan carefully. "You needed to find your own way first. But I'm here now. And so is your father, and so is your best friend. They both love you so much, Amber."

"I..." She shivered in her arms, and suddenly, she was blinking, as though coming out of a daze. "What the hell?"

"Ellie?"

"What? What happened?" asked Elle. She caught Drew's eyes, and suddenly she looked alarmed. "Beanbag, why are you crying?"

He shook his head, rubbing his eyes frantically. "No, I'm- I'm not crying, it's okay."

She gently detached herself from Ryan's arms, and approached him, kissing him. "Are you okay?"

"Are you?" he asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.