Love Makes Me (A HunTia novella, A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction)

Chapter Four-Point-Five (SF)

CHAPTER FOUR:

TIA'S POV:

The doctor takes us back to his office.

"What's the verdict?" I ask in a shaky voice.

"We're going to have to get another doctor to look at her," says Dr. Martin, handing us a business card. I read what it says.

Dr. Keith Wilcoxson, Oncologist, PhD.

"Oncology?" I whisper to Hunter. "But that means cancer."

He looks at me. His eyes are wide, and he looks terrified. We look at little Addy, who was still sleeping off the sedative.

Was I ever going to see her grow up?

TIA'S POV:

The drive home is one of complete silence. Even Chase knows not to say anything, and Addy's still sleeping off the sedative. Hunter keeps his eyes fixed on the road, not looking at me. I can see the tears brimming, unwillingly about to overflow. He's never liked crying, even though he can be emotional sometimes. As we roll to a stop at a traffic light, he looks at me. "Love?"

I stay quiet, not trusting myself to speak.

"Tia, baby, look at me. Look at me, please." He's choking up with nearly every word, and he sounds so broken that I look at him. His blue eyes are now greyish, and his eyes are tortured. His brow is furrowed into a permanent frown, and he touches my face. "Are you okay?"

I swallow. "I don't know how to answer that."

"I don't expect you to."

I take a deep breath in. "Hunt, she doesn't deserve this. None of us do."

He closes his eyes, not crying, but very close to doing so. He takes a shaky breath. "I-I know." When I look away, he caresses my face. "Don't do this to me, Tee. Please."

But I curl up in the seat and face away from him.

He sighs, sounding slightly teary, and just runs his fingers through my hair softly. "Tia, don't leave me again. Don't do this again."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't stop talking. Don't stop living. Don't-" he gasps slightly, hiccuping, "-don't go back to how you were when you came here from Australia. Please."

I don't look at him, and he sighs, just as the traffic light turns green. He keeps the car going, and starts taking a detour.

"Hunt, what-"

"Let's get McDonald's," he says, driving to the McDonald's closest to our house. "I don't think either of us are up for making dinner."

"I don't think I'm up to eating," I say quietly, and he uses his fingertips to turn my face towards his, forcing me to meet his eyes.

"Tee, please eat," he says so quietly that I barely hear him.

"No," I say. "Not until I know for sure that she's okay."

Hunter sighs, before going to the drive-thru and ordering two Big Macs, two medium Cokes and fries. He knows that even if I don't eat now, I'll eat sometime soon, whether it be in the middle of the night or even later.

"Have a good... evening..." says the cashier, noticing out tearstained faces and the way I was avoiding her gaze. She looks somewhat sympathetic. "Hey, I dunno what's going on with y'all, but I hope it'll get better soon, alright?"