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

Chapter Thirty-Three

❝proposal (pronounced prəˈpəʊz(ə)l or pruh-poh-zuh l), noun
an offer of marriage.❞

They weren't lying in each other's arms- it was far too warm for that. They lay on their respective sides of the bed, holding hands in the middle. The sheets were heated up around them, and so Ryan left her legs to cool in the refreshing night air, while Hunter let his breathing return to normal. They were both beginning to sober up now, and Ryan turned her head, smiling slightly at him. "Crossed that one off the bucket list," she whispered, and he started giggling quietly. He squeezed her hand and gently kissed her once, letting himself relax.

They lay in silence for a moment longer, when Hunter squeezed Ryan's hand again. "What happened? What brought this on?"

She was silent.

"You can tell me anything," he reminded her.

"I know." She sighed. "She told me about stuff about Frank again. Told me about Drew. Just... the usual. I don't know why it hit so hard." She took a deep breath. "Drew told me that he wants to marry her as soon as possible, but I don't know if he'd be able to handle Amber on his own, and that just... really hit me, for some reason. Our daughter. Drew's basically like our son by now, you know? It just..."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, I get it."

"I feel guilty."

"Guilty?"

"I didn't... we didn't help her. We didn't make sure we were careful around Gabriel... he threatened her and she left the house, and Hunt, we didn't even notice."

"I know. I feel guilty about that, too."

"Do you think we should have called the police?"

"I don't think so. There's no doubt in my mind that no matter how much Elle says otherwise, Gabriel was clinically insane. There's a reason Ivy left him, after all. He wouldn't have hesitated to hurt them if the police were after him, and even then, we can't have known for sure."

Ryan nodded slightly. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay."

"You shouldn't get drunk."

"Nor should you."

She sighed. "Promise not to do it again?"

"Yeah. Of course."

Ryan looked at him then. "Do you think things will get better?"

"They always do. I pinky promise."

<><><><><><><><>

It was the last day of Elle's chemotherapy, and after that day, she'd be trying biological therapy, a different way to fight her cancer. She waited with Drew, who looked... kind of ill. Very pale. Not quite the same golden tan as usual, anyway.

"What's up with you?" she asked. "Aren't you excited to be twenty?"

"You could say that," he mumbled weakly.

"Seriously, what's wrong?" she asked gently, taking his hand.

"Wait 'til after the treatment."

She frowned, but nodded. She shivered as the nurse hooked her up to the drip, and as she vomited, Drew felt he might do the same.

There was no reason she'd say no, was there? After all, she had been the one to bring up marriage, even without knowing about the ring. They'd talked about their lives together so many times that it was simply a given. He couldn't imagine a life without her, and he was sure she felt the same.