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

Chapter Fifty-Seven

❝tired (pronounced tʌɪəd or tahyuhrd), adjective
in need of sleep or rest; weary.❞

Drew woke up tiredly to a phone call, and sighed, rolling to pick it up, but missed the answer button, and the phone turned off. Maybe they'd call back later. Drew didn't really care.

He was worried about Ellie's mental health. She was deteriorating right in front of him, slowly sinking deeper and deeper into depression. Nothing made her happy anymore... except him. And that couldn't last, because he had to go out and find another job before they went any further into debt.

He heard her stir beside him, and he rolled over, kissing her forehead. "Good morning, cookie."

"Morning," she whispered, trying for a smile. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," he lied. "You?"

"Never better." She sighed, sitting up. "Agenda?"

"Job hunting, then getting home and taking care of you, of course," he said gently, kissing her. "You're as beautiful as ever."

Elle chuckled, knowing he was just saying it because he had to. She looked awful these days. Her leukemia was only getting worse, and she looked more bruised and tireder than ever. But she leaned up, kissing him. "You know how to flatter a lady."

"I know how to flatter the queen of my heart," he replied, standing up and stretching. "Breakfast?"

"Dunno if I can hold much down. Feeling a little sick today."

"I'll make you french toast, you love french toast," he said, kissing her forehead. "Stay here, darling."

"I love you," she mumbled, before lying down, falling back asleep. He sighed, stroking her hair gently, before standing.

Watching Elle deteriorate like this was... hard. No, not just hard. Impossible. It killed him to see her that way. Seeing her fragile and weak, pretending not to be- it was so very difficult. Her soul was breaking right in front of him, and he hadn't seen her so fragile in years.

He walked to the kitchen, starting to mix up some cinnamon and eggs for her french toast. He tried not to think too hard. He tried to focus on the recipe. Two eggs, cinnamon, sugar, a little vanilla essence...

He heard footsteps, turning around. "Oh! I thought you were staying in bed?"

Elle shrugged. She was wrapped in her robe and in a blanket. "It's cold." She sighed. "I... I know you've already started the french toast, but do we have any burgers? I'd kill for a burger right now."

"No stress, let's see," he said, opening the freezer. There was an old box of frozen beef patties, which he pulled out. "Might need to wait a moment for it to thaw, though."

"That's fine," she said faintly, before sighing. "Ow."

"You okay?"

"Really horny, for some reason," she muttered. "But I also don't want to make out. I think I'd throw up."

"Would sex hurt the baby?"

"Your dick isn't that long, don't flatter yourself." Drew feigned hurt, and put a hand on his chest, and Elle laughed. "I'm kidding."

"Well, it's bigger than yours," he said, kissing her forehead and laughing. "But what about you? Would sex hurt you?"

"Yeah... I couldn't tell you, to be honest. I guess it'd be a wait and find out situation."

"Well, you look gorgeous, whether we have sex or not." He gave her a kiss on the top of the head, and she shook her head, standing up and forcing him to sit down.